Hamilton Pool & Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War

There is so much to do we have been super busy in Hill Country. We have taken in sights from Fredericksburg to Austin and have too much for just one post. We went to Hamilton Pool in Dipping Springs, the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, the LBJ ranch near Stonewall and the LBJ Library in Austin. We also checked out a couple wineries.

Fifty-two years ago this summer I was stationed at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. One weekend, along with a few friends, I went to a swimming hole in Hill Country. We paid a rancher $1.00 admission and walked across the field and down an old rickety set of metal stairs to this beautiful spot. There were only a few people and some where jumping off the 45 foot falls. One thing I vividly remember was stepping on a broken beer bottle and going to a doctor in Johnson City to get stitched up. 

I had no idea what the name of the place was and on our first visit here in 2009 I could not find it. Somewhere over the years I saw a picture online and learned it was Hamilton Pool. The grotto and falls were as beautiful as I remember even though there was not a lot of water coming over the spring fed falls.  

It is now a Travis County park and admission is more than a dollar. There is a $10.00 reservation fee for either a morning or afternoon session and there was an additional $5.00 for two seniors upon arrival to the park. This limits the number of people so the place is not overrun. The rickety stairs have been replaced with a path and NO GLASS is allowed. 

To complete my step back in time I had to at least get my feet wet. As we were leaving the pool a young man walking in summed up his first look at the pool very well with an "OH MY GOD". If you are looking for a neat place to cool off on a hot Texas day, don't miss Hamilton Pool. 

From the pool it is about a mile along a spring fed stream with many huge cypress trees to the Pedernales River. It is a neat hike under the big trees which made it cool even on a hot day.

When we got to the river we were greeted by this duck. We believe he may be the resident moocher because when we did not give him any food he visited other hikers as they came to the river.

Keep an eye out along the trail and under the falls for fossils. This is one of the biggest I have ever seen. 

We were early for the afternoon session so we went to the Milton Reimer's Ranch section of the park. I'm guessing Milton was the guy who we paid for a visit 52 years ago. We took a short hike through the beautiful blooming wildflowers. 

The prickly pear cacti were in full bloom. Make sure you watch out for snakes. We saw one that looked harmless, but there are rattlers and coral snakes in the area. Don't let that stop you from visiting this beautiful place.  

Fredericksburg was the birthplace of Chester W. Nimitz who rose to the rank of Fleet Admiral. He was Commander in Chief U.S. Pacific Fleet, commanding allied air, land and sea forces during World War II. Nimitz wanted to attend West Point, but because the class was full that year he went to the Naval Academy instead.   

The entire National Museum Of the Pacific War complex includes a small museum about Nimitz's life growing up here and rising to become the commander in the Pacific Ocean. The George H. W. Bush Gallery explains what lead to the war and covers all the battles of the Pacific theater. There is also a Memorial Courtyard and the Japanese Garden of Peace. We visited the complex for two days and did not get to all of the exhibits.

The exhibits in the Bush Gallery start with the history of Japan rising from a Feudal society in the 1800's to a modern military power that began conquering the countries of Southwest Asia. 

It continues with the history of the war before the United States entered. These exhibits give you a clear understanding of what was going on worldwide that lead to WWII.

Of course the United States got into this war after the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. This is a two man Japanese sub that was captured that day. The sailor aboard became the first Japanese POW of the war. The day we were here the father of our friend Ron, who was wounded in the attack, was celebrating his 100th birthday. There are not many of these Pearl Harbor survivors left.

The day after the attack the United States entered the war against Japan, Germany and Italy. The shocked country responded by putting their full effort into winning.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States wanted a quick response, so they planned and carried out a raid on Tokyo. Lead by Jimmy Doolittle, 16 B-25's took off from the deck of the USS Hornet on April 18, 1942 and bombed Tokyo. The raid was a morale success for the Americans and a propaganda success against the Japanese, as they thought their island nation was safe from attack. Because a Japanese patrol boat had spotted them, they had to take off earlier causing them to run out of fuel before reaching a safe landing place in China. Most of the airmen survived but several were captured by the Japanese.

