Texas 2K10 - Kugs on the road

Back Home Again

Kugs on the road — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Well, I started with a henge, I went to a henge in the middle, So where better to end the trip... FOAMHENGE !
That's right a full scale replica of Stonehenge made from foam. This must be my favorite henge because it's the only one I've been to more than once. In fact this is the third Spring in a row I've visited Foamhenge. It also happens to be right along the way to both my nephews House in Raleigh and my brothers House in Atlanta.

How about a few fun facts about foamhenge and the original Stonehenge.

Stonehenge was built with stones weighing 50 tons.

Foamhenge was built with Styrofoam blocks weighing 400 pounds.

Stonehenge was built in 1,500 years by 600 - 1,000 men.

Foamhenge was built in 6 weeks by 4 Mexicans and 1 crazy white guy.

Sebastian, Home Again

Sebastian got home crawled into his chair and fell asleep. I think Martina completely wore him out.

And finally, a few trip facts:
I drove 5,107.8 Miles in 84.33 Hrs averaging 60.4 MPH. I used 173 gallons of gas and got 29.5 MPG.

Well I hope everyone enjoyed following along with me on this trip, I know I enjoyed sharing it with you. I'm sure we'll do this again on my next adventure.

Kugs

On my way home

Kugs on the road — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I had a great day yesterday at my Brothers House. I spent the morning helping out with a few computer issues and helping to set up a computer for my Sister-in-law. After that my nephew Dan and his fiance Hilary came over, we opened several bottles of champagne and the fun began. We had a fabulous dinner and spent the evening playing canasta. I ended up staying up till 3am with my nephew Eric playing poker.

I got up at 8am on Sunday and hung out at my Brothers till noon then hit the road. I made it as far as Bristol, TN and decided to get off the road and get some rest.

Tomorrow I hope to get an early start and make one last tour stop along the way and still get home at a decent hour.

Kugs

Chicken, Fudge and Funny people in Atlanta

Kugs on the road — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Giant Robotic Chicken

A very relaxing day, Went out with my Brother and Sister-in-law to get some Ice cream and drove by the giant Chicken. This 56' tall Chicken has been a famous Marietta landmark since the early 60's. it was destroyed in a 1996 tornado, but with some help from Pepsi it was restored including the moving eye and beak.

Fudge

I also spent some time having my Sister-in-law teach me how to make her fudge recipe. Because I just can't get down here often enough to satisfy my fudge addiction.

The Punchline - Atlanta, Ga

After dinner my nephew Eric and I went to the Punchline comedy club to see Dave Atell with Mat Davis as his opening act. Very funny show but I don't recall any jokes that were clean enough to repeat here.

Saturday, my other nephew and his fiance are coming over for dinner and to hang out and drink champagne.

Kugs

Some time to rest

Kugs on the road — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Not much to tell, spent most of the day driving to my Brother's House. Arrived about 6:00pm had dinner, drank about 2 bottles of champagne, played some cards and it's time to crash. Tomorrow will be another day of relaxing. My Sister-in-law is going to teach me to make fudge, I will practice eating it, and tomorrow night my nephew and I are going to a comedy club to see Dave Atell.

Kugs

Slug Bug !

Kugs on the road — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Slug Bug Red - I 10 East Texas

Well the trip is winding down, I drove as far as Ocean Springs, MS today then stopped for dinner and the night.

The Shed - Ocean Springs, MS

Possibly the last BarBeQue restaurant on my tour. "The Shed Barbeque and Blues Joint" is another spot I heard of on Travel Channels "Barbeque Paradise" the same place I heard about Smitty's. If this place looks like a dump there's a good reason for that, It was built out of materials that were found at the dump.

Dining romm at The Shed

The building may be a dump, but the food and music are top notch. I had the sample platter, a mix of smoked sausage, ribs, Chicken wings, pork and beef. It was all good, but I felt the beef was a bit dry. The ribs however were so tender and tasty, they just fell off the bone. So far I still rate Smitty's #1 and would place the Shed #2. and T-bone Tom's in 3rd.

I should be ariving at my Brother's House for dinner tomorrow and stay there till Sunday. Then Back in Syracuse Tuesday night.

