The Good Old Days

I can’t believe it’s been two days here. Wednesday was nonstop activity for us, but it was mostly sightseeing Clay’s old haunts. It felt like I was with my dad in Eureka being shown every house he lived in. 

Clay took us by his business townhouse where he ran Aerojet business. It was on Clear Lake with a little slip of water winding through the complex. He pointed out the party room and snickered as he told me it was pretty crazy there. I’ve heard that comment quite a few times now. He hasn’t slowed down much.

We cruised through the neighborhood he and Carol lived in. He pointed out a pretty little brick house.

A couple of streets over he pointed a boney finger out the window and said, “That’s where Armstrong lived.” It’s interesting that this was a community of engineers, scientists, and fighter pilots all in their twenties.

We drove over to the Kemah feeding out of Clear Lake into the Galveston and hooked a left to go to the Kemah Boardwalk. We ate lunch at The Flying Dutchman and walked the boardwalk with its rollercoaster and miniature train. Back into the SUV for more touring of old haunts. As we drove through one area, Clay told us about Maribelle’s. Apparently Maribelle’s was the place to go way back in the sixties. I think it got wiped out by a hurricane. She moved to a house nearby and converted part of it into a bar. Eventually that either burned down or was swept away. Clay showed us the old spot and lamented that he couldn’t show us this iconic hub of NASA activity.

For dinner we drove an hour to the other side of town, Sugarland. Floyd and Carolyn Bennett had invited us to dinner. Floyd was an engineer. His claim to fame was drawing a map of the expected terrain on the window of the Lunar Lander. They named one of the Moon mountains after him. They live at an assisted living facility with amazingly elegant grounds. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett were both gracious and elegant. Though they are considerably younger than Clay, he looked like a kid in comparison. We finally peeled away and drove home in an incoming squall. As soon as we got back to the hotel, wet and tired, Clay asked, “Who’s up for a nightcap?”

Good grief! Does this guy ever stop? So we had our usual, a scotch and water for Clay, a glass of wine for me, and a beer for Joe (or two, maybe). We got to bed late as usual.

Thursday morning was the big day. We started with breakfast. As I walked by a man having his breakfast, he stopped me and asked if Clay was an astronaut. I explained he was the Chief engineer over the Service Propulsion Main Engine. He introduced himself as David Bennett, photographer for the Washington Post and asked if he could photograph Clay. It turns out he’s a bit of a Space science nerd, much to Clay’s delight. Forty-five minutes later he shook hands and left with a promise that if a writer wanted to do a story on Clay, we’d be notified.

Clay had purchased tickets for the Space Center Houston. He’d also gotten a hold of his old chemical engineer friend, Norman Chaffe, to give us a private tour of the Saturn (which is what the Apollo mission was flown on). This thing is enormous. It took me two minutes to walk its length. It would’ve been Apollo 18, but Nixon pulled the financial plug. 

It was given to the Smithsonian, and forgotten. This spacecraft laid out on the lawn for decades, rotting. Finally Norman and a few others applied enough heat to get the Smithsonian to build a protective building around it and clean it. It sits exactly where it was abandoned. Norman’s tour was incredibly detailed, and extra special because he could point to various parts of the rocket and say, “I designed those small engines to make adjustments to its flight. And I was responsible for the design of the pyrotechnics that separated the stages from each other.”

Then Clay said, “That’s where my SPS engine would have sat.” He pointed up into the vacancy behind the command module. We had an audience by the time we were done.

The SPS is not on display at the museum, but the Lunar Lander was. Norm told us about the intensity of the Apollo 13 explosion and how he’d been recalled into the command center. When he came in they were in the middle of a discussion about shutting off the system he’d designed to keep the fuel warm enough to function on restart for re-entry. “I waved my arms and said no, you can’t do that. The fuel will freeze. They said they had to or the astronauts would come back as popsicles. 

So we had them rotate the command module to warm the little fuel pipes in the sun until they got back. The fuel had to be above a certain temperature and it was… by only a couple of degrees. When they fired up the engine, I thought I was going to wet my pants,” he laughed. (I have to point out that these conversations are from my memory. I’m sure I’ve made some technical error in my wording. But it’s how I remember it from yesterday).

Clay wanted us to go on the Command Center tour, so off we went. When we all shuffled into the hallowed grounds of the command center viewing room, Clay sat in the middle and said, “This is where I sat when I came in here. Armstrong sat here one time,” he commented patting the seat next to him.

