JSC in a day ... what I really MUST see

I'll be in Houston for a day. What MUST I see - cannot miss - that kind of thing.

They have a special VIP tour. Worth it?

Is the old MCC on the tour? I really must see that.

LMK.

Please and thank you!

Show up early at the 'Space Center Houston', pay through the nose for
admission, get signed on right away to a reserved JSC tram tour -- the only
way to go.

Then you can pig out on IMAX shows -- all in the price of admission -- you
can see maybe 3 of them until your butt wears out.

Bring a sandwich lunch. There's a cafeteria, but I'd advise against it.

Also, buy nothing in the gift shop. Go to 'The Space Store' across NASA-1
and about 1/4 mile east, or stop in 'Spoace Center Souvenirs on the north
side of NASA-1, just east of I-45. Great merchandise selection and prices,
unlike the overpriced 'official' visitor center.

Also plan on driving over to 'Rocket Park', I think there's a public parking
area and special gate for public access -- you can linger there as long as
you like, or just stay behind when the tram tour stops off, and take the
next tram back.

After you're done, swing by either the 'Outpost Tavern' (200 yards south of
NASA 1 on El Dorado, on west side, a real dump-looking place), for a beer
and charred-burger -- it's where the astronauts hang out and the walls are
covered with astronaut photos, some retouched. Or continue west on NASA-1
toward I-45, then turn north right across the tracks on Rt 3, go north until
you see Ellington Field along the right (east) side, and across from the
main entrance road, NW corner, is Pe-Te's barbecue, also a pilot hang-out,
and the food's better than at the Outpost.



JimO


"JGDeRuvo" wrote in message
om...
I'll be in Houston for a day. What MUST I see - cannot miss - that kind
of thing.

They have a special VIP tour. Worth it?

Is the old MCC on the tour? I really must see that.

LMK.

Please and thank you!

On Wed, 17 Mar 2004 22:33:12 GMT, "JimO"
wrote:

After you're done, swing by either the 'Outpost Tavern' (200 yards south of
NASA 1 on El Dorado, on west side, a real dump-looking place), for a beer
and charred-burger -- it's where the astronauts hang out and the walls are
covered with astronaut photos, some retouched.

....And there you can see from the back door the very spot where two
ghetto thugs held up OM at gunpoint.

OM

...And there you can see from the back door the very spot where two
ghetto thugs held up OM at gunpoint.

OM

oh that will make him want to eatr there Better he was warned.......

"JimO" wrote:
... and across from the main entrance road, NW corner, is
Pe-Te's barbecue, also a pilot hang-out, and the food's
better than at the Outpost.

sigh I really miss Pe-Te's.

Roger
--
Roger Balettie
former Flight Dynamics Officer
Space Shuttle Mission Control
http://www.balettie.com/

"JimO" wrote in
:

Show up early at the 'Space Center Houston', pay through the nose for
admission, get signed on right away to a reserved JSC tram tour -- the
only way to go.

And to answer his earlier question - I believe the old MCC is on this tour.

Also plan on driving over to 'Rocket Park', I think there's a public
parking area and special gate for public access -- you can linger
there as long as you like, or just stay behind when the tram tour
stops off, and take the next tram back.

Don't forget to take lots of pictures of the dilapidated Saturn V -
certainly couldn't hurt the fundraising effort to get a building for it
like the one at KSC.

After you're done, swing by either the 'Outpost Tavern' (200 yards
south of NASA 1 on El Dorado, on west side, a real dump-looking
place), for a beer and charred-burger -- it's where the astronauts
hang out and the walls are covered with astronaut photos, some
retouched.

You trying to get him lost, Jim? :-) It's El Camino, not El Dorado (though
he would probably figure that out once he realizes El Dorado doesn't cross
NASA Parkway, formerly NASA Road 1).

Other astronaut hangouts are Boondoggle's and Molly's. Both have a better
beer selection than the Outpost, and Boondoggle's has much better food. But
the Outpost has the history, which is what this newsgroup's all about. Does
it still have that pressure suit hanging from the ceiling?

Or continue west on NASA-1 toward I-45, then turn north
right across the tracks on Rt 3, go north until you see Ellington
Field along the right (east) side, and across from the main entrance
road, NW corner, is Pe-Te's barbecue, also a pilot hang-out, and the
food's better than at the Outpost.

FYI, the main entrance is FM1959. Concur on the food - it's a decent Cajun
restaurant.


--
JRF

Reply-to address spam-proofed - to reply by E-mail,
check "Organization" (I am not assimilated) and
think one step ahead of IBM.

