First, I finished up in Rhode Island. We didn't make it up to Boston, but that was never the goal, anyway. Someday, I'll get back to see the USS Constitution. We did go into Providence last Saturday night for Waterfire. It's a very cool deal that happens after sundown. The city has a canal running through it, modeled after Venice, and there are, in fact, gondolas running along it. About every ten feet or so, there are buoys that hold firewood, and after dark, boats with black-clad folk come down the canal to light them. All this time, there is eerie or soothing music playing out of speakers. It's an amazing time to just people watch, as they float along or sit and watch the firelight play upon the water. On different stages all around, there are concerts going on, whestre people can just come along and sit in chairs set up in the middle of the street. I thought the idea is fantastic. We also visited the Roger Williams Zoo, which was nice. The red panda was just too cute.
I left from Boston, flying standby. That's an experience. Apparently, everyone likes to fly red-eyes, as both of the flights from Boston to Houston were overbooked. Luckily, there were enough no-shows that I made it on without any problems, and even my luggage followed doggedly along with me. Houston is a hot and humid place. Gross. However, despite the unfortunate climate, I met up with my friend, Ben, after he decided to come to the right airport. Actually, I was not aware that Houston actually has three different airfields, and so did not inform him which I was flying into. We drove out to the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center. I am convinced that Texans simply do not believe in road signs, since wherever we went, we could hardly find our way around. Apparently, you just have to know. When we tried to park to see the Saturn V rocket, the 19 year old armed guard gave no indication just as to where we were to park. So, we parked in the lot right near where the tram had let us off. When the LBJSC Police officer drove up behind us, he informed us that we were parked in the employee lot. The empty employee lot. So flustered were we that as we drove out, looking for the public lot, we drove straight through a red light, the officer still tagging along. In a bout of luck, the officer was kind enough to simply give us a warning and send us on our way. The sign for the public lot was cleverly hidden on the far side of the entrance as you drove, hidden by the gate. Pure win.
However, all this was worth the Saturn V, which is absolutely an awesome sight to behold. The thing is a behemoth, 363 ft. tall and 33 ft. wide. Inside the engine nozzles, I could have easily stood on my own shoulders. The main boosters put out under 3 million pounds of thrust for 2.5 minutes, and three men were strapped to the top of it! If there was but one 20th Century wonder, this would be it.
Of course, I must point out that "United States" and "USA" are clearly painted all over this thing. Happily point out. Ben and I agree.From Houston we proceed to College Station, where Texas A&M is. It is a huge school. And aside from the fact that Ben is going there, I don't really care. Moving on. The next day, we drove to Texarkana, located over the Texas-Arkansas border. Exciting. Here, I was most pleased to meet Ben's lovely girlfriend and her family. I helped them pack up a moving truck, was fed some most amazing food at her grandparents', and stayed the night.
From there, I bussed to Dallas. Once in Dallas, things got interesting. A man from New Orleans (supposedly) picked up my bag and had me follow him to the transit system, called DART, and wanted $15 for his services. Not wanting to argue with the man, I paid. All in all, it took me five vehicle transfers to make it from Texarkana to my hotel outside Dallas. Dallas is, I must say, a beautiful city. DFW is huge, too. In fact, as I was in the hotel shuttle leaving the airport, we drove under several runways. It's a little odd to be driving straight toward a taxiing plane. I was able to meet up with another friend, and we went to dinner and found some swing dancing to pass the evening. And finally, today, I slept in, paid far too much for a taxi to a mall, and did some necessary errands. Now, I sit here typing this for you, while the coffee I made gets old in its pot.
Tomorrow, I board a 7 am flight to Santiago, where someone from the bed and breakfast I'm staying at will pick me up. More to come. Stay tuned.
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