Moody Gardens, Galveston, TX. Gordon Cooper. Juicer.

For “Travel Tuesday”:

There are three pyramids at Moody Gardens, among other things.

The Rain Forest Jungle Pyramid, the Aquarium Pyramid, and the Discovery Pyramid. Viewed from the Colonel Paddlewheel boat.

The Rainforest Pyramid:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“The new Rainforest Pyramid enables you to experience the rainforest in a whole new way. In addition to a new entry, a walkway will lead you through the canopy level. Exploring the exhibit from a new vantage point, you will see new plants, birds, animals, fish and butterflies. You will also have access to the lower levels of the exhibit as in the past.

The 10-story Rainforest Pyramid is where over 1,000 species of exotic plants from the rainforests of Africa, Asia and the Americas meet.

Amidst the lush plants and trees are a wide variety of colorful orchids, violets, bromeliads as well as colorful macaws, an anaconda and turtles. The Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid is one of the most complete reproductions of the actual rainforest available.

Asian Rainforest
Second in size to its American counterpart, Asian tropical forests include those of Australia and the Pacific Islands. Void of bromeliads, there are plenty of other epiphytes, especially aroids, ferns and orchids. Massive colonies of birds' nest and staghorn ferns grow in some of the wettest areas, along with many species of pitcher plants.

African Rainforest
The African Rainforest is highly as unique with large ficus, mahogany and ebony trees, orchids and African violets. Important commercial plants originating here include coffee, castor bean, oil palm and vanilla. Madagascar's Rosy Periwinkle is one of the most important medicinal plants from this area for diseases such as childhood leukemia.

American Rainforest
The largest and most biologically diverse rainforest zone stretches from southern Mexico through Central America, the islands of the Caribbean and into South America. There are more than 25,000 species of plants native to this region, such as dieffenbachia, anthuriums, philodendrons, monstera, rainforest cacti, passion vines, powderpuff trees, plumeria and other exotic flowering plants, and thousands of species of orchids and medicinal plants.”

(From Me: They are saying the ‘new’ pyramid, as the previous one was damaged during Hurricane Ike.)

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Discovery Pyramid:

“Come and explore the extraordinary world of science at the Discovery Pyramid at Moody Gardens. Spectacular traveling exhibits from around the country await your arrival.

Satisfy your insatiable hunger for knowledge with live interactive demonstrations of remarkable science experiments. The world of science surrounds you. Come experience it for yourself.”

The BODIES REVEALED Exhibition will be at Moody Gardens starting February 11 through September 9.

FASCINATING + REAL. BODIES REVEALED is a must-see during its limited engagement on Galveston Island. This striking Exhibition showcases real human bodies, dissected and preserved through a revolutionary process which allows visitors to see themselves in a fascinating way, like never before. BODIES REVEALED will enlighten, empower, fascinate and inspire.
BODIES REVEALED, made possible through the process of Polymer Preservation, is an attempt to remedy that lack of knowledge by presenting to the lay public material that was previously only available to the medical profession: a three-dimensional tour of the human body. The specimens have been dissected to specifically illustrate each body system and function. Male and female reproductive organs are visible in some of the full body specimens.
Countless visitors have remarked that the knowledge gained from the experience has provided them with a new connection to their own bodies. Others claim a new reverence for life and a desire to take a more preventative approach to their health care. To quote writer and philosopher John Conger whose words are displayed in the Exhibition, “Without the body, the wisdom of the larger self cannot be known.”
EXHIBITION FEATURES EIGHT GALLERIES:

• Muscular Gallery
• Nervous System
• Skeletal Gallery
• Reproductive System
• Urinary System
• Respiratory System
• Digestive System
• Circulatory System

The Discovery Pyramid hosts traveling exhibits from around the world.

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The Aquarium Pyramid:

“The towering blue pyramid – the largest of three – houses a diverse display of life from four distinct ocean environments. The chilly South Atlantic exhibit showcases five species of penguins and the North Pacific houses playful fur seals and Squirt, the famous blind sea lion. The South Pacific exhibit features beautiful coral reefs and an array of colorful fishes. The Caribbean, the largest exhibit in the Aquarium Pyramid^®, has sharks, sea turtles, eels and thousands of beautiful tropical fish that swim overhead as you navigate through an underwater tunnel completely surrounded by the exhibit’s over one-million gallons of water.

The Aquarium Pyramid^® also offers guests the opportunity to interact with ocean life, including group educational opportunities in underwater classrooms, touch tanks and the chance to meet a penguin up close with the Penguin Encounter.