"Jorge R. Frank" wrote in
You trying to get him lost, Jim? :-) It's El Camino, not El Dorado (though
he would probably figure that out once he realizes El Dorado doesn't cross
NASA Parkway, formerly NASA Road 1).

Old geezer's brain fart! My apologies to all the lost, wandering space
tourists.... (hangs head, re-reads map)...

From Jorge Frank:
"JimO" wrote...
Show up early at the 'Space Center Houston', pay through the nose for
admission, get signed on right away to a reserved JSC tram tour -- the
only way to go.

Roger on the paying through the nose. (Full critique in KSC thread.)

And yes, the tram tour is the only close look in NASA that the general
public gets. The Visitor's Center is sterile, with no impression on
how JSC operates using lots of vintage equipment from the 60s.

After you're done, swing by either the 'Outpost Tavern' (200 yards
south of NASA 1 on El Dorado, on west side, a real dump-looking
place), for a beer and charred-burger -- it's where the astronauts
hang out and the walls are covered with astronaut photos, some
retouched.

You trying to get him lost, Jim? :-) It's El Camino, not El Dorado (though
he would probably figure that out once he realizes El Dorado doesn't cross
NASA Parkway, formerly NASA Road 1).

Technically, it's *neither* El Camino nor El Dorado (since El Camino
doesn't go south of "NASA Rd1"). The road at the Outpost Tavern is
called "Egret Bay Blvd". Here's a map for anyone trying to find it:

http://home.att.net/~savetheoutpost/OPMap.htm

....and this page has a good history about the place:
http://home.houston.rr.com/outpostfr...ostStory01.htm

Other astronaut hangouts are Boondoggle's and Molly's. Both have a better
beer selection than the Outpost, and Boondoggle's has much better food. But
the Outpost has the history, which is what this newsgroup's all about. Does
it still have that pressure suit hanging from the ceiling?

Last I saw, it did. (Long time ago.)

But you can run into astronauts *anywhere* around the Clear Lake area.
Even the Dollar Store! (...where you can imagine them groaning about
how little they get paid.)

Or continue west on NASA-1 toward I-45, then turn north
right across the tracks on Rt 3, go north until you see Ellington
Field along the right (east) side, and across from the main entrance
road, NW corner, is Pe-Te's barbecue, also a pilot hang-out, and the
food's better than at the Outpost.

FYI, the main entrance is FM1959. Concur on the food - it's a decent Cajun
restaurant.

A space buff going to Pe-Te's will want to drive into Ellington Field
to have a look at the Vomit Comet static display as well as have a
look onto the ramp filled with the NASA aircraft (T-38s, Super Guppy,
etc). There's also an excellent pilot shop right there by
Ellington(/Pe-Te's) on Hwy3 with lots of good NASA stuff to buy.

And if you're in that part of the neighborhood, it's a great detour to
go around Ellington to see the NBL. Here are some photos of an
insider's tour:

http://spacecraft.ssl.umd.edu/old_si...70422.JSC_NBL/
(http://tinyurl.com/2ya2v)


~ CT

(Stuf4) wrote in message

Technically, it's *neither* El Camino nor El Dorado (since El Camino
doesn't go south of "NASA Rd1"). The road at the Outpost Tavern is
called "Egret Bay Blvd". Here's a map for anyone trying to find it:



Other astronaut hangouts are Boondoggle's and Molly's. Both have a better
beer selection than the Outpost, and Boondoggle's has much better food. But
the Outpost has the history, which is what this newsgroup's all about.

If you do Molly's, get there around quitting time. If you don't see
any astronauts (which you will on a Friday), you'll definitely see MOD
folks out there.

Also, there's an Italian Restaurant diagonally from the Outpost, on
NASA Rd 1 and El Camino, in a dumpy little strip mall. I can't
remember the name of it, but I've seen several astronauts there on
occasion having dinner.


-stmx3

A space buff going to Pe-Te's will want to drive into Ellington Field
to have a look at the Vomit Comet static display as well as have a
look onto the ramp filled with the NASA aircraft (T-38s, Super Guppy,
etc). There's also an excellent pilot shop right there by
Ellington(/Pe-Te's) on Hwy3 with lots of good NASA stuff to buy.

....other aircraft making a visit to Ellington Field worth the trip are
the F-16 static display with astronaut Lacy Veach's name on the canopy
rail and the F-102 with George W. Bush's name on the canopy rail.
(This info was posted to sci.space at http://tinyurl.com/3ez29)

Here's a photo of the F-102 at Ellington:
http://www.seanet.com/~johnco/Image2.jpg

Veach's F-16 is displayed just inside the military gate and can be
easily seen. Bush's F-102 is further in and would need to be
photographed with a long lens unless you can somehow talk your way
past the guardshack.


~ CT