We spent this past Labor Day weekend down on the shores of Lake Conroe with [Mom McMains->] and [Chris->]. It was a great little getaway, combining lots of relaxing with a hike through the nearby Sam Houston National Forest, picnics, lots of good conversation, some swimming, several games of Carcassonne, a good bit of reading, and ultimately a visit to Space Center Houston. (Chris had unfortunately departed before the last stop to go pick up [Becky->], who was regrettably unable to join in the frivolity.)

While the whole trip was a treat, Space Center was definitely a highlight for me. We filed into the Mission Control room that had been used for decades while a septuagenarian narrator, who doubtless remembered it himself, described the moon landing. I went momentarily teary-eyed as he intoned “Houston, Tranquility Base here, the Eagle has landed.” Standing in the shadow of a massive Saturn V rocket was also a treat — it’s amazing how much vehicle and fuel it took to get that tiny little Apollo capsule where it was going. We also poked into a shuttle command cabin, saw the training facilities astronauts use, and heard about the Orion Crew Vehicles that will eventually replace the shuttle.

Houston, however, remains as hot, humid, and traffic-choked as ever. Liam enjoyed the Space Center so much that, upon noticing that season tickets would only cost an additional $2.00, asked if we could move down to Houston to take advantage of that. My response was so vehemently negative as to be nearly inappropriate for a family-friendly publication like this weblog.