Trip to Normandy D-Day Visit

We took a short break this past weekend to Normandy France. The visit was amazing! We spent one full day exploring all the D-Day sites - 6 stops in total. Not all that easy with 3 small children! Tom and I were exhausted, but the kids continued with their endless energy. The only casualty was a toy cell phone, which got rung one to many times and ended up out the window (by Daddy). :) Here is a short overview:

Stop #1: Mulberry Harbor. A harbor set up by the Navy after D-day. It took them only 9 days to complete and there are still concrete peices in the water that serve as a reminder.

Stop #2: Big Guns Point (okay, it sounds better in French, but I can't spell it). 4 huge bunkers with massive guns pointed at England. The German lookout point is pure concrete - you can see where bombs had hit and made no impact.

Stop #3:Omaha Beach and American War Cemetary. Words can't explain how moving this was. 9000 crosses in perfect rows. Names being read in a white hallway leading to beautiful gardens. All looking over a cliff above Omaha beach. To see the faces of these very young men is extremely sad.

Stop #4: Point du Hoc. This point was critical to the success of D-Day. US Rangers scaled the cliffs while being fired upon to take over this point. 225 men started the day, only 90 made it through. The point was heavily bombed and there are huge craters left behind. It really puts it all in perspective.

Stop #5: Utah Beach. A very peaceful beach with not much to show except German blockades and a US Navy boat that they invaded in.

Stop #6: St. Marie-du-Mont. One of the two landing points of the landing troopers. The church in the middle of town has a manequin paratrooper hanging from his chute off the steeple. This really happened to a guy who hung for 8 hours, playing dead. He made it out alive. Today he is a considered a hero in that town.

Lots of stuff to see. The towns remain the same. No big souvenier shops, just tiny towns sprinkled among fields and woods. It was a great day.