We left Summerdale on Monday the 1st with a plan to stop at Infinity Center at Exit 2 in Mississippi which also encompasses a Welcome Center and Stennis Space Center. We had stopped at this Welcome Center several times passing through and decided that it would be a good time to take time to go on the tour. I also had seen that overnight parking might be possible in a side section of the Welcome Center. We always look for free. The tour got off to an unlikely start as the cash register computer was down and would not reboot to even open the cash drawer. They issued us paid bands and said they hoped the cash register would be working when we came back from the bus tour of the Space Center.
This center was developed in the early ’60’s after Kennedy’s call for landing a man on the moon within the decade. Senator John Stennis saw to it that this site would serve for developing and testing the engines for that project.
They built a canal to enable the large engines to be transported from there, by barge round Florida to Cape Canaveral – later renamed Cape Kennedy and yet again renamed to Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral. The engines were much too large for any other mode of transport and they could not tested in Florida as there was not a large enough buffer area to make it feasible. The tour is worth a stop if you can allow a couple of hours in your travel schedule. It is no where near as exciting as the the Houston Space Center or Kennedy Space Center tours. The Infinity Center would be a fine break for families with younger children on a road trip looking for an educational event during a long day on the road. Also it would be an interesting stop for nearby locals looking for something different. The center today houses 7 different government agencies and several universities’ space and research departments. Just in the “N”s are NOA, NASA, Naval Research Laboratory and Naval Seals.
It turned out that the signage was clear that overnigitht parking was not permitted and the staff at Infinity confirmed that and one remembered there is a Walmart in Waveland, MS about 15 miles back to the east. That is where we spent the night. Mid morning on Tuesday the 2nd we drove about an hour to French Quarter RV Resort located just 2 blocks north of the French Quarter. It is almost unbelievable that such a nice RV Park is located where it is with I 10 just to the north, I can watch traffic without getting out of my seat, and the French Quarter just two “ugly” blocks to the south. We do not walk back late at night as it does not feel safe to walk through a no man’s land of abandoned public buildings and parking lots in the dark. We have not moved the car since our arrival nor will we until we prepare for departure in the morning.
Our special New Orleans treat yesterday was dinner at Commander’s Palace. This is one of the most highly rated restaurants in a town of highly rated restaurants. We had eaten there only once before, a brunch because that was all that was available on short notice (two days) during our visit. This time the notice was even shorter as I called mid morning and was able to get a table for 2 at 7:30 that evening. To make it really memorable we walked to St Charles St and Canal and followed the St Charles Street trolley tracks to the first Car Stop on St Charles where we got a trolley to ride out to Washington Street where the restaurant is located. We arrived within minutes of our reserved time and were seated immediately. The only complaint of the evening was that Carol’s risotto got gummy as the meal progressed. My osso bucco of lamb was delightful, no there are no Foodie pictures, it looked like beautifully presented food! Naturally the shank of the lamb was vertical. A minor cavil, there was no marrow scoop. Not that I have ever seen one other than in a picture as on this page.
A cab brought us back to FQRV and Geewhiz and a good night’s sleep. Wednesday brought us back into the French Quarter and lunch at Stanley’s. Great oyster poorboy for me and Carol had a delightful salad. We stopped by the French Quarter CVS to pick up a prescription and had a long talk with the not very busy pharmacist about places to eat and places to visit. His lack of “busy” is due to the location and the very short pharmacy hours, 10 AM to 2 PM daily! We continued to walk through many shops and buy nothing and several galleries where we also bought nothing. Back to the coach before dark. we will have dinner on board and watch a movie.
Tomorrow we are planning on moving to Grand Isle, about as far south as you drive into the gulf in Louisiana. We will stay a few days and Carol will be able to finish the latest updates to her website and I will work at bringing my website out from under the cobwebs and presenting it in a new “dusted off” version and then I will be able to add some new material. I may even move this blog to it. Watch for the news
Updated 12/6 to include image of Engine Test Stand