War Museums – Live Laugh RV

My how plans can change! I guess that’s one of the beauties of having one’s home in tow, the freedom to wonder on a whim; the freedom to change plans and directions as needed or rather as wanted; the freedom to move when you don’t like the weather.

There are days I feel I have about as much attention span as the dog featured on the cartoon movie Up….. “squirrel”. However, instead of returning to the conversation, I’m off and running. I’ll admit, it’s kind of fun being distracted and so noncommittal.

After the month of January in Rockport, we thought we’d spend the month of February exploring parts of San Antonio, Austin, and Fredericksburg. We settled into a gorgeous campsite at the Cranes Mill Park campground at Canyon Lake allowing us to easily explore San Antonio and the surrounding area, but weather and an appointment had us rearranging our February schedule.

We had a wonderful time exploring San Antonio’s downtown: The Alamo and River Walk are sights not to be missed. We would’ve loved to have experienced even more of this great city but weather and time were not on our side.

Projected inclement weather and an appointment in Phoenix had us on the road sooner than planned. We had to prioritize our must see list and seeing the town of Fredericksburg was high on that list. We originally had the intention of spending several days in Fredericksburg, but since Mother Nature was not in a kind mood we’ll settle for a day trip.

Thank you to all who commented or sent emails to me on things to see and do in the area. Your recommendations were wonderful and we tried to take in as many sights as possible. What we didn’t have time for on this trip, we will definitely make time for on a future visit.

It’s a Wednesday morning and we get an early morning start for our 65 mile (105 Km) trek through the Texas hill country. We take a series of country roads with a side stop at the small town of Luckenback, Texas.

Luckenbach is an out-of-the-way hill country place preserving a small piece of Texas history. We pull up to the post office / general store / saloon (talk about multi-tasking) and are greeted by free roaming chickens. We step inside the building and it’s like stepping back in time.

10 acres of rolling hill country surrounded by large oak trees, a couple of creeks, a dance hall, store, and beer joint is the perfect place to kick back and enjoy a festival; chili cook offs, a mud dauber festival, music fests, the annual Hug-in around Valentine’s Day are just a sampling of fun things to experience here in Luckenbach.

Waylan Jennings even wrote a song about going to Luckenbach to escape the rat race of city life and Willie Nelson has held a couple of 4th of July picnics here. Since it’s a blustery winter morning, nothing much was happening except for a nice warm fire in the pot belly stove for Al, me and the 2 ladies working to stand near and chat while warming our hands.

Fun stop indeed, but Al and I were getting hungry. We didn’t have any breakfast before heading out that morning and thus continued the trek to Fredricksburg. It doesn’t take us long before we find the highly recommended “Old German Bakery” and indulge in some yummy pastries and coffee. It did not disappoint and we left with a box filled with more delectable treats to take home and enjoy.

We explore Main Street before heading over to the Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park checking out RV Parks along the way. The municipal park offers RV parking as well as the Fredericksburg RV Resort and the Oakwood RV Resort. All three look like they would work nicely for a future visit. There is also a KOA Campground on the outskirts of town that I’m sure would also work.

And then of course we have a little shopping to take in. I’m always on the lookout for unique gifts for loved ones. “Honey, do we have room……. ”

With that tidbit of business out of the way, we head on over to the Admiral Nimitz Museum and the National Museum of the Pacific War. The museum honors the eight million Americans who served in World War II’s Pacific Rim against Japan. Among those who served was a Fredericksburg native; Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.

Unfortunately time was not our friend that day and our museum tour was somewhat abbreviated and cut short by our growling stomachs and a quest to take in as many sights as possible.

We make note that the museum admittance is good for 48 hours, allowing guests to take their time visiting this special tribute. We contemplate returning after lunch.

Fredericksburg has a strong German heritage and therefore German food is usually the popular choice with visitors. Al and I consider lunch at Der Lindenbaum, another highly recommended restaurant, but for some reason we just weren’t in the mood for German food.

That morning while driving up and down Main Street getting a feel for this quaint hill country town, Al noticed a place at the far west end of Fredericksburg called Catfish Haven.It appears Catfish Haven is a restaurant frequented by locals. As patrons entered, the staff would routinely welcome guests by name as well as most of the diners all knew each other…..typical small town joint that we always get a kick out of. And the food was delicious. Yes, we had good ole fashioned fried catfish with a side of tater totes and hush puppies…..yum-mee! We’ll start that cleanse next week….LOL.