Arrival in Webster (South Houston Area, September 2013 -- Part One)

BEGINNING OF A PLAN

Since I’ve moved to Texas back in 2002, my parents have been coming down on a fairly regular basis to visit me (originally it seemed to have been every other year, it’s now become a yearly event).  Each time they’ve come down, we’ve tried to go to “someplace new” to see interesting things.  When they were down in 2012, there were a lot of “revisits” of places they’d seen on the first visit in order to see how much has changed over the decade.  That was also indicative that we’d kinda tapped out the Austin area for things to do.  Sure there’s some minor smaller things which might fill an hour or so, or some venues which we have no interest in, but for the most part we’ve seen everything there is in Austin.  That also has begun to include the surrounding areas, a reasonable driving distance from Austin.

As I had a week off coming up in September, and that’s when my parents were planning on coming down, the question was what to do when they’re here.  I’ve always wanted to go to Houston to see NASA, and that was high on my list of things to do when I first arrived.  Unfortunately, due to job loss, lack of funds, and other factors, it wasn’t something I could reasonably do.  When I was with Lee, we traveled to Baytown (east of Houston) a number of times, but going to NASA wasn’t high on the list (as we were there for “family purposes’).  For a period (due to the shitty nature of the way my company changed their policies), Lee and I couldn’t always take our vacations at the same time.  It was because of that I took my solo Arizona trip, and on different weeks Lee took other trips with the kids.  Had to be part of a family when we can’t even do family vacations together.  One of the trips that Lee had taken was out to NASA, and I enjoyed seeing the pics she had, but this was something I wanted to see for myself.

So in the planning stages for this upcoming September, I made the suggestion to my parents that we should visit NASA.  That was met with a resounding yes.  After going back-and-forth with Mum a bit on how I thought the overall execution of this should be done, we finalized the plans.  I’d rent a car here in Austin (as my own, Argent, was nearing 130,000 miles, and I didn’t want to put extra miles on it.  Renting also means paying for peace of mind).  I’d drive to southern Houston, pick Mum & Dad up at Hobby Airport, and then we’d drive to nearby Webster (to stay at a hotel).  Webster would be the base of operations we’d range out from.

We’d look over the maps of the area, and thumbed through the Houston Tour Book I got from AAA in order to find some venues we’d want to check out.  Of course, we’d look at information posted in visitor’s centers to help find other things we might not have been aware of.  I MapQuested the location of our hotel to figure out how to get there, and it was very different to tell what type of area this was.  I couldn’t see NASA being located in “the hood,” but it was difficult to tell how “nice” the area was.  The information I sent away for from City of Webster Visitor’s Bureau was not helpful in that regard.  I’m expecting things to look grey and industrial, due to the closeness of the oil refineries.  (The section of IH-10 Lee and I would go through to get to Baytown was not the prettiest place, so I keeping that in mind as a possibility.)

Since I’d ridden with Lee the many times we’ve gone to Baytown, plotting the route should be easy, as I’d be familiar with most of the route.  My parents would fly into Hobby early Sunday morning.  That left me the prior day to complete laundry and errands, secure the rental, and whatever other last minute things I needed to do before being away from home for a week.

DAY ONE -- 8 SEPTEMBER 2013:  ARRIVAL IN WEBSTER

I got up at about the same time I normally would to go to work during the week.  My rental was a grey Mazda 3 sedan (which was named “Trey,” a play on the French word for “three”).  I picked up State Highway 290 and headed east towards Brenham.  It’s nice to drive roads I knew well in those predawn hours, but soon enough I’d be watching the sunrise, and hoped it wouldn’t be in my eyes.  Upon reaching Brenham, I turned south onto Route 36.  I saw the sign that said Sealy was some-many miles ahead, so this was the way I wanted to go, but this section of the road was absolutely unfamiliar.  I figured perhaps I just hadn’t paid attention in this section when Lee and I were going to Baytown.

Before reaching Sealy, I came to a place called Bellville.  There was a small park on the outside of town with a huge bust (about twenty feet high) of Stephen F. Austin.  Yeah, this was not the route Lee and I had gone; this was a brand new area.  If I wasn’t on a time schedule (as I wanted to arrive at Hobby about the time my parents’ flight would be in), there wasn’t any opportunity to explore.  I wasn’t lost, mind you, as I’d be coming (eventually) to a place that I knew; I just didn’t know where I was.

I stayed on 36, I soon came to Sealy, which was a small Texas town.  While both Bellville and Sealy were nice to look at, I’d hoped to stay on highway for this leg of the trip.  I was still “on time,” so no worry about Mum and Dad waiting around at the airport for me to get there (besides, it takes a little bit of time for them to get their luggage anyway).  On the other side of Sealy I was able to grab IH-10 (like I’d planned), and continue eastward.  Ah, it was nice to back into an area I recognized.

