Spring Break in Normandy

I knew it would be cool. But I had no idea really….

We left at 5:30 in the morning and arrived at 3:30 in the afternoon at Utah Beach.  We rented a little trailer- kind of like a very small, narrow, single wide: 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen/dining area, and a porch.

Camping at Utah Beach

With a trampoline!  Hours of fun….

And goats-

The beach at low tide- the day we arrived.

This pole is in front of the oyster farmer's racks.  There is seaweed up to the white part.
At high tide, you can't even see this pole because it is underwater!

Oysters in the racks

That's all for day one...

Sunset from our porch looking toward the Utah beach memorial.

Flowers from Ben-

 Day 2-
High Tide Utah Beach-

Day 2 high tide- in the distance you can see the Utah beach memorial buildings again….

 Cold and rainy on the English Channel, we did our museum/ WWII day.

First stop Arromanches to see the view, and visit the museum with the 360 video

High Tide again-

Landing craft half submerged. We couldn't see them well because of the tide..

Second stop  Longues-sur-Mer Gun Battery.  German bunkers with guns intact in a semicircle.  They could fire almost 13 miles as an obstacle to the landings at Omaha and Gold beaches.

Mustard fields all over the area - we started seeing them on our way the day before near Dijon.

The lone observation bunker that directed the guns.  

View from the bunker.

We ate lunch here and this tree was next to our table.  Cool berries - no idea what they are.
No we didn't eat them!

Next stop WWII Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial above Omaha Beach.

Beautiful and sobering.

Omaha Beach from the path to the cemetery.

Ceiling tiles of the chapel in the center of the cemetery 

 Day 3 Back at Utah beach.

Same ramp at low tide again.  Noah and I went to the beach to look for Mussels.

Many to find in the damp sand.

Never before France had I seen this, but they are everywhere here.  They even have a tv channel dedicated to the sport!
We saw 1 or up to 5 at a time on the beach

 Later I talked the boys into going to the nature preserve with me.  We walked from the campground on the road about 1 1/2 hrs. hoping to see the seal colony that lives here.  No luck, but we did see cool birds and sea creatures!

View from inside the bird blind.

Mud flats between the refuge and the beach.

Treasure of the sea

We finally made it to the beach and there is NO ONE around.  Will there be quicksand?  How far back to the camp?

People!

 Noah cooked the mussels that night for an addition to dinner.  I have to say I was skeptical, but wow, they were delicious!  Thanks Noah!

Day 4: Church and Mont-Saint-Michel

Tiny protestant church in Saint-Lô.  We almost doubled the congregation that day.
They asked that we pray for Normandy as many people are agnostic and very hard to reach with the gospel.

 Next on to Mont Saint Michel

View from the road approaching it.  We could see it from the hills much further away, but pictures don't do it justice.

On the tramway

A nice American took our picture.
You can see the new bridge that will allow the tide to once again make this rock an island at high tide.

Looking up

While I walked around the mudflats with the kids for 10 minutes, Chris talked to an old-timer who said he remembered the Americans coming and liberating his town from the Germans.  Great to meet someone from this time and have him talk to us in French!

Waling around the side toward the mud flat.
I would have loved to do the tour out there, but not enough time for everything!

You can just see the water through the window

Picture of the archangel Michael.
Defaced during the revolution perhaps-

Plenty of shops on line the street that spirals to the top.

Goodbye!

 Day 5: Beach, Rest, and Christy and family-

Looking for more mussels.

None in here….

Found some near the oyster rack legs! 

Boys pretending it is D-day as the tide quickly comes in.

It's hard to describe how fast the tide comes in - the low areas become a river, the waves come up, the high place becomes an island and then disappears….

The pool- heated, covered, just right.

 Lunch at Saint-Mère-Eglise where the paratrooper was caught on the steeple of the church...

And ice cream...

Thank you Ware family!

 Back at Utah beach, Kristin and Chris returned the extra mussels to the water (too many to eat!)

Treasures from the sea

More treasures-

I couldn't eat this one- the mussel had been in process of eating a crab I think…. cool-

Dessert

 Day 6 We say goodbye to Utah Beach at 6:30 and drive to the last destination.  Another castle...

Okay, we went to Disney on the way home.

Inside the castle this was the coolest!  This gentleman was making glass unicorns!
Upstairs was the story of Aurora but this was better.

Star Wars stuff.  What could be cooler?

Family photo

Parade...

I got to ride the carousel.  :)

Goodbye Disney.  It was fun!
Davy Crockett Ranch with tickets were less than one day at Disney in the States.
Who knew?

 And now, studying, laundry, prep for Mom, Patty and Annie's visit, working on visas for the 7 week extension in France, and for Cameroon, for all the prep and paperwork for Cameroon.

Whew.  I need a vacation…
Not really-
But now we return to the last 6 weeks of school.  Pray I can hear well- my ears have been clogged and it sounds like I am listening underwater sometimes.  Pray for patience with ourselves with the language and not to have anxiety with all that is coming.
Praise that we are officially going to Cameroon the end of July.  Praise we were healthy all the break.  Praise for helpful people in Cameroon, North Carolina, and France who continue to help us.
Thank you!