Places visited:
Fredericksburg, Blanco, Luckenbach & Kerrville, Texas.

Thursday, April 26, 2001

I called Delorme the manufacturer of my GPS receiver this morning. If
I send them my broken GPS they will ship me a NEW one for $75 plus
shipping. We packaged up the broken one and sent it off. Sometime
next week I will have to provide them with an address for them to ship
me a new one. Providing an address where we will be in a week or so
will be a challenge.

Although we have not discussed traveling with GPS and a laptop with
Street Atlas 8.0 (SA8) software it is time to do so. GPS with SA8 is
as addicting as air-conditioning. Knowing exactly where you are at
any given time is totally awesome. Equally as awesome is the ability
to have at your disposal a map of every street and cow path in the
United States at your fingertips. Most promotional literature will
provide an address. All Joyce has to do is type in the address and
the "find" feature will mark the location on the map with a colored
star. There are so many uses for the GPS and SA8 that we will feel
lost until our unit is back with us.

We drove to Fredericksburg today. On the way we stopped by
Luckenbach, Texas. Luckenbach remains, as it always has been --- one
unpainted general store that also serves as a beer tavern, and a
traditional rural dance hall. That is all there is, there ain't no
more. None of the buildings have ever had a coat of paint applied.
If you are wondering where you have heard of Luckenbach it is the
subject of an enormously popular country-western song by Willie Nelson
and Waylon Jennings that made the name known virtually worldwide.
(Some of you won't even know who Willie and Waylon are and as such
will probably not remember the song----- your loss) Luckenbach was
hard for us to find since the GPS was inoperative and souvenir thieves
swipe the road signs as fast as they can be replaced. When we visited
three cowboys were picking guitars and singing. Each sang while the
others played along. They were really good. We understand that
Sunday afternoons usually find impromptu groups of musicians
performing underneath the huge live oaks.

In Fredericksburg we found an RV-Park for this weekend, mailed the
GPS, toured a Pioneer Museum Complex, and strolled through
Schwettmann's emporium, ate lunch, and visited Wal-Mart where we used
our Debit Card to get some cash. The Pioneer Museum Complex featured
an original 1849 house the first settlers in Fredericksburg built.
The same family occupied the structure consistently from 1849 until
the 1940's. Of course the original limestone building was added on to
many times. A wooden floor was added to the original buildings dirt
floor. The stone floors used in the construction of other rooms still
remain. One building detailed the construction of the old wooden
wagon wheels. I was amazed that the "hub" was seasoned with the bark
on for 2 to 8 years. The oak spokes were seasoned for 8 years. All
kinds of specialized equipment is involved in constructing a wagon
wheel. After completion of the wooden part the wheel it is delivered
to the blacksmith to have the steel tire attached. It absolutely
amazes me that those wagons had wooden spindles that the wooden hub
rotated around. How on earth did they keep them lubricated? How did
they keep abrasive sand and grit out? How long did the wooden hub
last?

The Pioneer Museum Complex includes the Kammiah family home and store,
a smokehouse, blacksmith shop, log cabin, schoolhouse and other out
buildings. One of the most interesting outbuilding is the Sunday
house. These spare cottages were built in town and the farmers used
them on weekends when they came to attend church.

Schwettmann's emporium was in my opinion an eclectic assortment of
items destined to festoon the walls of some posh restaurant.

The influence of early Germans can be seen in the town's neatly
maintained buildings and homes, and in the tender, yeasty breads and
confections produced at a variety of Main Street bakeries.

Once back at Blanco State Park for the night we met our neighbors who
we had sat next to while listening to the guitar pickers in
Luckenbach. It turns out they were former members of Park Cities
Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas. It was nice reminiscing about Jim &
Margaret Ann Pleitz, Paul Royal and Clyde Bizzell. One funny thing he
told us is that the big shot that replaced Pleitz did not last long;
he just was not pastor enough to fill those big shoes. I told him
that the shoes had not been filled back in Pensacola either. It was a
good conversation about some wonderful people. For those of you
reading the travelogue that do not belong to First Baptist Church in
Pensacola, Florida the above will not mean much to you as the
individuals were Pastor and staff members that moved from Pensacola to
Dallas years 25 or so years ago.

Friday, April 27, 2001

Mike has a terrible sinus infection that is going to require
antibiotics. This is our first attempt to get medical attention on
the road and we were both a bit apprehensive about what to do first.
However, it turned out to be as easy as pie. We called my personal
Physician back in Pensacola and he called in an antibiotic to the
Wall-Mart in Fredericksburg.