As I passed the city of Katy, I’d wondered how much of the congested Houston traffic I’d hit.  I figured since it was late morning as I was cruising through, I’d be pretty good.  And the worst traffic I recall on IH-10 was because Lee and I had been going through the center of Houston (as that was the easiest way to cross the city).  My plan was to be in the actual Houston city limits as possible, so I’d pick up the Sam Houston Tollway (aka Route 8) to skirt the southern portion.  An advantage of this was that Hobby Airport was right near where Route 8 passes, so it’s also convenient.

The rental agency had told me I’d be responsible for any of the tolls, as there wasn’t a toll tag on Trey.  Six lanes of traffic are easy to navigate when everything is moving at a nice 60 mph, and it was easy to make the switch on to the Tollway.  I had to zip into the “cash lanes” and pay the $1.75, but after that, I could ride the Tollway as long as I needed to (unlike the Austin Tollway, which after you’ve paid to get on, you’ll still be charged again every few miles).  I’d made such good time, that it’d be another hour before the parents’ flight would arrive.

Using the clock face as an example, I entered the Sam Houston Tollway at the nine o’clock position, and was travelling counter-clockwise (as Hobby would be at about the five o’clock position).  But as I passed the exit for Almeda Road (roughly at seven o’clock), all traffic had to exit the highway because it was closed due to construction.  I had to sit through stop-and-go traffic through all the lights on the frontage road.  That gave me a chance to stop and use the facilities (Trey didn’t need to be fed yet, as he was just under a half-tank now).  The construction phase ended right before the Mykawa Road intersection, and by that time I’d be grabbing the very next exit to get off.  It was only as few minutes north of the Tollway to get to Hobby Airport.  For once I was glad for the construction, as I was now only about 30 minutes before flight arrival.

Getting into Hobby was very easy, although the multilevel parking garage (which had to be entered by driving up a corkscrew) was oddly laid out.  Once I’d found a parking space, it took a few moments for me to get my bearings (so I’d be bringing Mum & Dad on the most direct route to the vehicle).  The open area that you’d drive up to drop people off at the terminal is actually directly above where baggage claim is.  Once I figured that out, and got the layout of the waiting area down, I just spent time people-watching.  Ah, we’re still in the season of summer fashions.  >grin<

The flight came in on time, and once Mum & Dad had gotten their bags, it was a quick drive from the airport to pick up Interstate 45 south (aka the Gulf Freeway), which would bring us to Webster.  Mum commented this section didn’t look any different to her than Austin did.  I had to admit this section reminded me of driving on the IH-35 frontage road in downtown Austin trying to get on the highway.  The area became much nicer as we got to Webster, as there were more shopping plazas and such around.  The city of Webster reminded me more of Round Rock, a nicer smaller area next to a large urban sprawl.

We located the Days Inn where we were staying, which was just off the NASA Parkway, and then got checked in.  One of the reasons why Mum had chosen that place because it said it had a pool and breakfast was available (that cuts down on what we end up spending).  The pool was present, but there was no hot tub (strike one).  And it was clear the breakfast would be more of a “continental” variety (toast and juice), as opposed to light grill items (like where my parents usually stay at; strike two).  Still, the hotel was relatively inexpensive, and we’d only be spending the time there necessary to sleep.  We’d make do.

I’d nibbled on Kashi bars and some trail mix as I was driving over, because I’d figured we’d have lunch once we got checked in.  Mum & Dad pretty much hadn’t eaten all day, and were pretty starved.  While I like to frequent “local” or “regional” establishments as much as possible, at this point we wanted to find food which was close to the hotel.  There was a Chili’s nearby.  The service was a little slow, but acceptable.  There was a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cake on the desert menu which we shared.  Mmm, very yummy.  With the hunger beast satisfied, we went back to the hotel and got unpacked.  I’d brought a bag with a bottle of Llano Riesling wine for Mum, and a six-pack of Lone Star for Dad (plus a sixer of Woodchuck for myself) which we’d enjoy in the evening.  We when took advantage of the empty pool, which happened to be very warm (as it was located in a room which received the afternoon sun).  With the water temperature like that, we really didn’t need the hot tub then.

Since my parents had been up earlier than me (plus the way long flights seem to sap your energy), I hadn’t planned anything for this day.  This was the day to relax, unpack, get a feel for the area, and plan the attacks for the coming days.  There were a bunch of visitor brochures at the hotel lobby which we picked up, and perused.  Mum commented there was one here for a place called “Round Rock,” and we should visit there at some point.  I followed through with the joke (as the hotel desk person was within ear shot), and responded that I’d been there, and it wasn’t a very nice place.

The section of Webster that we were in had a lot of hospitals around, so that added to the affluent feel of the area.  Near where the hotel was, our eyes noticed a sign for the local elementary school, and it was something we needed to stop and get a picture of.  Okay, the name was quite spelled the same way, but we were sufficiently amused by McWhirter Elementary (and the marquee which talks about how “where superstars learn!”)

