What A Day At NASA!

Oh my!  We had a terrific day at NASA in Houston!  Anne Roemer, a ‘97 grad of Roanoke a College (Major=International Relations), is the Director Of Human Resources for all Federal employees at the Johnson Space Center.  “Everything I needed to know about HR I learned as an Admissions Tour Guide at Roanoke!”  I MADE THAT UP. SHE DIDN’T REALLY SAY THAT.  But it does beg the question...
Anyway, we had dinner with Anne and her family last night and then met her at 8:15 this morning to begin our “Inside-the-Gate” tour.  First stop was the building housing a full size, actual hardware of the Saturn 5 rocket!  Amazing.  This is a shot of Jen and Paul I front of one of the engines.

Then we went to Mission Control watch the actual live Space Station Mission.  There was a live camera feed from he space station and all kinds of data screens; nothing drastic happening, but to witness the coordinated control of this complex program was humbling.

Then we went to a simulation lab where they have full scale mock-ups of present and future spacecraft.  We went into the space shuttle model and Jen immediately sat down in the command pilot’s seat and invited me to be co-pilot. Some things never change...

While we were in this building, 2 astronauts were on their way to a meeting and they greeted Anne with huge hugs.  We had our picture taken with them.  Both have been on the space station.

Our last stop was in Building 16 where Paul worked as an engineer many years and 2 lifetimes ago.  An engineer named Mike had done some background on me and knew which room my old office was!  Nothing looks the same, but it was kind of full circle to walk that hall again.

Our new best friend, Mike, works on spacecraft avionics.  He took us to a lab where there was another another full scale mock up of the shuttle; with all the systems wire EXACTLY like the real shuttle.  Again, we sat in the pilot’s seats and then marveled at the miles and miles of electrical cables required to make the shuttle work.

What a wonderful visit.  Anne and her husband Wes (who works in the space bio-medical field) gave us the royal treatment.  What a blast!

Now we are just on the edge of Austin, Texas, at a magnificent state park campground.  The sun has set and so must I.  A great day!

Labor Day #2

Day 7, Sunday, Sept. 1st, hot, humid but Sunny🌞.i went for a 2 mile walk on the levee, across the street from our KOA..in Harahan , La., .while Paul fixed bacon ( already cooked... gift from his congregation!) and eggs and toast.  Saw several huge ships along the Mississippi, and big airplanes coming in for a landing right above me! First  real walk in 7 days! 

We left at 10:00a.m. For 10:30  church and barely made it!  But OH MY!  What a wonderful service at my former congregation, St.Paul Lutheran , on the edge of the French Quarter.  ( several blocks of homeless people waking up on the median  ( neutral ground, as they call it in N.O., ) on Franklin Ave. before crossing St. Claude into the Marigny area by the church).   Had NEVER seen that before!  

TERRIFIC  sermon, and music!  ( amazing sounding pipe organ that was played like I haven’t heard in a LONG time! ) And the singing, as always at this church, almost burst the beautiful stained glass windows... that are quickly covered with wooden shutters after each  service.).  An Amazing, Historical, Beautiful church...in same location after more than 175 years! 🙏. It was absolutely wonderful to see and hug and talk to old friends.  It was very emotional for me ...and Paul was very understanding and patient. 🙏🥰

Sunday after church, we headed  out of N.O. On highway 90 into the swamps and rural towns of Louisiana, toward our goal of Houston on Tue., for tour of NASA!  

Huge dark thunderclouds preceded the spotty heavy  rain we encountered as we motored  ( bumped and bounced) along  very poorly kept roads!  Many, many fields of sugar cane  were seen and thanks to google we now know all about this plant!  ( like the “mystery plant”, PEANUTS, in Georgia fields !). There was even a school called Cane View Elementary!😉☺️

O.K... fast foreword past the fields, silos ( which we can’t figure out what they are for), many Family Dollar and Dollar General stores, ginormous farm equipment we passed on narrow 2-lane roads, Klondike, La., and finally turn onto  a country road called “greenhouse” road ( had a green house on it) 😂 then turn into Meyers Landing on huge Lake Arthur.  Really just a large piece of land/fields with giant Oak trees and an old country store , docks  and boat ramps , and hook-ups for RV’s!  I think it was a favorite meeting place for all the Cajuns in the area... fishing, crabbing, boating, pontoons, etc!  Great fun-loving people who met to have a good time!  ( Labor Day Weekend). ( and they sold beer and worms,at the tiny store and played Dominoes at night) .

Our neighbors across the way were “ Squirrel”and “Sugar and their besties, a couple they had known since childhood in their HUGE RV with 4 pullouts and TWO refrigerators and island in kitchen and giant flat screen TV!! AND a pontoon boat they invited us out on, And also to have some deer sausage and beer with them!  Their Cajun accents and tales were a delight to listen to.. we could have talked all night... saw a gorgeous sunset  before rain cancelled all plans!  Only in a campground....in Louisiana... could you experience this! 🤗😳😉  So glad we did!  And all for $28 plus $1.50 for ice!  

PS: we found out from our Cajun friends that those wet fields we thought were flooded sugar cane fields were actually RICE fields. And THAT IS WHAT ALL THOSE  GRAIN SILOS were for!  Who knew we grew rice in Louisiana !? ( and probably sell it to China!)😳🤔😉😘

Labor Day #1

Labor Day Blog

Well there have been a few glitches getting the “story to print”, as they say.   There were some wrong  buttons pushed. ( by “whom” is still under discussion!) Meanwhile my “more concise and non-emoji”  assistant, Paul , filled in for his Editor ( and “ much more windy and descriptive 💃), Jen, who had suffered major mental trauma from the whole debacle!  Now... on with the “news”😉. ( some of it back-tracking a tad!)

