Proud to be Canadian

It was another busy day touring. We woke up to a rather overcast rainy day - perfect for spending time inside at the Caen memorial. It was a museum dedicated to all wars in the 20th century. We started by viewing two excellent movies on the D day invasions and modern day hope for peace. From there we took in all of the displays and I was very impressed by how much the girls were taking in. They must have had a hundred questions for Mitch to answer as they knew I wasn't the expert on this topic. After lunch we made a stop at the Canadian cemetry at Beny sur Mer. This is the one I had been to on an earlier trip but coming again was worthwhile. The girls with their previous cemetary experiences, respectively walked among the headstones and read the inscriptions. I can't help but being emotional about a visit here .... so many were 19 year olds who barely got off the boat before losing their lives. We spent some time looking through the cemetary register but did not find and surnames that were related to our family.

Our next stop was at Juno beach itself where the Canadian divisions landed on June 6th, 1944. On previous trips to the beaches they had been deserted because it was March or April. Today we found the beach covered with holiday goers playing in the sand. Initially I felt uncomfortable but upon reflection concluded it is better that we move on rather than just see these beaches as blood stained shores. The girls immediately sat down and started creating in the sand .... something they love doing at home. Mitch chose to go and read all the outdoor displays while we sat on the beach enjoying the beautiful sunshine. We could have drug them through another museum but decided some time on the beach would be more enjoyable for us all.

Our final stop was in Ouistahm were there was the Grand Bunker for the Germans. The girls had seen the pamphlet for this site at the hotel and wanted to see it. Unfortunately we arrived as it was closing so we weren't able to go inside but the outsude tanks, landing craft and V1 rocket were well worth the trip.

Its been a moving day for us all - one tthat made us proud to be Canadians.