Oh what fun! Love riding ferries to cross the channels. The ferry workers were so kind and funny…read more Even got some roses, compliments of the Harris County Ferry TRA, Lynchburg Ferry!! Hats off! You guys rock!!!

We were guided onto and off the ferry with clear instructions. The longest wait time was about 10…read moreminutes in line. The trip across the Channel is about 5 minutes. It's a good chance for a glimpse of maritime cargo traffic.

With my dad being a well known barber in the Southbelt community, lots of cool interesting people…read morecome into his shop. This particularly moment, my dad's friend, who works for NASA invited my dad and his family on a tour through NASA, an area that isn't open to the general public. So right there, I knew this experience would be memorable and well worth it. Truly, this has been one of the best top experiences: my dad's friend was so knowledgeable about the whole tour. However, before we got to tour we had to put on special badges according to the guards to make sure other personnel know that we were going to look around. I learned a lot about NASA with all the shuttles, that they actually build some of the things in the facility, sometimes engineering students work in the lab and build robots, all the controls in the shuttles and how space life is. We even had the opportunity to tour and walk through a few of the shuttles which was super cool.

The Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) is an astronaut training facility located at the Sonny Carter…read moreTraining Facility near NASA's Johnson Space Center. The NBL consists of a large indoor pool of water (40 feet deep, 202 feet long, and 102 feet wide. In other words, this is a big ass pool, of which I recently spent parts of 2 days learning boat- and helicopter-related survival training. And yes, I can honestly say that I trained with (or at least near) the astronauts! We also had the chance (via a special visor) to see 2 astronauts perform simulated task in preparation for upcoming missions. Deep down in the pool are full-sized mock-ups of the International Space Station (ISS) modules and payloads, and visiting vehicles from other National programs. The principle of neutral buoyancy is used to simulate the weightless environment of space. What we say was the astronauts (in 300# space suits) lowered and raised in and out of the pool using an overhead crane. Once in the water, the suited astronauts are weighted in the water by support divers so that they experience minimal buoyant force and minimal rotational moment about their center of mass. Multiple divers surround the astronauts during their entire training exercise. It was a very cool thing to watch and appreciate. Postscript - Who was Sonny Carter? M. L. "Sonny" Carter, was instrumental in developing many of the current space-walking techniques used by the astronauts. Carter was selected into the astronaut program in 1984 and flew into space STS-33 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. He was training as a crew member aboard STS-42 when on April 5, 1991, he died in a commuter plane crash near New Brunswick, Georgia. Before he became an astronaut, Carter was a Navy doctor and aviator, and a soccer player for the North American Soccer league.

Very worth time spent there, you will not regret the time spent there and pictures do not do it…read morejustice

super cool looking light just off the coastal road headed toward Galveston. it's somebody's private…read moreproperty so unless you know them just admire it from a respectful distance and move along :-) this rendition was put up in1872 - the original and storied iron structure from 1852 was rendered in its entirety during the war of northern aggression - and decommissioned some sixty-one years later. the light did what lights do, directing travelers to safe passage. lighting these things well is pretty important and there'd been a few issues in this regard over the years. the last (and best?) lens and reflector are currently in DC at the Smithsonian. Man, I Love Fresnels

A neat little-known historical site in Pasadena. This is the location of a bridge that once…read morecrossed The Ship Channel (Buffalo Bayou), that was destroyed in 1836 by military and believed to have led to the capture of Santa Ana, later that day. All that is present now is a monument surrounded by bollards. The current bridge is concrete probably built in the 1960s.