We wanted to get a light dinner, and this was an opportunity to explore some of the local venues.  The hotel manager had made a couple of suggestions of places to try, and they were marked on a pamphlet he handed us (just like the one I got from City of Webster Visitor’s Bureau).  His recommendation was Mario’s Flying Pizza, which was on the opposite side of the build just across the street.  The décor was nice for a small scale Italian place, and there was no “dinner rush” we had to wait through.  We got to watch someone hand-toss the pizza dough in the air, which was cool to see.  Instead of individual entrees, we decided on getting a cheese pizza to share.  The pizza was acceptable, but not stellar.  The crust was thin and chewy (not cardboard-like).  It was filling and economical, and that’s what we were looking for.

After the short walk back to the hotel, we then cracked open our individual bottles of booze (I brought the corkscrew also) and had some relaxing drinks.  We’d all want to be rested up for tomorrow’s objective, the main reason we came to the Houston area in the first place … NASA.

For more information on the places visited or mentioned:

            Houston:  http://www.visithoustontexas.com/

            Bellville:  http://www.cityofbellville.com/

            Sealy:  http://www.sealychamber.com/

            Katy:  http://cityofkaty.com/

            Webster:  http://www.cityofwebster.com/

            McWhirter Elementary:  https://sites.google.com/a/staff.ccisd.net/mcwhirterelementary/

            Mario’s Flying Pizza:  http://www.ilovemariosflyingpizza.com/

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Slate Valley Museum and Pember Museum (Granville, NY) -- July 2013

SLATE VALLEY MUSEUM (GRANVILLE, NY)

When I asked my parents if there were any other places in the vicinity they wanted to check out, Dad suggested he wanted to see the slate museum in Granville.  I’d never heard of it, so it sounded like a great opportunity to check out.  After getting lunch, we found a parking lot near where we saw a sign.  I was the first to realize the place we pulled into was an old railway station which had been converted to a bed & breakfast.  This is known as the Station House Bed & Breakfast.

The museum was on the other end of the lane, but that was still an interesting find.  It made be think of the dilapidated railway building in Elgin (TX) we saw last year, and how that could be repurposed to be like this.  We didn’t go inside, but I included it here to show it was a possible place for visitors to stay when they come to this area.  I’m sure they’ll appreciate the free advertising also.

The Slate Valley Museum is open all year-round, and it housed inside a restored 19^th Century barn.  The guide let us know there was an area along the New York and Vermont border where the slate is mined.  This vein is about six miles wide by twenty-four miles long, and produced the livelihood of this area from the late 19^th to the early 20^th Centuries.  There was a whole section on just the geology of the area, and how this section formed the slate.

Slate is quarried, but what is interesting is there are imperfect bits (known as “waste slate”) for the first couple yards below the ground.  Waste slate might have deposit of iron pyrite (fools gold), quartz, or other minerals.  These imperfections weaken the slate, and keep it from being useful as roofing material.

While not exactly a roof, this was a nice display what showed how shingles made from slate would be designed to overlap each other.  Slate is not light either, so think about how much weight the structure of a building had to be able to handle.

Many chunks of slate contain fossilized material, which also cuts down on their usefulness as a building material.  I see these as still very valuable, as we can learn about the critters whose remains we discover when large slate chunks are split apart.  Most of the fossils have been of nautoilds or other primitive shelled creatures, but you never know what we might stumble upon.

Large mounds of waste slate were commonly piled up next to the quarry, because no one had any use for it.  Slate chips are sharp, so you don’t want to use them in road construction.  But if the slate is ground down into pebble-sized pieces, then it’s useful in zero-scaping or creating walking paths.

A short video gave the most detailed portions of the history of the area, and how immigrants from various European countries came here to mine it, and work it into useful shapes.  Slate is still pulled from the area today by some companies which were founded by some of those who settled here.

Like any mining work, it was hard and dangerous.  Slabs weighing a couple tons were extracted from the ground, and then pulled up by a massive pulley system.  The slate was separated at the strata layers, and worked down to manageable chunks.  These pieces were places on rail cars (and, in recent years, trucks) to be transported to their final destination.

The Museum shows some artwork which could be carved from the slate, as well as various uses it had besides roofing material.  This slate floor is a good example.  Some of the squares on the outer edge bared the names of people or organization that donated money to help restore the building after the August 2011 flood.  I particularly like the name of this unknown donor.

Additionally, there were displays here on the cultures of the people who relocated to the area, and how this became a melting pot.  Of course I’m going to find the information on the Irish the most interesting.  No matter where the Irish went, they had to be told to watch what they say.  I was amused at how some things don’t change.