It was late and we were tired and starving by the time we left, but the hotel bartender had told us that Maribelle’s had been opened yet again. Boy was Clay excited… I didn’t know what to expect, but after the Cockeyed Seagull experience I was prepared. He wanted to go there before dinner. Wow, what a dive! It is a carefully replicated dump. The smoke filled room was slightly better than the Seagull because they had modern ventilation and high ceilings.

Otherwise it was dark, noisy and dingy. I asked for a glass of wine and she presented a choice between two miniature bottles of Sutter Home wines. I chose the merlot and suffered through it. Joe asked for a dark beer. Nope. He asked for a Bud Light. They were out. He drank a Miller Light. We didn’t stay long, but it was all part of the experience. I begged to go back to Tommy’s for a nice meal and a real glass of wine. When we got back, Clay asked if we wanted a nightcap… No way! I was done. The ninety-year-old could keep the bar open by himself :)

Clay was thrilled to find out that an old acquaintance of his was staying at our hotel, Tom Stafford. He told me that Tom usually eats breakfast around 8:00 or so.

The Cockeyed Seagull

It’s definitely fun to travel with such a seasoned traveler. Clay is relaxed and low-maintenance… a definite plus in my books. The flights were uneventful, other than the bizarre lack of a window next to our “window seat” on our second flight. Even the flight attendant thought it was comical and decided she was going to draw a scenery and tape it to the wall. It surprised me how much I missed having that window, especially when we landed!

We got our rental car and headed out and around Houston on the toll road G8. Travel advice—take this route. We bypassed the downtown traffic. 

Down in the NASA area, Clay guided us to his favorite dive bar, The Cockeyed Seagull. I had my first shock of the trip when we stepped through those hallowed doors… people smoke indoors in Texas! I couldn’t believe it. Clay laughed at my expression. He commented with a chuckle, “I don’t think the Il Forno Classico ladies would like this place.” 

I’m pretty sure he’s right. He laughed even harder when I saw the bill and my jaw dropped. Two cocktails, two beers and a glass of merlot was only twelve bucks! We’re definitely not in California anymore.

Then we checked into our hotel on Clear Lake. Not sure where the name Clear Lake came from. There’s nothing remotely clear about this lake. It’s a lovely shade of brown. We got into our rooms and ten minutes later we were heading back out. Man, I love traveling with people who can be ready that fast. That’s the upside of dressing nice for the air travel, you’re ready to go out without an ordeal. 

Clay treated us to another of his favorite places, an upscale restaurant called Tommy’s Oyster Bar. I had a glass of wine that cost as much as our entire bill at the Cockeyed Seagull (love that name). The waitress turned out to be an incredibly smart girl with a love of science and space travel. Clay’s faced glowed with joy at her enthusiasm for his favorite subject.

We went back to our hotel and guess what? Clay and Joe wanted another cocktail. Seriously? Next thing I know I’m following them to the hotel lounge. I couldn’t bring myself to order yet another glass of wine, so I got a half glass. I’m going to have a liver problem by the time I leave this town. Needless to say, I conked out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

This morning finds me sitting on the fourteenth floor in the breakfast lounge looking out over Clear Lake, which is not clear. I sat out on the balcony to write because I love the humidity, but my laptop didn’t like the sprinkles of rain. I’m back inside and just shut my WiFi off because my computer went bonkers. This will definitely slow down the blogging process!

Space Adventure

This adventure began early this morning. We were picked up by a beautiful compact limousine and whisked off to go get Clay Boyce. You may have heard me talk about my newest endeavor… writing a biography? Well Clay Boyce is the subject of that biography. We met him a couple of years ago and were immediately charmed by this guy. It didn’t take me more than ten minutes to realize his story needed to be told. Trust me, as a rocket scientist from the Apollo era, there’s a lot of stories.

We agreed to meet every Tuesday to put his incredible life in writing. I chose to organize the biography in a storytelling format. The reader will join us at the kitchen table and experience his journey in his own words and my response in mine. We’re going on two years now, and he’s going on ninety. Recently he admitted that his Houston days were probably coming to an end. He was debating whether or not he should go to the RNASA black-tie gala for the last time. With the recent loss of his best friend and wife, he would have to go alone. Naturally, being little Miss Adventure herself, I volunteered to go with him. Joe volunteered to carry the bags.

So here we are on a working vacation. The culmination of all the stories Clay’s tried to explain to me about what it was like to be Aerojet’s Chief Engineer on the Apollo Program. We will tour the Space Center, go to old haunts, have dinner with old friends, and party with astronauts (they won’t notice us, but we’ll be there!).

