New Orleans - Day 2

 Hello again y'all,

We are thoroughly exhausted after two very busy and very fun days in New Orleans.  We started our morning off visiting the New Orleans City Park.   It is 2.5 square miles in size and quite beautiful.  It has a museum, sculpture garden, a few large ponds and a private school right in the middle of the park.  The school happens to be where Ralph's nephew, Len, is an assistant principal.  We toured the school after visiting the sculpture garden.  

This afternoon we went to the highly acclaimed WWII Museum.  We spent four hours there and did not see it all.  We participated in a submarine attack in a recreated submarine, the USS Tang, which ultimately blew itself up by a faulty torpedo (after having been very successful in previous missions).  Also included was a 45 minute movie narrated by Tom Hanks that took us through the war.  The museum had a dozen or so WWII era planes suspended from the ceiling.  There were many interactive displays and memorabilia from the war.  We highly recommend it to anyone visiting New Orleans.

Tomorrow we head to Georgia near Atlanta, making our way further north.

This is a photo of some of the planes that were suspended in the museum.  We were able to view them from catwalks several stories up.  Definitely not for those who don't like heights.

On a lighter note, Tootsie Rolls were included in GI rations due to their ability to withstand heat/humidity and to give quick energy.  We were each given a Tootsie Roll after our lunch in the café.

These are from our morning visit to the sculpture garden.  Try to find Ralph in the second one.  He is reflected somewhere in the statue as he took a picture of it.

This is the middle school where Len teaches, right in the middle of City Park.  It was originally a beautiful private residence but was later turned into a school funded by the Christian Brothers (the same ones who made wine in Napa County).  What a place to work!

A beautiful tree-lined street in the outskirts of the city.

And of course, a picture of the Superdome has to be included.  Note the Caesars name.  Gambling is legal in New Orleans so Caesars has a large presence there.