Johnson Space Center was so cool

Kugs on the road — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Johnson Space Center - Houston, TX

Wow, What a cool day. I got to the Johnson Space Center about an hour and a half early. I figured that would give me time to see some of the things they had on display in the main building. I was a bit surprised that they had very few historic items on display. Mostly they had a lot of activities for kids, some of them were for big kids too. One of the first things I did was lay on a bed of nails, Real nails. it was amazingly comfortable. After that I went to a flight simulator and crashed the shuttle twice. I hung around and did a few other things until it was time for the level 9 tour to start.

Fabrication Lab

The first stop on the tour was lunch in the cafeteria where the employees and astronauts eat. Then we went to the fabrication lab. this is where thy build prototypes of things that could end up being used in future missions. Right now they are working on designing inflatable living quarters to be used when we land on other planets. This area is not on the normal tour.

Neutral Buoyancy Training Lab

Next was the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. This is a pool that is 200' x 110' and 40' deep and in the pool is a full size mock-up of the International Space Station. This is used for astronauts to train in an almost weightless atmosphere. At the bottom of the picture you can see two astronauts that were just pulled out of the pool and are getting out of their suits. Again, this is an area you would not see on the normal tour.

Full Size Mock-up of The ISS

The full size mock-up lab is just what it says a full size mock-up of the ISS. Every module that is part of the ISS is in this room. Normally the level 9 tour would be able to go down to the main floor, But because the shuttle is in space they only want employees on the floor and all tours must stay up in the observation area.

Mission Control

One of the coolest parts of the tour was to be able to sit in the observation room for mission control. This is the room where they are controlling and monitoring every aspect of the current shuttle mission. Again, you don't see this on the regular tour.

Historic Mission Control

Then there is the Historic Mission Control. This is the room where they ran all of the Apollo Missions Including the Apollo 13 mission that happened 40 years earlier to the day. The other cool thing was while we were taking turns having our pictures taken in the Flight Directors chair, the regular tour was in the observation room watching us, because the regular tour isn't allowed in the main room.

Saturn V Rocket

The last stop on the tour was to see the restored Saturn V Rocket. This was originally going to be the launch vehicle for Apollo 18. After the last few Apollo Missions were canceled this rocket just sat in a field at this location for close to 30 years till NASA decided to restore it and set it up as a display. This is one of 3 Saturn V rockets on display. There is one at the Kennedy Space center in Florida, and one displayed vertically in Huntsville Alabama.

The tour ended around 4:45, I made a quick stop at the gift shop then headed east of Houston for about an hour. Tomorrow I continue east heading towards my brothers house near Atlanta.

Kugs

Kind of a Dead day... in more ways than one...

Kugs on the road — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Giant Sam Houston Statue - I 45 - Houston, TX

Along I 45 North of Houston is a Giant Statue of Sam Houston. I don't know why they put it someplace where you can only view it at 70 mph. Oh, and those trees behind the statue, are not short trees. This is a very tall statue.

Hearse - National Museum of Funeral History - Houston, TX

So my tour stop for today was the National Museum of Funeral History. I don't know how this place stays in business, the place was completely dead when I got there. I was the only one in this huge Museum. After a while a bus full of senior citizens arrived, But I think they were just there to shop.

Marcellus Casket - National Museum of Funeral History - Houston, TX

Surprisingly they did have a display on the Making of caskets at the Marcellus Casket Co in Syracuse. They also had a couple of Marcellus Caskets on display including this one that is identical to the one Ronald Regan was buried in.

Embalming Table - National Museum of Funeral History - Houston, TX

Of course the museum is much more than an extensive collection of hearses and caskets. They also have a collection of embalming equipment throughout the years. Ever wonder what the procedure is for burying a Pope? Well they have a large section of the museum dedicated to just that. They also have one of the Pope mobiles that J2P2 used in the UK.

For dinner I did a return to T-Bone Tom's. It was good once so I figured I would give it a second chance. This time I had "Tom's Choice" a 14 oz marinated rib eye steak. Like the food last time I was here, it was very good.
Tomorrow I am taking a "Level 9" tour of the Johnson Space Center. The Level 9 tour is only available to 12 people a day and takes you to parts of the space center that you normally would not be able to see.

