Nimitz Museum of the War in the Pacific

We left San Antonio in early evening on Sunday and drove to Kerrville, TX to spend the night. Monday morning, we drove the 20+ miles to Fredericksburg, YX (named after German Royalty), homw of Chester A Nimitz, Commander in Chief of the War in the Pacific. He had to do a dance with Gen Douglas McArthur, but Nimitz called the shots for island invasions and Naval strategy in the pacific.
Our friends Bob & Bonnie Swartzendruber are full time RV'ers and winter in Fredericksburg. They were spending a few weeks in Bensen AZ but we decided to stop and see the museum anyway.
What a fabulous museum! The Museum of the War in the Pacific is built on what had been the Nimitz Museum (He is their favorite son, born and raised in Fredericksburg), it has some great exhibits.

The original Nimitz Museum is built on the remains of the old hotel built by his grandfather and operated by his family. The hotel underwent modernization and renovation, but when they decided to honor Nimitz with this museum, they restored the building to the original "Steamboat" facade that Nimitz knew as a boy
Nimitz left Fredericksburg for the Naval Academy at age 16!


Nimitz was a submariner and the new section of the museum has a set of sculptures that are arranged to appear as though a WW II sub is surfacing! Pretty neat! Nimitz was instrumental in seeing RADM Rickover put in charge of the Nuclear Submarine program in the 50's. Rickover was eccentric and unpopular in many arenas, but Nimitz knew he had the drive plus knowledge needed to see the job done correctly.

This is the tunic or "blouse" that Nimitz wore as a 5 star admiral.
Wonder if he had to work out so he could lift all of that "brass!"


Nimitz believed strongly in establishing peaceful relations with Japan.
This peace garden was a gift of the people of Japan and is a wonderful, quiet place to be.


In the modern side of the museum, the mix of photographs, static displays, light and sound shows, and movies is very well done. This Japanese "Midget" submarine is in a display that commemorates USS Ward firing the first shot of WW II by the US Navy. Ward discovered a sub like this off the mouth of Pearl harbor waiting to torpedo any ships that escaped the air raid. Ward fired Naval rifle and depth charges at the sub early in the morning of Dec 7, 1941, before the air raid started. Even though they radioed the action to fleet headquarters, the fleet remained "asleep."


This is the boat Nimitz' used when he was Pacific Fleet Commander. Admirals use a "barge."
If this same style boat is used as the transport for a Navy Commanding Officer, it would be the Captain's "Gig."
If the same style boat is used to haul officers or enlisted, it is then just a boat.
If someone can explain that to me, I'd be grateful!


The museum makes a very strong case (as did the WW II museum in New Orleans) that the invasion of Japan was expected to last for several years, cost nearly 1 million allied casualties and possibly 50% or more of the Japanese population. The US forces on many of the islands reported that the Japanese often chose suicide over surrender. Even may civilians committed suicide when faced with being "captured" by the Marines or Army troops.
This is a replica of "Fat Boy" the nuclear weapon that destroyed Nagasaki, Japan and forced the Emperor to order the surrender of all forces. Prior to the use of this weapon, he had ordered his troops to die rather than surrender, had ordered women to be trained to charge US forces with sharpened sticks, and children were fitted with explosives to become human bombs.


Down the street a few blocks was a display to try to give the feel of combat in the Pacific.
This Ptrol Torpedo (PT) boat was one of the very few that saw action in the war yet survived. At war's end, all PT boats outside US waters were burned (they were made of plywood). This boat had been damaged and was in the yards stateside being repaired, so was exempted. Most of the boats that survived were stripped of armament and put into commercial use. This one was bought by the museum and restored to its wartime configuration.


This display tried to give a feel for what the Marines faced as they landed at Tarawa.
Our guide said the Japanese would use old, inoperative artillery pieces such as the on in the foreground to get the Marines to attack that point (to try to take out the artillery piece). Then the Japanese would open fire with bunkered machine guns, tanks and light artillery to cut down the Marines. The fighting was made much more difficult by the fact that the assault boats got hung up on reefs hundreds of yards offshore and the Marines had to wade through chest deep water while being fired on by the Japanese defenders.

