Dan's Day

Want to take a pop quiz about our trip?

Try to determine which of us chose each of the below activities.

1.  Who wanted to find the pastry shop that made the goodies for the Marie Antoinette movie: 

Dan or Me?

2.  Who wanted to take photos of Monet's dreamy garden: 

Dan or Me?

3. Now, who wanted to spend eight years hours with a group of retirees touring D-Day sites: 

Dan or Me?

Answers:  Me, Me, and Dan all the way.   But you already knew that. 

Are you feeling accomplished now?

Yes, I received many smirks when people heard about our plans for the very in-depth WWII tour we had planned, and more than a few, "Hee hee, I know who wants to do that!"  I rolled my eyes playfully, but actually didn't mind going along to get along because Dan's always so great with humoring me.   Well, then us two all-stars ended up missing the tour completely since we slept through our alarm.  We're kind of a mess. On the three hour drive to the coast, I kept thinking, "Damn, now I have to make it up to him by letting him take over all of tomorrow."

"Dan's day" actually ended up being pretty amazing. We stayed in the town of Bayeux, which had this towering church that kind of reminded us of Hogwarts. 

I know that was a nerdy comment, but look at it at night.  Do you see what we're saying?

Anyway, it was an adorable town that consisted of about eight streets, a small river with several waterwheels, and several restaurants that catered to all the American and British veterans that come through.  Seriously, I saw several English signs that proclaimed, "Welcome to our liberators!"

We toured the D-day beaches and were overwhelmed by the stories at the American Cemetery:

Dan took me to the currently very peaceful Pointe du Hoc:

While it looked so tranquil now, I was surprised by the remnants of the horrible struggle with the Nazi soldiers, like craters from bombs that were dropped by Americans and barbed wire set up by the Germans.  It hit me that it wasn't that long ago, you know?

I rib Dan about being a history fanatic, but he really does make this very important event so interesting.  I never knew that soldiers had to climb up cliffs using rope firemen ladders that they shot up from below, or that they had to time this particular invasion just right to avoid being drowned in high tide. 

I don't know how to really write up about all of this because it was pretty unforgettable for a simple blog post, so I'll just say this:  I'm really glad Dan had his day. 

He also was so great with indulging me... as my portion of the trip resumed quickly after.  More pictures to come.