Normandy, day 2

It was another busy day . . . so much to see and so little time! The morning started at Pointe-du-Hoc which is about the mid-point between Utah Beach and Omaha Beach. I am not sure what I was expecting but it wasn't what I expected. Don't get me wrong it was a great place to visit but just different . . . I wasn't expecting to see the craters where bombs were dropped . . . but it sure was a big cliff for those men to scale . . .



. . . I knew there have/had been issues with parts of Pointe-du-Hoc sinking or washing away and sadly they had removed the 'pointe'. It is being reinforced to prevent future damage . . . I read about it in a recent Texas Aggie magazine. None the less, you still get the point . . . Colin really enjoyed running around and going inside the old bunkers. I swear I don't know where that kid gets all his energy! So I can not at least mention the leader of troops at Pointe-du-Hoc . . . I mean I am a very proud Aggie you know. Of course that would be James E. Rudder who was an Aggie too and later became president of Texas A&M University . . . hmmmm, I don't know the Aggie Campo but I am sure someone reading this does, LOL.

Next stop was Omaha Beach . . . it was much different that Utah Beach. Utah was rocky, and Omaha is flat. It is lined with beach houses and looks like a summer vacation town. It doesn't look flat here as I am standing on higher ground but trust me it is flat . . .
Just down the road was a Big Red 1 Museum . . . very small but worth the visit. It was break time so we stopped at the only place we saw open for a quick lunch. You could tell it was a Mom and Pop place which are usually pretty good . . . when I opened the menu the first thing I saw was the Obama Burger . . . oh gee seriously? I don't even know. I ordered a salad and Colin got pizza . . . go figure right? I should have been keeping tally on just how many he has eaten on vacation.

We tried to time it so we arrived at the American Cemetery around 2:00pm for the tour but it just wasn't working. I tried to explain to Colin that we could not run wild like we do when we visit the College Station cemetery . . . we don't act like animals but he does sit on Sean's headstone . . . I mean what more can you say . . .
. . . it is at the most beautiful location . . . overlooking the beaches . . . the most perfectly kept lawns . . . beautiful flowers . . . just overwhelming as always. They do a very nice visitor's center which has not been open very long . . . great video presentations that tell about specific soldiers and interview their living relatives. Of course I cried as I can relate. I have worried about exposing Colin to this but he has done remarkably well . . . he really does stay focused while at the museums.

We are staying in Bayeux which is a nice town but their claim to fame is the Bayeux Tapestry. It was really the only thing I wanted to do in the town. It was pretty impressive I might say and the free audio guide explained every inch. The thing is long . . . 230 feet long . . . yes, just one piece of cloth! I would not call it a tapestry but embroidered cloth . . . just my two cents!

The final stop of the day was at the Arromanches . . . they were big chucks of concrete being used for the artificial port /harbors used during the war . . . if you look behind us you see these long black things . . . that is them . . .

. . . we also stopped to see a movie that was on a 360 degree screen with no words . . . interesting. It mixes war footage with present day footage . . . it was okay. Of course Colin noticed the beach again . . . tons of people lounging around . . . I changed his shoes and let him splash while I walked and thought about all that had walked there before us . . .

Colin's Photo of the Day
It's back . . . taken at the American Cemetery . . .

Normandy, day 1

First let me say this . . . I did not know that Normandy was a region of France. I don't know why I thought it was an actual town? Not sure why I felt the need to write this but I did. I guess that we learn something new each and every day.

Today we g0t an early start for Mont St Michel . . . I wanted to beat all the tour buses that would be there in large numbers! The abbey opened at 9 so the plan was to arrive around 8:45 and hike to the top and arrive just as it opened. When we arrived at 8:45 there were two tour buses already in the parking lot.

I just can't help myself . . . so many cool details all around . . .

Oh and when we left there were 24 buses! So glad we got an early start. Our adventure takes a turn to visit some historic places in American history! It makes me sad just thinking about visiting all the D-Day beaches . . . walking in the sand where so many lives were lost. I get emotional and it just makes me so very sad.

Our first stop was Utah Beach.

I was really surprised at all the people lounging on the beach and in the water . . . guess to me it is so much more than just sand and water. I don't know how to explain my thoughts. Of course Colin wanted to swim and play but I had a hard time with that . . . I did put sandals on him so he could get his feet wet but could not even think about a swimsuit.

We then drove on to the "Iron Mike" memorial to the airborne which was in a beautiful field in the middle of no where . . .


Moving right along to St Mere Eglise which was where paratrooper Mike Steele was stuck for 2 hours on the church spire. They have a mock parachute with dummy there. The stained glass widow was just beautiful (maybe you can click on it to see the details)!

