Spring break & P90X continued

We are now at Phase 1, Week 4, Day 24 of P90X and still going strong. Since we are in week 4, the workout has been changed up different from what we've been doing the past three weeks. This is technically a recovery week, in preparation of what's about to start up next week, but that mislead me to believe that it might be a little easier. Whooo! Was I wrong! I thought the last three weeks were hard ... then I met Core Synergistics last night. o_O I'm sure I don't need to remind everyone that I *do not* have a six-pack, or any abs to speak of at all for that matter, so core work was definitely a huge challenge. This was me, after plyometrics last week:

Now, multiply that times fifty, and that will give you an idea of how I looked last night. I don't think I have ever sweat as much, in my entire existence, as I did last night. (Not even when I was 9-months pregnant in August, in Texas.) We are still loving the program, though! It may be handing our asses to us on a weekly basis, but it's doing something good. Clothes are looser, I'm still walking around in my one-size-down jeans, and I'm starting to notice subtle (think: thinner) changes in my face.

Left: me about a month before P90X

Right: me after 22 days of P90X

Aside from our workouts, we planned a spring break trip this year, and wow, what a blast! We decided to take Z to see the NASA Space Center in Houston, as well as browse the Battleship Texas while we were there. Being the budget monger that I am, I sniffed out deals and this whole trip was way more affordable than you might think. Nothing makes vacation sweeter than saving money!

I have to admit, walking into the Space Center, I was like a kid in a candy store. I have always had a deep-seeded love for all things related to space, and even wanted to be an astronaut for a little while when I was a kid (my dream died when I figured out how much math would be involved). This place is enormous, and filled floor to ceiling with things to look at, read about, play with, and photograph. It was easy to get lost in snapping pictures, so I'll post some of the highlights of our day here.

This place is enormous.

Fake astronauts hanging from the ceiling. Where was this idea when I was a kid?

You could ride in this, but the line was 40 bajillion people long. Boo.

The actual space suit worn by Pete Conrad on his Apollo 12 mission. There was still moon dust on the legs of the suit. I geeked out!

The actual coverall garment worn by Walter Schirra during his Apollo 7 mission in 1968.

The last coverall garment Judith Resnik wore. She was the second woman in space, and sadly, she perished in the Challenger explosion in 1986.

They created a replica of the front part of the space shuttle, including the types of food they would take up to space, and other things for hygiene or comfort. This is what a rehydration station would look like, to bring their astronaut freeze-dried food back to life.

A recreation of where the pilot and co-pilot would be seated.

There are even controls on the ceiling. I can't imagine having to know what all those switches and buttons do.

Z admiring an engine.

These engines are built to last for 7.5 hours of use. They are only on for 8 minutes each take off, so they can be used over the course of 30 missions. Clearly, these look intricate and expensive to have to make, so I get why they reuse them.

One great part that is included in the price of your ticket is taking a tour of NASA facilities. We chose the one that would take us over to Mission Control, as well as Rocket Park. This was probably our favorite part of the day.

An actual person out in space right then, inside the international space station.

Another person at the international space station came floating towards the camera, so I snapped the pic as fast I could, before he floated out of view. Amazing.

This is the building in which they create and test the food that goes into space with the astronauts. If I could ever get a job at NASA, this would be where I'd like to work.

This is Little Joe II. It was a launch vehicle for the Apollo spacecraft transonic and high-altitude abort testing at the White Sands testing facility in New Mexico.

To give perspective on size, Z is standing at the bottom of it in this pic, in the center.

A one-man spacecraft-booster like this one propelled the first two American astronauts into space in 1961. It weighs around 66,000 pounds.

Inside Rocket Park, they built a hangar to house the last rocket they built for the Apollo space missions before they were canceled, named Saturn 5. You could go in and look at this massive thing up close, and it was truly mind-blowing. I'm not even sure my pictures do it justice, but hopefully you can get an idea of how amazing and gigantic this thing is.

The first view when you walk inside.

Aaron and Z are at the lower right of this photo, and you can see how tiny they look. That helps give you perspective on the enormity of this thing.

The top scraped the ceiling.

We watched one of their free movies (about 30 minutes long) that basically took you through the space program, from it's inception to its most recent feats. They had a podium on display that you saw in the movie, and it was the podium JFK stood behind while giving his speech about how he was determined for us to get into space by the end of the 1960's.

Giving his speech, shown in the film.

In real life. Pretty cool.

They are very big on stressing that space program is not dead, so the movie ended like this:

Nice touch.

The last thing we looked at was a sort of museum-type set up they had, filled with all sorts of things ranging from actual spacecrafts that have been in space ...

Faith 7 Mercury Spacecraft

... to one of the only 8 actual pieces of moon rock that you can touch.