Kugs

Presidents and Prisons

Kugs on the road — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

George H.W. Bush Library & Museum - College Station, TX

I'm running a little ahead of schedule so I'm spending the next couple of days seeing things in the Huston area. Today I went to a couple of museums just North of Huston. First was the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum. This was so much better than the LBJ Museum. The LBJ was mostly pictures and text on the walls.

The White House - George H.W. Bush Museum

The Bush museum was very interactive, and they had a lot of things for kids. In the section devoted to Bush's years in the CIA I watched a kid put his hand on a palm scanner, the monitor then showed how it was narrowing in on his location using satellite camera's until it zoomed into the top of his head with a camera in the ceiling. The kid thought it was the greatest thing. My favorite was a room that was setup as a replica of the Bush's Living room where they had a TV playing outtakes from PSA's that the bush's had recorded and clips of Dana Carvey Impersonating the President. Overall, a very well done museum.

Texas Prison Museum - Huntsville, TX

Then it was off to the Texas Prison Museum. Actually not my first prison museum. As far as prison museums go... it was about average. It had all the things you might expect at a prison museum, weapons that the guards used over the years, Weapons that the prisoners used. They also had a cell setup so that you could have your picture taken in prison. They will even lend you a striped shirt for the photo.

"Old Sparky" Texas Prison Museum

The other thing you tend to find in a prison museum is a chair called sparky. I don't know why but all prisons seem to call their electric chair "Sparky". The other thing you'll find in a good prison museum, is their wall of fame. One of the most famous prisoners of the Texas prison system was David Crosby from Crosby, Stills, Nash and sometimes Young.

Dinner tonight was nothing special, I went to a place called Bob Luby's Seafood Grill. I think they should change their name to Bob Luby's Seafood Deep Fryer...

Kugs

A rainy day to tour some Navy ships

Kugs on the road — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

USS Cavalla - Galveston, TX

First stop today was to Sea Wolf Park in Galveston to visit the USS Cavalla. Although the Cavalla was first put into service in the latter part of WWII, She made up for lost time sinking 34,000 tons of Japanese ships including the aircraft carrier Shokaku that had participated in the attack on Pearl Harbor.

USS Stewart - Galveston, TX

After the Cavalla I did a Walk through of the USS Stewart. The Stewart is a WWII era Destroyer Escort that spent most of her life on training missions.

Ocean Star Museum - Galveston, TX

On my way out of Galveston I stopped at the Ocean Star Oil Drilling Platform and Museum. A very informative museum with a lot of models, photos and diagrams to help explain the different types of oil platforms and how they work.

USS Texas - La Porte, TX

About an hour north of Galveston in La Porte, TX is the USS Texas. Built just before WWI, This ship not only fought in both World Wars, but has also been assigned to both the Atlantic and Pacific fleet. In 1948 The USS Texas became the first Battleship Memorial Museum.

Dinner tonight was another DDD tour stop. T-Bone Tom's Is yet another Bar-B-Q joint, and again to be fair I ordered the same 3 meats to make my comparison. Although I did order an Armadillo Egg for an appetizer tonight. No, it's not an actual Armadillo egg (do armadillo's even lay eggs?). This egg is a large Jalapeno pepper stuffed with pulled pork dredged in buttermilk, flour and bread crumbs and deep fried. It definitely had some heat to it, but it was good. As for the Bar-B-Q, it was tender and juicy, but I still think Smitty's is in the lead for flavor and the authentic atmosphere.

Kugs

USS Lexington

Kugs on the road — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

USS Lexington - Corpus Christi, TX

A nice slow day today. This morning I drove to Corpus Christi and spent about 3 hours touring The Lexington. The Lex is WWII era Aircraft Carrier. It took 3 hours to walk through the tour and they only allow you in a small portion of the ship. To give you an Idea how big an Aircraft Carrier is: It is as tall as a 19 Story building and the flight deck is big enough to play 14 basketball games at the same time. Not to mention the fact that airplanes can land and take off up there.

