Gin?...But Not With Tonic!

I am writing this final post while we are cruising at 36,000 feet on our way to London Heathrow.  Yes we are sitting in very comfy business class seats and yes, we are drinking a lovely glass of champagne each.  I will say nothing else about the flight other than we always remind ourselves how fortunate we truly are.

I had said in a previous post that driving down the backest of back roads in America, you often come across something both unusual and very interesting and guess what?  That's exactly what happened to us today.

We were making our way across country from Houston to Austin - it was enjoyable to get off the busy Texan Interstates - when Linda suddenly noticed a sign saying Texas Cotton Gin Museum!  Having seen and subsequently read about the extensive cotton growing industry in Texas we had seen lots of buildings with cotton gin written on them but never really understood what it meant.  Today we found out in the tiny community of Burton, Texas.

The Gin referred to is actually a shortened version of engine, a machine invented and brought into production in 1794 by a certain Eli Whitney which was used for removing seeds from the cotton fibre.  I could go into great detail and bore you all to death but we learnt so much in the half hour we spent in the museum with our own personal guide.

For the budding engineers the actual gin in Burton was installed in 1914 and is still in working order albeit only once a year for a festival held in April.  They are very proud of their heritage although the success of this gin actually led to a dramatic increase in slavery in the American South as demand for cotton exploded.  Ask me about cotton next time we meet!!

The final thing I wanted to do on the way to the airport was revisit the Circuit of the Americas on this beautiful sunny day.  Very different from when we were there just over a week ago.  We were able to get close by driving through this amazing venue but actually we weren't supposed to do this as massive work was still underway dismantling all the F1 paraphernalia.  Weather like today would have perhaps made it a more enjoyable experience on race day but the race wouldn't have been anywhere near as exciting.  Catch 22?

And so another jaunt around America comes to an end.  It continues to fascinate us endlessly and has further cemented our love affair with the place and its people.

I hope that in the words of that great playwright, Ernie Wise, that you have enjoyed, "some of what I wrote?"  If not, my humble apologies if it is at all possible for me to be humble?

Until the next time, I sign off.

Oh, I am going to Dubai next week to work on Europe's top golf tournament so the next blog might be sooner than you think!!!!!😀😀😀😀😀😀

Space......The Final Frontier

Time is rolling on and our holiday comes to an end tomorrow so we thought that we would finish it on a high.  How high?  Well into orbit and beyond with a visit to the Lyndon B Johnson Space Centre, commonly know as the home of NASA.  This is specifically where human flight training, research and flight control are based.  It had been very much on our radar in 2001 but we were unable to do a full tour because after 9/11 many parts of it were closed to the public, not to reopen for some considerable time.

The best part of the visit here is the Tram Tour which takes you around the whole site stopping off at specific areas of interest.  The two that stick out are the visit to actual Mission Control and the opportunity to stand alongside a Saturn V rocket.

Mission Control, photos of which you see below, is currently concentrating activity on the planned Orion Mars mission in 2030.  However this place is shortly to take over as Control Centre for the International Space Station which today celebrated 15 years of occupation by astronauts.  They were broadcasting to the world while we were there and what was even more cool was that the son of one of the astronauts was actually visiting the Space Centre today with his junior school.  Wow!  Must be something else when you can say "my dad's an astronaut and he's currently on the International Space Station."  Beats saying, "my dad's a banker!"

As for the Saturn V rocket, well it is staggering in its size and scale.  No less than 363 feet tall - that's 58 feet taller than the Statue of Liberty - and weighing 2,950 metric tons. Probably what many people don't know is that it was developed thanks to the input of a number of German rocket engineers, the most famous being Werner Von Braun, specifically for the Apollo programme which saw men land on the moon.

We were lucky today on a number of counts - the weather was beautiful and sunny and the Space Centre was very quiet so we pretty much had free rein of the place.  It isn't a cheap place to visit and many people think it is more like an amusement park.  For me it is worth every cent to see the above displays alone.

We left NASA and headed to Kemah, a coastal town famed for its boardwalk, to enjoy lunch outdoors sitting by the sea.  What better to eat than beer battered fish and chips all washed down with a chilled glass of Sav Blanc.  A delightful way to spend part of our last day.

