We deliberately booked the flight with the longer stopover in Houston Texas, why? Well why not! It was a perfect opportunity to break up the long haul flight from Australia to South America; and Neil wanted to sink his teeth into the world famous Texan Ribs! This is how we spent 12 hours in Houston Texas.
We were heading home from Peru; the flight we chose was with United Airlines from Lima getting into Houston at 06:20am; our departing flight from Houston left at 18:30pm.
12 Hours in Houston Texas
As 12 hours is a decent amount of time; however there is no room for error so our advice is to have a plan and stick to it. Pick 1 or 2 things that you really want to do; and stick to those things, don’t dilly dally and miss your international flight because that will be an expensive exercise.
The three of us; Myself, Neil and Mum decided we wanted to go to NASA Johnson Space center and to eat at a steakhouse; in our 12 hours in Houston Texas.
As there was the three of us we decided the quickest and most comfortable form of transport was an Uber; we were planning to get straight out to NASA and do the steak house on the way back. The Uber was waiting for us outside the airport; we jumped in and the trip took about an hour and a half; it cost us USD$90 each way.
Nasa’s Johnson Space Centre
Upon entry to the Johnson Space Centre the first thing that catches your eye; is the replica Independence plane at the entrance, absolutely magnificent. You can buy your tickets at the door however that is not recommended. The reason being; is we got there early, like super early and there was already a line up to buy tickets; (before they opened mind you). We had pre purchased our tickets on line and there was an express line for those organised people. As soon as they opened the doors our tickets were checked and we were in.
Tickets
The official website is great, nice and easy to use. Just follow the link below to the ticketing center; the tickets for an adult are currently $29.95 online; however keep in mind you must print your ticket and take it with you on the day. It is also your ticket to skip the queue and head straight to the turn style to the fun stuff. https://spacecenter.org/
Once inside it is a little overwhelming, there are so many “Stations” (yes pun intended); if you look to your right will be the Star ship Gallery, the Destiny Theatre and the Mission Briefing center. In front of you will be Mission Mars and the Astronaut Gallery; however the golden tip is to head straight to the NASA tram Tour, this is included in your ticket price. The Tram runs throughout the day; however it is a first come first serve basis and being a 12 hour stop over remember your time restraints!
Take the Tram Tour First!
Head to the Tram first you won’t regret it, this is an open air tram so be weather prepared! We weren’t and we almost froze to death; the tram takes you to so many amazing sites such; as Mission Control Centre, A replica Astronaut Training Facility, and they save the best till last. The trams stops at a huge warehouse; yep pretty average but then you walk inside to the most breathtaking sight of a REAL rocket! The sheer size and magnitude of this rocket is amazing and something that everyone should see. The power, the engineering is mind-blowing standing next to this monster we looked like a tiny ants.
Back to the main building
The other main attraction we recommend checking out in Independence Plaza; you can actually go inside a replica of a Shuttle carrier aircraft! It is the only shuttle in the world that allows the public to just wander around in it. It is an awesome experience.
Time check? Yep best get a move on if we want to enjoy our dinner; on the way out there is a gift shop with some of the most amazing trinkets; to remember your time at NASA’s Johnson Space Centre Houston. I collect snow globes from every place that I travel to; and I found a fantastic one to represent my time at the Space Centre.
Texan Ribs! – Vegetarians Look away! Sorry
So continuing our day; we goggled steakhouses near us and the Longhorn Steakhouse was on the way back to the airport. The Longhorn Steakhouse is a chain that you will find dotted around America; however we speak from experience when we say this one in Texas is the very BEST.
Walking into the Longhorn steakhouse; is like walking back in time, booth style tables, the wooden chandeliers made of horns; and the cowboy pictures lining the walls. The thing that has blown us away in every Longhorn we have eaten in; is the service, the wait staff simply cannot do enough for you;(well she was slightly obsessed by our Aussie accent, which was rather cute)
The meals are massive
Of course our eyes were way too big for our stomach; so we went to town and ordered an entrée; well this entrée was a lovely tray of fries covered in chilli mince, cheese and bacon.
This would have been ok but it came out as a full sized cooking tray; however it was delicious; (mistake number one, filling up on the entrée order a small entrée). For mains we ordered the FULL rack of Texas style BBQ ribs each. That is what we were there for right? So why not the full rack! Well I’ll tell you why because the rack came out and was as long as my arm! (Mistake number two, order a half serve of ribs)
This dish was incredible; the rack of ribs came with a jacket sweet potato; the interesting thing about this was they put whipped cinnamon butter on it. This one was a little odd for the taste buds but I liked it! The Ribs were delicious; perfectly cooked and covered in sauce, now keep in mind we had just eaten 1KG of fries; as an entrée and I was struggling.
Neil – “Kel, you are never going to finish all of them”
Neil leans over to me and says; “You are never going to finish all of them” that was it, the challenge was on. I could not let him or the ribs beat me so I pressured on. (Yes I am very competitive)
The evidence of an almost defeat is written all over my face; please enjoy this beautiful photo of me struggling though the ribs because I did not want them to beat me. Long story short, we both finished the plate and we almost had to roll out of the restaurant.
There was a joke thrown out when we walked out of the restaurant; that we would need a pick up truck to carry us all back to the airport! Guess what Uber we got? Yes the all incredible F150 and it was the best end to the day. It was the experience we were after; everything about the 12 hours in Houston Texas; was perfect for what we wanted to see and do in our stop. We got out of the airport, saw the Space Centre and stuffed ourselves full of Texan Ribs.
Having a 12 hour stop anywhere can turn into that memorable experience; all you need to do is have a plan; keep and eye on the time and get out of the airport. Make the most of these stopovers and use it as an express sneak peak to another adventure.
Stay tuned for more 12 hours in…….if you have a stop over memorable experience; we would love to hear about it. In the mean time check out our Travel Tips
