Ferrari Enzo in Downtown Houston

Cruising Downtown Houston in a Ferrari Enzo

Originally uploaded by espngo

Found this photo on Flickr of a Ferrari Enzo cruising downtown. Personally I haven’t seen one yet, but hopefully I’ll get to ride in one someday. As they say though, everything’s bigger in Texas.

Our Biggest Attraction is The Houston Space Center

The Houston Space Center is the top tourist attraction in Houston and it is very easy to see why more schools and private visitors come here than any other tourist attraction in this great city.

President Kennedy threw down the challenge for America to reach the moon by the end of the 1960′s and the story of mankind’s first steps on the moon and even further into the depths of space are preserved here at the Space Center.  From the very earliest days of man’s efforts to create a propulsion vehicle that could get itself off the ground to the most advanced and dangerous efforts to send man to other planets in the solar system, the Houston Space Center is the most comprehensive display of its kind in the world with many exhibits having actually been used in space and one of the very few places in the world where you can hold an actual moon rock

The Houston Space Center will take you on a journey through time and space as the equipment and technology that was developed since the days of Robert Goddard, the father of modern rocketry, are preserved for posterity and your enjoyment

It is not just the huge array of equipment that is on display here as there are numerous opportunities to see and become involved in the training programs that have been used to train and prepare astronauts for their trip into space. Now people from all walks of life and of all ages are able to experience for themselves what it takes to become an astronaut.

Becoming an astronaut is a dream many of us have had from childhood, however the reality is very different from what we imagine; training is stringent and before training can even begin there are minimum mandatory requirements in respect of education, physical fitness and mental aptitude.  Less than 5% of applicants are actually passed for astronaut training but you can gain firsthand knowledge of just what it takes.

At the Houston Space Center you can experience weightlessness and the sensation of lift off from the launch pad of Cape Kennedy while talking to a real life astronaut who has ventured into space. Try your hand at landing the Space Shuttle and experience what it feels like to walk in space wearing a space suit!  Get an inside look at how we are preparing for manned missions to Mars and elsewhere in the solar system too.  There is the Kids Space Place section where children can experience and interact with exhibits and explore the many different facets of space flight and exploration while living on the Space Station of commanding the Space Shuttle.

The Houston Space Center is open throughout the week with extended opening hours during the summer and some holidays so check the website at www.spacecenter.org for more information.  You will find the Houston Space Center at 1601 NASA Parkway, Houston TX 77058 which is about 25 miles south of the downtown area and provides a stunning and memorable day out for you and your family.

Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition

Texas Wildlife Rehabilitation Coalition is an urban wildlife emergency and rehabilitative care facility serving the Greater Houston area. Established in 1979, TWRC focuses on conservation, public education, and wildlife rehabilitation, and is operated by part-time staff and volunteers who are permitted rehabilitators and animal lovers. TWRC is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which receives no federal or state funding. We rely on individual, corporate, and foundation contributions to continue our efforts in preserving and caring for Texas wildlife.

Visit them at www.twrc-houston.org

Sam Houston: Texas Hero and Houston’s Patriarch

The City of Houston is named for General Sam Houston, one of Texas’ heroes and without whom the state would never have won its independence from Mexico and Generalissimo Santa Anna in 1836.  Though Houston is itself one of the largest cities in the United States, the legend of Sam Houston is still greater and here we shall take a look at this true American hero.

Sam Houston was a Virginian by birth, being born on March 2, 1793 in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley.  His early life was spent in Virginia and Tennessee and he also spent time with the Cherokee Nation by whom he was adopted by and later married into the tribe.  He also spent time in the military and saw service in the War of 1812 and subsequently played an important role in the development of Tennessee as a state.  In fact, Sam Houston is the only man in US history to have been elected as governor of two separate states, Tennessee and Texas.

When the Civil War started, Houston refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy though he was a slave owner and an anti-abolitionist.  Texas seceded from the Union but he refused to take up arms against his adopted home state and instead retired to Huntsville, Texas where he died a heart broken man before the end of the Civil War.

During his life, Houston was a crucial figure in the development of Texas both in gaining independence from the Mexicans and in becoming a state of the Union.  He served as President of the Republic of Texas and then as Senator when it joined the Union and finally as Governor, retiring only when the Civil War brought his tenure to a premature end.  Houston actually immigrated to Texas because of a highly publicized fight with a Congressman for which he was tried in an equally public court battle.  Texas at that time was part of Mexico and outside the United States but he very soon became a leader within the Texas Revolutionary movement and decisively defeated Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 close to the site of modern day Houston, the city which bears his name.

At the Battle of San Jacinto, Houston and his 700 men took on several thousand Mexicans resulting in a decisive battle when Santa Anna became detached from his main force; with the defeat of the Mexicans and the capture of their leader, the rest of the Mexican army was compelled to withdraw leaving the way clear for the declaration of Texan independence and becoming a part of the United States.  During this battle, Houston was wounded but he survived as did most of his men; in fact only 9 were killed during the battle which cost over 600 Mexican dead and 700 taken prisoner (including Santa Anna).

Houston was also decisive in Texas joining the Union rather than proceeding as an independent state and his leadership saw the opening up of the West to the United States which continued its expansion across the continent.

Sam Houston’s legacy survived his death and he has received widespread acclamation and commemoration including a memorial museum, a US Army base, a national forest, a historical park, a university and of all American’s, his is the largest free standing statue of any other, perhaps in keeping with Texans preferring everything to be larger than anything else!

March, 1836, The Battle of San Jacinto

The Texan War of Independence was started as a result of Mexico reasserting control over the Texan frontier in what had become known as the Runaway Scrape.  Mexico sent in the army and thousands of settlers joined General Sam Houston in declaring independence and fighting for their freedom.