While in Fredericksburg Mike dropped Joyce off in the Main Street
shopping district to go wild while Mike went off to get a haircut and
get the car gassed. How is that for a good way to kill and hour or
so? Joyce has been in every shop on Main Street and has taken me back
to the "good ones" (you guys know what those are). Less, I needed you
to accompany Joyce for me. While holding down a bench outside one
store I remarked to the man next to me that Joyce was just looking
because we were in a motorhome and if we purchased anything we had to
dispose of something. He grinned at me and said, "partner I got you
beat, my better half and I are on that Gold Wing". For those of you
that do not recognize what a "Gold Wing" is the best I can do to
describe it is a $25,000 or more Harley Davidson motorcycle. They
were from Amarillo, 7 hours to the northwest, and were touring the
Hill Country staying in B&B's. He told me they left their motorhome
at home for this trip. They enjoyed riding down country roads with
the wind in their faces enjoying the flowers and scenery. As the
couple got on the Gold Wing and puttered off I though it would be a
COLD day in Texas before Joyce got on the back of a motorcycle for a 7
hour drive with me.

One of the unique things about touring the country in a motorhome is
the inability to collect cute knickknacks. We have both seen things
that we really liked and normally would have purchased and taken home.
However, we have weighed our motorhome fully loaded and are keeping
our weigh under the maximum allowable. Therefore when one of us sees
something that we really want the other one always smiles and says,
"What are your throwing out?" It is a cute saying but very realistic.
We are both getting good at just telling each other how much we like
the item, spending a few moments admiring it, then moving on.

We both visited and toured a wildflower seed farm. This place was
MUCH more than a wildflower seed farm. They had multiple large
buildings selling Texas souvenirs all the way from Rocks to wine.
Several busloads of older citizens were grabbing everything in sight.
Outside two men were preparing a chuck-wagon meal over an open fire.
They were baking pies in Dutch ovens, beans in 5-gallon cast iron
pots, potatoes for potato salad and a variety of other things
including brisket and sausage. Mike watched the cooks prepare for
feeding several hundred guests over the open fire. It was interesting
to say the least. In addition to seeds the farm grew fresh cut
flowers for arrangements.

Back at the motorhome Mike is running a temperature of 101.6. I am
very thankful that Joyce persuaded me to call Dr. Whibbs this morning.
Since this is Friday I would not have gotten him until mid-day
Monday.

E-mail has been easy to download at Blanco State Park this week. Why
can't it always be this easy?

Joyce is getting a cult following. Half of the e-mail received today
encouraged Joyce to never cook again. Many extolled her with "Go
Girl" and other encouragement. Trust me folks, Joyce does not need
encouragement to drop cooking from her list of possible things to do
or think about. So feel free to encourage her all you want. It
certainly won't affect me more than a couple of times in the next
year.

It can't get any better than this, can it?

Saturday, April 28, 2001
Fredericksburg RV Park 305 E. Highway St. Fredericksburg, TX 78624

It is Saturday in the Hill Country so we are out of the State Parks
once again. It seems that the State Parks especially in the Hill
Country are enormously popular places and reservations are made far in
advance. However, weekdays are wide open. We would have stayed at
the Lady Bird City Park in Fredericksburg but they were full to
overflowing with a wood carvers group. To be accommodating they had
allowed some of them to double up on spaces. I think he said they had
190 spaces and 220 RV's with some sharing spaces. Hill Country RV
Park right next to Wal-Mart was full but had a sign saying that they
had no hook-up spaces available. We did not ask price of the no hook
up. Full hook-up there was $14 while we are paying $23 and Lady Bird
was $18. Lady Bird had mature shade while the others did not. To us
Lady Bird would be our choice since we do not require the amenities
that the more expensive private parks charge you for. We just
appreciate water and electricity although it is not necessary all day
every day since we are completely self contained.

The trip from Blanco was an easy 45-mile trip over beautiful country
roads in the motorhome. After getting set up in the Fredericksburg RV
Park we set off to see the Fredericksburg Butterfly Ranch & Habitat.
This was a pretty neat place. They had a fairly large screened in
flying room with a good variety of Texas butterflies represented.
Throughout the enclosure were 3 to 5 gallon pots containing host
plants (host plants are the ones that butterflies lay their eggs on
and the emerging caterpillar feeds on). After a day or so in the
screened room the host plants are covered with a fine mesh and moved
to another house. This house is where the caterpillars feed
(devouring the foliage on the host plant). Caterpillars are voracious
eaters consuming a thousand times their body weight during the 2 weeks
they are in the caterpillar stage. Once the caterpillars form pupas'
workers move them to hatching - viewing display cases. Surprisingly
this exhibit was attracting mostly adults. The proprietor said that
she expected her clientele to be children but that it turns out that
the 50's to 70's age group are the most interested. She seemed to be
most surprised that a good many of them had never seen a caterpillar
turn into pupae or pupae transform into a beautiful butterfly. While
we were there the senior adults were transfixed in front of the
viewing cases where the pupas were struggling to become butterflies.
This is an enjoyable stop for those interested in such. The shop is
located 508 West Main, Fredericksburg, Texas 78624.
mailto:deborah@livebutterfly.com Phone 803-990-0735. They sell
butterflies for release at special events. They also sell pupae for
individuals that want to watch the transformation from pupae to
butterfly.

