New Orleans - Day 2

Today we walked to the World War II Museum.  It is really well designed and thorough.  There are five buildings, each with a different focus.  I have toured lots of museums with kids, and it is always hard to slow them down, so they look at and read the displays.  The WWII Museum attacked this problem by assigning each visitor a soldier to follow through the war. There were lots of experiences in which we could immerse ourselves.

For example, we started by boarding a train just as recruits did.

George and I participated in a reenactment of the final day of the USS Tang, a sub that sank 33 ships.
She was built and launched in 1943. We were given identities of the submariners aboard the Tang as we entered a mock up.  My job was Research Periscope.  It was dark in the sub; the floor vibrated when we fired a torpedo; we could hear the commander's voice. We could see the battle on screens surrounding us, giving the feel, sights, and sounds of battle. In our last engagement in October 1944, we sank several ships.  Then the final torpedo turned around and hit us.  The ship went dark and filled with smoke. Silence. Seventy-eight men died, and nine survived.



After touring the war in Europe and the Pacific and having lunch at American Sector, we went home for a major nap.  Both days here we have taken super naps, sleeping deeply.  We watched the evening news and then headed out to visit Jackson Square, the Mississippi River,  and buy coffee and pralines to take home.


Jackson Square


Sunset at the Mississippi River


One of my favorite things in the French Quarter is shop signage.






This is a pharmaceutical museum

We have had a great time in New Orleans.  We parked the car in a lot a mile away and enjoyed
the city on foot.  Tomorrow we are driving to Auburn, Alabama, to visit my brother and sister-in-law, John and Melanie.  Almost home!