Travel off the beaten track and experience

By Virtuoso CEO Matthew D. Upchurch Today’s unveiling of Virgin Galactic‘s SpaceShipTwo is another historic step toward the realization of commercial space tourism. Sir Richard Branson and his Virgin Galactic team have dared to dream that everyday people would want to escape Earth’s pull and see our blue planet as few before them have. Burt Rutan and his team at Scaled Composites have literally put wings to that dream, and today we saw firsthand the vehicle they have created. I could describe the composite material used to make the ship lighter, stronger and greener than any plane or rocket ever constructed. I could recite the years of development in concept and design, along with the huge financial commitments, that together have brought us to today’s event. But I’d rather leave the facts to the engineers, accountants and reporters and, instead, tell you what this means to me personally. As I told Chris Elliott , the idea that while I float weightless ...

In one of the most legendary movie lines of all time, Pee Wee Herman is told that there is no basement in the Alamo, San Antonio’s most visited historic landmark. Well, there is actually a lower level to the structure — and there are a few other fun facts you may not know. The Alamo is one of the most iconic landmarks in Texas, and it is visited by 25 million people every year. The Mission San Antonio de Valero, otherwise known as the Alamo, was once a Roman Catholic mission before it became the site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. During the Texas Revolution’s 13-day siege, Mexican troops launched an assault on the battle site, killing all of the Texas defenders present. The Texans later defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto. If you’re planning to visit the great state of Texas, reserve a hotel room in San Antonio and make it a point to visit the Alamo. To pique your interest, following are a few of the interesting lesser-known facts about the battle site, both ...