August 27, 2011
August 27, 2011
This morning we drove to the old shipyards of Richmond, CA. It is now the home of Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. This Park honors the women and minorities who joined the workforce in droves during WWII. The Visitor Center is in the planning and construction stage and if done well could make a compelling story. The victory in WWII had as much to do with our “arsenal of democracy” out-producing the rest of the world as it had with the fighting troops.
Our first stop was a “Rosie” memorial that looks like a ship skeleton in construction. The next stop is the shell of a Ford plant that made tanks and jeeps for the war. The last stop is at one of the nearly 750 cargo ships built at the Kaiser shipyards here in Richmond. Unfortunately it is being moved to dry dock and tours stopped yesterday! I boarded anyway and sweet-talked this old guy into giving us a private tour of the ship. He was a tail gunner on a carrier-based torpedo bomber during WWII. He gave us a humorous albeit abbreviated look around. I thought we were on one of “Rosie’s” Liberty ships. Turns out this was the newer Victory ship made by her sister, Wendy the Welder.
From Richmond we went to Danville, a cute town where we had lunch while we waited for the shuttle bus to Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site. The park is the playwright’s home where he lived for seven years late in his life. The house is in a gated neighborhood in the foothills. I think the main reason it is a national park is because the neighbors didn’t want the property developed. 
Aimee and I both think it is a waste of money. Eugene O’Neill is famous for being the only American playwright to win a Nobel Prize. The house is very ordinary with no historical value. The only thing I learned of interest is that O’Neill’s 18-year-old daughter, Oona, married the 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin. That tidbit is good for crossword puzzles.
A few blocks away we found a Traders Joe store where we stocked up on the wine we drink. It is a one-third cheaper here in California. We open one to celebrate when we get back to Vallejo.
This morning we drove to the old shipyards of Richmond, CA. It is now the home of Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park. This Park honors the women and minorities who joined the workforce in droves during WWII. The Visitor Center is in the planning and construction stage and if done well could make a compelling story. The victory in WWII had as much to do with our “arsenal of democracy” out-producing the rest of the world as it had with the fighting troops.
Our first stop was a “Rosie” memorial that looks like a ship skeleton in construction. The next stop is the shell of a Ford plant that made tanks and jeeps for the war. The last stop is at one of the nearly 750 cargo ships built at the Kaiser shipyards here in Richmond. Unfortunately it is being moved to dry dock and tours stopped yesterday! I boarded anyway and sweet-talked this old guy into giving us a private tour of the ship. He was a tail gunner on a carrier-based torpedo bomber during WWII. He gave us a humorous albeit abbreviated look around. I thought we were on one of “Rosie’s” Liberty ships. Turns out this was the newer Victory ship made by her sister, Wendy the Welder.
From Richmond we went to Danville, a cute town where we had lunch while we waited for the shuttle bus to Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site. The park is the playwright’s home where he lived for seven years late in his life. The house is in a gated neighborhood in the foothills. I think the main reason it is a national park is because the neighbors didn’t want the property developed. 
Aimee and I both think it is a waste of money. Eugene O’Neill is famous for being the only American playwright to win a Nobel Prize. The house is very ordinary with no historical value. The only thing I learned of interest is that O’Neill’s 18-year-old daughter, Oona, married the 54-year-old Charlie Chaplin. That tidbit is good for crossword puzzles.
A few blocks away we found a Traders Joe store where we stocked up on the wine we drink. It is a one-third cheaper here in California. We open one to celebrate when we get back to Vallejo.
posted by Mike and Aimee at 9:45 PM
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