McKinney Falls State Park

09 Apr 2020 2 Comments

by Betty Huffman in Life Style Adjustments, Retirement, RV-ing, Texas, Traveling, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , ,

Some time in early March (before all this COVID-19 virus and social distancing), we took a little trip to nearby McKinney Falls State Park and the Texas town of Wimberley. Unfortunately the virus starting taking over the news, and I forgot all about blogging about this adventure. Even though this is quite late, here goes.

Our whole time in Texas has been plagued by cloudy, rainy days. If I had been keeping track, I would venture to say that close to 50% of our time here has been sunless days. However, the day was gorgeous when we traveled the short distance to McKinney Falls State Park.

We had NO idea what to expect at McKinney Falls State Park. The immediate area around Onion Creek has ledges of limestone. As the creek floods each year, natural erosion creates “pools” in the limestone. It is really uniquely beautiful. We enjoyed our time hiking around the lower and upper falls.

We took a different route back to the RV because we wanted to stop in the town of Wimberley, Texas.

Wimberley was started as a trading post settlement near Cypress Creek in 1848. A gristmill was built in 1856 which was owned by several men through the years.

In 1880 a postmaster from San Marcos applied to have a post office established in the community calling it Wimbleleyville, after the last owner of the mill, Pleasant Wimberley. The application was approved, but the name was shortened to Wimberley.

The community grew and eventually became known as a resort town and was popular with tourists. In May of 2015, Wimberley was hit by catastrophic flooding along the Blanco River which flows through town.

The Main Street of Wimberley has a lot of very old buildings that have become unique little shops. Many buildings have plaques on an outside wall explaining its history. It is such a lovely town. I wish we would have had more time to explore. (We had planned on going back, but then the virus hit. 😢 )

We did have some time for our favorite thing:

We hope you all stay safe and healthy during this COVID 19 pandemic.

So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty

National Museum of the Pacific War (Fredericksburg, TX)

16 Mar 2020 Leave a comment

by Betty Huffman in Retirement, RV-ing, Texas, Traveling, Uncategorized Tags: , , , , , , , ,

The other day we took a day trip. We drove about an hour and a half west to the town of Fredericksburg, Texas. We had heard there were a lot of wineries in the area (there were!) and that it was a quaint little town (it was!).

We had also been told to NOT to miss the National Museum of the Pacific War (WW II museum mainly about the battles fought in the Pacific). I had forgotten about this museum until we were close to the town and I saw a sign. I told Jack we had to go to the museum first.

What I didn’t realize was the size of this museum! It had both inside and outside displays! It basically took us ALL day. There was A LOT to read about! I learned so much information about the war in the Pacific that I didn’t know. I took A LOT of photos, so hopefully I won’t bore you with too many.

The goes with the picture of the flag below.

There was an area called The Combat Zone which had both inside and outside displays. I really enjoyed seeing the restored boat PT 309. Did you know President John F. Kennedy served in WW II on PT 109? There’s an old movie about his heroism during that time.

There is another big, outside area. It is called the Plaza of the Presidents. It is a huge display commemorating and honoring ten Presidents who fought in WW II plus MANY other people who also fought. I must say, it was quite humbling to see so many memorial plaques and read about some of their stories. This truly was the “greatest generation” during this time in our history.

There was a separate building on Main Street that was part of the museum tour. It is the old Nimitz Hotel purchased by Charles Henry Nimitz, Sr., in 1855. By 1860 the Nimitz Hotel was hosting stagecoach travelers and soon became a center for community activities. Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, who was in charge of the Pacific Fleet in WW II, spent time in his grandfather’s hotel. Located in the hotel is a very interesting museum about Admiral Nimitz.

We thoroughly enjoyed The National Museum of the Pacific War. If you are in the Austin or San Antonio areas, you will want to take a drive to Fredericksburg, Texas. It is about the same distance from each city.

So, for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty

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