A very good day.

We woke up this morning to a beautiful bright blue sky. It was a little chilly, but there was not a cloud in the sky. After breakfast and one of the best showers that I have had in a month, we headed for the National Museum of the War in the Pacific. What an experience!!!! It was exceptionally well done. First, when we walked in they welcomed us. When I told them that Bob was a WWII vet, they told him that admission was free, they gave him a badge as an honored visitor, and they almost saluted him. Bob was clearly embarrased. (He said that he only did what everyone did in 1942.) The exhibits in the museum included what you would expect - memorabilia, descriptions of battles, etc. But they had videos of the battles showing how the US and the Japanese forces interacted. That really helped me to understand what was going on. They had actual recordings of many speeches, like FDR giving his speech to declare war on 12/8/41, or Hirohito notifying the Japanese people that he had agreed to an unconditional surrender. It was very moving. And it took a long time. We entered at about 9 am and did not leave until almost 3 pm (with a small break for lunch.) Wow. Apparently this museum opened in December 2009, so it is relatively new. I asked why there was such a museum in Fredericksburg Texas. The reason is that this is the birthplace of Admiral Nimitz. They wanted to do a museum to Nimitz and Nimitz apparently said that if they honored him they had to honor all of the men who fought in the Pacific - so they did. It is quite impressive.

Outside they had gardens. One for the presidents who had seved in WWII. One for the servicemen who had died in the Pacific. And one, called the garden of peace, was for the Japanese who had died in the war.

We left the museum and walked through the town. I made a great purchase. I have been looking for a hat to wear on those days when my hair will just not obey. I found one and it was not very expensive. There are lots of cute little shops here and several wineries - so we did some winetasting and purchased some local wine. We then went out to dinner. This is a town with a lot of German roots. So the restaurant that was recommended by several people was a Bavarian restaurant. It was marvelous. Bob and I had spaetzle (I think I spelled that right.) I am sitting here so stuffed that I think I have gained back the four pounds that I lost.

Tomorrow we will leave for a campground outside of Austin. I hope that the weather stays nice.