After the Lex I drove up the gulf coast towards Galveston and stopped in a small town called Bay City. I really didn't have any restaurants planned for this part of the trip, but was hoping to find some good seafood restaurants in the area. I didn't. So I ended up at a kind of Fast Food Bar-B-Que joint. It was OK, But nothing special. It had the basics of a good Texas Barbecue, but it definitely had a Fast Food aura around it.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Galveston to see more ships. Then to the Houston area for a couple days and then over to Atlanta to see my Brother and his family for a few days.

Dinner was Awesome

Kugs on the road — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Cinnamon Roll from Lulu's Cafe

I started today out with a 3 lbs Cinnamon roll from Lulu's I ripped off a hunk and crammed it in my mouth... Wow, tons of sugar... Then I heard that little voice in my head saying that I needed a real breakfast... So I went back into Lulu's and ordered some ham & eggs (yes Tom, With home-fries and toast).

Wooden Nickle - San Antonio, TX

Originally I wasn't going to, But I decided to go to the Alamo... there were about 100 people outside waiting to get in... so I just kept driving.
Then I headed over to the Wooden Nickle Museum. I found the Nickle, But not the Museum.

LBJ's Oval Office - Austin, TX

So I drove up to Austin to the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library & Museum. It wasn't the best Presidential Museum I've been to but it was OK.

Smitty's Market - Lockhart, TX

The Governor of Texas has declared Lockhart, TX to be the official "Barbecue Capital of Texas". The travel channel featured 3 of Lockhart's Barbecue joints on a show called "Barbecue Paradise", The difficult part was choosing which one to go to. I chose Smitty's Market. Trust me the Dinosaur would go out of business if Smitty's moved to Syracuse, and don't expect me to bring back any jars of their sauce either, there is no sauce. Texas Barbecue isn't about sauce, it's about the cooking.

The Smokers at Smitty's

When you walk into Smitty's they send you to the back room to get your meat. In the back there's a counter and behind that are the cookers with a fire on the floor at each end of the oven. You order what you want and the man in back lifts the steel cover over one of the cookers and pulls out a hunk of meat and cuts it to order on the butcher block. Then they wrap it in butcher paper with some bread and crackers and send you back into the dinning room. There you order your sides and drinks and have a seat at one of the long tables.

My Dinner - Smitty's Market

I ordered kind of a sample platter. 4 Ribs, 2 Slices of brisket, a ring of sausage, a side of coleslaw and a beer. They don't have plates at Smitty's nor do they have forks. You get a plastic knife and if you need it, a plastic spoon. The plastic knife was more than enough to cut the meat. Everything was tender and juicy and melt in your mouth good. If you ever go to Texas, go to Lockhart for dinner. If your ever near Texas, go to Lockhart. It's worth the trip.

One Good Henge Deserves Another

Kugs on the road — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Stonehenge II - Hunt, TX

Today was a great day, the weather was perfect. I avoided the interstates almost all day, and I had a nice long drive on country roads. I couldn't have asked for more.

Aurora Cemetery - Aurora, TX

Aurora Cemetery seems like your average rural cemetery at first, But according to local legend (and the plaque next to the gate) They have a very special visitor interred somewhere inside the gates. According to the legend, in 1897 a Spaceship crashed near there and the pilot was found dead. The pilot's body was buried in the cemetery and his grave marked with an odd shaped stone. At some point the marking stone was removed or stolen and now it's anyone's guess where the alien is buried.

Japanese HA-19 Sub - Fredericksburg, TX

The National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, TX Was much more than I was expecting. My main reason for stopping here was to see the Japanese HA-19 WWII sub. This two man sub was one of five used by the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor. Like the other four, this sub was unsuccessful in it's mission. However this is the only one of the five to survive.

Easter Island Statue - Hunt, TX

In 1989 Doug Hill Stood a large limestone rock upright in his friend Al Shepperd's Field. This sparked the imagination of both men. A few months later Al commissioned Doug to build Stonehenge II, and eventually two 12 foot Easter Island statues.

For dinner tonight I decided to go to Lulu's Cafe in San Antonio, TX. I heard about Lulu's on the Travel Channels "Man vs Food". Lulu's is famous for 2 things, their huge Chicken fried steak and their 3 pound cinnamon rolls. The steak was definitely huge, but I've only had Chicken fried steak one other time and I'm still not impressed. I'm going back in the morning for a cinnamon roll to see if that is better than the steak.