In March 1836, the war was not going well for the Texans and many were sick and poorly trained while they were facing superior Mexican numbers who were better equipped, better trained and numerically superior.  General Houston was actually in the throes of retreat in the face of General Lopez de Santa Anna who was also the President of Mexico at the time.  The Alamo had fallen and there had also been the Goliad massacre which was causing an enormous amount of unrest amongst the revolutionary Texans who thirsted for revenge.  Houston knew only too well that at that time, his Texans had little chance of overcoming the odds stacked against them by Santa Anna and his forces.

Come April 18^th, Houston and his army arrived at Buffalo Bayou only to find Santa Anna had attacked and sacked the town of Harrisburg; using a captured Mexican courier, Houston also learned that Santa Anna and a smaller force had isolated themselves from the bulk of the Mexican army.  The odds were now substantially evened out with Santa Anna having just over 750 men to Houston’s 820.  On April 19^th, Houston and his army crossed the Buffalo Bayou to the south bank and established a camp at Lynch’s Ferry the following day.  They fed well on captured supplies from the Mexicans after a supply boat was taken at the ferry and just as well, as many of the Texans were starving.

Santa Anna subsequently tried to tempt the Texans into open battle at nearby San Jacinto and skirmishes and light fighting continued throughout the day until late afternoon when Santa Anna closed within a mile of Houston and his Texans.  A brief fight ensued at sunset which almost cost the Texans their scant force of cavalry and created a great deal of unease within General Houston himself but night made sure there would be no further fighting that day.

Santa Anna on the other hand, realized he was facing a larger force than his own and kept his men up all night building fortifications as he feared the Texans would attack at first light.  Santa Anna was also praying that reinforcements would shortly arrive to re-establish his superiority but on the morning of April 21^st, there was no sign of an attack by Houston and his men and around 9.00am, approximately 500 hundred Mexican reinforcements arrived much to Houston’s ire.

Houston sent a detachment to destroy Vince’s Bridge and delay further reinforcements and at noon a plan was conceived and put into effect mid-afternoon.  Houston’s main force advanced silently in a frontal assault looking to take advantage of surprise while tow other smaller forces circled left and right of the Mexican positions and quickly found that the enemy was relaxing and sleeping.

The Texans got to within two hundred yards before the alarm was sounded and battle commenced with the Texans charging the Mexican positions crying, “Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo!” A fierce hand-to-hand battle ensued and the Mexicans were defeated upon the two flanking groups launching their attacks on the besieged Mexicans with the whole fight lasting some 20 minutes though Houston himself was wounded. In total nine Texans and 630 Mexicans lay dead or dying while the remaining 700 or so became prisoners and this represented a significant defeat for the Mexicans.  Worse was to follow with the capture of Santa Anna himself, disguised as a private soldier and subsequently, he ordered his men to withdraw and Texas was saved to become a member of the United States of America while the city of Houston sprang up on the Buffalo Bayou.

A Brief History of Houston

Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States and the largest city in Texas and is also credited as a global city.  It is a vibrant metropolis with a broad based economy and an enormous range of cultural activities and recreational opportunities.

Two brothers who had made their fortune in real estate in New York founded Houston in 1836 on the banks of the Buffalo Bayou; Augustus Chapman Allen and John Kirby Allen purchased approximately 6,500 acres with the intention of creating their own city and named the new settlement after General Sam Houston who had fought and won the decisive battle of San Jacinto close the site.

In 1837, Houston was incorporated and the infrastructure of a city started to form with the creation of a Chamber of Commerce and election of a mayor.  Shipping was the first business to be promoted however, by 1860 Houston had also become a railroad hub which transformed the city into a commercial center for the export of cotton to Europe.  After the Civil War, efforts were undertaken to expand the seaborne activities and especially by works to create a deep water port in sync with the nearby port of Galveston.

Galveston was hit by a terrible hurricane in 1900 which sped the works to create a deep water port out of Houston and growth was further stimulated by the discovery of oil in 1901 at the Spindletop oil field.  1902 saw President Roosevelt approving $1 million allocation for the Houston Ship Channel and this combination of private and government backed initiatives turned Houston into a major growth center with the population doubling between 1900 and 1910 to 78,800.

Finally in 1914, President Wilson opened Port of Houston as a deepwater port and by 1930, Houston was the most heavily populated city in America.

World War 2 saw a decline in the shipping sector as the ports on the East coast dominated trans-Atlantic shipping however, enormous growth in the petrochemical sector more than made up for this.  Enormous new military bases were also constructed including Ellington Field which was reconstructed in order to train bombardiers and navigators while medical facilities were also greatly expanded and research took off.  The end of the ware saw a reversion to deep water port activity as the bases were wound down and moth-balled and the physical area was doubled by the addition of surrounding land and the metropolis started its sprawling growth.

Post-war saw the establishment of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (now known as the Lyndon B Johnson Space Center) and with this the aerospace industry came to town.  The city is also home to the Astrodome which was the world’s first indoor domed sporting arena.  In the seventies, population again boomed as the oil industry boomed but by the 1980′s the boom abruptly ended with the aerospace industry also suffered as a consequence of the Challenger space shuttle disaster in 1986.

Today, Houston has fully recovered and now has one of the broadest economies of any city in the United States.  Only New York is home to more Fortune 500 companies while the city is now the largest international port of the United States.  The wealth created has led to Houston also becoming home to a wide range of cultural institutions which now has over 7 million visitors each year while Houston is one of a very few cities offering year round resident companies for all the major performing arts.