For now we’re enjoying the experience of traveling on Clay’s coat-tails. He uses a wheelchair at the airport, so Joe and I follow him as he’s taken to the front of every line. 

Because he’s a very, very frequent flyer, he gets all the special treatment like pre-boarding and extended leg room… sweet! We also get free booze during the flight, which doesn’t do us any good on a morning flight, but it’s a nice thought.

So, this blog series is a space adventure and it’s mostly about Clay :)

Halloween and Travel Tips

Halloween was a blast as usual with the GOs dressed up in their handmade costumes from home. We became friends with a couple of gals from the sailing team and I got drafted into French braiding Emily’s hair for her softball costume. 

For me, vacation is about meeting new people and connecting. Definitely not everyone’s vacation goal!

As we’ve traveled we’ve picked up all kinds of tips… sometimes learning the hard way, sometimes from others helping us. On this vacay we gave advice to several people regarding things I considered common knowledge. I forget that once upon a time I didn’t know either. So here’s a random list of things. You probably know at least half of them. This is like a quiz to see how many of them you already knew J

* Sand Fleas, Mosquitoes and No-see-ems. These little monsters can ruin your vacation. Three things to know: First taking vitamin B complex greatly reduces mosquito’s interest in biting you. Start taking it a month in advance. Bring the bug spray and use it… bites don’t just itch, they get infected—especially in the tropics. Do NOT bring your beach towel in your room. If you must bring it in, shake the heck out of it first and either wash it or bag it. Don’t put anything on or near your bed that has been to the beach. Also, many regions have bugs that lay eggs in your clothes in the middle of the night, if you leave them outside overnight to dry… bring your clothes in at night. Be careful petting the flea-infested cats and dogs.

* Ants. Rotten little buggers! These guys come in all shapes and sizes. They will invade your underwear (not kidding), your toothbrush, your vitamins, everything. Bring new zip-lock baggies. Bring extra. Put everything the ants seem interested in inside and zip! This trip they had two types; the microscopic beige ones and the biting ones. The maid sprayed my room daily and I still had to keep everything zipped.

* Bigger Critters. First of all, don’t leave clothes on the floor. You’ll get a surprise when you put your pants on and a cricket, or worse yet a cockroach is already in there. Those plastic hangers that have two clips for skirts or pants are great for hanging a couple of items on (also good for drying clothes after you wash them). Secondly, go to the pet store and buy “diatomaceous earth.” Get the human grade, not the kind for swimming pools. This is used to kill off exo-skeletal bugs like beetles, ants, cockroaches, and… wait for it… bed bugs! It’s non-poisonous and super cheap. It is fossilized organisms with sharp little shells. When the insect crawls through it, it gets cut up like a bunch of machetes. Sprinkle it in front of the insect entry way and keep it dry (it’s ineffective once it gets wet).

The Bahamas

* Gifts. Tipping is always appreciated, but gifts from home are a big hit. Know your region you plan to visit. Find out what they don’t have. On the islands they don’t have anything. This last trip I brought a baggy of nail polish for the housekeeper. I told her she could give it to her daughters. She quickly said it would be hidden from her daughters… it was hers! Don’t bring chocolate to a warm place. It just makes a mess. But it’s greatly appreciated elsewhere. This last trip I gave one of my fancy dinner dresses away to a GO (Club Med employee). She was ecstatic. She hadn’t been home in 8 months and was running low on nice clothes. Leave behind all of your sunscreen and bug spray. They need it too.

* First Aide. Those waterproof bandages are great for preventing blisters from sandals. But, if you have a shallow wound use liquid bandage. This will seal the open skin and prevent foreign bacteria from getting in. It will also keep you from touching it obsessively. When it peels off reapply it until the skin is entirely healed. Every kit should have triple antibiotic ointment and steroid cream. I also bring sunburn relief gel which I use on bug bites.

Costa Rica

* Comfort Allowance. Short and sweet… bring a specific amount of money (I bring $50) to purchase whatever it is you need to make yourself comfortable. Examples include a fan, a better pillow, and a biggie for me is a comforter. I get the cheapest comforter I can find (if you are at a hotel, housekeeping can provide blankets), and fold it up and put it under the sheets to make the bed more comfortable. Then it doubles as a gift to the family’s home you are staying.

