WWII Museum, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi

The weather has turned rainy and cold.  Consequently, we are trying to stay inside as much as possible.  Yesterday, we visited the the World War II Museum in New Orleans.

It was very interesting.  The 2 4D visual, audio, tactile, olfactory experiences, one a movie called Beyond all Boundaries, and the other the Last Mission of the Tang submarine were excellent.  We enjoyed our visit.  It was very sobering and provocative.  Could we as a nation ever come together again to fight an enemy with such determination and sacrifice.  We are not so sure given the current polarization of our political parties and devisiveness amongst individuals and groups that we could win again.

After our afternoon at the WWII museum we took a drive through an area basically destroyed by Hurricane Katrina and rebuilt by donations for houses from Brad Pitt.  These homes are built high above the ground so that if another Katrina or flood should come they would be high and dry.

Last night, we experienced thunder, lightening and lots of rain.  This morning, it was even colder and windier than the day before.  We decided to head toward Mississippi and the Stennis Space Center, about 40 minutes from where we are staying.

Mississippi Dresses Up for Mardi Gras

We made a brief stop at the Mississippi Visitor Center and found a geocache, then headed to the Infinity Science and Technology Center.

We lucked out.  It was Wednesday, and seniors only pay $5.00 per person.  Whoot!!  Guess there is some compensation for getting old.  Infinity center had some great earth videos (climate change, fresh water, ocean currents, tsunamis, etc. shown on a mysteriously suspended revolving globe.  Fascianting to watch.

The space center is 140,000+ acres (2nd in size only to Kennedy Space Center) and is the site where every engine that has been built for rockets to the moon, mars, and space station has been tested.  But first we had to get in our space suits:

Today the center houses 14 different government agencies from Navy Seals and EPA to NOAA and Marine Geographic. Private organizations such as Amazon and Rolls Royce, also contract to test their engines.  Did you know Amazon is positioning itself for commercial space travelers?

We returned to Louisiana after our afternoon in Mississippi and captured some photographs of swollen river communities,

swamp boats,

Fork Pike,

and houses built on stilts.

These are bit more sophisticated than the fishing villages of Cambodia, where we visited last February.

Cambodian Fishing Village - Here about 1 year ago this month

Tomorrow looks like another cold day.  The change in the weather in from tropical to Caribbean to just plain cold and damp has contributed to my scratchy throat and stuffy nose.  Guess the climate change has been too dramatic for my system.  So it's a glass of wine and early bedtime for me.  If all goes well, we will visit Mardi Gras Word tomorrow.

Goodnight from the Worrall Travel R's

French Quarter - New Orleans

After we disembarked from the Norwegian Jewel, we took the airport shuttle bus and made our way to the rental cars, where we picked up our Honda.  We rented a room from a private party through Airbnb.com.  If you aren't familiar with Airbnb, it is a clearing house for people who wish to rent out a room in their home or complete house or apartment.  Here is the Airbnb link to Patrick's home.  It's perfect for us to relax and from which to visit the sites of the area.

We spent our first afternoon exploring the French Quarter.  Everyone is decorating and gearing up for Mardis Gras.

Great Music in the Park

Decked out for Mardi Gras

Russ and I met with SERVAS hosts Harvey and Grace for dinner and area tips on our first evening. We had a wonderful salad and fresh shrimp. Cuisine for the first day in the French Quarter at Patrick O'Brians included jumbalaya, gumbo, deep fried catfish, red beans and rice, and beer. In no time we'll be y'alling it!

All is Well with the Worrall Travel R's

Day 6 and 7 - Back to New Orleans

Sometime in the early dark hours of this morning, the Jewel docked in New Orleans.  Our last day at sea started warm and sunny. the temperature progressively cooled and became less humid as we headed northward.  By noon it was overcast and by 1:00 the wind and rain were whipping the deck chairs into the walkways.

We were in one to two meter seas with frothing wind waves, Aahhh! This brought back some fond memories, NOT!  Nice to be high and dry.  It all looks much less threatening in a big boat!  Within an hour we had passed through the worst of the squall, and the wind and seas calmed down along with passengers who had gotten seasick.

After eating breakfast on the fantail deck, I attended a zumba workout in the morning while Russ went to the gym and the golf cage. When it started raining we headed for the card room and played some dominoes.  Our afternoon was spent in  a Q & A session with the ship's senior officers and found out that we were traveling 22.3 knots per hour and burning 1 gallon of fuel a second.  Whoa! Put up the sails!

We hung out in the theater to learn the magicians tricks..how he does it....not really too informative as he didn't share the tricks he did during the show, but basic stuff you can learn from a book. Then there was a crew talent show where cooks, wait servers, stewards, bar tenders, etc., whose primary job was not entertainment, shared their talents!  There were some great vocalists and guitar players.
The barman was quite a juggler of bottles and glasses.  We finished the evening with a concert, dinner, game show, and goodbyes with new friends.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R s, now disembarked from the Norwegian Jewel.

Day 5 - Chacchoben, Quitana Roo, Mexico

The chocoholic feast last night was fabulous!  Oink oink!  We could choose from at least 30 different types of chocolate desserts  from cookies, cakes, pies, eclairs, fritters,and fudge dipped fruits, puddings, and mousses.  I thought with all that late night caffeine,  it would prevent sleep. But instead, I think I crashed out on sugar and slept through my alarm and have been in a head haze most of the day.  I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Once again, even though I was moving slowly, we left the ship at 8:00 a.m for a day of Pre-classic Mayan ruins, 4,000 BC- 625 AD.  We saw the classic ruins in Tulum, and the post classic ruins in Altuna Ha! in Belize.

Today was Chacchoben about an hour out of Costa Maya.  Our tour guide David, is a descendent of the Mayans in this area.  The ruins we saw today were the oldest, and I  thought the most interesting.

Yet to be excavated mound.

Jungle recaptures the ruins

Palms, strangling figs, and breadfruit trees (different than the breadfruit in the south pacific) with beautiful bark filled in the open spaces and provided some cooling shade.

Strangler Fig

Beautiful Bark of the Mexican Breadfruit

Stingless and stinger bees make their homes in the jungle.

Stingless Bees

Stinger Bees

Spider monkeys flew from tree to tree while we were on the jungle plateau of the spiritual temple. Our guide was very informative not only with history but of the flora and fauna.

After our ruin explorations we went to a small palapa resort on a freshwater lake where we could kayak and swim.  Lunch was included.  It was a beautiful and relaxing setting.

All too soon it was time to return to the Jewel.  Our all aboard time is 3:30, the earliest time yet, but we have a long way to sail back to New Orleans.

My plan for tomorrow morning is to sleep in and to lounge around like a lizard the rest of the day.

All is well with the Worrall Travel R's