April 12, 2007

Texas Tidbits

A few more random things about the Texas trip.

The roads are crazy... seriously crazy, especially in Killeen and that area. Access on and off the highway can drive a person mad. And this is said from someone who deals with DC traffic every day.

College football is everywhere; we saw underwear and beer for sale with Texas A&M on it and the radio stations had songs about Aggies. And it was too twangy even for me.

People are nice. They say hello and thank you, and ma'am. Okay, I can live without that last part.

I made my brother and sister in law a thank you card. I scanned it crooked and zoomed in... it is straight in real life. The stamps are a local Texas company - Deadbeat Designs. And the colors are new Tintz colors from Fiber Scraps.

Here is a group shot from NASA in Houston, Dave and Jacob and I with my friend Jennifer Miller and her family (Jared is missing) I remember going there as a kid and seeing the moon buggy and pictures of astronauts. It was very cool to see how much advancement there has been in space exploration in 30 years.

One especially touching moment was seeing Memorial Grove, a stand of trees planted in memory of the crews of Challenger and Columbia. The tram paused for a moment of silence, and then played these words from George Bush, "This cause of exploration and discovery is not an option we choose; it is a desire written in the human heart. We are that part of creation which seeks to understand all creation. We find the best among us, send them forth into unmapped darkness, and pray they will return. They go in peace for all mankind, and all mankind is in their debt. " Wow. You know I teared up at that.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Hey, you were in Killeen? That's where I live! And you're right, the highway on and off ramps are crazy and stupid. BUT most of Texas is NOT that way at all...the TX road system is usually smooth and logical but who knows what happened in Killeen. ;)

Lorna Arlett said...

love that armadillo! thanks for a great time! Jared loved spending time with Jacob!

Cheryl said...

How fun! I love that pic of you and the Miller gang :)

Anonymous said...

You were just down the street from me at NASA! Cool! Yes, ma'am, Texas is a neat place to visit!

Anonymous said...

Love the card! Only you could mnake an armadillo stamp looks so good. :) It was so much fun visiting with you. Miss you already!