Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Houston Area: Space Center

I am fascinated with flight.  When I was a little girl one thing we would do for fun was go to the airport and watch the planes take off and land.  One of my favorite things about living in Warner Robins, Georgia, was being able to go to the Airforce Museum whenever I wanted.  They had an SR-71 Blackbird on static display, which happens to be the coolest plane ever made!

So if my trip did not include a trip to the Johnson Space Center, we were going to have a problem, Houston.

The Center has made some changes since 1986 (go figure!), but the important stuff is still there.

Come and walk through with me....

Picture by Global Jet from Flickr

Saturn V Rocket: Picture by Tim Pearce/Los Gatos from Flickr

Astronaut Training Center by Amanderson2 on Flickr

And finally, THE Mission Control!!  I kept expecting to see Gene Krantz.  Or at least Ed Harris!

Photo by Gruntzooki from Flickr

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Galveston, Oh Galveston...




That is the only Glen Campbell song I ever knew.  Every time I even think of Galveston, the song winds up stuck in my head for days.

When I made my first trip to Texas some 26 years ago, one of my biggest dilemmas was how to get across the Houston Shipping Channel.  Bridge, tunnel or ferry?  What a choice to have to make!  I solved it the only reasonable way possible.  I took the bridge.  I then drove back through the tunnel and caught the ferry.  Three crossings and I'm finally headed south to Galveston.

The walk has taken me across the Sabine River and through the Mcfaddin National Wildlife Refuge, just south of the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge, across the Bolivar Peninsula and over the bay to Galveston.

Mottled Duck Family from Mcfaddin National Wildlife Refuge Website

The Bolivar Lighthouse, in addition to saving lives during the Galveston Hurricane, was the setting for one of my favorite early teen movies, My Sweet Charlie.  Not the typical favorite movie, but my oldest sister and I stayed up late, late one night to watch it and she explained to me what was going on in a way I have never forgotten. 

Photo by Patrick Feller, Flickr

I did take the ferry across to Galveston, but I promise I was walking the entire ride over! ;)

Photo by Patrick Feller, Flickr

Galveston is an intriguing mixture of old and new.  The architecture of the old neighborhoods is beautiful.  The Moody Mansion and Gardens, gets rave reviews

Photo by Texasexplorer98 Flickr
And then there is the Bishop's Palace or the Col. Walter Gresham Home.  What an amazing place!

Photo WikiMedia Commons

From there I'm headed inland.  Time for another jaunt to the Space Center!














Monday, May 13, 2013

Welcome to Texas!

Thanks to Michael Hodson of Go See Write, I have this wonderful visual of Why It Is Taking Me So Long To Get Through Texas.  For those of you who did not already know.


Hmm.  Yes.  So grab a copy of James Michener's Texas (at 1344 pages the size of the book is comparable to the size of the state.  They should take you about the same amount of time to get through), and let's get going.  And I'm serious about the book; it's a must-read if you haven't yet.

For the European equivalent, we'll be starting around Vienna and going through Munich, Stuttgart, Luxembourg, and then following the France-Belgium border up to around Lille.  Or if you prefer, Galveston, NASA, Sugar Land, Attwater Prairie Chicken National Wildlife Refuge (I could not resist!), La Grange, The Luecke Trees (more about that later), South Austin and McKinney Falls State Park, Enchanted Rock State Park, Menard and Mission San Saba, Monahans Sand Hills State Park, and Kermit (again, I could not resist!), before moving on to Carlsbad Caverns.  Whew!  Tired yet??

Here's a teaser from the Galveston area.

 
Flock of Seagulls at Galveston Beach Wikimedia







Saturday, May 11, 2013

A Quick Look at the Bayous...

traveltips.usatoday.com






For those of you who are just joining us, a quick explanation.  My trip is a virtual trip.  In reality, I am still in Alabama.  I have not been to Texas since my brother's wedding almost 27 years ago, so I am dependent on the web to find my pictures.  All pictures featured here were found using Creative Commons and are available for use as long as I give credit.  That's why each picture has a caption with the place and the name, or pseudonym as the case may be.  I am impressed by the work of these photographers and am grateful for their generosity with their work!  So here are the pictures of my "trip" through the Lousiana Bayous.






Egret over Bayou: Alicia Lee 2007

Lowrider: JCWinkler




White Faced Ibis: Dan Pancamo 2011

Ancient Tree in Bayou: roycope219

Attwater's Prairie Chicken: USFWS

Beaver Dam In Cypress: finchlake2000 2011

Bayou Teche: jcwinkler

Bayou Home: Rennett Stowe

And finally, this one.  There's a story behind this one and why I have included it.  I'll tell you about it next time!


Washburn Tunnel Under the Houston Shipping Chanel

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Louisiana Bayous

Twenty-seven years ago I drove from Gainesville, Georgia to Houston, Texas.  My brother is still a little unhappy with me for doing that by myself.