This covers the sad tale of the Sullivan brothers, five sailors from Iowa who joined the Navy with the understanding they could all serve on the same ship. There ship, USS Juneau, was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in November 1942. While nearly 100 other sailors survived the sinking, all the Sullivan brothers where lost. 

A big part of the war effort was promoting the cause at home. There were movies, bond drives and campaigns that promoted working together to win the war.

A huge effort was made to encourage people not to talk about what war-related job they were doing. The poster with the gold star, which showed the family had lost a member in the war, stressed the importance of not talking.

These exhibits show the importance of the production in the United States for the war effort. In 1941 there were 512 B-17's in the military. By the end of the war nearly 13,000 had been built. This massive production gave us a huge advantage.

Another important tool was the jeep. Over 1,000,000 were built during the war by a couple different companies. The Bantam jeep was made in Butler, PA.

This 35 foot US Navy motorboat has been restored to the appearance of the one used by Nimitz when he became CINPAC commander in Pearl Harbor.

There are detailed interactive exhibits on every land and sea battle in the Pacific theater. The plan was to capture only those islands that made it easier for us to bomb Japan. Iwo Jima was needed because it was close enough to Japan that fighter planes could accompany and protect bombers. This battle was of particular interest to me as I had an uncle who fought there. Like so many veterans who have experienced the horror of combat, he never talked about his war time experiences. I only learned he had seen the raising of the flag atop Mount Suribachi in February 1945 when I read his obituary. 

The Bomb. We have visited Los Alamos, Oak Ridge and the Trinity site, all related to the development of the atomic bomb. The first bomb was tested on July 16, 1945 in New Mexico. Three weeks later a bomb was dropped on Hiroshima killing 80,000 people. Three days after that a second bomb (picture) was dropped on Nagasaki killing 75,000. Many people, including Nimitz, were against using the bomb, but it did bring a quick end to the war and meant we did not have to invade the Japanese mainland.  

This map shows how many active combat troops the Japanese had in place when the bomb was dropped, ending the war. The military had ordered 370,000 purple hearts they thought would be needed if we had invaded Japan. I always say that I might not be here today if the invasion had taken place as my father was in the army and training for the invasion when the bomb was dropped.

On September 2, 1945 the peace treaty with Japan was signed aboard the USS Missouri. The Missouri was used because it was named after Truman's home state. Admiral Nimitz signed the treaty for the United States and General Mac Arthur signed for the other Allied forces.

Behind the Nimitz museum is the Garden of Peace that was a gift of the Japanese people. It symbolizes the goodwill between the two nations and the friendship and respect that existed between Admiral Togo and Admiral Nimitz.

This plaza is dedicated to the ten presidents, from Roosevelt to Reagan, who had some role during WWII.   Their positions ranged from Commander in Chief to Naval Academy cadet. 

The Memorial Courtyard honors individuals, ships and units that served in the Pacific theater. Plaques or paving bricks can be placed in the courtyard. We felt The Nimitz Museum complex was the most in depth military museum we  have visited, so make sure you plan plenty of time for a visit. 

We checked out the Fat Ass Winery, one of many that have popped up in Hill Country since our last visit. While we liked the logo, for our tastes the wine left a lot to be desired. If you liked Kool-Ad as a kid these sweet Fat Ass wines may be for you. If you visit us and we give you this glass please don't take offense. 

   While here we also visited two LBJ sites which we will cover in the next post. We have moved on and are now in Waco. We plan to stay in Little Rock and Jefferson City to tour the capitols as we head to the Escapade in Missouri.  

