We have been on a road trip to New Orleans. Posted here are my vacation snapshots -- a photo album with some descriptions. Most of these pics are shared in the order in which they were taken.
This post is more of a memory album for me [My Journal Memories] with about 50 snapshots. You may want to just quickly scroll through them all. I've written descriptions for some (but not all) of the pictures.
 |
 |
Draw bridges have fascinated me ever since the first one I saw in New York City when I was six years old.
 |
 |
 |
Gary checks out one of the Higgins boats inside the main entrance of the National WWII Museum. The museum was our highest priority for this trip. We bought our tickets the day before touring the museum, but even in the ticketing area there were huge displays, whetting our appetite for what was to come. |
This is a wedding gown re-fashioned from a WWII parachute used by the bridegroom, created by his mother for his bride. (and we all marveled at the gown Scarlett O'Hara made out of her drapes!!)
Supper one evening at a sidewalk cafe. Beautiful flowers were blooming in perfect shirt-sleeve weather for tourists.
New Orleans has its own style of beauty. Still sitting at our table at the outdoor cafe, these utility pipes provide a unique kind of art.
My turkey club sandwich with absolutely wonderful pickles (sweet and spicy!).
Yoda was standing at the bar with his bucket of [I-don't-know-what, tips, perhaps?] We ate at this same cafe several times during our trip. In subsequent visits, I noticed more evidence that the establishment's owner must be a Star Wars fan. He had suspended at least one of the space ships like the ones my sons used to play with.
In the park across the street from our hotel is this metal-and-wood sculpture, a reminder and illustration of Hurricane Katrina, August 23-31, 2005.
Although I was living in Colorado at that time, I was visiting family in San Antonio when Katrina hit New Orleans. Where were you?
I take pictures for the sake of preserving memories, but since they are on my phone (which is always with me), they are also visual notes to myself in the event I find myself lost!
Again, referring to my last comment above, my phone has become somewhat of an auxiliary brain for me. Can I get a show of hands from those who feel the same?
We bought our tickets for the National WWII Museum on the afternoon of our arrival in town but we did not use them until the following day. We were able to check out one of the gift shops. I had decided before this trip that I would focus my shopping on refrigerator magnets, so these are the 3 that I liked the best, along with a blue paper sack.
This is a matted and framed photo in our hotel room. It illustrates the perception New Orleans has impressed on people. Interpret it as you will.
The next morning we arrived early to the museum, before it opened. Gary tried to have a brief chat with FDR, who didn't have anything to say at the time.
A plastic dog tag is issued with every ticket. We registered ours at a kiosk where we could choose a person related to the war and follow their journey. (If you toured the museum exhibit of the Titanic a few years ago, you may remember doing something similar with the ship's passengers.) I chose a Jewish woman and Gary got Sargeant Sledge with the Marine Corps. This feature didn't work as smoothly for me as I expected, but I did learn my person survived the war and went on to live in the USA.
The illustrations, presentations, art work -- everything -- in this museum are absolutely top-notch, no matter what the subject. This showcase depicts how large the military was in different countries at the start of the war.
This hideous-looking mask was made for children to use during an attack with poison gas.
Publications during the war.
I hope I have enlarged this photo enough that you can read what it says. Before even leaving home on this trip, I asked myself what I hoped to learn or how I would benefit from what I'd see at this museum. One thing was how did WWII affect women, and daily life as it was known before, after, and during the conflict. Those questions were answered very well.
Of course, since needle and thread have been my constant companions and hobby preference all of my life, this cross stitched piece caught my attention.
Example of a typical home during WWII. Note the victory quilt on the wall.
There was no television and no electric recliner, but this was home for somebody with the best that was available at that time for news, information, entertainment, and comfort.
While I enjoyed the homey scenes and matters having to do with women, Gary inspected war-related vehicles with great interest.
It was interesting to observe and consider how necessity brings on changes we might not otherwise consider. Here illustrates the departure from the norm of women staying primarily in the home to going to work in factories for the sake of the war and the change in appropriate clothing for the jobs they took on. These were changes that have never gone (fully) back to the way it used to be, and in fact have moved far beyond even this.
War machines on the sea and in the air. Below, a narrative regarding the hours just prior to attack.
This is one of the many Higgins boats that landed on the Omaha Beach coast. They had a flat bottom, high sides, and at one end a large plank-type door with hinges at the bottom for the easy release of troops and equipment.
Viewing so many photos and reading narratives of the battle experiences brings on a heavy feeling of sorrow, shock, and amazement.
After a time we realized a lunch break would be welcome. We ate in this diner-malt shop themed sandwich shop inside the museum, one of a couple of different options available.
Gary had a good American hamburger while I enjoyed a chicken quesadilla. Both hit the hungry spot and gave us opportunity to rest for a few minutes, both physically and mentally, from facing the war.
With food and a good rest room break behind us, we re-entered the war zone.
This ends my photos taken inside the National WWII Museum. There were more, but what I've posted here are enough to give you an idea of how comprehensive the displays are, which covered Europe, the Pacific, and here at home in the USA.
We are so very glad we went. It took us all day to see it and we may have missed a thing or two, but I doubt it. As Seniors, our admission was only $15 each, which in my opinion is very reasonable.
Quoting Pvt. Clair Galdonik from one of the photos I've posted above, "There was no conversation now. Each soldier was making his peace with himself as we got closer to the beach."
My prayer is that every one of us find our peace with God as we draw closer to our end.
My next post will be snapshots from our bus tour of the city of New Orleans.
Until next time, have a beautiful Thanksgiving.
 |
| our dining table |
3 comments:
That sounds like something my husband and I would both enjoy seeing. I remember my grandmother sharing about the citizens who participated in scrap drives, victory gardens, and civil defense programs in her hometown of Dayton, Ohio. I always loved hearing about that time from my grandparents, aunt, and uncles who served.
I never knew that New Orleans had this much going on. I only think of it in terms of Mardi Gras. We would love seeing all this history!
PS - I like the magnets you chose.
Wow! I had no idea they had such a museum in New Orleans! I wonder why there in particular? Thank you for sharing this with us. It looks like you covered it all quite well. I can well imagine how much Gary was "into this" museum, and I can tell that you enjoyed it as well. I hope you both have a blessed and wonderful Thanksgiving.
Post a Comment