The next stop was an herb garden. Not much to say about other than it
was a pretty neat place to walk around.

The Texas Guild of wood carvers were having a big shindig at Lady Bird
City Park that was open to the public so we decided to give that a
try. There was not a lot of excitement around the place. However,
there were a lot of people learning to carve.

To finish off the afternoon we visited the Fredericksburg Winery.
Neither of us like wine so we did not partake in the tasting but did
enjoy the education part of the tour. Did you know that 96% of the
wine produced in Texas is consumed in Texas and that consumption
represents less than 40% of the total wine consumed in the state?
Texas wineries appear to have an untapped market waiting for their
product.

Here is a good Lawyer Joke I heard today. Don't we all just love
lawyer jokes? A big-city lawyer was representing the railroad in a
lawsuit filed by an old rancher. The rancher's prize bull was missing
from the section through which the railroad passed. The rancher only
wanted to be paid the fair value of the bull. The case was scheduled
to be tried before the Justice of the Peace in the back room of the
General Store. The attorney for the railroad immediately cornered the
rancher and tried to get him to settle out of court. The lawyer did
his best selling job, and finally the rancher agreed to take half of
what he was asking. After the rancher had signed the release and took
the check, the young lawyer couldn't resist gloating a little over his
success, telling the rancher, "You know, I hate to tell you this, old
man, but I put one over on you in there. I couldn't have won the
case. The engineer was asleep, and the fireman was in the caboose
when the train went through you ranch that morning. I didn't have one
witness to put on the stand. I bluffed you!" The old rancher replied,
"Well, I'll tell you, young feller, I was a little worried about
winning that case myself because that darned bull came home this
morning."

I hope you like that one because it is extremely hard for me to
remember jokes.

Saturday night is supposed to be one of the times to "experience"
Luckenbach, Texas so tonight was our night for the experience. When
we arrived around 7:30 there was a high fluting wedding in process.
The actual wedding had just taken place in a picturesque setting under
some centuries old oak trees. The bride and groom were emerging from
a high end ($800,00 plus) Prevost coach (note I did not refer to the
Prevost as a mere motorhome). The reception took place in the dance
hall in Luckenbach, which is across the street from the building we
are headed to. There are only two buildings in Luckenbach and both
are active tonight. Parking for both are in the same field.

When we were here earlier in the week the impromptu guitar pickers
were all playing inside the small building. Early on most of the
action was outside under the oak trees. Perhaps a hundred or more
people were milling around. A group of men were tossing washers, a
game somewhat like horseshoes. Another group was huddled under an oak
tree sitting on a variety of old oak tree trunks that had been cut
into 18-inch lengths. When a 30-inch diameter log is cut into 18-inch
sections the result is a very sturdy piece of yard furniture. Most of
these "seats" looked like they had been here since Moses was a baby.
The ever-changing group was playing one song after another on their
guitars and banjos, participants came and went depending on the song.
Audience members sang along when they knew the words. Everyone was
having a good time. I was amazed at the amorphous way things were
just happening. Luckenbach on this night was an eclectic group
composed of college kids, professional people, a group of young people
from Austin, all in all a truly cross section of Anglo Americans. As
the night wore on a younger group of musicians started playing some
modern country songs inside. Joyce and I migrated from under the old
oaks to the building where we spent the rest of the night. We met a
couple our age from Tyler Texas that were staying in the Luckenbach
B&B located about a mile from here. They said their place was
advertised as "Rustic". It was! They were staying in the old smoke
house that had been converted into a room. When they arrived at the
B&B there was a huge pet pig all dressed up in trousers lounging in
the living room. That was their first clue that this was really going
to be an experience.

There must have been something in my Dr. Pepper and Joyce's coke
because both of us started singing along. Singing along just isn't
me. We really enjoyed the night. Joyce remarked on the way home that
she really appreciated meeting the couple from Tyler because they were
a couple she could relate to.

