Day 78 - San Antonio, Texas, USA

Day 78 – 25th August 2005 -6:00 GMT

Walked into the centre of San Antonio and visited the Market Square.


Market Square 


Main Plaza 

Then walked over to the site of The Alamo where Travis held the fort for the 13 day siege before the Mexicans over threw them. We first look around the main building then around the gardens which used to be part of the barracks. There is now two museum’s on site with belongings of Travis and Davy Crockett. It was very good and free to get into.


Me outside The Alamo 


Back of The Alamo 


Inside The Alamo Barracks 

We then thought we would get out the heat and wandered around the Rivercenter Mall which is a huge four storey shopping centre. We ate here and then went to the cinema and watched the Wedding Crashers which was hilarious .


The River Center Shopping Mall 

We then went on a boat ride around the river which took about 40 minutes and was brilliantly narrated.


The Riverwalk 


The Riverwalk 


A Tree Growing Out Of A Wall 

Next we walked around La Villita which is the oldest part of San Antonio and then onto Hemisfair Park. We then headed back to the hotel for the night. We got pizza and collapsed on the sofa for the night.


La Villita 


La Villita Square 


A View of San Antonio 

Day 77 - Houston - San Antonio, Texas, USA

Day 77 – 24th August 2005 -6:00 GMT Total Miles 13413

Got up early to phone my sister and wish her a Happy Birthday, but had no credit on any of our phone cards and nowhere near by to buy one. (Found out she was not at home anyway) So Happy Birthday Lucy… We left the hotel at 11am and drove into the centre of Houston.


Downtown Houston 


A Church in Houston 

Walked around the Historic District and over to the Minute Maid Park, home of the Houston Astro’s.


Home of Houston Astro's 


Houston 

We went to the Houston Centre shopping mall for lunch. We then drove onto San Antonio and found a good Best Western hotel only a few minutes walk from the city centre. It is presently 105 F so very hot even for a short walk. We walked into the centre of San Antonio and they have an area called Riverwalk which is lovely with the river running round in a circle with boats going up and down and restaurants and bars on either side.


The Riverwalk, San Antonio 

We walked all the way around the Riverwalk then stopped at a British bar as it sold loads of Vegan food for Jill, they got her order wrong twice the first time serving her the finest beef chili. We then took a stroll back to the hotel.


The Riverwalk 

Day 76 - Houston, Texas, USA

Day 76 – 23rd August 2005 -6:00 GMT

Got up early and crossed the road to visit Johnson Space Centre, the training and technical area of NASA. We first went on a tram ride that lasted 90 minutes and took us around the grounds of the space facility, passing the buildings that develop the food and buildings that house all the moon rocks etc. We then stopped at Historic Mission Control, where we sat in the seats previously occupied by all the presidents, the Queen on England and every celebrity you can name. Here we saw the original Mission Control Room that launched and landed all the Apollo spacecraft and many more.


Original Mission Control 

We then stopped at the Mock-up room that has all the full size mock-ups of all the space craft and the International Space Station for the astronauts to train on.


The Mock-Up Room 

We then headed back inside the main building and watched a short film called Blast Off which was a close view of a rocket launch, I think the Video was of launch STS-111 which Jill and I had watch launch live from Cape Canaveral a few years earlier. We then got shown a few live video feeds from the training pool where the astronauts feel simulate space walks.


Inside The Shuttle 


A Model of the Shuttle 

After this we saw a film presentation called “On Human Destiny” which showed man’s exploration of space and then we saw a museum of a collection of moon rocks and mock-up spacecraft.


Moon Walk 


A Moon Buggy 

Then we visited the IMAX theatre where we watched two films the first being “Inside the Space Station” which was 50 minutes and showed the life on the International Space Station, the second film was “To Be An Astronaut” and showed what it took to be chosen and train to be an Astronaut. The Space Centre then closed at 5pm, everything seems to close so early in the US.


Inside the International Space Station 


A Space Suit 

We went back to the hotel and did out washing, then drove out to Kemah which was a few miles away, this is a large boardwalk with a fairground at one end and lots of shops and restaurants at the other, after a walk around we stopped at a Mexican restaurant called “Cadillac” the food was good. We then headed back to the hotel for the night.