The town of Fredericksburg looked pretty neat too as we drove through to leave but we could not stop to explore.
Next trip!

As we left and drove west, we were treated to a fabulous sunset.
But once the sun goes down in the desert, it's dark - no twilight here, the air is too clean and pure to cause that twilight haze!

Tomorrow, Fort Davis, Texas.

San Antonio

We left Austin with full intention of driving the Hill Country in a big loop north of San Antonio.
But Mother Nature had other ideas and socked the area in pretty completely.
We abandoned the plan about half way around. After we had turned around and headed back to a major highway we'd just passed, three police cars went the way we had been going at full lights and siren! So, somewhere where we had been heading, there was probably a big crash!



Friday evening we met Ginny and Bob VonLehmden and Dianna and Gilbert Maldanado at a wonderful Mexican restaurant on the north side of San Antonio. When we went on the Jeff Cavins pilgrimage to the Holy Land last year, we met a large contingent from San Antonio. These were four of this group and our reunion was wonderful. Bob & Ginny also arranged a reception at their house after mass for Sunday - but more about that in a minute.

At dinner, the Maldanados suggested we visit the Basilica of the Little Flower - not too far from the restaurant where we were eating. We visited Saturday morning and attended daily mass. After mass we spent an hour looking over the Basilica and were awed by it's beauty.


Next to the main altar is a shrine with a replica of St Terese in repose.
The ring on her finger and the crucifix in from of this magnificent reliquary contain first class relics of St Terese. This reliquary is almost identical to one we saw at the National Shrine of the Little Flower in Darien IL.



At the suggestion of a wonderful man named Antonio who we met after mass, we visited the Cathedral of San Fernando in San Antonio. This church dates back to the very founding of the city. The Cathedral was built by immigrants from the Canary Island in 1731!



Near the main altar was a wonderful Retablo (artwork) of Our Lady of Candelaria was a gift of the people of the Canary Islands in 1984. La Candelaria or Candlemas commemorates the presentation of Christ in the temple and the ritual purification of the Virgin Mary.



Of course, how can you visit San Antonio and not visit the Alamo!
The old mission church and one barracks are all that remain of a complex that spanned several city blocks (equivalent). Most of the actual fighting occurred away from the church. In fact the sacristy was very sturdy and is where the women and children who survived Santa Anna's assault hid. Just across the street, in a small building, we saw a diorama sponsored by Phil Collins (the singer) that explained how the battle progressed and what the area looked like. Well worth the $3! Anyway, the famous arched facade was added years later by the Army. This place is a sacred shrine for the people of Texas. The discouraged rag-tag band of Texans were solidified by the loss of the Alamo and a short time later defeated Santa Anna's army decisively at the San Jacinto river. The flag we saw in the House chamber of the Texas Capitol is the flag that flew over the victorious Texan army at San Jacinto.



Sunday, we attended mass with our friends at St Brigid.
Our friend deacon Paul Heye, was the homilist at mass and reminisced of the trip to the Holy Land, mentioning us.



After mass, we adjourned to Ginny & Bob's where the entire group (plus one) assembled.
In addition to the group, Gilbert & Diana's son Gilbert ("Gibby") joined us. He just arrived that day from his own Holy Land pilgrimage with Jeff Cavins!



Bob & Ginny really rolled out the red carpet for us, making a wonderful meal and making us feel very much at home! Good friends are what make travel special - those you meet along the way and those you visit!

Austin - Texas State Capitol

We arrived in the Austin area (Buda, TX - about 15 miles south of Austin) and discovered we were next door to a Cabela's store. We had never been to one before, so we spent a few hours. Lots of wildlife and displays.




The store is complete with its own mountain and bush plane!

The next day was cool and rainy but that didn't dampen our spirits as we explored Austin, Texas' Capitol City.

