Normandy and Bayeux

Our third day was spent at Omaha Beach and the American Military Cemetery that looks over the beachfront. We spent a good hour in the visitor's center learning even more about the intense undertaking and tremendous loss of D-day. As you can imagine it is overwhelming, and stirs in you feelings of patriotism, mourning and continued disbelief that one horrible man, Hitler, could cause such wide spread death and destruction. All because he thought he was better than his neighbor. I liked this visitor's center, the focus was on the hero's throughout the entire storytelling. It makes me even more proud than I already am, to be an American, and to have come after a generation such as this.



My Bailey, bless her heart, really struggles with situations like this. She has a huge heart and cannot comprehend humans hurting each other. The staggering numbers of souls lost in this war and the visual impact of seeing those numbers in the crosses laid out before us was very difficult for her. It is unfathomable to her, and I think the reason she struggles so, is that it is impossible for her TO understand the why's of this war. Still, Mark and I feel strongly that education and awareness is the key to learning history's hard lessons, so that the next generation doesn't make the same mistakes. We entered this war to ensure the freedom of our neighbors, and just like today, we are paying severely for our nations compassion, hoping desperately that it will pay off. Someday I hope Bailey looks back on these experiences as knowledge building, and makes her want to be a better person and instill this compassion in others. Won't we all be better off when our good, sweet children become the adults we need to lead us.


The last half of the day was spent in Bayeux. Unfortunately we didn't view the famous tapestry but we did have a great lunch, a nice walk about town and an interesting ice cream experience.



Yep, you are actually seeing a very weird idea for ice cream: violet and tomato. I regret not trying the tomato because, after all I'm a huge fan. But what made them do it? The idea that everything is better with sugar and cream? Part of me wished so bad that McKenna would have pointed to it and asked for the "pink" one. But that day she wanted the purple one and so we did get to taste violet. I liked it. A lot.

As we were walking past the cathedral, McKenna looked up and saw this gargoyle and said, "I want to touch that scary thing" I don't understand this child, she really does love to be pushed to the edge of uncomfortableness and then saved at the last minute by the hero. So, in the next shot she is saying, "never mind Daddy, please put me down". We are going to have some serious teenager stress in a few years with this one. May Bailey have mercy on us so that our parenting powers are not used up before McKenna needs them.