Well here it is almost Thanksgiving so I guess I should get busy on October's post so I can be late on November's. We visited the LBJ State Park and Historic Site. It is located about 20 miles from Fredericksburg. It is located on The LBJ ranch. We were able to see the one room school house that President Johnson attended and other sites from his childhood.
We stopped and saw the family cemetery which is located by the family home where he grew up.
This is a picture of his and Lady Bird's grave site. The picture is from one at the site. I tried taking one but due to trees in the way I used theirs. I guess I could of jumped the fence but who knows who was watching.
This is the original family homestead Which is a short walk from the cemetery. After he was elected President he had it refurbished and it was used for visiting dignitaries.
This is Air Force One-Half. There wasn't room to land Air Force One at the ranch so he would land in San Antonio and take the smaller plane to the ranch. The interior wasn't very fancy and there wasn't a lot of head room. You are able to get inside a little ways and there is no way I could stand up straight and President Johnson was taller then me.
This is a model of the house. The house is in need of major repairs so there are no tours now; plus there's a large branch from an oak tree setting on part of the house. There is a nice museum and there is a lot of information but it is not overwhelming as in some museums.
Well October brings Oktoberfest and they do love their Oktoberfest here in Fredericksburg. There was entertainment, food, and beer. Lots and lots of beer.
The following weekend was Brat Fest. For $10 you got a meal of different sausages, German potato salad, sauerkraut, apple sauce and a cookie. You could go thru the line as many times as you wanted. In a different area they had a table set up with many different samples to try. Of course there was a beer tent and entertainment. Did I mention that they really like their beer down here.
There is the National Museum of the Pacific War here in Fredericksburg. It's only about the war with Japan. It starts out with the events leading up to the bombing of Pearl Harbor and goes thru to the dropping of the atomic bombs on Nagasaki and Hiroshima in Japan. On the right is a mini sub that was recovered at Pearl Harbor. It was loaded on a truck and displayed all around the U.S. to help sell war bonds. It finally found a home here at the museum. There are other large displays such as the plane below.
There are also displays of artillery and vehicles for the Pacific Theater. There is a lot of information presented here. If you like to read
and learn about things you will find a lot of interesting information from that turbulent time in our history.
These are the Sullivan brothers. They all served on the same light cruiser. They all died when their ship was sunk in 1942 during the war. There were other brothers that served on the same ships or units that were killed during the war. This prompted changes about family members serving in the same units and the sole survivor act.
This is "The Jeep". I know this because the information board said so. It's right there in the lower left corner.
This one of two atomic bomb that brought a sudden end to the war with Japan. It was called "Little Boy". It was dropped on the city of Hiroshima by the bomber named the Enola Gay. The amount of damage and loss of life it caused along with the the second atomic bomb dropped on the city of Nagasaki named "Fat Boy" three days later ended the war with Japans surrender.
Here is the famous Tokyo Rose. She was one of many females that broadcast on radio from Japan to demoralize the American fighting men & women. They called all female broadcasters Tokyo Rose.
This is the type of plane that President George HW Bush flew during WW II.
They also have an actual PT boat in it's own building due to its size. It had to be completely restored and the building put up around it.
The best part of Museum was a young man I noticed that was always in the the same area that we were. He seemed to be watching me and it sort of peaked my curiosity. After a while he approached me, stood in front of me at attention. looked me square in the eye and said "Excuse me sir" snapped a salute and said "Thank you for your service". I was wearing my U.S. Coast Guard cap at the time. I have had a lot of people thank me for my service but this young man brought a tear to my eye. He did an about face and left and I didn't see him again that day. Thank you young man. Thank you from all Coasties.
There is also a "Combat Zone" on the property where they have a battle reinactment between the Japanese and American troops. It is very loud and smokey.
Before all of the noise starts they explain a lot of things and demonstrate some of the weapons and fired them. They do give you ear plugs and recommend that you use them. This is a demonstration of all of the equipment that a new recruit is issued and how much it all weighs. This fellow was 6 feet tall and weighed 180 when they started (not really). If you ever get in the Fredericksburg area this is worth the trip.
WE took a short trip to Wildseed Farms which is just out side of Fredericksburg. It 's the largest working wild flower farm in the U.S. We went to watch them release Monarch Butterflies that were raised there. They tag then and track their migration habits. It was quite cool that day the the butterflies were not n a big hurry to leave
Well that's it for now. Time to sit back and enjoy the flowers and go exploring to other exciting places. See everyone next month. Stay warm and keep those snow shovels close by.
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