Dallas

Kugs on the road — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Dallas Texas

Old Texas School Book Depository - Dallas, TX

This morning I drove to Dallas Texas and took a tour of the Sixth Floor Museum. This museum is located on the 6th floor of the old Texas School Book Depository, The place that Lee Harvey Oswald shot JFK from. They don't allow Photography in the Museum so I can't show you any photos of the inside. The Museum consists mostly of photos and text that are on wall hangings throughout the museum and the wireless audio that is included with the tour guides you through it all and tells the story from Kennedy's election to the investigation into the assassination. when you get to the corner window where Oswald stood, they have the area behind glass walls staged the way it was that afternoon. One of the other items they have on display is a scale model of Dealey Plaza that was used by the Warren Commission in their investigation of the assassination.

By the way... The window Oswald shot from was on sixth floor on the far right.

Dealey Plaza - Dallas, TX

After the tour of the museum and a quick stop at the gift shop, I went out to Dealey Plaza to take a few photos. In 1993 Dealey Plaza was declared a National Historic Landmark and has been kept the same as it was in 1963. The picture here was taken from in front of the Depository looking towards the where JFK was shot. They have Paced X'es in the road in the spots where JFK was hit. Even though this is still a very busy road, there are still people who will run out there to have their picture taken on one of those spots. The right side of the photo is the Grassy knoll, the left side is a green area where people stood to watch the motorcade.

Cenotaph - Dallas, TX

A few blocks from Dealey Plaza is the John F. Kennedy Cenotaph or Open Tomb "That symbolizes the freedom of Kennedy's spirit"
Basically it's a 30 foot square cement block. It was originally going to be marble, but cement was cheaper.

Chefs Point Diner - Watauga, TX

This may look like your average Conoco gas station... but inside is gourmet restaurant, well the food is gourmet, the decor is still gas station. This is another DDD tour stop. The story is in 2001 the owners were trying to open a restaurant, but the banks were not willing to lend them the money because of their lack of experience running a restaurant. However, the bank was OK with lending them money to buy a gas station... So they found a gas station under construction and bought it, added a kitchen and the Chef Point Cafe was born. The tables and chairs are very much what you would expect in a gas station convenience store eatery, the food is closer to what you would find in a 4 star restaurant.

Escargot

I started with the Escargot stuffed in mushroom caps topped with sherry wine sauce. Not only were they the best escargot I've had in any gas station, They were the best I've ever had. For diner I was thinking of getting the Lamb Chops, But ended up getting the Seafood Supreme, which is shrimp, scallops, calamari & fresh vegetables, in a roasted bell pepper sauce over bow-tie pasta. After all that, I was stuffed. So I ordered the "Worlds Best" Bread Pudding to go. I don't know if it's the worlds best, but I thought it was pretty good.

Tomorrow I'm heading towards Corpus Christi with a few interesting stops along the way.

Kugs

A day in Oklahoma

Kugs on the road — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Will Rogers Museum - Claremore, OK

Contents of Will Rogers Pockets

I started today with a visit to the Will Rogers Museum in Claremore, OK. Of course the museum is full of Will Rogers memorabilia, paintings of Will, Newspaper clippings of his syndicated column, and reports of his death in Alaska. They also had three small theaters set up, one showing a 30 minute film telling the Story of his life. Another theater was showing the movies that he appeared in. The third one showed footage of Will's roping tricks. I knew he was known for his roping abilities and had seen some clips of him standing on a horse spinning a rope while he was making humerus commentary on the events of the day. But the film that they played showed some tricks that were absolutely amazing. He could throw a Lasso at a passing horse and rider catch the horses head twist the rope 180 degrees an then catch the riders head so the rope ended up in a figure 8.
Of course one of the strangest displays was the contents of his pockets when his plane crashed in Alaska.