Aggies, GHWB, and Friends

Wow, I can't believe how long it has been since I posted a blog. During our week in Livingston we gave Opus a much needed wash and wax, so he is nice and clean until we have to drive in the rain. Before we left Livingston we had a few repair issues taken care of; a new pump for the washer, a new valve on the toilet, replaced a light fixture and the faucet for the bathroom sink. We then moved to College Station where we toured Texas A&M, the George Bush Museum and spent time with John and Sharon. Before leaving there we had a leaking air suspension valve replaced. Hope this is the last repair for a while. 

Livingston is a culinary wasteland, so we ate at home more that week than we had in the last two months at Betty's. Nanc outdid herself with a close copy of the Abshire's shrimp salad, a great pasta puttanesca dish, a chicken salad for me and a wonderful roasted cauliflower pizza. Makes me think we should be eating at home more often, even if it means I have a lot of dishes to wash.

John graduated from Texas A&M and then worked there for 35 years, so he and Sharon were able to give us the grand tour of the campus and College Station. 

We learned a lot about the school and its many traditions. Top is "Howdy" grown in a flowerbed to celebrate the friendliness of the Aggies and a brick honoring John for the years he worked at the rec center. Bottom is a statue of Lawrence Sullivan Ross who is credited with saving the school in the 1880's. He tutored students for a penny, so students now put pennies at the base for good luck when taking finals. A couple students must have been in real trouble, as there was a can of beans, a package of Ramen noodles and a dollar bill. Middle is a statue of a cadet which honors the school's military background. A&M sends more students into the military than any school other than the service academies. There are 25,000 cadets in the corps. Right is the Twelve Man statue showing the spirit of the student body at sporting events which originated at A&M.   

Another tradition says that if you walk under the old oak with a girl you have to propose. John always avoided that area when he was a student, but here he is asking for Sharon's hand in marriage. The ring is another cool tradition. When seniors order their school rings, they have their picture taken inside this giant ring. A&M is a huge campus being the second largest public university in the country, so we were glad we had a personal tour from a proud Aggie. 

We have added presidential libraries to our to do list, so we went to tour the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Center in College Station. The museum part of the center is dedicated to the life and service of the 41st president.

A photo of first lady Barbara Bush who was just laid to rest here the week before we visited. It was interesting being here after we had just watched the events of her funeral.

George Bush's legacy of public service is very long and involved, working in the government in many different jobs from the beginning of WWII and continuing long after leaving the office of president.

The president's limo.

As soon as George Bush turned 18 he signed up and became a naval aviator. He flew the TBM Avenger and was on the aircraft carrier San Jacinto. In September 1944 his plane was shot down near Chicho Jima, a small island 700 miles from Tokyo. His two crew mates were killed and he was rescued by the submarine Finback. His rescue was filmed by a member of the sub's crew who I am sure had no idea he was filming a future president. Here is the link to YouTube of that rescue.  After he was returned to the San Jacinto, he continued to fly missions until 1944 when he was assigned to Norfolk as a trainer. He was awarded three Air Medals for his military service.

George married Barbara Pierce on January 6, 1945, the beginning of a life together that lasted 73 years until her recent passing. They broke the record for the longest married presidential couple in 1999.

After the war George went to Yale and graduated in two and a half years. He was the captain of the baseball team where he met Babe Ruth when Ruth presented the original manuscript of his autobiography to Yale. Very Cool!!

For graduation George's father bought him a new red Studebaker. He took his family to Midland, Texas where he learned the oil business and started his own offshore drilling company. It was here that he became involved in politics as a Republican in deep blue Democrat Texas. He ran for the U.S. Senate and lost before being elected to the House in 1967, serving two terms.

In 1971 he was appointed by President Nixon as the United States Ambassador to the United Nations. We had a little talk about his time in the UN and he told me he loved meeting people from around the world to learn about their culture.

In 1973 he became the Chair of the Republican National Committee. This was a tough time to be the chair and convincing people they should vote for the party following the Watergate scandal.    

