Houston

View Larger Map

Anna Lee found that the Port Authority of Houston offers free 90-minute boat rides on the M/V Sam Houston so we decided to start our time in Houston with this tour. Near the boat dock, the guest pavilion has a series of mosaic murals showing the history of the area.

This industrial waterway is lined with refineries and scrap collection sites (metal, wall board, chrome).

The latter are designated for shipping to Asia then to return to the US as new products.

Further on, we were treated to watching stacks belching smoke and whatever into the air which made us grateful to the voters of California for defeating an environmental bill sponsored by the ubiquitous Texans Valero and Tesero.

While no one would describe this as a beautiful ride along the river, it was a most interesting experience and one we recommend (especially for the price).

Space Center Houston was our afternoon’s destination. After a nice lunch in Zero G Diner, we got into the slow moving line for the tram ride around the site. Well worth the wait, the ride took us to see places that we only knew from the news and movies.

Our spines tingled as we entered Mission Control Center. There we looked at what had, in the ‘60s, been state-of-the-art work stations with monitor screens and dial telephones (no keyboards or mice). These were the very ones we had seen on television decades ago. We had a bonus opportunity to see Marv LeBlanc (the man in the suit in photo), the original designer of the Center. He was meeting with some BP execs.

Next we visited the Space Vehicle Mock Up Facility where astronauts train and scientists experiment with new designs.

The tram tour ended at the Rocket Center. There we took a long, long, long walk beside one of the last of the Saturn V rockets.

The IMAX movie “The Planets” showed the awesome beauty of the planets while the Houston Symphony Orchestra performed a work by Gustav Holst based upon the Greek gods for whom the planets are named. The word “awesome” is appropriate for this presentation.

Lastly, we saw some real space stuff in the Starship Gallery Artifact Museum including moon rocks, space suits, lots of scientific apparatus, and the interior of SkyLab.

Our next stop was Kemah Island, a combination amusement park, tourist, and restaurant location on Galveston Bay. We gawked at the Boardwalk Bullet, a wooden roller coaster, clattering overhead.

Our Mexican dinner at Cadillac Bar was very good.

Travel is timing and we missed the bloom of azaleas and camellias Bayou Bend, the gardens around the home, now museum, of Ima Hogg. The huge magnolia trees were just opening. Our stop at the Rothco Chapel was also a miss. Our artistic taste does not include 14 foot canvases that are all black and grey like a painted wall. The chapel is for worship and mediation by all faiths and its quiet does invite contemplation.

No day is unfulfilled if lunch is memorable. With several recommendations to attest is quality, we went to Kenny and Ziggy’s for a truly New York deli lunch (actually two lunches with leftovers).

Here we believe Sally would have had a real orgasm. Two older women started talking to us (she is holding her head in the photo). One was the mother of the owner. Her son did well.

Stages Theater had a preview performance of Four Places, a play about the dynamic relationship between aging parents and adult children. The theater is much like B Street Theater at home where we have ushered. The performance was outstanding.

Nice friend and sour lemons

View Larger Map
It takes three days to drive across Texas. Since this is our first (and only A. L. says) time, we did find the scenery interesting. The audio book we are reading is more interesting and makes the miles move faster.

In San Antonio we enjoyed dining with our friend Arnie who we also visited in October (see early entry). The three of us reminisced over dinner. Our delicious meal at Saltgrass was made even better by a wonderful server who skill was exceeded by her intelligence and personality.

About those sour lemons, our jack broke in its down position and we were stuck on Easter Sunday at Walmart in Schertz (a San Antonio suburb). So we made some lemonade. We took a 6K volksmarch (AVA.org) through historic and active Fort Sam Houston.

Many of the buildings date back to the 19th century and are still in use, particularly the old houses for officers. The base commander is housed in the Pershing House which is very beautiful.

Their small museum was open and what the collection lacked in quantity it made up for in quality. For instance, we learned that Sam Houston, a loyal Union supporter, resigned as governor of Texas rather than lead the state into succession in the Civil War. That war will be a recurring topic in this blog as we travel through the South on the 150th anniversary of what they still refer to as the War between the States.