We took a quick super late lunch break before stopping by the 101st and 82nd Airborne Museum . . . I thought these flowers were so beautiful!
One thing that put things in perspective would catch my eye as we drove throughout the region . . . I would see a red poppy along roadside (not the best photo but trust me they really stand out). It was as if it was a constant reminder to the lives lost.
I also learned that each section of road is named after an American killed in the war. There is usually a marker and it is kept nicely groomed. I have 'enjoyed' the time in the region and look forward to more exploring over the next few days. It is sad but a part of our history. It has been a long, busy day and time to move on to our new hotel for the next two nights . . . was a little worried as it is the cheapest hotel for this leg of the trip but it was really good for the price!

more New Orleans

We were up early because the early bird gets the worm . . . or as Colin says the early bird gets the word!  I don't know where he got that version, but I laugh every time he says it and then correct him.  So we woke up early for breakfast and of course had to have a one game rematch of pool before setting out for the day.  We arrived back at The National World War II Museum at 9:05am sharp!  I almost thought it was closed as there were no people.  We grabbed our day 2 ticket and headed back to the train car to pick a new person to follow today for the Dog Tag Experience.  Today we had Robert Capa (Heidi) and Greg "Pappy" Boyington (Colin).  Both of these names sound familiar but did not have a clue why.

Robert Capa

Robert Capa was a Hungarian war photographer.  He covered five wars: the Spanish Civil War, the Second Sino-Japanese War, World War II across Europe, the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, and the First Indochina War.  He documented the course of World War II in London, North Africa, Italy, the Battle of Normandy on Omaha Beach and the liberation of Paris.  At the start of World War II, Capa was in New York City, having moved there from Paris to look for work, and to escape Nazi persecution. During the war, Capa was sent to various parts of the European Theatre on photography assignments.  He was the only "enemy alien" photographer for the Allies.  His most famous images, The Magnificent Eleven, are a group of photos of D-Day. Taking part in the Allied invasion, Capa was with the first wave of American troops on Omaha Beach.  While under constant fire, Capa took 106 pictures, all but eleven were destroyed in a photo lab accident back in London.  

Greg "Pappy" Boyington
Boyington was an American combat pilot who was a United States Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II.  Boyington was initially a P-40 Warhawk fighter pilot with the legendary "Flying Tigers" in the Republic of China Air Force in Burma at the end of 1941 and part of 1942, during the military conflict between China and Japan, and the beginning of World War II.  In September 1942, he rejoined the Marine Corps (had been an aviator before the war). In early 1943, he deployed to the South Pacific and began flying combat missions as a Marine F4U Corsair fighter pilot.  In September 1943, he took command of U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadron VMF-214 ("Black Sheep"). In January 1944, Boyington was out numbered by Japanese "Zero" planes, was shot down into the Pacific Ocean after downing one of the enemy planes.  Following a determined but futile search, Boyington was declared missing in action.  He was captured by a Japanese submarine crew and was held as a prisoner of war for more than a year and a half.  He was released shortly after the surrender of Japan, and a few days before the official surrender documents were signed.  Shortly after Boyington returned to the U.S., he received the Medal of Honor and Navy Cross.  The television series Baa Baa Black Sheep was inspired by Boyington and his men in the "Black Sheep" squadron.  It ran for two seasons in the late 1970s.  

So off to the exhibits we went . . . since it was so crowded yesterday, we back tracked to exactly where we went yesterday but literally had the place to ourselves.  We really did miss a lot with the crowds.  It was so nice and worth the early wake up.  We even found an area that we totally missed called the Road to Tokyo, which turned out to be amazing!  In fact it was probably my favorite exhibit of the day!

We also spent a great deal of time in the Road to Berlin too.  So many video clips to watch; he was so focused the entire time!  The displays and exhibits were amazing and you felt as if you were stepping back in time . . . even the snowy room was colder . . .

Another fun display of D-Day's Smallest Soldier, Rupert . . .

Yesterday I bought tickets for Final Mission:  USS Tang Submarine Experience.  Now I knew absolutely nothing about the USS Tang but so many reviews said it was worth the extra $5.  Here is a short summary of the USS Tang . . .

USS Tang (SS-306) was a Balao-class submarine of World War II, the first ship of the United States Navy to bear the name Tang. She was built and launched in 1943.  In her short career, Tang sank 33 ships totaling 116,454 tons. Commander Richard O'Kane received the Medal of Honor for her last two engagements (23 and 24 October 1944). USS Tang was sunk during the last engagement by a circular run of her final torpedo, going down in 180 feet of water. Seventy-eight men were lost, and the nine survivors were subsequently picked up by a Japanese frigate and taken prisoner. This was the only known occasion on which a Momsen lung was used to escape a sunken submarine.

So for the tour about 20 people are led into a replica interior of a submarine and assigned a station and job . . .

. . . we manned the search periscope . . .

. . . and by we; I mean Colin!  For this experience we are . . .

We then go through a scenario of firing a missile. It is pretty neat. At the end we exit and see if we were one of the survivors; we were not. It is an interesting WWII story that I never knew. Sad how it all ended but interesting story too. We then explored the rest of the US Freedom Pavilion sponsored by Boeing. We then headed to the 4th floor catwalks; not so fun for someone that is scared of heights but we got an eye level view of My Gal Sal, another amazing story!

