It's Thursday, and BOY were we busy today.  First things, getting packed and getting the bus loaded.

This is what you'd see if you fell into the black hole of our media center.  This is mission control for the band's website while on tour.  We've got wireless, wired, and modem if necessary, just to make sure you get your updates on time.  It doesn't always work, but we try :)

Then it was off to Space Center Houston, NASA, only to find it infested with Jackalopes :)

But then we found NASA stuff, for those of you not old enough, this was called the LEM, or Lunar Excursion Module, during the Apollo Manned Moon Missions, this little craft was what got our astronauts down onto the moon.


Haven't been back to the Moon, and next month NASA is supposed to be launching our next Shuttle mission, here is the cockpit of the orbiter mock up at the museum.

The International Space Station will be playing an increasing role in Space Exploration in the future.

Sopwith Camel (and Snoopy).  I mean Really!  Snoopy has done it all!

MMU, that's a manned maneuvering unit, kinda like a convertible in space!

SBC, that's Scout Band Concert NASA style!

After lunch, we took a tram ride around the Space Center.

This is the actual Mission Control room that factored so heavily in the Space Program from the late 60's through the 70's.  If you look carefully, you'll see a little green sign on top of one of the consoles, this is where Gene Kranz ran things as Flight Director!

Even the outsides of the buildings (this is Mission Control) are special!

Inside one of the training buildings are simulators of all of the current mission apparatus needed by the astronauts to make sure they know what to do when they get into space.

Sadly, we have not gone into space without loss, many have died to get us there.  As a tribute NASA has planted a memorial oak grove at the Space Center to honor each astronaut that has died.

In a special area they call the Rocket Garden there are actual rockets and capsules that were recovered or not used during their time in the space program.  We didn't have time to go in, but for those old enough, on the left is a Mercury mission rocket and on the left is an Apollo mission setup (no rocket, the Saturn V used would be HUGE!)

After Houston, it was time to head to our first scout camp concert, at Camp Karankawa they fed us first.

Without this guy, we wouldn't be here!  Hooray for Mr. Bill!


As always we try to con( get ) a few of the local scouts to come sit with us as we play.  I don't have Howard's list, but I'll give credit as soon as I can on these.  First at bat was a trombone player.

Then a couple of trumpet players.

The concert started off pretty well.

Then we got them DANCING!

And DANCING!

And Dancing.....

And Dancing!!!!!!

But as with all good things, they have to end.  And here you'll see why......DARK!
It got so confusing that Margaret had to play french horn through her nose :) and
there just comes a time when you can't read the music, here you'll see Scotty using Margaret's hair to hold his light on his music!

And that should do it for today.....whew, that's a lot, and should be enough!
See you tomorrow!