Summary

The web content describes a traveler's eventful road trip from Chicago to Texas, including a visit to the NASA Johnson Space Center and a series of mishaps with lost luggage and a race against time to catch a flight.

Abstract

The narrative begins at Chicago Midway Airport, where the author embarks on a late-night flight to Houston as part of a road trip that includes San Antonio and Sugar Land. Upon arrival, the author faces the inconvenience of lost luggage, leading to a late-night shopping trip for essentials at Walmart. Despite this, the trip continues with highlights such as a visit to the NASA Johnson Space Center, where the author experiences a tram tour and views historical space artifacts. The author also enjoys a buffet featuring crawfish, attends a Spanish mass in San Antonio, and visits local landmarks including the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir. The trip concludes with a visit to Jollibee in Houston and a meeting with a relative in Pearland before a hectic morning rush to catch the return flight to Chicago.

Opinions

The author seems to have a sense of humor about the misadventure with the lost luggage, as evidenced by the purchase of a multifunctional bottle of shampoo and the late-night laundering using a hotel hair dryer.
There is a sense of wonder and excitement when visiting the NASA Johnson Space Center, particularly when seeing the Saturn V rocket and the Apollo Mission Control Center.
The author expresses mild frustration with the crowding at the buffet due to the popularity of crawfish and the subsequent scramble to get a few bites.
A sense of peace and reflection is conveyed during the visit to the Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto & Tepeyac De San Antonio, describing it as a beautiful and serene place.
The author shows adaptability and a positive attitude by embracing the unexpected Spanish mass and enjoying a burrito for dinner, indicating a willingness to immerse in local culture.
There is a touch of irony in the author's amusement at eating at the Filipino fast-food chain Jollibee in Houston, a place they frequented back home.
The author values family connections, as shown by the appreciation for meeting a second cousin in Pearland, despite the limited time available.
The final morning's rush to the airport and the successful sprint

Traveling/Monthly Challenge/Road Trip/Travel Writing

Houston, I’ve Got A Little Problem Here

Flying to Texas for a Houston-San Antonio-Sugar Land-Houston road trip

George Bush Intercontinental Airport/ My Photo

Again, I will start my story from the airport, the Chicago Midway Airport.

Auntie B was based in Chicago back then. She was able to convince her friend Gem (who lives in Texas) to drive us for a Houston-San Antonio-Sugarland-Houston road trip. We were four in this trip, Gem’s teenage daughter was the fourth one.

March, 2015

We had a late-night flight to Houston. We were the first one to check-in. I had one small piece of luggage. It was perfectly right for a hand carry. But my brain told me otherwise, to check-in the luggage. And I kept myself busy “people watching” at the boarding area.

“Houston, we’ve got a problem here”*

By midnight, we arrived in Houston. Then, I went to the carousel for my luggage. It was not there, it was not anywhere. Gem was already waiting for us, so she took charge of the situation. But there was nothing that could be done but to file a report, leave the address of our accommodations and wait . . for good or bad news.

There was also no choice but to go to the nearest Walmart to buy toiletries and clothes.

So, at 2am we were all in Walmart, as I was looking for the cheapest shirt, pants, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. I bought a large bottle of shampoo for multifunctioning…as hand soap, body wash and for washing my clothes. We only stayed in a budget hotel with the 4 of us occupying a single room.

While the 3 of them were deep in their sleep, I was drying my newly bought and washed clothes using the hair dryer of the hotel. After an hour, I was so drowsy. Come what may for my clothes.

After a late breakfast the next morning, we headed to our first destination of the day with the edges of my clothes slightly wet and cold. But with the heater of the car, they dried up eventually.

Our first destination

After an hour’s drive from the hotel, we arrived at NASA Johnson Space Center.

Located on 1,600 acres, JSC has served as a hub of human spaceflight activity for more than half a century. …..www.spacecenter.org

There are multiple things to do and experience inside the center. A NASA tram tour for 90 minutes, is included in the admission ticket. The tour starts with an orientation and a guided tour to the different locations in the center afterwards.

1. George. S. Abbey Rocket Park

One of the remaining actual Saturn V rockets can be found here. Along with other rockets that propelled space exploration.

2. Astronaut Training Facility

This is where NASA astronauts train and where scientists and engineers develop space exploration vehicles for the future.