Moody Gardens invites guests to dive into four oceans of the world. Explore the complex beauty and seemingly endless species of marine life in the North Pacific, South Pacific, South Atlantic and Caribbean at the Aquarium at Moody Gardens. Large touch tanks and jewel tanks feature the vivid beauty of the ocean world and provide underwater classrooms and learning opportunities for people of all ages.

The blue glass pyramid reaches more than 12-stories high. Built on two viewing levels, guests will stroll up and down walkways to experience the exhibits from above and below the water's surface.”

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Palm Beach
“Open summers at Moody Gardens, Palm Beach is a white sand beach and playground perfect for the family! There's a lazy river, 18-foot tower slides, wave pool, sandy beaches, freshwater lagoons and waterfalls all in a lush, tropical landscape.”    Palm Beach Attractions:

Lazy River: A 650-linear-foot Lazy River offers over 60 interactive points at which guests on shore can splash and spray as their friends float by along the Lazy River course.

Wave Pool: A 6,100-square-foot zero entry Wave Pool graduates to a depth of 5 feet to appeal to a variety of ages.

Tower Slides: Two 18-foot enclosed Tower Slides offer a thrilling plunge of refreshment. Please note there is minimum 48" height requirement.

Splashpad: Automated dump buckets, spray arches and fountains. No water depth.

Aquarium Adventure: Playground, which includes eight-feet-tall climb-on platforms, 25-foot Hydro Storm tower with a 500-gallon water dump bucket and more.

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A Seaside First-class Public Golf Course

“With a Tropical Feel Jacobsen Hardy's attention to detail provides residents and visitors alike with a premiere public golf course. Among the many improvements the course features Paspalum turf, designed for seaside golf courses and providing an outstanding playing surface.
The course highlights its unique seaside tropical feel with 18 holes meandering through upland and lowland native areas, natual wetlands habitat of beautiful Sydnor Bayou and over 500 palm trees.”

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MG 3D Theater – Enjoy larger-than-life films that fill your peripheral vision combined with superb sound to provide you with the best seat in the house. Slip on your 3D glasses to see incredible realistic three-dimensional images as they are projected onto a giant six-story screen – the largest in Texas – so lifelike that you’ll want reach out to grab them.

Ridefilm – Strap on your seatbelt and hold on for an incredible experience! Ridefilm technology offers the ultimate in high-impact, immersive simulation. Each 18-passenger ride is surrounded by a seamless 180° wraparound screen that fully encompasses each viewer's peripheral vision. High quality images and awesome sound combine to make you a part of the action.

4D Special FX Theater – See, hear, feel and smell the action! Hi-def digital 3D projection, audio and show control systems combined with special effects, such as wind, smoke, mist, leg ticklers, seat buzzers and SFX lighting and DTS surround sound system immerse you in a unique short-film theater experience that is a thrill for all ages.

Colonel Paddlewheel Boat  – Enjoy gulf breezes on a 45-minute cruise around Offats Bayou on this 800-passenger authentic 1800’s replica paddlewheel boat. The Colonel Paddlewheel Boat sails daily from the Moody Gardens^® dock and hosts weekend dinner cruises.”

There is so much to do at Moody Gardens, and the City of Galveston.  http://www.galveston.com/attractions/

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On This Day:

The flight of Faith 7, May 15, 1963:

“On May 15, 1963, Gordon Cooper is launched into space aboard Faith 7 on the longest American space mission to that date. Faith 7 was the capstone of Project Mercury, the NASA program that put the first American into space in 1961 and the first astronaut into orbit in 1962. Cooper completed 22 orbits of the earth and spent 34 hours in space. He was the first American astronaut to spend more than a day in space. On the afternoon of May 16, Faith 7 landed safely in the Pacific Ocean, four miles from the recovery ship Kearsarge.

Cooper was honored by parades in Hawaii and Washington D.C., where he addressed a joint session of Congress, and in New York City, where he was greeted by a massive ticker-tape crowd. Later Shawnee, Oklahoma--Cooper's hometown--celebrated the return of the sixth Mercury astronaut from space.”

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Yesterday, I had this bee in my bonnet that I wanted a really good juicer for veggies.  My centrifugal ones and the blender types are too fast and heat up the veggies so they lose a lot of their nutrition.  I had seen some of the slow ones, manual and electric, on eBay, but I have so many veggies that I wanted one right now. 

I had to go into town for the parts for the cargo trailer’s sink plumbing anyway.  I never did find the kind of juicer I was looking for, so I will have to use what I have, until I can win a bid on eBay in a few days.