The highlight of Joyce's night was when she eased up to the bar to get
another coke and a cowboy we had been talking with earlier in the
night told the bar keep give the lady in red a coke on him.

What we will remember most about Luckenbach is the rustic appearance,
spontaneity of the musicians, variety of people making up the crowd,
and the history of the place. Where else in the middle of NO WHERE
would such a group of people assemble for the sake of having a good
time? Only in Luckenbach.

A sign nearby proudly says Luckenbach, Texas population 3. I ask the
bar keep to identify them. She told me they were not here. A cowboy
standing nearby told us that one of them did not really live there but
only maintained it as a residence so his drivers license and such
would say Luckenbach, Texas.

That same cowboy bemoaned the way things were today. Ranchers could
not make a living raising livestock whether it be cattle, goats,
sheep, camels, llama, emus or ostrich. He told us as a young man he
was a cowboy on the King Ranch in South Texas. He told us about
riding for a complete day without crossing a fence. Another cowboy
explained the Great Pyrenees dogs we had seen guarding the goats
earlier in the week. He said that ranchers put these dogs with the
goats when they were just puppies. The ranchers were careful to not
show the puppies any attention. The dogs grow up thinking they are
goats. They just think that they are the biggest and baddest goat.
In the role of Biggest and Baddest they assume the role of protecting
the heard. Even as adults the dogs do not receive any attention from
the rancher. If a coyote happens along looking for an easy meal he is
going to receive the LAST surprise of his life.

Sunday, April 29, 2001
Fredericksburg RV Park 305 E. Highway St. Fredericksburg, TX 78624

We slept late then got up and attended services at the First Baptist
Church in Fredericksburg, Texas. This was a fairly normal Southern
Baptist Church except they had a young lady as the minister of music.
This is something Joyce and I fully back. However, I know the
conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention must be having a
conniption. It does my heart good to see a prosperous congregation
spurning the hegemony of the conservative wing of the Southern Baptist
Convention.

The youth of the church were putting on a dinner after the service in
order to raise money for a mission trip they were taking to Mexico
this summer. Of course we stayed and fellowshipped with several
families. It is so enjoyable to spend quality time with locals.

Later in the afternoon we took a ride in the country north of
Fredericksburg to Willow loop road. Willow loop road is a very small
paved road through private ranch land. There were no fences along the
road on this 13-mile stretch of scenic vistas. The only fences were
the ones separating each rancher's property from his neighbor. Cattle
crossings were in place across the road and the fences went right up
to the cattle crossings. Signs were posted at the beginning of the
highway that ALL of the property along this stretch of road was
private property and it was unlawful to stop on the side of the road
or to park in the road. A few hundred yards down the road we
understood what the signs were referring to. We had entered open
rangeland and would spend the next 13-miles dodging livestock. What a
ride composed of one indescribable vista after another.

Monday, April 30, 2001
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park Fredericksburg, TX.

This morning we moved our RV to Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park then
headed to the Admiral Nimitz Museum and The National Museum of the
Pacific War. Wow! What a poignant and stirring journey in time.
Both of us experienced an absorbing lesson in history. As we viewed
this window on a war and an era I could not help but stand in awe at
the achievement of so many brave individuals yet at the same time
question other actions.

Admiral, Chester Nimitz is undoubtedly a great and patriotic American.
Chester Nimitz is the Grandson of German immigrants who settled
Fredericksburg in the 1850's. It is amazing to me that anyone born in
the frontier town of Fredericksburg, Texas in 1885 could end up
graduating from the Naval Academy in 1905. What an achievement. The
Museum is located in the old Nimitz Inn constructed of sun-dried brick
in 1852 and operated by the Nimitz family when it was the last real
Inn between San Antonio & San Diego on the old stagecoach route.
Chester Nimitz is a true American success story if there has ever been
one.

By the 1940's the world was at war with Germany, Italy and Japan. Two
great German Americans, Eisenhower and Nimitz, lead the United States
military forces. Japanese Americans were rounded up and relocated to
internment camps for the duration of the war, though not a single
instance of subversion by Japanese Americans was recorded.

Now comes the QUESTION:

Why were the Japanese Americans and German Americans treated so
differently?

Feel free to explain or comment Mailto :mikehendrix@isp.com

Changing the subject did you know that the "MALE" wedding ring was
almost unknown before WWII? More newly married soldiers and sailors
than ever before headed overseas wearing the symbol of their promise
to remain faithful and to return home. How is that for a piece of
trivia?