One of the funnier statues is this one built to honor Angelina Eberly. Seems the Republic's President Sam Houston did not care for Austin as the seat of government. After unsuccessfully trying to move it, he decided to steal in, take everything and let the nay-sayers complain later (ala the way the Colts took everything out of Baltimore in the middle of the night). But Mrs Eberly saw what was happening and fired a cannon to alert the citizens. Seems she blew a large hole in the Land Office building in the process.



We toured the State Capitol - the largest in the country.

Behind the Speaker of the House's Chair is the flag that flew over the Texans at the Battle of San Jacinto, the final battle of the War with Mexico where the Texas Republic became secure.



A short walk from the capitol is the campus of University of Texas. The centerpiece of the campus is the Texas Tower. Originally built as a library, this was the scene of a deadly afternoon in 1968 when a deranged gunman shot and killed many innocent civilians before being killed by a police officer.



Just off campus is the Texas State Museum. The museum has a wonderful progression of the story of Texas from the very early days to modern day.
At days end, we watched Avatar in the IMAX theater. The 3-D effects were spectacular as was the movie.
Tomorrow, on to San Antonio!

Farewell to Nola

On our last day in New Orleans, we took the Canal Street Ferry from Algiers (where the Naval Support Activity is located). While on the ferry, we were treated to a great view of downtown New Orleans and the Cathedral.




We walked to the WW-II Museum (about a mile from the ferry landing - but NOLA is flat as a board, so no hills). We saw a fabulous 4-D movie (It SNOWED on the audience during the Battle of the Bulge!) before walking through the museum itself. After the tour, we returned to the theater complex for swing band dancing in the Stage Door Canteen. (BTW: Images in the museum are graphic - would be cautious about exposing young children to this exhibit. I think the movie is fine for kids, but not some of the photos in the museum.)


Following the Museum, we returned to River Walk and had a bite to eat.
(River walk is a classic "separation place" - a place intended to separate the tourists from their money!)


Finally, the return ferry trip gave us a great view of this beautiful city at night.

New Orleans

We had a fabulous view of Pensacola Bay from the Navy Lodge.



But it was a little cold!

We signed on the internet for one last check of emails and I discovered one from David that said he would try to contact us through gmail voice chat in an hour! Theresa quickly checked her gmail account and downloaded the necessary software just in time! We chatted with David for almost an hour! What a treat! He says he'll be able to do this periodically!!! :-)


We then drove to New Orleans and checked in to - what else - the Navy Lodge! This one is closing next summer as the base ceases to be a Navy Base.
Following a suggestion from TripAdvisor.com, we made reservations at Louisiana Bistro in the French Quarter. It is a nice place which can seat only about 75 people.

We opted to let the chef make all our choices with three courses.
Chef Mars visited our table and asked if we had any allergies or dislikes. We told him we were ready for anything!
He started with one of our favorites! Frogs legs!! Breaded with a wonderful mixture and napped with a spicy but sweet sauce.



For the second course, chef created a pan seared trout (locally caught) on a bed of mixed greens and "Pot Licker" sauce. Fabulous - again!



For the final course, Chef Mars created a sausage stuffed pork loin, seared and then baked to perfection! Served over a bed of jambalaya!

Pricey but well worth it!

Pensacola - Cold but NO SNOW

When we decided to flee the white stuff, we kept checking forecasts:
Memphis - snow & freezing rain!
Birmingham - snow & Cold
Pensacola - Cold but NO SNOW!
Besides, Theresa's sister Mary lives here with her son Greg.


Do we look warmer? It's 65 today but the icy blast is headed here!
At least there is no snow here!
Its COLD here in Pensacola (27 degrees)! And rainy! (What, no sympathy from our Yankee friends still in the frozen wastelands?
)
Theresa's sister Mary lives in Pensacola with her son Greg.


Greg and Laurie took us to a wonderful buffet for dinner

Believe it or not, Laurie is a grandmother!
Here, she and Greg entertain Jaden.

The fountain in front of the Navy Lodge had ice on it (just like last year) when we arrived.