Antigua, Guatemala

* Say Thanks. Thank-you cards are always stuffed into our bags and used for the tipping the housekeepers who go above and beyond. But never underestimate the power of words! I was at a boutique the other day and the saleslady spent half an hour helping me pick out a gift. At the register I thanked her for her effort. The manager looked up and tapped my saleslady on the arm saying, “Did you hear her?” My gal answered, “Yeah… wow.” Understandably I was confused. They continued, “You must be an American!” Really? Is saying thank you so rare that it would stop two professionals in their tracks? They said most people treat them like servants.

Oaxaca, MX

* Pepto and Water. Yep the horror stories about third-world water are true. If you have any suspicion about the water, don’t drink it and don’t brush your teeth with it. As a matter-of-fact don’t shower with your mouth open. Even with these drastic measures you can’t guarantee what you eat or drink otherwise is safe. No worries, just take one chewable Pepto Bismal tablet each morning. I actually prefer the generic Pepto. (Obviously make sure you’re not allergic to it or something.) 

Barcelona

It coats your stomach and prevents most bacteria from attaching to your intestines and forcing you to spend your vacay in the bathroom! Since I’ve started doing this five years ago, I’ve not gotten the travel-trots once. Take one every morning.

* Time Changes. As you scoot across the globe the time changes. I always change my watch to the current time throughout the flights, and I do not refer to what time it would be back home.

Milan

* Car Rentals. Make sure you get a car you can drive. Don’t forget that other countries like Italy have manual transmissions as a rule. Unless you can drive a stick shift, you should make sure you are getting an automatic. Also look for the bait-and-switch at the rental agencies… the person who books the rental online may not be the one who will be driving it (I reserve it, Joe drives it). To get the drivers name on it at the agency can cost you a pretty penny. If that happens, simply ask them how much that car would be renting for. If it’s cheaper (it will be) then tell them you want to cancel your reservation and then start over. Trust me they will work with you, and sometimes it’s even less than before.

Oakland, CA

* Overbooked Flights. If my flight schedule is flexible I go straight up to the counter at the boarding gate and ask them if this flight is overbooked. If it is, they will reschedule you for a different flight and give you a travel voucher that is good for one year. An hour’s inconvenience (drinking beer and wine) can equal hundreds of dollars.

Puerto Escondito, MX

* Taxi Rates. Do not, I repeat, do NOT get in a taxi until the taxi driver gives you a rate and guarantees they know where it is you want to go. Taxi drivers get lost and will charge you. They may even pretend to be lost or take you the long way.

* Mobile Passport. This is the best kept secret I have and I ask you to not share it with everyone… right now it’s not used much. Download the Mobile Passport App onto your phone. It will have you scan in your passport. You hover the app over the bar-code at the bottom of your passport. Fill in the info required by customs as your plane is taxiing into the airport. When you enter the customs area look for the Mobile Passport signs and bypass all of the lines and kiosks that take photos of you looked startled. It saves so much time it’s ridiculous. Make sure everyone in your group has it, otherwise it’s like being the fastest car on a train… worthless.

* Bring a Converter. The new electricity converters are awesome. They are tiny and have like six different currents. I’ve destroyed too many things to not have this on hand.

Florence

* Wet Shoes. If you are going someplace where it rains a lot, you will have to deal with soggy shoes. Buy a pair of those plastic shoes. I don’t care if they’re ugly, buy ‘em, bring em. Flip-flops, mud boots, and croc-style slip-ons. After sloshing through ankle deep water to get to the restaurant, it’s nice to just go in the bathroom and wipe them off. Tennies will never dry, never.

* Wet Clothes. Bring a kitchen garbage bag to put your wet stuff in for the trip home (which is almost everything J). This trip we had swimsuits from the day we left.

* Rainy Season vs Dry Season. Dry season sounds good huh? Not necessarily. The weeks prior to rainy season can be like a sauna. Check the weather patterns and pay attention to the humidity. If you have a choice between air-conditioned and not… I suggest you pony up the dough.

Stockholm, Sweden

* Luggage. When you get home, leave your bags out in the garage for a couple of days to let everything crawl out. We learned this the hard way and had to deal with bed-bugs, which can cost thousands and thousands of dollars to get rid of… unless you have the diatomaceous earth I told you to get. Then for twenty bucks you can sprinkle it all over the room that got infested… between the mattresses and along the baseboards, everywhere. A week later, you clean up the mess and viola you got rid of them! If you don’t believe me just look at the bag. It says so right on the front. Anyway leave your bags in the garage for a day or so.