Day 5 Friday, August 30, leaving our secluded little National Park Island , we headed toward New Orleans... hoping to hug the Coast on the 2-lane , non interstate, hwy 90.  But commercialism had capitalized on this Mississippi Gulf area, with only a glimpse of what I remember!   And so after a multitude of stop lights and very heavy traffic ... we bit the bullet and headed for the I-10  interstate!  It was exciting finally entering Louisiana ... the swamps, heat, humidity, mosquitoes, ...my home state for NINE years.  First stop after hitting Slidell, La.,.... the MARDI GRAS SUPPLY HOUSE!

Have stopped there many times over the years...they sell to all the Crews for the hundreds of parades.  Fun place!🥳

Friday evening we met my “N.O. Besties” and husbands at Jaegers for a rip roaring time and delicious seafood dinner. (and best onion rings I have ever eaten in my life!). See picture!  So much fun to catch up again!  (Paul has met them all on many occasions ☺️)

Day 6, Sat. , Aug.31, Was a fun Day in the French Quarter, which I do believe was thoroughly covered by my assistant , Paul.  And yes, little Goldie now has not only  Mardi Gras beads, but various souvenirs stashed everywhere!  And I have an adorable pair of colorful blue humming bird earrings 🥰!  ( zoom in on my pix at Maspero’s /after Paul’s beer pix!)

Fort Pickens to New Orleans

We had a wonderful stop at Fort Pickens National Park, on an island just off of Pensacola. No commercial property at all.  See Goldie’s picture below.  Great live oak trees for shade, easy walk to the beach and the ocean water was delightful and we saw a great sunset.

On to New a Orleans to a KOA we have used before.  We met for dinner with 6 of Jen’s closest friends from her time in New Orleans almost 20 years ago.  They all had great memories to share.

Our KOA had a free shuttle into the city to save on the hassle of parking.  We spent many hours today wandering the streets of this great city. Paul had to visit his favorite cigar shop, Jen bought many souvenirs and gifts.  We listened to some street performers, watched the riverboats come and go and ate wonderful Cajun food.  We’re tired tonight.

Tomorrow we will worship at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church - Jen’s former church located just off the French Quarter.  Many more memories to rekindle there.  Pictures below...

Fort Pickens

We passed through Mexico Beach today. That is the town ravaged by Hurricane Michael last October. Still incredible damage evident. Blue tarps and piles of debris.  Lots of rebuilding, but many, many vacant lots.  See this web page of photos 10 months on: https://www.newsherald.com/photogallery/DA/20190828/NEWS/820009984/PH/1
Just thinking about the people in the path of Hurricane Dorian.  They have a long road of recovery after the “Network News” has left for the next big story.

Here we are on a quiet and very tranquil beach.  Swimming in warm water and enjoying the sunset on the Gulf side of Florida. It’s hard to imagine the devastation that is imminent on the east coast of Florida.
Be thankful for shelter tonight and pray for those who will work to help recovery in the coming months.

A LONG AWAITED JOURNEY!

After years of waiting ( due to Paul’s TWO almost-consecutive interim parishes,) AND weeks of planning and preparation, we are now on our THIRD 30-day trip in our little “Goldie” Roadtrek RV!
Our last long trips were in 2013 and 2014!    Thus the weeks of preparation, 3 new tires, (dry rot), removing a bird’s nest and wasp nest , replacing an anode in the hot water heater , flushing all pipes and generally spiffing our “sweet girl” up!  She looks great and we are so happy to be “ on the road again” 🥰
Paul has worked long and hard on planning our route: SOUTHERN coast of US ( we have done the NORTHERN and Middle U.S.)  ...then  toTexas, then North to Boszeman MT to see my son and then to Glacier and then home!  Most all of it on 2-lane highways!  The ONLY way to travel ... and enjoy it!  🏔🚐🏜
I also have worked hard making arrangements for house, 2 dogs, 8 chickens, (several hummingbirds) garden, my mom, who lives locally in assisted living facility, bills, Crock-Pot meal planning,, etc.  IT TAKES A VILLAGE.....

So... as we drove Goldie out of the culdesac and up the hill, to the blaring music of the William Tell Overature ( it’s tradition!) , we both had big smiles on our faces .... and  JOY slowly overtook he ANXIETY AND WORRY  of leaving...feeling PRIDE  in our thorough preparations, 1000’s of lists checked off, A SENSE OF RELIEF in the support systems that would handle things in our absence .....and I know Goldie was GLOWING, too !
Paul commented as we got on the Interstate, “Listen, ......do you hear that?  It is SILENCE! “ (No rattling of loosely packed items, no food boxes flying off shelves, or door swing open to spill contents inside.). We had learned from our past mistakes and were quite smug and happy with our experience and abilities!  (we’ll let you know how that works for us!😉)

Yesterday, day ONE, we had to drive “ interstates” 🤣😞 😏 to get to “ 🎶Pardon Me Boys,....is that the.....CHATTANOOGA  Choo Choo”, TN!!!!  ( after a nice stop in Johnson City, TN, to meet Paul’s sister Judi and husband John, for lunch at Cracker Barrel). Uneventful, except for the rain, boring interstate trip, otherwise. 😳🙄😴
The best part of the trip was smelling the stuffed green peppers , I had gotten up at 5a.m. To make, cooking in the crockpot!
We pulled into our campsite around 4:30pm, set up quickly in the rain ☔️... glitch #1... very minor... Paul’s umbrella broke and he got soaked!  Had our celebratory before dinner drink , ate , and were shortly in bed reading and falling 💤 asleep... before the sun went down..
I was up at 5:30 a.m. ... with a full 8.5 hours sleep!
Day Two Begins......🤗
Gotta get makin the bacon! My Paul is up. 👏😘( 🕢)