In 1974 he became Chief of the U. S. Liaison Office to the Peoples Republic of China and moved to Peking. This was before the U.S. and China had formal relations. He and Barbara immersed themselves in the Chinese culture, taking language lessons and often riding there bikes like the average Chinese citizens.

In 1976 he was appointed the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency for one year. Over the years starting in 1967, the longest he was out of the government was two months. During these years of service he always had his eye on "the top job".  

In 1980 he ran for that job, President of the United States, but came in second to Ronald Reagan. Reagan selected him to run as his vice president and he served from 1981 to 1989. This exhibit shows the many miles he traveled and some of the gifts he was given by other countries during those years.

After two terms as VP he won the ultimate prize and served one term starting in 1989. While president, he signed the Americans with Disabilities Act and increased spending for education and child care. In 1988 he became a life member of the NRA but resigned that membership after an NRA letter depicted agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms as "jack-booted thugs".  

 George Herbert Walker Bush, the 41st president of the United States. Another highlight of his time in office was the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

It seems that every presidential library has this same Oval Office exhibit. I do think it is about time we elect a woman to the highest office in the land.

A piece of the Berlin Wall that divided East and West Germany and came down in November 1989 during the Bush presidency. The falling of the Wall was followed by the fall of the communist countries of Eastern Europe.

Flags of the countries that joined with the United States to defeat the Iraqi forces of Saddam Hussein who had attacked and occupied oil rich Kuwait. Operation Desert Storm started on January 17, 1990 with 4000 bombing runs. On February 24 ground forces attacked and drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait in 100 hours. Bush was criticized by many for not continuing the attack to Baghdad and removing Hussein from power. His response to this was, it would have "incurred incalculable human and political costs.... We would have been forced to occupy Baghdad and, in effect, rule Iraq." Really, who knew?     

This is a list of those who gave the last full measure during Operation Desert Storm. The door is a gift from the Kuwaiti people and has the names of all those who were killed. Printed on the brass plate at the bottom of the door is a Kuwaiti proverb which says, "When you give a man the key to your home you are a best and most valued friend, when you give him the door to your home it means he is family."   

One of the worst results of the war was as Iraqi forces were retreating, they set fire to between 600 and 700 oil wells, creating one of the worst ecological disasters in history. It took from February to November to extinguish the fires.

Even though President Bush's popularity was 91% after the Gulf War, in November 1992 he was defeated in his bid for reelection in a three way race against Ross Perot and Bill Clinton. Many blame the poor economy for his defeat. 

There is also a great, special exhibit at the library until January 6, 2019 with live sized models of machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci. This is a very interesting display that has been traveling to various museums around the country.

Statue of George H.W. Bush in the garden of the museum. The beautiful grounds with the many flower beds and small lake are a popular spot for those attending proms and formal dances to have their pictures taken.

The burial site for the Bush family. The stone is the maker for Barbara who just passed away last month. The Bush's daughter Robin, who died in 1953 from leukemia, is also buried here. 

This is our sixth presidential library and we have found them all to be very interesting. We have enjoyed them all, but we especially like the ones of presidents who served during our lifetime. 

We had a great time with John and Sharon in College Station. It is always great to have someone who is familiar with the area to show you around. We got to check out a couple local watering holes and spent a lot of time swapping RV tales. 

We were even invited to their friends' wonderful place in the country on this beautiful lake. It was an afternoon of cornhole, horseshoes and a great meal of burgers and fish.

Here are John, Sharon, Gary, Anne, (who invited us) Rose and Darrel hanging out.  We sure thank them for their hospitality.  As we always say, making friends on the road is the best thing about our lifestyle.

We were happy that Texas Customs was able to complete the repair of the air suspension valve on Monday at a very reasonable price. Our original plan was to leave College Station on Monday, but since the repair was not done until the afternoon, we spent one more night. 

We are now in Hill Country between Austin and Fredericksburg for a week of exploring a very interesting area.