 "My Gal Sal" has a colorful history. The airplane was flying to Europe as part of the USA’s initial military build-up, when it had to make an emergency landing due to inclement weather in icy Greenland in June 1942. The crew was rescued, but the B-17E was abandoned where she landed. Relatively intact, ‘Sal’ was not recovered from the ice cap until 1995. Meanwhile most B-17s had been sent to the scrap heap. Bob Ready acquired the plane and he, along with the volunteer crew, began the restoration work in 2000.  

 A view from way up high . . . it was scary being up so high . . .

. . . and looking up from the ground . . .

We had seen just about all we could see so decided to do one more photo in the main building before we left . . .

. . . as we were leaving one of the volunteers asked if we had visited with the  "I was there" guest of the day?  We had not so decided to stop by and chat.  For me, it was probably the most memorable part of our day.  After over 10 hours of exploring the museum the last 10 minutes were priceless . . .

. . . I think Colin enjoyed it too and even asked a few questions.  Can you believe Mr. Forrest Villarrubia is 90 years young?  He was so kind and what a great asset to the visitor's of the museum!  Before we left, we went to hear the rest of the story of our Dog Tag Experience people . . .

Robert Capa

In the early 1950s, Capa traveled to Japan for an exhibition.  While there, Life magazine asked him to go on assignment to Southeast Asia, where the French had been fighting for eight years in the First Indochina War.  On May 25, 1954 at 2:55 p.m., the regiment was passing through a dangerous area under fire when Capa decided to leave his Jeep and go up the road to photograph the advance.  About five minutes later, there was an explosion; Capa had stepped on a landmine.  When they arrived on the scene, he was alive but had serious injuries.  Capa was taken to a small field hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Greg "Pappy" Boyington

Boyington was a tough, hard-living character known for being unorthodox. He was also a heavy drinker, which plagued him in the years after the war, and possibly contributed to his multiple divorces. He freely admitted that during the two years he spent as a P.O.W. his health improved, due to the enforced sobriety. He worked various civilian jobs, including refereeing and participating in professional wrestling matches.  He died on January 11, 1988.

Today, I was left with a WOW and shocked when I heard what happened to our two people.  It was a great experience and would love to do it again!  And just like that our time here was done . . .

. . . until next time!  We needed a sweet treat so headed to Cafe du Monde.  Now every time I have been there has been a line.  As we were about to get in the line, a man with his family says to me, "hey no need to stand in this just walk past the next three columns, go in,  find a table, and just sit down.  So we did . . . Colin was nervous that we were skipping the line and that our table was dirty but I also knew they didn't clean the tables until a new crew rolled in to order.  Colin had no idea what a beignet was, but he was willing to trying; is this a new kid?  Maybe he is more open since he is now 12.  I also knew that I did not want to share so two orders of beignets and two hot chocolates.

He wasn't sure what to think when he saw all that powdered sugar . . .

. . . but didn't take him long to clean his plate!  Of course I already knew what I was getting and was finished faster than him and then he took another one of those photos!

They were yummy!  We walked around the area and enjoyed being outside.  We strolled over to Jackson Square with a pop in at St. Louis Cathedral.  We I decided we should walk back to the hotel down Royal Street since it is more family friendly.  We did not step foot on Bourbon Street . . . he can do that later in life!  I enjoyed the street musicians . . .

. . . it was just a great day and hanging out with no real plan.  At one point on Royal Street some of the shops were questionable and I noticed Colin's eyes were big . . . I can only imagine what he would have thought of Bourbon Street.  He would make comments about things he saw that were inappropriate but used it as a teaching moment.  Our trip was coming to an end and the airport was calling but before going we stopped by LUKE to grab a quick bite to eat . . . it was next to the hotel so would be easy to grab our bags, catch a cab, and head for the airport.  I was not that hungry but had Crab Bisque with some awesome bread!  Colin had small burger with a huge portion of fries.

He was most impressed with his small glass bottle of Dr. Pepper . . .

Our time was still plenty so I had a bribe in my head.  I wanted to ride the street car, but Colin wanted absolutely nothing to do with the idea.  He did ask for ice cream and just so happens the waiter at the restaurant mentioned a place that was about a block from one of the street car stops.  So it was a win, win!  I love the houses in the Garden District area which is close to the ice cream shop we would go try.  I am sure there were many in the French Quarter but it is nice to branch out.  So to Creole Creamery we went . . . boy was it yummy!  The server at LUKE had told us they have some unique flavors and the most unique I saw was called Pine Needle . . . yes, like the tree and no, I did not try it.  There was no way I was wasting one of my sample flavors.  I ordered a mini scoop sampler which was four small scoops; Creole Cream Cheese, Amaretto Chocolate Cheesecake, Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Pie, and Cookie Monster . . . did I mention they had a separate section of all things chocolate?

Oh yes, it was that good; so creamy and yummy!  Well worth the $1.25 fare each way; be sure to have the exact change.  It was fun to get out of the tourist area and see how the real locals live . . . too bad the houses in this area are so expensive!  The street car arrived . . .

. . . and just like that we found ourselves back in a cab headed to MSY.  It was a great trip.  I am now thinking we should do more of these types of trips on long weekends especially if we find cheap airfare!