Houston has some truly hidden gems and the Gragg Building is one of them. A unique and historic…read morebuilding in Houston, I was lucky enough to go on a tour of the building led by the Houston Parks and Recreation director, Joe Turner. This 1950's, Frank Lloyd Wright inspired building was the original Houston headquarters for NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) prior to the building of NASA Clear Lake. In 1976, the building (originally the Farnsworth & Chambers building) was purchased by the city of Houston and the surrounding land was purchased by Gragg family to create a city park. The building has served as the Houston Parks and Recreation Department's main headquarters since 1977. In 2007, the building underwent a $16 million dollar renovation designed to preserve the historic aspect of the building while modernizing it for future use. The building is now a LEED Gold certified building. The building is also recognized on local, state, and national historic registry sites. All of that history can convey how beautiful this building is. As I drove up to the building (knowing nothing about it), I noticed the low flat roof and Wright inspired design. Walking in, the beautiful original green stone is visible everywhere. Inside the building there are three very prominent features. First, the green floor. Wow! The floor is incredibly shiny and incredibly green. I love it! Second, the original wood paneling is everywhere. The wood paneling was taken down, refurbished, and put back but in better placement throughout the building. And third, the natural lighting and windows. Everywhere you look is natural light and you can see through windows into the interior courtyard as well as outside. The building did not originally have so much natural light, but when the building was being renovated and large amount of asbestos were found, the building was completely gutted and the architects made the decision to add natural light to the plan. I love this building and I'm not an architecture nerd at all. The designers thought of so many beautiful small touches. There are no lights in the ceilings, as everything is lit either by natural light or by upward facing recessed lights to conceal the actual light fixtures. The furniture matches the building, with many modern interpretations and recreations of mid century modern furnishings. The halls are long and bare allowing the structure to speak for itself. The grounds and interior spaces have large beautiful pieces of art. The director told us that the art was mostly taken from the storerooms of the Houston Public Library. The pieces have one thing in common, their names have to do with nature. There is one large commissioned piece outside the cafeteria by James Surls. The piece is reminiscent of "Point of View" which can be found in Market Square Park in downtown Houston. The offices are open and light. The conference rooms are each named after a signature park in Houston. The largest conference table in the main meeting room is the original NASA era conference table. The day we toured, there was a Hurricane preparedness meeting going on where several people were sitting around the same table that John Glenn, Alan Shepard, and Gus Grissom sat. Even John F Kennedy Jr spent time in the building before heading to Rice University to give his famous speech. The building doesn't forget its history. There is a large NASA sign in the front lobby along with photos from the era. The original building sign is still there, just covered with the Houston Parks and Rec sign now. There is a poster in the lobby that is signed by the final four crew members from the shuttle program, and the poster actually went into space with them. The building just screams "mid century modern". I want to call the producers of Mad Men and tell them they need to shoot some scenes here. It was an immense treat to have Joe Turner be our tour guide. His love for the building was apparent and he had a story about every hallway, design aspect, and conference room. What a treat it must be to work in such a beautiful building filled with art. The building is located in Gragg Park, at South Wayside and Wheeler. This area was once the center of Houston's growth. The building is not open to the public, so if you are lucky enough to get a tour, go! Information about the exquisitely done design and renovation can be found here: http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/ourparks/graggpark.html

What an amazing building. There is nothing I can say about this place that Melissa M. didn't…read morealready. Why a 4 not a 5... there are more impressive buildings out there!

While the entire facility is called Bay Street Park, this marker points out when it was just Anchor…read morePark which in turn was previously something else. The marker has been well exposed to the elements as it stands next to the harbor and has survived storms and winds and much more. The marker reads, "Dedicated in 1962 the site now called Anchor Park was the original idea of Charles Lowry, brother of long time Mayor Emmett F. Lowrey. After locating the anchor from the Grand Camp, Charles had the anchor moved to his shop by L.J. "Junior" Elgin. Former Mayor Jack Godard arranged for the anchor chain, and Emmett placed the forms and poured the concrete. "A formal dedication was held April 16, 1962 by Chamber President Stan Sheppard,Terminal Railway President Bill Wimberly, Mrs. Earl Noble, Rev. A. D. Bird and Charles Lowry. Former Mayer Curtis Trahan presented the anchor, which was accepted by Mayor Walter Holland. ""The presentation will not be for the purpose of awakening long dead and dismal thoughts but as a tribute to a great and growing metropolis with a bright future." (Quote from Dedication Program) This plaque was erected on April 16, 1996 following the removal of the old Holiday Inn in December, 1995 by Mayor Charles T. Doyle and the City Commission." The marker was erected in 1996 by The City of Texas City. Check it out. [Review 861 of 2024 - 616 in Texas - 21891 overall]

We rented the Ballroom for our business event last week. The Ballroom was perfect for our needs and…read morethey can meet all of your A/V requests as well, They have a huge screen, projector, wifi and bluetooth access. There is a full-service kitchen with an icemaker. Rhonda, the Facilities Services Manger was a delight to work with, and she answered all of my questions before the event quickly and clearly. She and her staff were on-site and the event went off like a dream. They had an event before us in the morning and the room was spotless and perfectly set up when we arrived. The team was so kind and helpful, I am thrilled with how everything went. I couldn't have pulled this off without them.

I came here for a meeting for Paws-a-thon event and its place is mostly for venues. Great space for…read moreprivate parties or city meetings. The girl in the front seemed friendly and nice no attitude given and none taken. Huge parking lot on all four sides and I guess it's next to City hall. When you drive out its a sign across the way that says no anyways which I don't know what that really means. So, I usually drive left to go back to the Webster area. Walter Hall park is right down the street also.

This beautiful home belonged to Frank Davison (1855-1935) when he was hired by the Texas City…read moreImprovement Company to be the resident manager. The house was completed in 1897. The house has survived a number of storms and hurricanes but was actually damaged the most by the 1947 chemical explosion. It is open to the public on the first Sunday of most months from 2 PM to 4 PM. That wasn't today, unfortunately. [Review 866 of 2024 - 621 in Texas - 21896 overall]

Very beautiful and interesting little tour. Ladies were friendly, knowledgeable, and interesting…read more The tour included only the one large house but looking forward to seeing the remaining 3 smaller houses when they open for a tour the second Sunday in Dec.( it'll be a holiday type tour). Well worth the price. Thank you.