Desert Flowers and Friends

View Larger Map

We drove over the new Hoover Dam bridge to Arizona. Our first miles of Arizona were dull and flat, then we found ourselves in the midst of an undeclared park surrounded by Joshua trees and proud and comical saguaro. The flowers of the ocotillo branches looked like a flock of red birds had landed on their tips. Pear-shaped cacti held aloft purple bouquets. We have been to the Arizona Sonora Desert and this lovely stretch of highway was as good or better. However, whoever designed the road failed to made any rest or view stops so we could take no pictures.

For photos we went to the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix which met all our photo needs and more.

To our surprise we were greeted by another Chihuly sculpture. This was the first of many beautiful items to admire in the garden. Our decision to visit early in the morning was wise as it was getting hot by ten am when we left. We have not been to Arizona in the spring and now know how beautiful it is.

We left Phoenix and took a most enjoyable lunch break with Joe and Bonnie, RV friends with whom we started this lunch conversation last year.

Pesach

As previously mentioned, our purpose in coming to Las Vegas was to celebrate the Passover Seder with our fellow CHAI members. Twenty-five of us, members and family, led by Jay and Donna, followed the traditional Haggadah (passover prayer book) and performed the rituals followed by our people for generations. With prayers and readings we recalled the story of the exodus from Egypt. The tastes of maztoh (unleavened bread), maror (bitter herbs) and charoseth (a sweet mixture of apples, nuts, honey and wine) reminded us of the suffering of our ancestors followed by the joy of freedom.

The center pieces of the table include a plate with commemorative foods, a cup of wine for Elijah, and a plate of matzohs. The covering of this plate was embroidered over a hundred years ago by the grandmother of three of our participants.

Passover is observed for two nights in countries beyond Israel. On both nights we enjoyed a festive meal though the pot luck one was better than the catered one. Nothing like a touch of homemade to add delicious flavor.

CHAI adds its own tradition to our get-together. The men make matzoh brei, a pancake of softened matzoh and eggs. This is one our “soul” foods.

After breakfast we bade farewell and continued on our various journeys.

Vegas Bling

We went with Ellen and Mark to enjoy some of the glitter of Las Vegas and found all we wanted at the Bellagio. We sighted our first Chihuly glass sculpture of the trip adorning the ceiling of the lobby.

The conservatory was ablaze with spring color including an excellent leaf and petal reproduction of Garrowbay Hill.

Best of all was the 3:00 p.m. performance of the Star Spangled Banner combined with a water jets by the fountains of the Bellagio. As is his custom, Jerry added his own final punctuation to the performance with “Play Ball,” because, like a baseball game, this bit of Americana has a patriotic flavor.

Vegas

View Larger Map

Our personal guards showed up to patrol the grounds while we spend the next three months exploring more of this amazing country.

We started by traveling to Las Vegas with friends Ellen and Mark who have left their own coach there at the end of their cross country trip.

Some people questioned our choice of Las Vegas as a start of a tour of the southern states. It wasn’t the call of the casinos but the gathering of CHAI that brought us here. CHAI is a group of Jewish motor home owners and 25 of the members are gathering in Las Vegas for a Passover Seder, a ceremonious and traditional meal celebrating the Jewish exodus from bondage in Egypt. We all met in the social hall of the campground for introductions and to reconnect. Then, to bridge the change of foods for Passover (no eating of leavened products such as bread), we joined for our last chometz (leavened) dinner at a pizza parlor.

With other people responsible for the Seder this evening, we spent the morning with Cheryl and David (no, not that C and D who are in DC but another young couple whose parents lead the CHAI group).

We drove up to Red Rocks Canyon where the weather was comfortable and the crowds absent. The park’s name is no understatement. The colors are beautiful.

We hiked enjoying the last of the spring flowers and the various marking on the stones.

Does anyone know what caused the “freckles” on this boulder?