The next morning we discovered that we had spent the night in Hérouville-St. Clair. The sun was shining and we knew we were north of Caen, so we headed north and west on main roads until we found a sign that pointed to Lion-sur-Mer, the easternmost small town on the invasion beaches. We got to the Normandy coast at about 9 a.m. and headed west. Our goal was Ste-Mère-Eglise at the other end of the D-Day beaches. We had seen many of the landing areas in 2001, but wanted to see Arromanches, Pointe du Hoc and Ste-Mère-Eglise. In addition we wanted to stop at our favorite Cider farm.

Our drive started with a sunny, calm day. We stopped on occassion to see some remnants of the German Atlantic Wall which was supposed to stop the Allied invasion.

The cider farm, Ferme de la Sapinière run by Michel and Philippe Legallois, was just as we remembered it. This time we were greeted by the husband of the woman we had met there in 2001. At that time people in this area of France were full of questions about 9-11. This time we talked about the upcoming election. Before leaving we purchased a special 60-year anniversary bottle of Calvados and a jar of honey.

Pointe de Hoc, just a few miles from the cider farm, is a high point overlooking the landing beaches. Allied intelligence thought that the Germans had large guns mounted on this point that would dominate the landing beaches. The American Second Ranger Battalion was sent to scale the 100-foot cliff to put these guns out of commission. The Germans mounted some resistance, but they hadn't expected an attack from the sea. Within five minutes there were some rangers at the top of the cliff and within 15 minutes most of the batallion had reached the top. The operation was a big success except the big guns had already been moved, so the rangers proceeded to other objectives including Grandcamp-Maisy, where we took our lunch break.

The rangers feat is amazing to anyone who comes to Pointe de Hoc. The cliff and sea surounding it are awesome. The Germans might have removed the guns because of the heavy air bombardment. That bombardment and the heavy artillary barrage left the area looking like the moon. Overlapping craters about 30 feet across and 6 to 10 feet deep extend over the area. Some of the craters are concealed by a dense growth of shrubs, but many are only covered with grass.

The morning had turned gray and windy and we were ready for a sandwich. The next town was Grandcamp-Maisy, another of the seaside villages that dot the Normandy coast in this region. We bought a baguette from a local bakery and found some cheese, tomatoes and apples at a grocery store across the street so we were set for lunch. After the dramatic views at Pointe de Hoc, a group of sailboarders was a welcome and colorful break.

After lunch we headed towards national highway 13. This is the main road between Cherbourg and Caen, so the Allies wanted to cut off traffic between these two cities during the invasion. Paratroopers were sent to the area around Ste-Mère-Eglise just after midnight on D-Day to secure the road and interfere with German traffic. The battle is famous for the scattered parachute drops and for the paratrooper who was hung up on the bell tower of the church in Ste-Mère-Eglise.

The paratroopers were able to gather in groups made up of soldiers from different units. These groups managed to hold Ste-Mère-Eglise and break German communications. In memory of these soldiers, the people of Ste-Mère-Eglise have placed a mannequin of a paratrooper hanging from a parachute on the bell tower of the church. Inside the church there is a stained glass window commemorating these soldiers. The soldiers, for their part, have contributed to the reconstruction of the church.

From Ste-Mère-Eglise we drove down to Utah Beach. There are memorials at each end of the beach. The one on the north end is dedicated to the Free French who landed there; the one on the south end is dedicated to all of the Americans who landed on D-Day. In between there are numerous abandoned German fortifications. We headed back to Arromanches-les-Bains for the evening. Arromanches is at one end of the British Gold Beach. It was made into a seaport by the Mulberry harbor created from sunken concrete blocks (called Phoenix blocks) that weight about 10 tons each.

We decided not to stay in Arromanches-les-Bains, but rather in a new hotel in the country side away from the coast.