And so we are back in our hotel, getting ready to pack and travel North to Austin in the morning for our flight home at 1820 tomorrow evening.  Happily we are already checked into comfy seats for our flight home but there are some concerns about the fog you have there at the moment.

Will probably do one final update before we depart American soil tomorrow.

Armageddon? It's Much Worse Than That!

We were delighted to see Sarah and the crew of her flight arrive safely at the hotel on Friday night, particularly so as we had heard the reports of terrible weather affecting both San Antonio and Austin, cities that lie not that far North of Houston.

During Friday, Austin received no less than 16" of rain and that was on top of the 8" that it had received while we were there for the American Grand Prix.  Over half of its annual rainfall fell in just two days?  Incredible.  That wasn't the end of it though as they were also struck by a tornado which was sufficiently strong enough to lift a huge fifth wheel caravan trailer onto the roof of a three storey Holiday Inn Express!!  The photo of this is attached.

Unfortunately, the weather that had been brewing in Houston all day broke late evening when the heavens opened providing a deluge.  We watched from our safe and cosy hotel room as the traffic on the Katy Freeway tried to cope with what was coming out of the sky.

At 2am when both Linda and I were fast asleep we were woken by the sound of my iPhone emitting what can only be described as a high pitched siren for 5 seconds.  In a daze we didn't know what this was but when it happened again during the night, we then realised that it was a flash flooding warning!!!  Everybody with an iPhone in the hotel had been woken by the same alarm and message.  Very clever but very scary when you are in a deep sleep.

We determined that being on the 5th floor, we were pretty safe from the danger of flooding although the amount of water that we watched falling relentlessly outside did make me wonder if in the morning we would find our hire car had floated away?

When we did wake it was still to heavy rain but also to news of some of the tragedies that had taken place - at least 6 people killed, 2 of these occurring in Houston.  Tornado and flash flood watches were still in place.

We have never experienced anything like this on any of our numerous visits to America and it has been a salutary lesson in the power of nature, particular during this appropriately named hurricane season which ends in November.  With all the travelling we have done, we consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have avoided being caught up in any of the widespread problems in Texas.

Tomorrow looks a brighter day.

Galveston, Oh Galveston

I have had a habit in past blogs to use the titles of songs for some posts but stopped doing this for reasons of causing boredom and nausea to anybody reading my output.  However, following a visit yesterday to Galveston, I was left with no option but to use the title from a very famous Glen Campbell song released in 1969 and considered to be one of the best country music tracks ever released.  It is particularly relevant in this case because the song is the official anthem of both the City and Island of Galveston.

The forecast wasn't great yesterday - more on the weather in another post - so we decided to head 60 miles South in the hope that we might avoid the worst of what was to come.  It proved a fortuitous move.

Galveston's major growth came in the 19th century when it became one of the largest ports in the United States.  Unfortunately, in 1900, it received a direct hit from the deadliest hurricane ever to hit this nation which caused the deaths of up to 8000 residents.  It proved a major blow from which the area took a long time to recover.

Today it has become a popular tourist destination accounting for over 5 million visitors per annum, many of whom take advantage of the island's location as a centre for Carribean cruises.  Its maritime history has enabled it to retain deep water facilities and the largest cruise ships in the world are able to dock here.

When we were there yesterday, it looked particularly unappealing as a holiday destination!  The skies were grey and stormy and the sea instead of cobalt blue looked more like the type you get in Scarborough on a cold Winter's day.

There is a historic centre to visit within the city, some of the attached photos are of this area, but we didn't find it particularly inspiring.  More so when we couldn't even find a cafe to grab our morning fix of caffeine and cake!

The most fascinating thing that we came across and paid the entrance fee to tour, was the Bishop's Palace.  It's a truly magnificent building both internally and externally although we continue to find it amusing that a building completed in the very late 1800s can have such historic value here?  Sarah's first home in Skipton was older than this but after we had completed its renovation, we never once considered opening it to the public!  Perhaps we missed a trick?

