The Big Easy

We drove from Vicksburg to Biloxi on Thursday using U.S. highways and state roads.  A nice drive through lots of small towns and the Mississippi countryside.  We are staying at the Majestic Oaks RV Park and highly recommend this place.  Concrete paved roads, sites and patios, free cable and WI-FI (super fast), dog walk stations throughout the park, a nice pool and magnificent landscaping.  It's about a mile to the beach and about 3 miles to the Beau Rivage.  A very convenient location.

We rented a car and yesterday morning, we drove in to New Orleans.  Our first stop was, of course, at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and coffee.

The French Market and the French Quarter are filled with happenings on the streets and it's an easy walking tour.

I love the architecture in this part of the city.  The iron grill work, the hanging flowers and the colorful buildings.

We also stopped at Jackson Square.  It was originally called Place d' Armes.  It's a National Historic Landmark designed after the famous 17th century Place des Vosges in Paris, France.   After the Battle of New Orleans, in 1815, the Place d' Armes was renamed Jackson Square after the victorious United States general Andrew Jackson.

We also walked up the levee that protects the French Quarter from the Mississippi River.

It was a great time in the Big Easy and I want to thank my  friend, Evvie, for showing me to the way to do this.  I have shared this side trip to New Orleans with my best friend, Jean, and now my husband, Doug.  I will also share this trip some day with my sisters, Karen and Gloria.

Between Biloxi and New Orleans is the Stennis Space Center, a NASA rocket testing facility.  In April, they opened Infinity, a science center for visitors.  Marlin Miller, a Gulf Coast artist, created an eagle from driftwood and metal that came from testing at Stennis as well as turbine blades from a Space Shuttle main engine that flew in space.

 Marlin Miller is the same artist that created the sculptures out of dead tree trunks after Katrina in 2005.  These sculptures dot Highway 90 along the Gulf of Mexico including several in Biloxi.  These were all donated by Mr. Miller to bring hope to the people of the Gulf Coast.

There are lots of interesting displays at Infinity.

You can even pose as an astronaut.

It was a good day with lots of sightseeing.  This morning the sun is shining and the dogs have already had their walk.  It's time for that second cup of coffee and to warm up my slot arm.  I think I hear the casinos calling.

"The powers of a man's mind are directly proportioned to the quantity of coffee he drinks."

~Sir James Mackintosh