Wednesday, November 27, 2024: The WWII Museum is the best tourist attraction in New Orleans. The amount of money, time, and effort, that the city and benefactors has poured into the museum was incredible. For example, the Boeing Center is a major attraction in the museum because it houses a Mustang fighter, a Dauntless bomber, and many other planes, that are hanging from the ceiling. There are catwalks placed among the planes so that the tourist could get up close and personal. I stood in awe and just appreciated being in their presence because these were not reproductions but were the actual planes that fought in the war.
Just like any other reputable historical attraction, the WWII museum included the uniforms and artifacts of the people who lived in that period of time. But what made this museum special was the two major shows that it put on. The first show was a multimedia experience focusing on FDR’s “Four Freedoms.” There were visuals projected on ten different screens. It was like other documentaries that I have seen in the past but this one was on steroids. In pivotal moments, like D-Day, blindingly bright lights flashed throughout the theater. The movie was well produced in that the sound, visuals, and narrative, all worked together to make the “Four Freedoms” come alive. The second show was “Beyond All Boundaries” and it was narrated by Tom Hanks. It was 4D because it included a real guard tower, an anti-aircraft gun, and the nose of a B-1 bomber. Snow descended from the ceiling, in the form of soap bubbles, when the story turned to the siege of Bastogne. The seats vibrated at key moments like the bombing of Hiroshima. It was like nothing that I have ever experienced before.The WWII Museum had even more to offer aside from the planes and the movies. The “USS Tang” experience, for example, allowed the visitor to see what it was like to be on a submarine during the war. Also, there was an interactive oral history experience that allows guests to have a conversation with a member of the WWII generation. It uses immersive technology made possible with artificial intelligence. Finally, “The Liberation Pavilion” was a brand new, huge outdoor theater that included a statue of General Eisenhower. The whole museum experience was almost overwhelming and I could have easily spent another day there.
Thursday, November 28, 2024: For Thanksgiving morning, the only thing on my agenda was to walk around the French Quarter. The weather was perfect as I enjoyed taking pictures of the iconic buildings and did some people watching. There were constant reminders of when I took the kids to New Orleans twenty five years ago. The things that I remember were the puppet show at Jackson Square, the horse and carriage ride to the graveyard, and taking pictures of the kids in front of the colorful houses on Ursuline Street.
The big event of the day was to get on the train. I enjoy Amtrak because I love to sit and stare out the window and watch the world go by. It was fun to watch the sun go down and then rise again the next morning. Unlike driving on the interstate, the trains literally run through the woods with the trees being at an arms distance. We pass over the swamps and bayous which end at the base of the tracks. It is just beautiful. Also, I enjoy the gentle rocking back and forth while riding the train because it is very relaxing and I sleep like the dead.
Amtrak is not for everybody. For example, you have to be an acrobat to get into the upper bunk to go to sleep. The seats down below are supposed to fold together to make a lower bunk but I haven’t been able to make that work. The food wasn’t very good on this trip and I expected more for Thanksgiving. Finally, it is tough to see the underbelly of civilization. We rode past the trailer parks and the homeless camps that line the outside of the cities. After seeing the poverty and living conditions of the less fortunate, I was reminded, once again, how privileged I am.
Friday, November 29, 2024: Amtrak actually arrived in Chicago early so I had the time to do “The Skydeck” on the 103rd floor of the Willis Tower and to go out on “The Ledge.” There were no lines because they let me in even before the actual 9:00 opening. It is hard to scare me but even I was afraid to step off of “The Ledge” while looking down but, once you knew that you were safe, it wasn’t so bad. Visiting “The Skydeck” was great fun and wasn’t even on the agenda but, because I was traveling by myself, I could be flexible in terms of what attractions I attended.
The anchor event of the day was to take a tour of the Art Institute of Chicago. Joel was our guide and he was great because he was so enthusiastic. We started our tour before the crowds arrived so we had an unobstructed view of “A Sunday on LaGrande Jatte” by Seurat, “American Gothic” by Grant Wood, and “Nighthawks” by Edward Hopper. I love to show off so I told Joel about some facts of the paintings that even he didn’t know. By now, I have been to many art museums and have a liberal arts education, so I know a little about a lot of topics. It is fun to surprise others. Just because I wear a beard, have a ponytail, and look like I work on the docks; I let the others know that I am not just some rube from Kentucky.
Saturday, November 30, 2024: I had some time before my food tour so I took a walk along Michigan Avenue for an hour and a half. It felt good to take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the day with the sun glistening off the traffic and the people crowded on the sidewalks. It was a totally different scene from the French Quarter but still beautiful in its own way. Then I met Mickey, our guide for the food tour of Chicago. He was fun because he was a “short, hairy nerd” and seemed to revel in being weird. We visited “Giordano’s” for pizza, “Garrett’s” for popcorn, ate a “Chicago Hot Dog,” and then sampled a brownie at “The Palmer House.” It was my fourth flawless day in a row and you really do need to appreciate it when everything goes right.
By the time that our tour was over, I was done with Chicago. I went to the airport to catch an earlier flight back to Louisville. The nice thing about solo travel is that I get to set the agenda and if I feel like flying back early then there is no reason not to. Further, I like to go to bed early and get up early to take my morning coffee at the hotel breakfast room when it opens. Tracey and I have done a lot of traveling since we retired and I have had to learn the same lessons over and over again. I have learned to be patient and to go with the flow. Initially, I wasn’t even supposed to go to the Art Institute or the Willis Tower but I made plans on the fly. Also, I have learned to be comfortable with doing nothing for awhile. For example, I left the French Quarter early to sit at the train depot for two hours. I killed the time by happily reading the newspaper and I was prepared to do the same thing at the airport if I couldn’t get an earlier flight. It is nice to be older and have acquired more patience and self control.
In closing, this “backpack vacation” on Amtrak was great because each day was totally different from the one before. It was like having four mini-vacations bundled into one. I am so encouraged that I will probably do another Amtrak vacation for Thanksgiving 2025.
And now it is on to the Philippines.
