A day that will live in our memories and not in infamy



Norm photographs a World War II sub tower

Our time with our California friends is racing by at NASCAR speed. As much fun as we are having, Joan and I know that when Friday rolls around we will suffer a letdown with their departure, but today was another great day in Texas.

Joan and I picked up Norm and Jan in downtown San Antonio at 11 a.m. and headed north to Fredericksburg and a day of shopping, wine tasting and museum visiting.

While Joan and Jan took in the wonderful shops in Fredericksburg, Norm and I toured the Pacific War Museum. Formerly called the Nimitz War Museum, the various exhibits and buildings take up about six acres of downtown Fredericksburg.

Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, Chief of Naval Operations in World War II, was born and raised in Fredericksburg living for a time in a hotel built by his grandfather, which is now the site of the Nimitz Museum and Foundation.

The bridge of a World War II cruiser

Norm and I spent about three hours in the George H.W. Bush gallery which is an extensive collection of artifacts, war material and history of the Pacific War in World War II. There was way more than we could possibly take in during one visit.

The amount of information became overwhelming and we certainly did not cover even half of it.

One artifact that really hit home with me was a ship’s door cut from the superstructure of the USS Arizona which was sunk in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. You can still see the oil line on the door (see photo in post below along with other photos from the day).

I was also particularly interested in the room dedicated the Sullivan brothers. The brothers, who were serving together aboard the same ship, were lost during a Japanese attack. Their deaths created a new policy restricting brothers from serving together on the same ship.

There were news reels and other archival films and just many historic artifacts that I had never seen before.

Grape Creek Winery

Donations from veterans have made this collection very unique, including an oil spattered white Navy uniform from a sailor who was involved in the Dec. 7^th attack. Pieces of a Japanese bomber shot down on Ford Island and many Japanese uniforms, swords are included in the collection.

Incredible aerial views of Nagasaki and Hiroshima both before and after the atomic bomb blasts were interesting.

Following the women shopping in downtown Fredericksburg and our museum tour we headed out of town to visit some of the area wineries. We stopped at Grape Creek Winery where Joan sampled some of the Texas wines. Me, the permanent designated driver, did not take part.

An afternoon wine tasting

With a hearty recommendation from the winery owner we headed to the nearby Cabernet Grill for dinner. We arrived there about 40 minutes before the restaurant was open so we headed a couple miles back to town where Joan and Jan sampled some more wines at the Fredericksburg Winery.

At 5 p.m. we headed back to the restaurant and when it was all said and eaten, we all agreed this was the best dining experience in Texas, so far. Three of us had different shrimp dishes and Norm had an Eggplant dish, which he proclaimed the best Eggplant dish he had eaten.

Truly a wonderful dining experience.

Friends and a great dinner.

After dinner we headed home.

During my morning walk today I found several new license plates in the park: Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Aruba. Yes, a motorhome with an Aruba license plate is in the park.

While I was out for my morning walk today it was 47 degrees outside and as is my custom I wore my thin work out shorts. I passed a lady all bundled up in a winter coat walking her dog.

“Aren’t you cold?”, she asked.

“No, ma’am, I’m from Michigan,” I replied proudly.

“Well, I’m freezing,” she said.

“That’s because you’re not from Michigan,” I said. Maybe you had to be there.

Tomorrow we end our time with Jan and Norm with a trip to the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo at the AT&T Center. More then.