Travel days are always interesting.   Questions are numerous: where does one stop for fuel?  where does one eat lunch?  where is a Starbucks? is there a Dairy Queen anywhere near?  It is a great bonus when all questions can be answered in one stop – or at least in one small block or two.  The journey from Roswell to Fredericksburg was a long day, but Big Springs, TX broke up the drive with three out of the four questions answered.

First – feed the stomach, then worry about feeding Mini Magic and getting the SB’s;-)  The Grill at the Hotel Settles did just that.  A historic 1930’s-era hotel, Hotel Settles was brought back from the ashes (and pigeon roosts) to the details of an earlier era.

The lobby of the Settles Hotel.

E&G were delighted to learn that it’s restaurant – The Grill – was also restored and that we could eat where the drummer for Buddy Holly (a local boy) frequented.  This will create a ‘full circle’ story, as one of our stops on the western portion of the trip is The Surf Ballroom in Clearlake, Iowa – the last concert venue before “The Day the Music Died” (Buddy Holly and 3 others went down in a plane accident)!

Gary the Drummer just ate where Buddy Holly & the Crickets drummer, Jerry Allison, ate;-)

Next stop – Fredericksburg, TX and the National Museum of the Pacific War.  What?!?!  You say.  Why in the world is this type of museum in Texas?!?  Well – Admiral Nimitz was from Fredericksburg.  So quite appropriate.

This museum allows one to explore the heroic, triumphant and tragic human story of the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign of WWII.  It tells the story from the early stages of the Japanese aggression in the Asian arena to Pearl Harbor and the aggression toward the US to the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay.  As one passes through the galleries and reads about the numbers of soldiers and civilians that were injured and killed – sees the newsreels of the destruction – and hears the audio stories of survivors – the question becomes “Why war?”.   The following panel ‘perhaps’ answers that question.  Or at least makes one think.

The Museum of the Pacific War is a very moving and informative experience.

The museum gallery is 33,000 sq ft of space housing one of the five Japanese midget subs used at Pearl Harbor, a B-25 Bomber, Wildcat fighter, Japanese Float Plane, Admiral’s Barge, Japanese Val Dive Bomber and Atomic Bomb casing.  We saw it all – –

One of the planes from the “Cactus Air Force” on Guadalcanal.

Japanese float plane attack aircraft.

The museum is a fabulous facility, incredibly informative and extremely thought provoking.  One should NOT miss it if in the area – or travel to Fredericksburg just to visit the museum.  It’s worth it;-)

After such a ‘heavy’ day, some light entertainment was in order.  Fredericksburg is alive with music, so it was quite easy to find music pleasing to our old ears in a nice outdoor setting on a warm, full moon night – –

Spent the evening listening to the Time Bandits – –

– – As the ‘bad moon’ was rising over the Nimitz Museum.

Another travel day was in the offing.  But, this one was short and would be broken up with a stop at the University of Texas-Austin and the LBJ Presidential Library, as we are now entering the University/Presidential Library section of our travels;-)

The University of Texas at Austin was founded in 1883 and is now home to more than 51,000 students and 3,000 teaching faculty.  It is ranked among the biggest and best research universities in the country.  Its grounds also include 4 museums – including the LBJ Presidential Library.

Football Stadium – University of Texas-Austin.

Tower of the Main Building at UT.

The Texas Capital from the Main Building with George Washington in the foreground.

The LBJ Presidential Library allows one to experience the life and times of Lyndon B. Johnson and the era of his Presidential administration – the turbulent ’60’s.  Having served in the House and the Senate, Johnson was a great negotiator and accomplished much in the way of legislation during his fairly short time as President.  But – his undoing was a war he inherited and could not beat or win.   The library contains the usual memorabilia, gifts, timelines, replica of the oval office during his term – and very interesting clips from the 643 hours of recorded telephone conversations!  What a way to spend the afternoon – –

We both had a chance to “chat” with LBJ while touring his Presidential Library.

LBJ always had a smile – even when trying to intimidate you!

From the very sobering Museum of the Pacific War to LBJ and a sobering time in the US to lighter times in Fredericksburg and the UT campus, another couple of days come to an end.  Next stop – College Station and more campuses and Presidential Libraries – and DQ’s;-)

See you again soon – E&G, better educated;-)