Sunshine would perhaps have improved our impressions of Galveston but that was in short supply yesterday and as we drove back up towards Houston, the skies started to darken ominously!

If you want to know more about what occurred later that day and during the night, you will have to read the next post.

The Good, the Bad and the Darn Right Ugly!

Today, we have moved 300 miles down to Houston in preparation to meet up with Sarah who is operating out here tomorrow and also in anticipation of either flying home with her on Sunday or at worse, getting a flight home on Monday?

Well I can report that neither of those events are going to occur because the flights back to the UK over the next few days are totally chokker - is it the end of half term I ask myself? - but after a little bit of research and some help from Sarah, a solution to get us home and hopefully benefit from another comfy seat has been found.  We are flying back from Austin on Tuesday, thereby having to prolong our holiday by an extra day! Oh the trials and tribulations and the penalty of having to spend an extra day in the sunshine - I can feel the collective wave of sympathy coming through when you read this post.

The only real complication is that I have to return our current Alamo hire car to Houston Airport on Monday evening, hire another car from Hertz at the same location and then drive the 160 miles up to Austin on Tuesday morning.

Why swap hire companies?  Because Alamo charge $100 for dropping off the car at a different airport whereas Hertz charge nothing.  Am I feeling even more sympathy coming through??  No, probably not!

Anyway the title of today's post is nothing to do with the above tale but more a comment about this amazing country.  As many of you know, Linda and I have crossed the pond to America on very many occasions.  We truly love the place and the people we have come into contact with over those years but every time we do visit, we find ourselves reflecting on the positives and the negatives of the place and so on this low news day, I thought I would provide a little food for thought.

Food??  The biggest problem confronting this nation and the horrendous obesity crisis that appears to be overwhelming it!  Everywhere you look, the evidence is clear to see and it isn't just adults.  This is a fast food society.  Gigantic proportions containing who knows what, creating gigantic people.  We have a similar problem in the UK but in no way do we compare to the propensity of fast food establishments  here.

Did you know the average American consumes 3,770 calories per day?  They drink 600 sodas per year ( that's what endless free refills does for you). They eat some of the 100 acres of pizza that is made every day and tuck away some of the 161 million chickens killed every week.  Oh and whilst they are consuming gargantuan takeaways, on average they watch 28 hours of tv weekly!  Climate change?  This is the least of the worries they have here.

And yet, we love being here.  It's an amazing nation with the most stunning things to see and to discover around every corner.  I'll never forget on one trip rolling into a town called Paducah.  It's in Kentucky.  It was there, completely by accident, that we came across The National Quilt Museum.  It was fascinating, amazing and I would recommend anyone to visit if ever in Kentucky.  America is just full of surprises like this.

The one thing that this trip has reaffirmed is the genuine warmth and friendliness of the American people.  The Texans with whom we have come into contact over the past two weeks have been a joy and have contributed to a wonderful road trip.

It isn't over yet but we are on the slippery slope to coming home.

The only photos tonight are of the view out of our hotel window showing the 8 lanes - 16 if you take in both sides - of the Katy Freeway.  It looks a lot worse from here than when you are in the middle of those 8 lanes!

One final thing to leave you with is the price of fuel here, something the Americans are bleating about big style. Their gallon is smaller but I have done the maths and they are in comparison paying just £1.50 to our £4.99!! No wonder they scream with shock when every time I fill up, I tell them we are paying nearly $8!  It's become a bit of a party trick.

So Who Really Shot JFK??

