Had a very enjoyable and relaxing day in New Orleans. Spent over 4 hours at the National WWII Museum near Lee's Circle. The Museum opened in 2000 and is probably the best WWII Museum in the country today. It came about largely due to the tireless efforts and inspiration of historian Stephen Ambrose, major motion picture director Steven Spielburg and actor Tom Hanks. It now includes a terrific theatre that has a great production. The museum itself has several distinct wings dedicated to different aspects of the war, including the war in the Pacific, D-Day, the war in Europe, and the domestic situation in the U.S. in the years leading up to the war and during the war. It is a magnificent museum that is not well known to many Americans because it is so new. It is located here in New Orleans because Andrews Jackson Higgins of New Orleans designed the Higgins Boat that was used so successfully in D-Day and all of the other landings throughout the war in Asia and Europe. The boat was designed and manufactured here. Dwight Eisenhower told Steven Ambrose that we would not have won the war were it not for Steven Higgins, which is why they decided to locate the museum here.
I also enjoyed wandering around the Garden District and taking the trolley down St. Charles Ave. This is a tremendously interesting and unique city that is one of my favorite places to visit.
Bob arrived last night and we had a fun dinner with two of his sisters, a nephew, and brother in law who live down here. We leave on the last leg of our trip tomorrow morning. Bob's sister, Laura, has volunteered to pick us up when we finish on Saturday afternoon. We will be staying in a B&B tomorrow night.
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