When walking around the grounds outside, there’s no evidence of the height of the flood waters, which were the result of Tropical Storm Irene.  There are some pictures inside the museum taken at that time show the depth of a few feet in the parking lot.  Look at the picture of the exterior of the building above, and you can see there are two horizontal black bars to the lower left of the sign.  The flood waters reached to the lower one.  That doesn’t seem like a lot, but in the picture of the slate pile below, you can see (in the upper left section) the maintenance building for the museum.  This whole section I was standing in was underwater when the Mettowee River spilled over its banks.

These piles, which are set in a section about five or six feet below the ground floor of the museum.  Water was going to hurt any of these pieces, but it was just interesting to keep in mind.  There are many kinds of slate boulders piled here to show different textures and color that slate has.

Behind the museum there was a small picnic area, and a covered bridge which crossed the river.  We had commented to the guide that after seeing this place, we were going to head over to the nearby Pember Museum, but just needed to figure out where it was.  The guide said once you cross the covered bridge, it’ll bring you to the yard behind the Pember, so it was easy to reach it that way.  Kewl.  We knew they were close to each other, just not how close.

PEMBER MUSEUM (GRANVILLE, NY)

The last time I was at the Pember Museum was over thirty years ago when we went there as part of a Scout trip.  I recall there’d been more than one visit to “old house, where we went up the stairs, and there was a bunch of stuffed animals.”  Considering that was about the extent of my recollection, now you see why I wanted to re-visit it as an adult.

The first floor of the Pember Museum is a public library, but I don’t recall that from my earlier visits.  The Museum portion was founded in 1909, with collection of artifacts accumulated by Franklin and Ellen Pember as they travelled the world.  There was also a corresponding Nature Preserve associated with the Pember a little south of where the museum is located.  Nature hikes, hands-on-activities, and scavenger hunts take place at the Nature Preserve as part of the educational experience.

The building is filled with stuffed specimens of various animals, most of which were birds and mammals, as well as displays of shells, corals, eggs, and insects.  There were also some bones, rocks, and gems from various places.  All the items were in large glass cases, and each critter had a card next to it with its name, taxidermy designation, and where it was from.

There was so much to see and absorb, it’s worth it to see the types of animals here.  I completely enjoyed soaking up the area, but I limited my picture taking to the things I liked or found the most interesting.  My affinity to the beach drew me to the large collection of sponges and corals…

…The eggs of extinct bird species, like the passenger pigeon and the great auk…

…To things which I could have some simple fun with (which would satisfy my twisted sense of humor).  In the cases with the various stuffed birds, I noted two of a particular type of tropical seabird, known as the booby.  So, I made sure to take a picture of a pair of nice boobies.  >grin<

My goofy fun aside, it was great to see critters I wouldn’t normally see.  I admit that I’d rather see live specimens at a zoo, but considering the wide range of habitats the Pembers collected these from, I don’t know if a zoo could effectively hold them all.  The leopard cat from Indonesia (which looks rather surprised here), doesn’t share the same climate as the sable antelope or the golden eagle.

Although one thing I wasn’t able to accurately get answered was how Franklin Pember acquired all these specimens.  It was mentioned that he “collected mounted birds and mammals,” but it was less clear if he actually hunted these animals himself, or if he purchased them from someone who did.

It wasn’t going to hurt my enjoyment of the place at all, as these were things obtained by a “gentleman of independent means” over one-hundred years ago.  The fact was he was able to travel the world in a time when a long-distance journey was not easy, and he brought back souvenirs of the places he visited.  Looking back, the how is less important.  Because Franklin Pember and his wife were able collect these things, we’re able to enjoy these displays today.  This is a window to a different time period.  The animals featured here are noted if they’re extinct, threatened, or whatever their status is.  This is a great learning experience to see how diverse life is, and learn about things perhaps you never knew about.

It won’t take long to go through the entire museum, and this coupled with the neighboring Slate Valley Museum might a great day trip.  I was glad for the chance to reacquaint myself with this.  Seeing this childhood memory as an adult (who has a greater expanse of knowledge) allowed me to appreciate this even more.  And as the Pember Museum exists primarily on donations, be sure to drop some money in the box in order to keep this open for future generations.

More information can be found on the places we visited (or were mentioned) at: 

Station House:  http://www.stationhousebb.com/

Slate Valley Museum:  http://www.slatevalleymuseum.org/

Pember Museum:  http://www.pembermuseum.com/

Balloon Hunting (Argyle, NY) & Skenesborough Museum (Whitehall, NY) -- July 2013

BALLOON HUNTING (BORDER OF FORT EDWARD AND ARGYLE, NY)

Okay, this isn’t really an “interesting place I’ve been,” but more of a reminder to the reader that you need to keep aware of your surroundings.  Sure it’s great to go out in search of adventure, but keep your eyes open for when an adventure opportunity finds you.

Considering how Glens Falls hosts the Adirondack Balloon Festival in the Fall, it’s not uncommon to see a hot-air balloon hanging in the sky any time of year.  Many times in my youth my parents would be out for a drive, we’d spot a lone balloon in the sky, and give chase.  The van (which the balloon would be packed into) was easily located, and they enjoyed having the attention.  Wherever a balloon happened to land, the property owner would receive a customary bottle of champagne, and some tethered rides would be done at point (as long as the conditions permitted it).

