MY LAST DAY IN THE HILL COUNTRY

(MARCH 23, 2018) Today was my final day in the Texas Hill Country. It has been a great three days and I have really enjoyed my stay here. Last evening I had dinner at a wonderful German Restaurant on Main Street. After dinner, I spent some time walking around Main Street. Fredericksburg is a wonderful town that is full of life and has a very vibrant downtown that is full of locally owned restaurants and shops.

This morning I really didn't have anything planned other drive down to San Antonio. I want to spend the Weekend in San Antonio and get out of town before the Final Four hits town.  I had thought about stay in San Antonio and going to some of the Final Four events but beginning Tuesday the Hotel rates jump and the cheapest room that I could find anywhere within a 30-mile radius of Downtown was $234 per night. That is way out of my price so after spending this weekend here I will be heading west to the Rio Grand Valley and then exiting the Lone Star State sometime toward the end of next week.

Last night while walking around town after dinner I walked by the "Museum of the Pacific War" and the "Admiral Nimitz Museum." So this morning before leaving town I decided to check them out.  From Main Street they looked like small museums and I could kill a couple of hours before heading to San Antonio.  But looks are deceiving.

I started at the Museum of the Pacific. Wow, turns out it a very large museum and I ended up spending about 3-hours here.  This museum features artifacts and exhibits dealing with the Campaigns in the Pacific during World War II.  The attack on Pearl Harbor, along with Iwo Jima, Guam and Wake Island are featured prominently.  I ended my tour with a very interesting exhibit dealing with President Truman's decision to drop the Atomic Bomb which eventually caused Japan to sign the instruments of surrender on the deck of the USS Missouri.

After finishing my tour of the Pacific War Museum I went next to the Admiral Chester Nimitz Museum, which is housed in the old Nimitz Steamboat Hotel.  The Old Hotel was owned and operated by Admiral Nimitz's grandfather Charles.  The hotel has been a feature in Fredericksburg since the Middle 1800's. This building also served as the boyhood home of  Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.

Today the hotel has been restored to house the Admiral Nimitz Museum and also features a grand ballroom and conference facilities.  The museum features a number of artifacts relating to the life of the man who would be Fleet Admiral of the United States Navy.

After spending all morning and the early afternoon touring this outstanding museum it was time to head toward San Antonio. It took me close to an hour to drive the 60-miles to the San Antonio area and then another 30-minutes to drive the final 10-miles to my hotel.

Tomorrow I am going to play it by ear depending on traffic.  I am thinking that I may do a tour of the San Antonio Mission and then do the Alamo early Sunday Morning when traffic and parking should be a little easier to navigate.

Today I also reached another mileage milestone as I broke the 3,000 mile trip barrier.

I know I have two night here in San Antonio and I will let traffic sort of set my course,


TODAY'S MILES:      106
TOTAL MILES:         3014