louisiana
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ILLINOIS
FEBRUARY 7 We arrived here at the new resort just after dark. We had a long drive down Route 10, because of traffic. We got stuck in it twice, once for 45 minutes doing 5 mph. the journey out of Texas took longer than expected also. We basically set up and headed out to eat. The resort is really nice. Although it is mid winter and most of the activities are closed, it still is worth it being here. This place must be really busy during the summer. All the comforts are close by, including the super Wal-Mart. We took a drive on Saturday into New Orleans. Big city and won't want to live there. On the way into the city we crossed the worlds longest bridge. If you can believe it the length is 24 miles long. Yes Leominster to Worcester by way of bridge. We didn't stay long, just long enough to get to know where we were. We have been warned by many not to take the kids anywhere close to Bourbon St., and we can see why. We will be staying far away from that area. We can have campfires here at the resort. On Sunday we spent the afternoon outside by the fire in the misty rain. It is really warm and with the canopy out we are staying dry. We ate Dinner and played games for hours. We set up some white xmas lights and continued into the night. All in all we had a great day. FEBRUARY 13 On Tuesday we took a ride into Mississippi. Actually only to exit 2, which is about 30 to 40 miles from here. We spent the day at STENNISHERE-THE JOHN C. STENNIS SPACE CENTER. From the Launch Pad located at the exit 2 rest area welcome center, we boarded a shuttle bus that took on a 25 minute tour. We explored the nations largest rocket test complex where the Space Shuttles main engines are tested. After the tour we headed into the StenniShere were there were exhibits on NASA's missions and spacecrafts. There were tons of things to interact with. We got to our own space shuttle, fire off rockets, and pilot a space shuttle. We also saw a mock of the international space station. It was cool to see how they slept, took showers, and went to the bathroom. While there we took a tour to see them test a actual Shuttle Engine. It was the first engine test since the crash of Columbia. That was awesome and very loud. After the tour we drove to the shoreline of Mississippi. We watch a beautiful sunset before heading back to the resort. We really enjoyed the day, and believe it or not it was FREE. We love Free things. The only thing we had to pay for at the center was lunch. Which by the way was also awesome, and cheap. Sunday Feb. 16 Today we went to our first Mardi Gras parade. When we arrived we ended up with people from the resort that live in New York. They kind of made it a point to get the kids beads. We ended up with well over 100 sets of beads. So much it weighed the kids necks down at one point. They also got super balls, stuff animals, Frisbees, coins, and cups. At first the kids gave us a hard time about going, but in the end they were asking when the next one was. They have parades on the weekends in the smaller towns leading up to the big celebration. We will be going to a few over the next couple of weeks. We had so many beads that we gave a lot away. We even sent a few bags back home to the kids. Today is Tuesday Feb. 18 and our time in this resort is almost already up. It's hard to believe two weeks have gone by. We learned that we missed another huge snow storm back home. AWE too bad. We have had a great time here at the resort. We obtained library cards and used them well. We went with a group of 34 people from the resort to a all you can eat southern food restaurant. The were eating crawfish by the platefuls, YUCK! I held a few computer socials and helped out a few people with problems, and also got a few new software programs that will come in handy. We had a few campfires so far, with another to happen before we leave. We like this place and probably will come back in the future. |