I was driving back from Glens Falls to my parents’ place (as that’s where I stay when I come up for a visit), and spotted a balloon hanging far lower than it should in the sky.  It was out in the middle of a field, in an area not very accessible by vehicle.  Not the best place to set a large nylon object down, especially with the large number of trees nearby.  There wasn’t much room to pull off of St. James Road (thanks to the drainage gully), and I briefly went into someone’s driveway.  For the few moments I watched, I could see while the balloon got a little altitude, there was no wind to send it in any significant direction.  Yeah, sometimes the weather doesn’t cooperate with you.

The orange flash of the burner provides the hot air which gives the balloon lift, and that was visible from where I was.  Each time the balloon went up, it would then drift a few yards further when it descended.  If the pilot could get close to Route 197, the chase van (wherever it was) could assist.  Once I went to the corner of St. James & 197, I found the chase van waiting (with a few other spectators).

I spoke to Tuanya, who was the co-owner of Equinox Balloons, and she let me know the pilot had just started about 30 minutes ago from a location not far from here.  She said it looked like the pilot was heading for the nearest farm house, as the wind was being rather uncooperative.  We also talked about my travel blog (as I mentioned I was snapping pictures for this), and balloon rides.  I’d been about twenty years since I’d ridden in a balloon, but my Mum really likes them.  Tuanya suggested I have her contact them to arrange a ride.  We exchanged our business cards.

It was a few tense moments as we made sure the balloon would clear the small grove of trees, and soon it was working its way towards the Roberts’ residence.  Having a huge yard, and a house which set back from the road, made it the best way for the chase van to access it.  We all left the busy corner we were parked at, and moved our vehicles into to the Roberts’ driveway.

As a spectator to the action, I hung back and left the balloon professionals do their job.  They rushed out to meet the pilot, as the balloon’s wicker basket was skimming the tops of the field grass.  Once it was over actual lawn, the professionals maneuvered the balloon to the best area to deflate it.

I went up to owner to let her know that I was just a passing spectator, and hoped it was okay that I’d parked on their property (as it was the polite thing to do).  I was given the response of “You’re Dean’s brother aren’t you?”  What the hell?  I haven’t lived here in a decade, how does someone I don’t know know who I am?  It turned out the owner was one of my brother’s classmates, and someone who still interacted with him.  It must be the family resemblance.

The pilot had exited the basket, and gave the bottle of champagne to Denise Roberts.  He commented that normally he’d ask if anyone wanted to any short (tethered) rides, but the stillness of the air would prevent it from being very enjoyable.  The decision was made to put the balloon away.

In order to pack up a hot-air balloon, a ripcord is pulled to open a panel at the top.  As the warmer air escapes, the balloon begins to deflate.  The professionals know to tip the basket on its side, so the large nylon mass collapses in the direction they want it to.  A bent bar (or piece of PVC pipe) is slid along the length of the balloon, which forces the hot-air out the top panel.  As that is done, fabric belts are placed around strategic locations to keep the lines and material from becoming a tangled mass.  Once all the air is out, the whole thing gets rolled up.  Watching this remaindered me of what we do when Austin Planetarium packs up our inflatable Discovery Dome mobile planetarium at the conclusion of a show.

As the professionals did that, I could see two other balloons off in the west heading this way (from their positions, they were just south of the direction of Fort Edward).  I’m sure it must’ve been a bummer to be packing up you balloon when others are in the sky.  But keep in mind when something is in the sky, there are no points of reference to gauge exactly how far away they were or what their altitude was (although an educated guess came be made, as hot-air balloons are a pretty standard size).  Those pilots might’ve found a higher elevation wind, or they could moments from experiencing the same conditions which brought this balloon down.

Any time I get to see hit-air balloons in the air, I find them to be pretty fabulous.  I’m glad that I stopped to watch and interact with the chase crew, instead of noting it hanging in the sky and driving on.  As I said, sometimes adventure finds you, so be open to it.

SKENESBOROUGH MUSEUM (WHITEHALL, NY)

I was still having trouble wrapping my head around the idea that the United States Navy had its birthplace in Whitehall.  How does an essentially land-locked little community create such a world-spanning organization?  I knew the Navy was in place after the Revolution, because we used it to fight the Barbary Pirates, but I thought it had been created after the War for Independence was over.  Still, how the hell does Whitehall have the notoriety of having the Navy born there?  That would require a trip to there to find out.  Our destination was the Skenesborough Museum.

