This Day in History – June 6, 1944, The United States and allied troops invaded at Normandy. This was the largest air, land, and sea invasion in history. The goal was to surprise Germany, but Germany was ready to fight. It was the beginning of the end of World War II.

We were at the neighborhood meet and greet this past weekend and had a discussion about cruises with some folks down the street. They are taking the Viking river cruise from Paris to Normandy that we took several years ago. I was telling them how Normandy became my favorite segment of the trip and how emotional it was for us. Both my dad and my wife’s father were there and fortunately did not become another white cross. They came back to the States and raised families, creating a bond with each other that they never dreamed of at that time of battle. Sadly, my wife’s dad never lived to see our wedding day, but I did get the chance to ask for his approval.

I’m looking forward to our September Viking cruise from Vancouver to Tokyo. Covid took away voyages from Spain to Norway and Russia to Finland. It also kept us from going to Bali, Tahoe and Hawaii and delayed the river cruise to Egypt. With the savings, we’ve put a few extras in our new Florida home –  luxuries instead of memories.