More Fun in Fredricksburg

On Monday we had a nice visit with our friends Everett and Carol. They had volunteered with us at CARE. Ev was flying into San Antonio from Florida after visiting his daughter. On the way back they stopped by. They are at the present time work camping at Inks Lake State Park. We had a nice few hours, and they were on their way.
On Tuesday we went to Kerrville to Culvers. We met Greg and Jean from our 2007 class for lunch. Tom and I have been waiting for a chance to go to Culvers. We haven't been to one since we were in Minnesota. That was much too long. They have frozen custard that is to die for. Those of you in the mid west know what I'm talking about. The only trouble is they only have a few in this part of the country. I guess if had those burgers when ever we wanted them they wouldn't be so good when we finally get them. We certainly enjoyed the meal and the yogurt after. And of course the friends and conversation. Such nice folks.
Yesterday we went into Fredricksburg to see the National Museum of the Pacific War. It it partially housed in the former hotel building owned and operated by the Nimitz family. Admiral Nimitz was born and raised there. What a great old building. The museum itself was so interesting. There is so much to see. The first building is just for Admiral Nimitz and the family. Another part of the museum is a Japanese Peace garden. It was donated by the Japanese to help promote peace. It's very beautiful. Then there is a big building the houses the Pacific War Museum. We could have spent hours in there. So much to see. Everything from compasses to nurses uniforms to Japanese swords and tools.
Outside in the middle of all this is the Veterans' Walk of Honor. What a wonderful tribute to those who served. There are so many plaques. It is supposed to have every boat and ship that served in WWII in the Pacific. So many men are pictured. Some in honor of and some in memory of. AWESOME! The Greatest Generation.
After we were done seeing what we wanted to see in these building, we went down the street a bit for the last part of the museum. It's called The Pacific Combat Zone and Center for Pacific Waq Studies. It is set up outside like an island ready for war and occupied by the Japanese. It has bunkers, pillboxes, tanks, and much more. It is surrounded by bamboo, and looks like a pacific island. There are 3 buildings at this part of the museum. The first one is a replica of the inside of an aircraft carrier. Complete with plane. We saw a brief old newsreel, and headed to the next building. It housed PT 309. It is the only PT boat from the pacific war in a museum. It was bigger than I thought it would be. Then we went to a building that was a Quonset Hut. It was set up like a military hospital would have been on Okinawa if we had invaded the Japanese mainland. Outside near the entrance was a housing of an atomic bomb they were going to drop on Japan. It was smaller than I thought. Looking at it, you wouldn't think such a small thing could do so much damage. The last exhibit was a mock burial plot like the ones on the islands. Complete with dog tags on the crosses.
What a full day. It ended with a trip to Opa's. They make sausage, etc. We picked up some bratwurst and knockwurst. Can't wait to cook them up. Folks say they are the best. Nothing like home town meat markets. We have one at home that makes terrific kielbasa and porketta. I'll get some when we hit home. I can almost smell it cooking.
Tomorrow we plan to go to the LBJ Ranch. We were going today, but then we got a severe weather warning, so we did the laundry and I got a haircut. On Saturday we hit the road and head for Abilene to see our nephew Rick. That is if Uncle Sam doesn't want him working. He is a lifer in the Air Force. What's nice is we can change plans if we want. We can always come back. This is a beautiful area. I'm sure we will be back to visit again.