Mum mentioned she didn’t think that museum would be too extensive, but there were potentially other things to see in the area.  Our game plan was to hit as many small venues as we could this day.  The Champlain Canal goes right through Whitehall, which connects the Hudson River (in Albany) with Lake Champlain, which this small town was on the shores of.  Okay, so it’s not completely land-locked.  Whitehall was founded in 1759 by British Loyalist Philip Skene (the settlement was originally called Skeneborough as a result).  The historic homestead of the founders, known as Skene Manor, overlooks the area.

Skene Manor was built in the 1870s on land previously owned by Philip Skene, although it wasn’t named that until 1946.  While it was a private residence, the first floor was transformed into small restaurant.  The mansion went through several owners, until it was purchased by the town in 1995 to help preserve it.  A restoration project is currently ongoing, and visitors are still allowed in to see the progress.  We chose not to go up there today, simply so we could hit other places.  I still would’ve liked to get a few shots from there looking down upon the area.  I liked not only the style of the architecture, but it’s placement on the mountain side.  The green of the trees provided a very nice backdrop, and it must look fabulous when paired with the fall foliage.

The Skenesborough Museum was first opened in 1959 as a way to celebrate the town’s 200^th anniversary, and was placed in an old reinforced concrete Canal Terminal building (which was re-purposed for this).  The Museum was technically closed today for cleaning (which was not noted on their website), but the caretaker allowed us in anyway.  The first section of this small building had some Revolutionary War-era cannons, as well as artifacts dealing with the Canal history.

The caretaker made a comment that a recent visitor had sailed over from Norway, and was taking is boat down the Canal.  That’s quite a feat, and would’ve liked to meet this person, as there would be a lot of stories to tell.  I don’t think the caretaker was intentionally exaggerating the tale, but being second-hand some of the facts might’ve been muddled in the retelling.  I keep in mind that about a half-century ago my favorite Norwegian (Thor Heyerdahl) built a reed boat and sailed across the South Pacific just to prove a point.

A diorama (complete with audio track) provided the answers about the creation of the U.S. Navy we were seeking.  As the British had prevailed over the French for control over Lake Champlain, they controlled the access to area from both directions (St. Lawrence and Richelieu Rivers to the north, and the Hudson to the south).  In the early days of the Revolution, American rebels seized Skenesborough, and captured a British ship.  In a matter of months, the local sawmills and wrights produced a half-dozen small combat vessels.  These vessels were then sailed up Lake Champlain were they were used to achieve an American victory in October 1776 at the Battle of Valcour Island, which ended British control of the lake.  With a few ships and a decisive battle, the U.S. Navy was officially formed.

As we continued through the Museum, there was information about the role the Champlain corridor played in America’s attack on Montreal during the War of 1812, and notes about the New York regiments which served in Civil War.

I rather enjoyed the commemorative plates showing some of the earliest ships the U.S. Navy had commissioned, including the Constitution (to fight the Barbary Pirates), and the Enterprise (a familiar name that has been used in just about every major class of ships we’ve ever produced, space ships included).

The building was filled with items from the Canal’s and the town’s history, although not everything had informational cards on them to saw what they were, or how they related.  The quilt which was crafted for the country’s bicentennial was a nice touch, but I wondered how a particular red chair (which looked like it had been made out of Texas Longhorn horn) was relevant to Whitehall history.

Wandering around the grounds of the area yielded some additional interesting finds.  Besides the information on the Canal (which was only a matter of yards from the Museum), an enclosure had the ruins of the U.S.S. Ticonderoga, which was first commissioned in 1814.  While a wire fence keeps people from climbing on this, and there’s a roof on the enclosure, there’s nothing here to protect the remnants of the hull from any of the harsh elements the region gets.  I’m sure it would be difficult to move those beams, and keep them in reasonable condition, but because these are wood they will disintegrate eventually.  Steps should be taken to seal this up for its preservation.

Next to the Skenesborough Museum was a municipal park, although not connected with it.  I liked the amphitheater which was set into the shores of the Canal, and could imagine various summer plays being done here.

In section of the park was what appeared to be a randomly-placed wood-carved statue of Bigfoot.  It’s not as random as it first appears.  Whitehall is known as a “hotbed” of Sasquatch sightings, many which date back to Samuel de Champlain’s explorations in the early 1600’s, and even earlier with folklore from the Iroquois nation.  There was nothing in Museum even referenced the hint of the Sasquatch legend in the slightest bit.  My love of cryptozoology aside, I think that was something important enough to warrant a mention somewhere in there.

Beyond this stuff, there was a historic main street, and a few other old buildings, but nothing of which was of immediate interest in Whitehall.  Some of the structures were past the point of historical preservation, and should look at being demolished for safety reasons.  As a stop on the Canal tour this wasn’t a bad place, but it needed a serious infusion to the infrastructure to provide some other draws.  Any place with such historical significance should be an area that you want to hang out in, not simply pass through.

