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Houston of course was well known to us by reputation. It mostly, but not completely, lived up to that. We were there a week, staying in a motel 10 miles from the center. That gave us plenty of time to experience the areas freeways and traffic. We saw two relatives, went to the Houston Space flight center, and saw several museums and Rice University.

We were a little disappointed in the Houston Space Flight Center, as the tour didn't really get you very close to what the astronauts do. But the museum does have a pretty good collection of planes and other flight vehicles of all shapes and sizes as well as mock-ups of things like an aircraft carrier's flight room.

We both liked the campus of Rice University. Some of its buildings are rather beautiful modern renditions of Spanish colonial architecture. But our favorite outing in Houston was by far the art museum, where we spent a long

Visiting family is always a pleasure, but on this occasion, we were extremely happy to finally meet up with Fred Grossberg, husband of Gerry's late first-cousin, Esther. We had corresponded with Fred via email for many years and were thrilled to finally be able to meet him. We were also extremely happy to meet his friend Virginia Lee who keeps him on his toes on the dance floor and leads a very busy life running a marketing and now a travel business. Check out their website at www.cruiseandleisuretravel.com .