Conspiracy theories abound regarding the assassination of John Fitzgerald Kennedy on 23rd November 1963 and yet, 52 years on, the only thing that is certain is that he died that day outside the Texas School Book Depository in Dallas, from gunshot wounds to the head and neck.
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza provides a very detailed look at the events of that day and beyond.  It doesn't shy away from conspiracy theories but does allow visitors to understand the impact of this President's first years in office and the devastating effect that his death had on the world.
Today when we visited the museum, it was packed with visitors, some of whom I watched cry as they viewed footage of the President's funeral.  It's hard not to be moved when you see his three year old son salute, as his father's coffin passes by.
JFK did leave a legacy from his short time in office but one is left to wonder exactly what that legacy would have been had he served a full two terms?  We will never know but if you ever get chance to visit Dallas, don't miss the opportunity to take in this museum.
Dallas was bathed in glorious sunshine today and so we were able to stroll around some of the main sites in the Downtown area - Dealey Plaza and the Grassy Knoll, the Kennedy Memorial, the Old Red Museum and for us, one of the most impressive items, Pioneer Plaza which sits on the site of a former railroad and warehouse.
Why impressive?  Well because it contains one of the most amazing and impressive sculptures that you could ever see.  In fact it is said to be the largest of its type in the world.  The sculpture commemorates the 19th Century cattle drives that took place along the Shawnee and Chisholm Trails and comprises 49 steers and 3 trail riders.  All are life sized.  Simply stunning but I am not sure that my photos can truly do it justice.
Our final port of call today was Waxahache, "one of the most beautiful towns in Texas."  Sitting in its historic centre with a cold beer and the sun shining, we found it hard to disagree with this description.
Moving day again tomorrow as we hit the road for Houston to meet up with Sarah on Friday.

A Moo.......ving Tale About Cattle, Sheep and Hogs!

Sometimes coming up with a title for the daily post is the most difficult thing of all and so today I am opening it up to the readers and offering a bottle of wine for the winning entry.  How an earth can you come up with a title reflecting a visit to a historic stock yard?

Yep folks (I'm sounding and acting more like a cowboy everyday) we have spent the whole of today at the Fort Worth Stock Yards and fascinating it has been.....honest!

This site has become one of the most visited places in Texas for a good reason and although livestock and meat processing are no longer handled here in the flesh, weekly auctions of stock are still held albeit via the Internet.  In fact did you know that the term stock market was actually born here in Fort Worth?

It evolved because of the millions of head of cattle that were driven from the South up the Chisholm Trail to the railheads around Chicago and was the perfect place for cowboys to rest the cattle and restock supplies.  Between 1866 and 1890, the four million cattle trailed through Fort Worth got it the name of "Cowtown".

The major development here came when two meat packing companies, Armour and Swift, were persuaded to build and open processing plants and that proved to be the catalyst for phenomenal growth to follow.  So exponential was the growth that a new city, Niles, grew up around the stock yards and became known as "the richest little city in the world".

We were lucky this morning to benefit from a walking tour guide called Ed who had a classic Texan drawl and a seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of the stock yards. We finished our tour just as a bunch of cowboys were driving a herd of longhorns down the main street - if you ever come to Fort Worth remember to park your car on a side road.  Those darn longhorns don't half make a mess of your paintwork!!

A big disappointment is that they hold a Rodeo in the Grand Coliseum on Main Street twice weekly and we have always wanted to see one of these.  Unfortunately we leave Dallas and Fort Worth on Thursday and the rodeos are held on Friday and Saturday!!  This building incidentally was completed in 88 days back in about 1906 by Quanah Parker who became the richest Comanche in North America.  I could write a whole blog about his story which is absolutely fascinating and stems from him being the child of a kidnapped white woman and a Comanche chief.

It's funny that whenever I'm writing anything about Cowboys, Indians and the Wild West, it makes me think of my dad who was totally enthralled by the subject and I can understand why. 

Anyway the stock yards here declined after the peak year of 1944 but happily somebody in the 1970s who appreciated their historic value resurrected them as a tourist attraction which today sees them attract three million visitors annually.

If y'all ever come to Texas, don't forget to pay them a visit.

Linda's suggestion by the way was Texas Bull.....S**t!  She thought that was very funny but I thought she gets enough wine already and doesn't need anymore!

I look forward to giving the post a title tomorrow.

Bloodshed, Death and Destruction in a Quiet Texan Town!

We were still buzzing this morning after the thrills of yesterday's American Grand Prix and that was just our ears!!  We bought ear plugs for the occasion but never used them and so today paid the price.

That said, it was a small price to pay for such a great day but this morning did remind us that we are no longer spring chickens as we lifted our weary and aching limbs out of bed.  Actually, Linda is even less of a spring chicken today as it is her birthday - happy birthday my love and many more of them.