More information can be found on the places we visited (or were mentioned) at:

Equinox Balloons:  http://www.equinoxballoons.com

Skenesborough Museum:  http://www.skenesborough.com/skenesborough-museum

Skene Manor:  http://www.skenemanor.org/

Battle of Valcour Island:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Valcour_Island

Whitehall Bigfoot Sightings:  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/bigfoot-investigators-search-sasquatch-upstate-new-york-vermont-article-1.1222327

Museum of Innovation and Science (Schenectady, NY) -- July 2013

One of my missions this trip back to the old New York State stomping grounds was to visit as many planetariums in the area that I possibly could.  With being part of Austin Planetarium (and working towards that location opening in near future), I thought it would be fun (and educational) to see how other facilities were laid out.  Getting an idea of what one place did right, and what could be improved on, would provide value information when setting up the floor plan of the Austin Planetarium.

I’d gotten a list (on Go-Astronomy.com) which gave me websites and contact numbers for the places in New York State.  Considering I was only going to be there for a week (and I was also going to be seeing friends and family during this time), I had to limit myself to ones I could see in a reasonable day trip.  Calls to both Albany and Plattsburgh verified the planetariums at those places wouldn’t be available options.  Albany’s had been closed for remodeling, and Plattsburgh’s was set to reopen “Summer 2013” (but not specific date).  No one from Plattsburgh ever returned my call to let me know if they were ready to receive visitors yet, as July is about as “summer” as you can get.

That left one on my list, which was the Museum of Innovation and Science (also called “MiSci”) in Schenectady.  Mum had commented that a lot of the school kids had gone down there, but she hadn’t been there.  I know I hadn’t.  All the times I’d come down here to visit Tim, I can’t recall him ever mentioning it to me, so it must’ve been built fairly recently.  Located off of Nott Terrace, near Union College, it was in a nicer section of this city.  I didn’t know what we’d find in here, so we’d blocked off an entire day to check this out.

When we arrived, I noted the building seemed smaller than I expected.  I remembered the size of the Mayborn Planetarium (in Kileen, TX), which was more of a “space theatre” and hardly any museum, and MiSci looked to be roughly the same size.  From reading MiSci’s website, I got the impression this might be on the scale of Albany History Museum, Bob Bullock, or even one of the pyramids at Moody Gardens (near Galveston).

The lobby was decent size, and had a few chairs scattered about.  The small gift shop was right at the entrance, and that’s where admission tickets could be obtained.  I made sure to sign the guest book identifying myself as an “Austin Planetarium Representative.”  The gift shop was about what I expected, but I noticed other than a few shirts and some coffee mugs, there was nothing which had this place’s logo on it.  When you’re trying to promote your location, and get others to come, brand recognition is key to that (why do you think I had out my business cards, with the address for this very blog on it, to anyone I meet who seems interested).

We paid for two planetarium shows, which were an hour apart, and had an hour before the first one even started.  There was a travelling exhibit on dinosaurs which was also currently here.  That was also helpful to see how temporary items get placed.

Entering in the circular portion of the museum, which was the main section, we could see the entrance doors to the actual planetarium.  The planetarium was located at the center of the circle, and the there were exhibits which circled around it.  A giant T-Rex head which was nearby became the vehicle for me to recreate a scene from Jurassic Park.

In the entrance area, there was a prototype of a Mars rover that RPI (the local engineering college) had done.  Built back in the 1970’s, what was learned from building this was used in the construction of the rovers currently active on the red planet.  I found that highly interesting, and a nice piece of local history.

Starting to the right past that point (as you can’t go wrong if you go right), we entered into the section on electrical history.  Schenectady has always been referred to as the “electric city,” and I don’t think I ever realized why.  Thomas Edison did a lot of his work here, and that lead to the creation of the General Electric Corporation (which was one of the major employers of the area for decades).

While some of the exhibits were the ancient items that Edison had worked on, others were hand-on things (like using bicycle pedals to turn on a light bulb).  This was great being able to get the science aspect as well as the local history aspect.  Nicely done.

Continuing counter-clockwise, we came into a section on the electrical car that GE had built back in the 1970s.  As I was currently employed by General Motors (who had their own electric vehicle in 1990s), I found this section fascinating.  No bigger than the Chevrolet Aveo is now, the GE-100 had twelve car batteries which sat on a tray underneath the chassis.  There were also videos we could watch which showed the GE-100 in action, driving around the city, and solely going up a hill.  One of the earliest videos on the electric car engine (done back in the mid-1960s) was hosted by Ronald Reagan.

The next section was an interactive display produced by IBM.  Giant touch-screen monitors played short videos, or allowed you to look at graphics which showed population growth and major technological innovations.  I liked this section a lot, as this had the potential to have so much information available.  Want to learn about a particular discipline, then start at the correct kiosk.

Beyond that was an area dealing MRI, and various medical technology.  One exhibit had a sealed tube full of white beads, and a knob each to adjust frequencies and vibrations.  By putting the dials in different positions, you could make the beads jump in a chaotic jumble, or in an ordered wave-like pattern, just with sound waves.