We head to NOLA tomorrow.

The Snowbirds Take Flight

We had planned on heading out Thursday but pushed things up 24 hours and got out of town this morning. Drove South instead of West (since solid snow was to the West). We have holed up in Montgomery AL. I just ran out of gas (me, not the car). Tomorrow we will head on to Pensacola to visit with Theresa's sister Mary and her son Greg. Then on to New Orleans for a couple of days.

First Christmas without David

A bittersweet day was Christmas 2009.
We always gathered as a family on Christmas and have not missed since 1973 when David joined our family just one week before Christmas (Dec 19). In November 2009, of course, he joined the Transapline Redemptorist community at Papa Stronsay Island, Scotland. (See the seperate blog davepapastronsay.blogspot.com for communications and news from him).
I an email, he told us he is more at peace now than ever before. We are thrilled and pleased that he has heeded God's calling and is a peace, but at the same time we are sad we were not able to share this most Holy Day with him in person.
Theresa, Bob, and Eileen did gather, however. Bob Sang in the choir at the 10:30 PM Christmas Eve mass. Theresa had practiced with the choir all along but that morning, Eileen had a series of seizures and Theresa decided to stay home with Eileen. On Christmas morning, Eileen was feeling good again. We picked up Eileen's roommate Paulette and attended Christmas day mass at 10 AM. After dropping Paulette at the apartment, we decided to stop at Sophia's House of Pancakes for brunch. Then we went to our house and exchanged gifts.



We decided the time was ripe to upgrade our TV, so Santa brought us a new Hi Def TV for the family room. Bob modified the Entertainment center to hold the new TV, so Santa just left a photo from the box to remind Bob of the new toy. We also negotiated a free upgrade to HD for the Dish satellite system (with a new two year agreement, of course). Bob built a set of shelves for above the bookcases to hold all our movies.



Bob was browsing Amazon and started reading about the new Canon SX20IS cmaera that has replaced his current S3IS. Theresa agreed that it was worth upgrading now so Bob can get used to the new camera prior to the Pilgrimage in May. Theresa mentioned that she'd kind of like to have a nice small camera to have with her, so Bob . . . er Santa found a nice Canon (what else) on Amazon for her. By Christmas morning, Theresa had forgotten about the whole thing so was pleasantly surprised by the Hot Pink camera + Pink Carrying case. Both are great cameras and we may set a new record for snapshots on the next pilgrimage!



Theresa has been working for weeks to connect a zillion of the yarn daisies Eileen has made into an Afghan. She chose the daisies colored to complement Eileen's sofa. We also bought a number of the calendars from the Redemptorists. Here, Theresa shows Eileen photos of some of the places at her her brother's new home in Scotland.



After we finished exchanging gifts, we drove to Greensburg to celebrate with Bob's sister Carol, her husband Denny and Denny's three daughters (Sonya, Anne, and Barbara) and their families. The food was fabulous as was the company.



Here, Eileen hams it up with Sonya while Barb displays a caricature of her children done by her son. Much Euchre was played (which was neat since we got the opportunity to get to know some of Carol & Denny's nieces and nephews).
At the end of the day, we drove home, pleasantly stuffed and recalling a wonderful day of celebration and of family.
While we missed David, we know he is at peace and had many opportunities to celebrate Christmas with his brothers.

Eileen Wins Third At State SpecialO Bowling

Eileen has been involved in Special Olympics for quite some time. For a while, she did swimming, but more recently, she has been interested in bowling. She loves to bowl and goes to our local bowling alley regularly to roll a few lines. She has been bowling Special O for the past 4 years and loves it. She has her own ball and shoes and is quite the "pro!"
Last Saturday (Dec 5) she bowled in the State Special Olympics at Woodland Bowl near 96th & Keystone. She started very well and gradually her scores dropped off. At the end of the day, she finished third and received a bronze medal, which she proudly wore to church on Sunday.
The photos here were shot by Theresa on her cell phone with available light, so some are a little blurry.