The National Museum of the Pacific War had two totally awesome
dioramas. In the first one you are on the deck of a Japanese
submarine off the coast of Pearl Harbor viewing lights along the coast
the night before the infamous attack. Next to you on the deck of the
mother submarine is one of the "mini" two-man submarines the Japanese
used in the attack on Pearl Harbor. The "mini" submarines were
delivered very close to Pearl Harbor by larger "mother" submarines.
The nighttime disengagement or launching of the mini submarine from
the mother sub is what you are experiencing in this diorama. The
sound effects of the waves splashing against the hull and the
flickering lights on the shore make this presentation. One of the two
Japanese on board this submarine was captured the day after the Pearl
Harbor attack and became the first Japanese prisoner of war. The
Submarine grounded on the coast and is now a museum exhibit in
Fredericksburg, Texas. And as Paul Harvey would say, "Now you know
the rest of the story".

The other diorama was an airfield scene on Guadalcanal, where you are
standing the middle of a maintenance area with two mannequins
discussing the day's activities complete with eye and hand movement.
It was a professional diorama with surrounding mountains, jungle and
ocean painted on the walls. A real period aircraft was being worked on
under camouflage netting by more mannequins. Then the Japanese start
bombing. Bright lights flash as the bombs land all around you, loud
speakers in 55-gallon drums also heighten the bomb effect.

Tuesday, May 01, 2001
Lady Bird Johnson Municipal Park Fredericksburg, TX.

The German influence in Fredericksburg is everywhere; from the
symmetric buildings to the squeaky clean yards. We have enjoyed
pronouncing the German surnames and enjoyed the accents yet we had not
sampled the baked goods produced by the Main Street Bakeries. In
order to experience this we had to get up early and head to town
before they sell out and close for the day. We chose Rebecca
Rather's, Rather Sweet Bakery for this morning's experience. Rather
Sweet is located in a courtyard behind the house where Fleet Admiral
Chester Nimitz was born. The easiest way to find it is to find the
Historic marker on Main Street announcing that this is the house
Admiral Nimitz was born in then follow the aroma that waifs on the
morning breeze. It will lead you to Rebecca's Bakery where she
explains each of the fresh-baked fruit pastries awaiting your
selection. I was more interested in the sausage and cheese scone.
That looks like food for real men, and it was. If you visit
Fredericksburg make sure that you sample the baked goods offered by
one of the local bakeries, Rather Sweet has a courtyard where you can
sit and enjoy your selection.

Our next stop was Fort Martin Scott Frontier Army Post. Fort Martin
Scott was an active U.S. Army outpost for five years, from 1848 to
1853. Its function during that time was to house, train, and supply
soldiers working on scouting and patrolling missions in the areas west
and south of Fredericksburg. In those five years, the fort and its
inhabitants made a significant impact on the social and economic life
of Fredericksburg and the region. Things were happening so fast in
the migration west that the fort was abandoned and the troops moved to
newer forts established further west.

Joyce wanted to walk through the wildflowers at the Wildflower seed
farm once again so that stop was added. Walking through acres and
acres of wildflowers is a truly relaxing experience.

Back at the motorhome Joyce is cooking.

Wednesday, May 2, 2001:
Kerrville-Schreiner State Park Kerrville, TX

We packed up this morning and moved 24 miles south to
Kerrville-Schreiner State Park in Kerrville, Texas. The State Park
is located on the banks of the Guadalupe River in the city of
Kerrville. Deer are abundant in the park. We spotted our first "road
runner" this morning. It was running along just like the cartoon
character. We made arrangements with Delorme to ship the GPS to the
State Park. Now we will be staying here until the GPS arrives.

Our entire afternoon consisted of sitting on the picnic table beside
our motorhome feeding corn to deer. We have a 50-pound bag of corn
and we fed about half of it to them. They come in groups of 12 to 15
to eat for a few minutes then go lay down in the grass and cedar trees
about 100 feet from us. There must be several hundred deer passing
through. None of them eat out of our hands but they do feed within 10
feet of us. We put out a bucket of water and they are drinking out of
it. Sitting at the picnic table and looking into the woods it is so
neat to see the twitching ears. The only way to spot the deer in the
grass when they are lying down is to watch for them to flick those big
ears. From where we sit we can see the flicking ears of 15 or 20
deer. The others have moved just out of sight to bed down. For a
moment the ones feeding will move on and we will be all alone except
for the ones watching us in the woods. Then like the fog lifting on a
cool morning a new group wanders in from across the road. Scrub jay
and white wing dove are also stopping by to eat peanuts and sunflower
seeds.

I have no idea what we can do tomorrow to top our afternoon today.

Does it get any better than this?

p.s. I think Joyce is cooking again tonight. (3 nights in a row, are
we going for a record!)

Mike & Joyce Hendrix