3. Apollo Mission Control Center

The facility where NASA monitored nine Gemini and all Apollo lunar missions, including the historic Apollo 11 trip to the moon and the final Apollo 17 trip.

This is where the employees of NASA eagerly awaited the outcome of Apollo 11’s first attempted lunar landing.

We were seated in one of the rows of seats overlooking the control center/My Photo

There were other experiences in the center that we explored after the tram tour.

The International Space Station

The station gave us a glimpse of the day-to-day life of the astronauts on the ISS, including the artifacts that they had worn and used during their actual expeditions.

1st Pic- With Auntie B and the Apollo 11 heroes/2nd Pic-Why is he so tall?/ 3rd Pic-Oooops, I shouldn’t be here/Photos taken by Gem

With all the young kids around, I felt like I was in a grade school field trip. But in a different level — the highest level.

We had a buffet for a late lunch.

After exploring the Space Center, Gem brought us to a buffet because of the presence of crawfish in the menu. Unfortunately, every eating customer had the same reason. With some customers scooping them as if all the crawfish can fit in their tummy, the remaining some (customers) only got a few bites. I can’t even remember if I got one.

San Antonio

We continued our trip with a four-hour drive to the city of San Antonio.

San Antonio welcomed me with open arms and good news. The cause of my additional expenses and annoyance was waiting for me. Standing at the door of our hotel room was my luggage. Nothing changed, just the way I handed it over to the staff of Southwest Airlines. Yep, I was freed from another bout of night-laundry.

Their reason: my luggage was loaded in a different flight. Because we changed our location, thus added up for the delay. A $50 voucher was given as compensation. (But what I need is cash)

The Next Day, Sunday

We attended the mass at our Lady of Lourdes Grotto & Tepeyac De San Antonio. We were late for the English mass. And just in time for the Spanish mass.

In its 5 acres area are the Grotto and the Hill of Tepeyac that welcome pilgrims from around the world and serve as eternal signs of hope for all who visit.

What a beautiful and serene place.

By mid-afternoon, we killed time through Outlet Window Shopping. The prices were tempting and hard to resist. In the end, I gave in and bought 2 shirts.

Still in San Antonio for the night. There was a convenience store nearby. Had bought a burrito for dinner, better than the usual sandwiches.

Monday Morning

Time to go back to Houston.

After 197 miles, we reached Sugar Land, a city southwest of Houston. It rained that afternoon and didn’t want to walk around getting wet. We did some photo-op with Sugarland’s city hall as our backdrop. At least, we had an evidence that we had been to Sugarland.

St. Theresa Catholic church was a few minutes drive. The church is 80 years old and is worth visiting.

We passed by at Baps Shri Swaminarayan Mandir . It’s a Hindu temple. It was hard to resist the architectural beauty of the temple. Admiring it from the distance was enough. There was one in Chicago, that’s where I got to see the temple up close and personal.

It was still raining. Houston was a little 30-minute drive.

An afternoon date with Jollibee

Our local fast food chain had invaded Houston. It was so funny that I went to America to eat at Jollibee. I have been eating their chicken and burger since their existence 4 decades ago and I didn’t want to eat them anymore. But I had 3 companions who were craving for Chicken Joy. Yeah, they missed the bee.

After the date with the Bee

Auntie B had included in our itinerary a visit to a second cousin in Pearland. A 31-mile drive. It was our first time to meet. I was glad for that opportunity to meet her and her family.

There were so much to talk about but it was getting late. We had a 6am flight back to Chicago.

Our Last Morning

I woke up at around 4am, followed by Auntie B. But Gem wanted an extension for her sleeping hours. She said it was still early, the airport was nearby and no worries. Okay, fine.

Houston, we have a problem again.

Though it was only 5am, the morning rush was very visible up to the airport. The airport seemed so near and yet so far.

After we checked in, we heard the last call for our flight. It was a long walk to the boarding area.

In situation like this, “you gotta do what you gotta do” and that’s — to run as fast as you can.

And we made it!

*“Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here” and “Houston, we’ve had a problem” were the words spoken by the Apollo 13 astronauts to the mission control center when they communicated their discovery of the explosion that crippled their spacecraft…en.m.wikipedia.org