A Trip to Texas!
On Friday, August 24, 2007, Diane's family went to Texas. Diane's mom was actually on a business trip, so the rest of the family just tagged along. It was Diane and Alex's first time in Texas. Late in the night, they landed in Austin, Texas and rented a car. Diane's dad drove her family to Houston, where Diane's aunt lived. They arrived there at four in the morning! They ate some things and went to bed for four hours. They got up in the morning at eight, and off they were to NASA!
But before that, they went to the Sea Center. It was free. Diane saw many types of fish, eels, and even sharks! It was really interesting. Since the Sea Center relied on donations to run it, Diane and Alex donated five dollars. In thanks, the Sea Center gave them a beautiful poster.
Next stop, NASA. At NASA it was fun. Diane and Alex played on the playground, rode on a simulator, went on a tram tour, and watched a movie. On the playground there were fake rocket guns to play with, balls to shoot and put into the rocket guns, and fake rockets you can sit in. On the simulator, there was a screen, seats, and poles that you hold. It was like a roller coaster; the screen showed what you would see in front of you in a real roller coaster, and the seats would move around the way it would in a real roller coaster. On the tram tour, they saw rockets, the place that astronauts get trained, and the Control Center. In the movie there was a rocket named Culumbia that went into space to fix a satellite. When it was going down back to earth, it exploded. Another rocket called Challenger exploded when it was going up. Going to space is dangerous. There were many other activities in NASA.
It was almost time for dinner, so they drove to a restaurant called Saltwater. It was near the beach, so they played at the beach for awhile. The tide was getting higher, so they went to the restaurant for a seat. They had to wait for 30 minutes though. “Cool look! There's a horse pulling a coach!” Diane said. So they decided to ride the horse. It was fun, and after going around the area for awhile, they were dropped off in front of the Saltwater restaurant. A table was already ready for them. It was a great meal. It was a great day.
The next day, they were off to Austin! Diane's family went to her parent's old friend's house. They had lunch and then went to their hotel: Hilton Gardens. After checking in and putting everything in the hotel, they went to Diane's dad's old teacher's house. It was actually his university teacher. They had dinner there, and afterwards, went back to their hotel.
It was Monday, their last full day to play. Diane's mom went to “work” already, and there was only Diane, Alex, and their dad at the hotel. They decided to eat breakfast at Krispy Kreme doughnut store. Then they went to the capital building. They learned how the system worked and many other things. Then they went to a Visitor's Center and bought some souvenirs. It was lunch time, and Diane's dad decided to see his university: University of Texas (UT).
They were really hungry, so they ate lunch first. Then they explored the place. It was tons of walking. They went to the Lindon B. Johnson Library and Museum. It was actually his birthday that day! Lindon Johnson was the president after John F. Kennedy was assassinated. There was a lot of construction around the place. They also saw the old places that Diane's dad lived at before. That was pretty much what they did on Monday, August 27, 2007.
Tuesday was their last day. Diane's mom went to “work” again and the rest of the family decided to go to the place where Diane's dad used to go get supplies and other things. Diane and Alex got many souvenirs. They decided to buy a binder with “TEXAS” on it and put pictures in it too. It was almost time to go, so they picked up Diane's mom. They packed up everything...and off to Home Sweet Home!
