"That last footprint on the moon? Check it out. That's my boot size." -- Eugene Cernan, Commander, Apollo 17, the last Apollo mission to land men on the moon

Monday, 12 November. After taking a day off to just rest and relax, we headed into the Houston area to visit the Johnson Space Center (JSC), about 90 minutes away.  After a couple wrong turns, we finally arrived at JSC and were immediately greeted at the entrance by a full-sized mock-up of the space shuttle – what a sight!  And this was only the beginning of what turned out to be one terrific afternoon.  We should have allowed more time, but still managed to squeeze in several activities.  Our first was a 30-minute “briefing” by a NASA employee that detailed what is happening today at NASA and specifically with the JSC.  Well-done and very professional.  Another activity was a 90-tram ride that took us to several other JSC buildings, including the Mission Control Center (MCC), which has been restored to its original 1960’s look, since they have a more modern MCC today.  We also took in a 30-minute movie that described the history of the International Space Station (ISS), including its fascinating construction story, and what’s in the future for the ISS since NASA is back in the space exploration business.  The JSC main complex also has a large gift store and we took the opportunity to do some early Christmas shopping for the grandkids – think we got some very unique gifts.  All in all, we were pleasantly surprised and had a really great time during our afternoon at the JSC.  Just wish we’d allowed more time.  If given the chance, you might want to give a visit to the JSC some thought.  If you do go, allow a full day since there are so many activities to choose from.  For the kids, there are lots of hands-on experiences that looked like loads of fun, as you can see from this first photo of me kidding around.

Spaceman Denny

NASA's Houston Mission Control Center -- restored to its 1960's look

View of just part of a massive Saturn V rocket -- this thing is HUGE

Lynette next to the Saturn V first stage engines -- again, HUGE

Me and some of America's heroes, the Apollo XIII crew: James Lovell, Commander; John Swigert, Command Module Pilot; and Fred Haise, Lunar Module Pilot