This was moon rock brought back to Earth in 1972 by the crew of Apollo 17. My son is touching the moon. Amazing.

Of course, I was fascinated with more of the food examples they had out for everyone to inspect, and had to snap a few photos.

After spending a few bucks on things we "couldn't live without" in the gift shop, we called it a day and went back to our hotel for some swimming & relaxing. We were at the Space Center from about 11:00am until almost 6:00pm, so I'd say we got our $31.00 worth for our tickets. The next day, we woke up early, checked out of our hotel, grabbed some breakfast at a Waffle House (forgive us, Tony Horton!) and made our way over to see Battleship Texas. I knew this would be cool, but I had no idea just how freakin' cool it would be.

Another pic taken just to give perspective on size.

It was almost haunting at times to be walking around this vessel that once held so much life. Aaron and I kept wondering if there were spirits on the ship, and thought it would be cool to spend the night on the ship and see if anyone made any noise. Turns out, you actually CAN spend an overnight on the ship ...

... but you have to be a kid, and part of a large group. Booo!

I'm not sure who was more excited to play with these giant canons.

The Crew's Galley was on the first floor. This fascinated me.

There was a butcher shop, but the photos didn't turn out. Lame.

The ship's bakery, which turned out bread, cinnamon rolls, and assorted other goodies for the soldiers while onboard. The sign said some soldiers years after could still recall the smell of fresh bread baking.

Had to get a shot of the big mixer.

Heading down to the next level.

An example of one of the rooms for the crew. There were these bunk beds EVERYWHERE. In hallways, in what seemed to be closets - literally anywhere there was free space.

The Officers' kitchen.

Ha! Cool.

They get the nice dishes.

The Wardroom, where the Officers ate their meals and relaxed.

Z thought those were a deck of cards. Sweet, innocent boy.

More beds in a hallway.

The First Lieutenant's office.

The Scullery, essentially where the crew took their dirty dishes after chow.

The Cafeteria, where the regular men's meals were cooked.

More big mixers!

This was the Marine Space. They had their own guns, dishes, and small area. Marines were on board to guard the Brig, or the jail, and to act as orderlies.

The Marine Officer's quarters. An office and bedroom, rolled into one.

The Executive Office.

The Auxiliary Combat Information Center. Radio operators were in high demand back then, and received extensive specialized training.

The Dispensary and Medical Office.

The Barber Shop. The Navy had very strict rules about appearance, and hair had to be no longer than 1 1/2 inches on top. Faces needed to be clean shaven, and mustaches were only allowed with special permission.

Sick Bay. Yuck.

This cracked us up. Luckily, Z didn't understand why, nor did he ask questions.

Here's where the boys got their prophylactics. lol

The Isolation Ward, for those sick with communicable diseases, like dysentery.

Part of the Crew Washroom. They peed in troughs.

And they pooed in troughs, as well. No doors, and no flushing - only a steady stream of salt water running down the trough to keep the poop moving out. Gross.

Make-shift toilet seats, made from wood, laid over the troughs. Wood painted red were "toilets" reserved for men with venereal diseases.

Laundry Room, for Officer's garments. The crew were responsible for washing, drying, and pressing their own laundry, but the Officers got to send theirs off to be done. This is where they came.

They said this was a miserable job to have, since it would get in excess of 100 degrees in here with all the machines going.

The Soda Fountain. Only open a few hours a day, and for special occasions, they served your typical soda fountain fare, like ice cream and milkshakes.

The Canteen, where soldiers could buy magazines, gum, tobacco, extra socks or towels. If they lost something issued to them by the Navy when they enlisted, they had to replace it with their own money.

The Tailor Shop, where they altered uniforms, sewed damages, or added on new ranks. Crew members could also hire the tailors to sew new aprons to send to their mothers, girlfriends, and wives back home.

The Dental Office. Only did cleanings and simple fillings on board, anything else had to be done on land.

Went down, yet another level.

More beds in hallways.

The Brig. This was the jail of the ship, where they also kept prisoners of war.

And yes, you could even go down one level further ...

The steam room.

Overall, it was a great, information-packed excursion to Houston. Trips like this make learning new things fun, and I know Z walked away having learned something, but not even realizing it was a learning experience. I will say, if you were to ask him, I guarantee he would say the hotel pool was his favorite part, but I know he enjoyed NASA a lot. Battleship Texas spooked him a little, I think, but he was still curious about everything and fired a hundred questions a minute at us. Maybe he was just spooked because his parents kept talking about ghosts ...

Hope everyone had a safe & memorable spring break. Our next trip in the works -- a camping trip after school gets out. Of course, we're still counting down until our cruise ...

... but we have to plan small things along the way, as not to go stir crazy. Another update on our P90X adventure soon. That is, if this week doesn't kill me.