Isla Mujeres

* Souvenirs. If you travel a lot like we do, this can be a time and money sucker. I make it clear to everyone that I’m not buying gifts. If I buy something it’s because it was perfect for someone, not because they expected it. The only exception is a gift for the person that took me to the airport at four in the morning and picked me up at midnight. I collect a couple of things like wine glasses. So I will keep an eye out for a pretty one as a memento. I also like crosses from different cultures, but again I try not to obsess over it. Our time is better spent immersing ourselves in the culture… and drinking wine J

* Cream and Sugar. If you are environmentally conscious it will drive you nuts to tear open a plastic wrapped packet of sugar, equal, creamer, napkin, and a stir stick just to get the sugar. If you want everything in the packet, no problem. If you just want the sugar, bring your own. That way you don’t have a waste basket full of brand new unused items. Besides their stuff is never what I want and it’s usually stale.

* RTIC or Yeti. Getting one of those Yeti-type double insulated cups or thermos’ is well worth it. Especially the screw-top because you can drag it everywhere, throw it the beach bag, etc.. Load it with ice and beer, soda, margarita, or wine… and I guess water if you need it ice cold. They’re not cheap, but worth it.

Sophie the Yoga teacher, The Bahamas

Well that’s all I can think of for now. Did you learn anything new? Let me know if you have any other tips for me and my readers.

Wine and Musicians

The jumbo jet from Paris arrived Thursday with a new group of exhausted tourists. The diving will change a lot now. The boats will be packed with French divers. They don’t have a good reputation in the diving community. Arrogance and the belief that you already know everything there is to know about diving is a terrible combination. We shall see. We took diving off again today and worked out on land. I have this routine of speed-walking throughout the resort and going up and down every set of stairs… great way to burn off the white chocolate bread ;)

Last night we went to the wine tasting course at the club. There was ten of us around this amazing table loaded with food for wine pairing. They even had a giant Serrano ham, which is really expensive, but lasts a long time. Fernanda, our sommelier, was great at starting us off with looking at the color, then the still aroma, followed by the aroma after it’s swirled. Then of course was the tasting; a simple sip, a swirling sip, conversation, another sip. Club Med is famous for its mediocre wine, so I was pleasantly surprised when they pulled out real wine. I brought wine from California, so I’m safe… in case you were worried. 

We were excited to find our spunky dive-master in the wine tasting. She and her boyfriend added a fun twist to it all.

It’s been a couple of days now since the French arrived and they have brought a great energy to the Club. They brought their children, so little ones are running amuck. It’s fun to watch the way they all interact. The teens are boring as usual. They strut around slowly and don’t acknowledge anyone except each other. Today a teen tried to order a margarita at the beach bar. The bartender (a girl, barely 21 herself) said nope. The teen said, “It’s for my mom.” The bartender leaned closer and pointing at the girl’s bright yellow bracelet said with a smile, “I don’t care if it’s for your dad, or your Grandma, your under age and you’re not getting a drink with alcohol in it!” I had to laugh at the girl’s frustration. She ordered a virgin margarita.

One of our ‘excursions’ is going to the airport. It’s a ten minute walk. They have a building that’s been closed every time we go there, a tiny gift shop, and a bar. The biggest road on the island (two-lanes) goes between the airport and the bar and gift shop. When a plane comes in the airplane crew walks over and an instant game of dominoes is played. This is an intense game here. They are very theatrical as they slam the dice cup down as hard as they can, and shout encouragement and complaints at each other. The other day one of them stood up and yelled, “Call 911! I need help!” This was met with laughter. When the flight crew isn’t around they sit around and watch T.V. together. There’s nothing like watching real life blooper shows where kids wreck on skateboards and cars skid on ice to make us all bond.

I have to pause from my writing right now to gaze out to sea from my Club Med barstool perch at La Pinta…………….. What a beautiful setting. It’s actually a little chilly, but I’m still in shorts and a tank-top, and bug spray. That brings me to a subject I plan to do a separate blog post on; travel tips for beginner travelers. But not right now.

One of the major highlights of this trip is the two French musicians we met on the flight over. They learned Kenny Chesney’s ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problem’ and played it for us the other night. The crowd loved it. Then they played Margaritaville, another hit. The singer asked me if I could help him with a song they wrote. He was concerned about the English words he’d used. I was happy to help, but it turned out to be harder than I thought it would be. I’m not at all poetic, and really don’t understand music lyrics either. It’s probably why I like country and Christian… they make sense. I was able to help with some grammar though. Tonight they played it for the very first time and it was great. Kind of a soft romantic sound.