Sonic Center of the Universe - Tulsa, OK

Next I stopped in Tulsa, OK to see the "Sonic Center of the Universe" which for the most part was a disappointment. The spot is a small park/ sitting area located on an old bridge in the downtown Tulsa. It was designed in such a way that if you stand in the center you can hear an echo of your voice. But it looks like there hasn't been any maintenance in years, there is a lot of visible weather and human damage. Also it was difficult to hear if the echo thing really works because there were construction noises all around. They were fixing up areas on both sides of the bridge, but no sign of work being done to this little spot.

Giant Oil Man - Tulsa, OK

After that I stopped for a photo op with a giant Oil man ( I seem to be getting closer to Texas, things are getting bigger).

USS Batfish - Muskogee, OK

Then a visit to the USS Batfish, I knew this site was going to be closed and was just hoping to get a good shot of this 1,525 ton ship sitting on the ground or at least mostly above ground. From what I have read this ship was to large to float up the Arkansas river which is only a few hundred yards away. So they ended up putting the ship on some barges to bring the ship to this location. Unfortunately this made the ship to tall to float under most of the bridges, so the army corps of engineers had to lower the level of the river so it would fit. All in all it was quite an engineering feat to get this ship where it is.

Cattlemans Cafe - Oklahoma City, OK

My last stop for the day was my first Triple D stop (Diners, Drive-Inns and Dives). The Cattlemans Cafe is the oldest operating restaurant in Oklahoma City. If you saw this episode on the food network, you'll know that Cattlemans doesn't just specialize in steaks. They also serve brains and eggs (yup, a double scramble) and lamb fries. They say if you don't know what lamb fries are, don't ask, just eat em' and enjoy. So for dinner I had a strip steak with a baked potato a salad and a side of lamb fries. Of course the steak was perfect and the lamb fries .... well they kinda tasted like frog legs. I don't think I will go back in the morning for the scrambled eggs...

I was planning to head to Amarillo TX tomorrow, but I think I'm going to bypass Amarillo and head to Dallas tomorrow.

Kugs

You know, I love a good henge

Kugs on the road — Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Stubby Stonehenge Rolla, Mo.

Is there a better way to start a trip than a little henge? Stubby Stonehenge is half-sized Stonehenge replica that was built by the high- pressure water lab at University of Missouri's Rolla campus as a way to showcase their stone carving skills. They claim that this is the only henge that actually works as a calender, but my sources tell me that there are 4 other working henges. Maybe one of those henges will be along my route this trip.
After my stop in Rolla, Mo I headed South West towards Oklahoma. Just after I crossed the Oklahoma state line I heard a "ding" from the dashboard. It was the fuel warning light. I looked up just in time to see I was passing an exit with a sign that said "No services for 17 Miles". I was able to make it to the gas station, but I ended up putting 16.6 gallons in a 16.9 gallon tank.
Tomorrow I have several stops planned in Oklahoma including the Will Rogers Museum and a World War II sub Parked on dry land and of course... a gas station.

Kugs

Day 1: The Long Drive

Kugs on the road — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I think I had a bit of cranial flatulence when I said I was hoping to make it to southern Illinois. My original goal was Evansville Indiana, and I made it there. I drove about 800 mi. in 12 hours. Had some stomach problems along the way, but nothing to serious.
Tomorrow I'm driving across Illinois and Missouri and hoping to end up close to Tulsa Oklahoma. But because most of this is going to be roads I've never driven before, I would like to be off the road before dark. One of my main rules on these trips is not driving after dark. The purpose of these trips is to see America and you can't see America in the dark.
I'm also hoping to take a few minuets tomorrow to stop at one of my favorite types of attractions in southern Missouri.

Kugs

11:00am Start

Kugs on the road — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Starting out about 2 hours later than I wanted to... but I'm on the road! I will drive as far as I can today and will hopefully get to southern Illinois.

Kugs

I haven't left yet

Kugs on the road — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Texas 2K10 Map

On Saturday April 3rd I will be leaving on a two and a half week drive to the Texas Gulf coast and surrounding areas. I have been researching my route for several weeks and have some very exciting stops planed. I will be touring several Navy ships, Presidential libraries, the Johnson Space Center, the 6th Floor Museum (the place JFK was shot from) and of course some very interesting spots along the way. I will be making updates as often as I can (depending on internet access) So please keep checking for updates.

Kugs