The next morning we were up early, to make our way by streetcar to the National World War II museum.
If you ever get to this area, it is a must-see. Esp. for history-loving homeschool families. The museum places its most valuable exhibit right up front--veterans of WWII who share stories and photos from their time in the war.
Then there are nifty cards each person receives with admission that enable you to follow one particular American serviceperson's story as you go through the different "theaters."
For example, Smiley got a man named John "Red" Morgan, who was rejected by the Air Force because he had previously broken his neck, so he went to Canada and joined the Canadian RAF! This pilot served in the European theater, so as we walked through that part of the museum we looked for information about him. There were also computer monitors throughout the buildings where a wave of your card would pull up more of your particular serviceperson's story. You could also take your card home and look up more info about your serviceperson on the museum website.
Also in the lobby of the museum was a table of real and replica uniforms, both American and German.
The museum is huge, taking up several buildings. We only managed to see half of it, but enjoyed what we did see. We started with a new exhibit about the merchant marine--definitely stories that have been overlooked in our past WWII studies. I think I learned the most new things in this part of the building.
Sounds like a powerful book--potentially something to preview for future WWII studies.
I am fascinated by old photos.
And fascinated by objects and their stories.
I was especially interested in seeing displays on people groups we studied in last year, both in our family studies and in the American Lit/US History course I taught, such as Japanese Americans, Navajo Code Talkers, Black American soldiers, and Tuskegee Airmen.
An excellent fiction book we read last year about Japanese Americans serving in WWII is Four-Four-Two by Dean Hughes.
Of course the museum was filled with excellent displays that helped us all understand the progression of the war.
We toured the Pacific Theater in the morning, and the European theater in the afternoon. At lunch, to save time, we ate at the "war-era" museum diner--where Sunny and I shared a meatloaf and mashed potato sandwich. Which was delicious.
Outside the museum there were German pillboxes and even a section of the Atlantic wall from Normandy, white concrete pitted by bullets and shells. (Even though it was exposed to the elements, you were not allowed to touch it, out of deference to the soldiers who died there.)
A long day, but I wish it could have been just a little longer, to allow us to see a few more things. The museum did a very good job of making the war understandable in significance and impact--esp. to the men and women who fought and served during it.
After we closed down the museum we made our way again by streetcar to a Cajun restaurant. We tried fried catfish, fried oysters, po'-boys, red beans & rice, and a few others things I can't remember now but which sounded fairly authentic to the area. (Avoiding real seafood, because the kids and I are not fans. We were really stretching ourselves gastronomically, but that's part of the fun of traveling to new places--eating the foods that are local to that region!)
The restaurant had live Cajun music, and a cute older couple who came out to dance for us, and encourage others onto the dance floor. I was so tempted to go out with one of the kids, even if I would be making a fool of myself--they were shy but had that gleam in their eye that told me they would have danced if I led the way. But after I watched for a couple of songs, and was getting up my nerve to go out with a child for the next slow number, the band and dancers took a break. We had been done eating for a while and didn't want to take up a nice big table longer than we should, and we didn't know how long their break would be, and it was time to head back to the hotel. So we didn't stay. Although Smiley took my hand and danced with me as we crossed the street.
That was another important lesson I learned: when life gives you the opportunity to dance--dance. Esp. when it's with one of your kids.
Tired but happy and cozy after a fun day.
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