After a stay at home over the holidays, I set off for Houston in January to visit with longtime OWUSS regional coordinator Bob Straight and his wife Margie.  The Houston area has lots to offer in the diving realm, such as NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab, Oceaneering International, Texas A&M at Galveston, and the offices for NOAA’s Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.  There was much to see, and I would do it all in a week’s time — on top of learning metal and glass working in Bob’s studio!

Our first stop was quite unglamorous, visiting a nearby travel clinic where I could get the very elusive (the primary manufacturer is facing a shortage) yellow fever vaccine for my upcoming travel to Kenya, so we will get on with the next stop – NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab!

The Neutral Buoyancy Lab is any space geek’s dream.  The massive pool contains a model of the space station that astronauts train on nearly every day.  Half of the pool is also reserved for other types of training, such as helicopter escape practice.  I received a full tour of operations from Greg Sims and an inside look at the hyperbaric and medical facilities from Dr. Robert Sanders.

Next up was a visit to Galveston, where I went to two different institutions – Texas A&M and the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.  At Texas A&M I met up with world-renowned cave biologist Dr. Tom Iliffe, who spent time discussing his career and diving expedition with me.  Dr. Iliffe also gave me a tour of the scientific diving operations at Texas A&M, which has one of the best-developed college diving programs in the country.

Emma Hickerson at the NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary gave me an inside look on her years-long fight to expand the sanctuary boundaries.  She also gave me a tour of the turtle hospital on site, which was overwhelmed at the time with cold-stunned turtles.

Back in Houston at Oceaneering I met with Everett Burton, the Manager of Diving Projects.  Everett gave me an overview of how Oceaneering conducts commercial diving operations all over the world – from the coasts of Africa to right here in the Gulf of Mexico.  They even have their own emergency hyperbaric facility on the Texas shoreline, along with hyperbaric chambers aboard all lifeboats on their ships.

Not only did I get to visit these various institutions, but I also got to try my hand at jewelry making and glass blowing in Bob’s studio.  The airplane ring is supposed to signify my year of travel!

Thank you to all who made my visit to Houston possible, particularly Bob and Margie for opening up their home to me.  Thank you also to Greg Sims, Dr. Sanders, Dr. Iliffe, Everett Burton, and Emma Hickerson for giving me an inside look at your careers.  Finally, thank you to Rolex and OWUSS for sending me on this adventure!

P.S. I’m headed to Kenya next!