I chose the scenic route once I left Jackson, Mississippi.  I can not remember if I took the Interstate to Louisiana or not, but once I got down around New Orleans I got on US 90 and headed west.  I drove past many of the places I have mentioned on here.  It was a hot July day, and the bayous were cool and inviting.  I enjoy bridges and there were many of them.  As I drove along and over the bridges I was peering left and right.  To the right were the deep, cool woods and the waters of the bayous.  I imagined what animals I would find in among the plants and waters; some friendly and some not so much.  I hate snakes!  To the left were the salt water marshes and the gulf.  Yes, I know that US 90 is further inland than that, but compared to where I was currently living (Gainesville, Georgia), this was practically beachfront!  I was sure that I could smell and feel the beach. 

I was traveling on my own, blessed with a love of travel and adventure, a very active imagination, and a deep love of the water.  This was one of my Laura Ingalls Wilder moments.

As I have walked through Louisiana in my imagination these twenty-seven years later, some of the sights and smells and sounds have come back to me, along with the feel of the cool breeze through the open car window.  The memories are not quite as vivid as I wish they were.  Yet in my mind this has been the opportunity to do the on-foot exploration I day-dreamed about as I drove along.  Thanks to the internet, I can find many pictures and word-pictures of that area.  If I wanted I could probably even find videos that other adventurous spirits have made as they traveled along this path. 

I thought about searching for some public-domain pictures to post up here to chronicle the adventure.  I probably will before the week is over.  For now, however, I hope that you can just take a minute to close your eyes and use your imagination to find the deep, dark, cool bayous of Louisiana.  Experience the sound of a great blue heron taking flight, the cry of a hawk, the plop of a 'gator sliding into the water, the cool damp feel of the breeze coming from the dark, dank water holes, and the fleeting sight of a bayou bobcat.  Take a few minutes and dream.  Join me on my walk!

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Am I Still Walking?  You Betcha!


You might be wondering what in the world happened to Virginia over the past ten months.  It has been a challenging year, but I have (kind of) kept up with the walking.  Fall of 2012 brought some big changes in my ability to walk and swim and those changes have slowed me down quite a bit.  In January I was so disgusted with my lack of ability that I just quit wearing my pedometer.  
In the past few weeks I have been reminded that if the trip of a lifetime takes a lifetime, that is OK.  
In April I put the pedometer back on.  This week I replaced the battery after realizing that there was a problem (I'm a slow study!).  I am back to walking and logging.  I won't make the kind of progress I was making a year ago, but again, that's OK.  The point is that I am moving and that movement is taking me toward my goal of reaching New Zealand.  

I'll spend some time this next week or so telling you about some of the places I have visited.  For now I'll simply let you know that I am just northwest of Menard, Texas.  I think I mentioned in my last post that Texas is a BIG state.  The road sign on I-10 shortly after you enter the state tells you that El Paso is a mere 850 or so miles away.  It'll be another week or two (or three or four!) before I hit New Mexico!


                                                      


Friday, June 29, 2012

Photo-Op!

We did finally make it through New Orleans.  One of the first things we did was walk around Lake Ponchartrain at Sunset.  Beautiful, isn't it?

Lake Pontchartrain!
The next morning we had to hit Cafe' Du Monde for beignets and coffee.  The nice thing about making this a virtual trip is that the beinets have absolutely NO calories whatsoever! :)  We had a dozen each.

Beignets and Coffee at the Cafe' Du Monde

 That afternoon after wandering through the French Quarter we found the Columns Hotel which houses Albertine's Tea Room.  I think that I went to Albertine's many years ago with my mother and Grandma.  Nancy and I had a full afternoon tea; just what we needed after that stroll through town.


Albertine's Tea Room
Entrance To Albertine's Tea Room


We left New Orleans and traveled due west, passing through Hahnville.  It's a rather small little community not too far out of the big town.  Here's the old Homeplace Plantation.  It was a fascinating house to wander through. 

File:Homeplace Plantation, River Road, Hahnville (St. Charles Parish, Louisiana).jpg
Homeplace Plantation, Hahnville, Louisiana


Leaving Hahnville, we came to Lake des Allemandes.  The history of that area is interesting.  Believe it or not, even with that French/German name combination, it was settled by a Scot!  We flew Dan out to pipe for us at sunset that day.

Lac des Allemands
Lac des Allemandes, Louisiana






By the end of last week, we had totaled 364 miles.  That put us right at Convent, Louisiana on the Mississippi River where we saw this. 

Manresa Retreat, Convent, Louisiana



It is a Jesuit retreat (meaning no women allowed) but again the benefits of a virtual tour kicked in and we had a lovely time wandering through the gardens and admiring the art and architecture of all the buildings.  The monks got in a bit of a snit with us being there, so they left and we had the whole place to ourselves.

We have left Convent behind and are on our way to Texas.  It will take a little while to get there, and it will take even longer to get through.  I remember the first (and only) time I drove to Houston.  I made the trip solo from Gainesville, Georgia.  When I got to the border I glanced at my odometer and discovered that I had driven 600+ miles.  Then I looked at the sign and discovered that the other end of Texas (El Paso) was another 800 miles away!

Here is the link to the map we are using.  You can zoom in to see more detail.  New Iberia and Lake Charles, coming up!