We had made no decisions as to which direction to take today.  Part of us wanted to rest up in Austin but no, this is a Texan road trip and so a decision was made to head the 200 miles North to Dallas and Fort Worth.  The storms of the previous three days had gone and we opened the curtains to a beautiful sun filled morning, perfect for the trip North.

Pretty much a low news day today with the exception of Waco, a name that will certainly be known to the older readers of this blog but for the younger ones, well, Google will have to rescue you again.

It was the scene of an infamous shootout and 51 day siege in 1993 involving the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh which ultimately led to the deaths of 86 people including the sect leader.  Bizarrely, you can actually visit the site of the compound and be given a guided tour - we passed on this opportunity - and instead chose a great cafe in the centre of the city to enjoy coffee and mixed berry muffins. We have to have a daily fix of good coffee and something to compliment it.

Actually and more recently in May of this year, you may recall that Waco made the news again following a shootout between biker gangs in which 9 members were shot.  Controversy reigns over this because a number of the victims were allegedly shot by the police??  It remains under investigation.

So death and destruction is what Waco appears to be remembered for but on a slightly lighter note, it is home to the largest Baptist University in the world - Baylor - and has no less than 97 Baptist churches to serve the city's small population. Finally there is only one tall building in the city - the Alico. Would have been so much better if it had been the Alicoy!  This was the only one that survived the 1954 tornado that hit the city and is testimony to its steel structure.  See, I told you it was a low news day.

More photos from yesterday plus an odd one from today.

The Sun Didn't Shine But Lewis Did

What a day.  As I sit writing my post at the end of a stunning first visit to a Formula One Grand Prix, I really don't know where to start? This is a strange experience as most of you know, I am rarely lost for words!
I had wondered during the wee small hours whether or not we would actually get to see any racing at all today.  I had looked out of the window three times during the night and on each occasion, the rain was bouncing off the tarmac outside.  It was still doing this when we set off for the Circuit of the Americas at 0830 this morning but had been reassured by the local weather man that by 1100, the rain would stop?  For a city that had received in excess of 6" in the previous 24 hours, this was some prediction.
Everybody had been instructed to take the Express Shuttle out to the circuit from the city centre and so it was that we checked in and five minutes later were boarding one of the iconic yellow school buses for our 25 minute journey.  Very impressed with the efficiency demonstrated by the organisers but sadly, not to be repeated for the return journey!!
Great atmosphere, something that you never get through the pictures on your tv screen and despite the relentless rain, everyone was clearly there to enjoy themselves.
We had had much debate the previous day regarding our planned attire.  Shorts and flip flops?  Jeans and trainers?  Or just go naked??  Warmer attire won the day although the items that proved of most value were our $4 plastic ponchos from Walmart.  Not a fashion statement as the photos reveal but oh boy, we'd have been wet without them.
We found a great viewing position at Turn 19 but stared both enviously and longingly at all the spectators who had brought collapsible chairs.  I did at one point think of pinching a couple of the many that were left empty prior to the start of the race but Linda wouldn't let me!  Instead we spent almost four hours on our feet watching proceedings but at least the rain had stopped as had been predicted.
I don't need to detail anything about the race other than that it was the best of the season, incredibly exciting and that Lewis Hamilton retained his World Championship title.  How could we be so lucky to have chosen Austin as our first F1 experience?
We even got to walk the track and see some of the post race activity in the pit lane.  I could go on and on and on and in fact might return to the topic before the end of the holiday but must finish tonight's post on a slightly more downbeat note.
We were so impressed by our experience with the shuttle service in the morning.  American organisation and efficiency at its best.  How could tonight be so different??
Having been on our feet for virtually the whole of the day and also due to Glastonbury type ground conditions, we decided to skip the Elton John concert and beat a hasty retreat back to the city??  Hasty was not what it turned out to be and we ended up queuing for no less than two and a quarter hours to get a shuttle bus!  By the time we reached the front of the queue, our legs had ceased to operate and we both needed a hoist to get us onto the bus!  The system was ridiculous but we determined not to let ruin what had been a wonderful day.
It is unlikely that either of us will be able to walk in the morning but any suffering yet to come will have been worth it.