While most Houstonians held their breath for the morning news to learn about the Mars landing of NASA's Curiosity, Karen and Byron Hood were among a select group to witness the landing from their perch at the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif.

Not ones to miss any chance to see a NASA lift-off, the Hoods were stationed in a building near Mission Control at a gathering hosted by JPL officials. Among those in the Hood's viewing area were former astronaut Garrett Reisman; Robert LaBranche, legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. John Culberson; and Stephanie Bednarek of SpaceX in Washington D.C.

Byron reports that the JPL site was buzzing, but the Hoods' VIP status earned their viewing area a visit with JPL director Charles Elachi and Cal Tech president Jean-Lou Chameau. An hour before the landing, the group was escorted through the communications area of Mission Control. Byron emailed, "The actual EDL (Entry, Descent and Landing) folks that you saw on TV in blue polo shirts were pretty securely 'buttoned up.' Anyway, you could cut the tension with a knife."

Still glowing after their unique experience, Hood emailed, "When we heard 'Touchdown confirmed . . .' we couldn't hear the rest of the sentence because the room, and the whole campus, just exploded! We saw the first photos that came back, and the press conference, but we all had to leave by midnight.

"Outside, it was like a carnival . . . everyone yelling, hugging, high-fiving — mind you, this was all after midnight!"

Byron reminds us that he and Karen were at the launch of the Curiosity last November from Cape Canaveral, "so this was kind of a bookend. That's where Karen got the shirt that she's wearing in the photo."

The wedding party

Channel 13 news ace Miya Shay and attorney Gene Wu and friends are partying up a storm in Puerto Vallarta, where the happy couple will be wed on Saturday. We've been following their fun on Facebook and Twitter (#justsayiwu).

They're bunking in condos at Villa Verano, dining at La Palapa Puerto Vallarta, partying at Daiquiri Dick's, scuba diving at Los Arcos and building up steam for the wedding bash that Houston event plannerDeborah Elias is organizing.

Among the wedding party are Bellaire City Councilman Corbett Parker, PR whiz and so called "maid-zilla" Kim Padgett, publisher Francis Page Jr., Mayor Annise Parker's press secretary Jessica Michan, Neal Hamil Agency director Jeff Shell, Jessica Rossman and Gordon Bethune, Channel 11's Courtney Zubowski, Clear Channel Outdoors' Sonia Soto, H Texas Magazine editor Laurette Veres and makeup artist Edward Sanchez, who guarantees that every lady will be looking her very best.

The lunch bunch

We can't say if it's Houston Restaurant Weeks or simply the lure of Houston's power lunching nexus but even in the dog days of August, La Griglia is jumping. There wasn't an empty seat in the house on Wednesday and there was a wait for a table at lunch Friday.

That end-of-the-week crowd included Fulbright & Jaworski's legal eagle Neil Thomas, City Councilwoman Ellen Cohen, Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison's regional director Jason Fuller, beer mogul John Nau and strategic marketing whiz Cindy Clifford.

Sight 'ems

United LNG chairman Steve Payne dining at Brennan's with former prime minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra . . .

Romy Morello and mom Sonja Mitchell lunching at Brasserie 19 . . .

Cynthia Allshouse and daughter Channing, starting seventh grade at Kinkaid, lunching at Brennan's, while dad, Bucky Allshouse, was hard at work in his legal offices.