Other parts of this section had displays on magnets, X-ray scanners, the components of a MRI machine, and an infrared camera.  That weird picture that looks like something out of Predator’s viewfinder was me taking a picture of being taken a picture of by the infrared camera.

Even though it was Monday late morning, the museum wasn’t too full.  There were some younger kids scattered about, but I could hear high school students having a great time in the next section.  They were all standing in front of a monitor, doing goofy things, and then laughing about it.  What was happening here a camera captured their images, and displayed them back about ten seconds later, so they got to watch what they were doing.  Once the kids cleared out, my parents and I did this too, and had the same level of goofy fun.

The next half of the circle was a wide open area devoted to various hand-on science exhibits, with the occasional dinosaur display placed in.  The dinosaurs were animatronic, and seemed to placed in wherever there was room (as opposed to having their own area for visiting displays).  The science items were certainly geared towards the younger audience, with things like vibrating sand, making clouds, and various devices that showed all forms of motion.  You could spin beads around a wide funnel, and watch as the accelerated as the surface area narrowed.

One item I liked in particular was the table with a large spinning disc, whose surface was flush with the rest of the table.  Items placed on the disc, or rolled across, would change trajectory depending on the weight of the item, and how it came in contact with the spin.  I took a pool bar which was there, and set it in the very center of the disc to see how long it would stay.  The spin pulled it away from the center, but not all the way off the edge.  It was fun to watch the rotating pool ball find a place of equilibrium on the spinning disc, and for the most part stay in the same general location.

Near this was a section which had many old style television sets (1940s models), and information on the locally-produced “Freddie Freihofer Show” which my parents remembered watching when they were kids.  [Anyone who knows me well is aware that the “brown box” original-style Freihofer chocolate chip cookies are my crack, and regularly bring them back with from a trip to this region.]  Dad was also intrigued by the diorama on solar panels, and took notes so he could build some onto the house.  I had my attention captured by a small display which had the Schenectady Meteorite, a rock which fell from space here back in 1968.  This was another piece of local history which made the visit worth while.

Since that had brought us full circle here, we then headed over to the other side of the museum.  This section had a gallery with portraits of local scientists (many contemporaries of Edison), although many were obscured with banner backdrops for the travelling dinosaur displays.

One of the things I really liked here was prototype exoskeletons here, which GE had been trying to develop in the 1950s.  The technology of the time wasn’t compact enough to make these practical, but it was nice to see what they were trying to produce.  What I liked was how they showed some of the concepts had used in other ways, including an AT-AT from Star Wars.  I think that yellow loader-thing Sigourney Weaver drove in Aliens would’ve been a good addition.

The first planetarium show we saw was on the rockets used to go to the Moon, and the second was about “cowboy astronomers” (narrated by Texas humorist Baxter Black).  The actual auditorium was small, with about no more than forty seats, plus the area where the presenter was (who controlled the presentation equipment).  A couple dozen slide projectors were placed around the parameter, and projected the images up into the inside of the planetarium’s dome.  There wasn’t much animation from scene to scene, and the noise of projectors was noticeable (as we ended up sitting next to one on the second show).

At the conclusion of each of the programmed portions of the show, a star field of the current night’s sky was projected, and a presenter then did an interactive segment.  Major constellations were pointed out, and some questions were answered about specific objects which could be seen (providing there wasn’t any light pollution obscuring the sky).  Both interactive segments were the same, which was no surprise to me.  Considering there was a show every hour, I’d think the presenters (as there were a couple hanging about) would take turns doing it, or at least try to do some variation during the day (so it wouldn’t come off as being too repetitive).  The presenter we had for both shows did an excellent job, and was clearly able to be understood.

We were able to see most of the museum in the period we had before the first show, and the remainder before the second.  Also before the second, we took some time to look more in-depth at things we didn’t on the first pass.  There was a simulation wind tunnel I stood in to experience “tornado force” gusts.  Without anything blowing around inside me, and no hair to get mussed up, it didn’t feel any different riding with my car windows down.

It was a great day checking out the museum, and I gathered a lot of information for Austin Planetarium.  I enjoyed this venue, and this was something which was worth checking out.

More information can be found on the places we visited (or were mentioned) at:

            Go-Astronomy:  http://www.go-astronomy.com/planetariums-state.php?State=NY

Henry Hudson Planetarium (Albany, NY):  http://www.albany.org/visitors-center/henry-hudson-planetarium/

Northcountry Planetarium (Plattsburgh, NY):  http://www.plattsburgh.edu/academics/planetarium/

Museum of Innovation and Science (Schenectady, NY):  http://www.schenectadymuseum.org/

Freddie Freihofer Show:  http://www.cbs6albany.com/contact_us/features/birth/stories/ed-obrien-remembers-freddie-freihofers-breadtime-stories-host-jim-fisk-10.shtml

Schenectady Meteorite:  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0019103570900084

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