Woke up early for my second day - It was Thanksgiving!
My first and only planned destination of the entire trip was the Admiral Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War.
Their answering machine had said they were open Thanksgiving, but when I got there, the place was locked.
So I wandered the outdoor part. There was a memorial garden complete with this old submarine conning tower.
The U.S.S. Pintado did pretty well for itself during the war.
(Make your own comments about these two signs.)
There was a memorial set up for all the U.S. Presidents that fought in WWII.
Each President's memorial had a quote from them about the war.
Near the museum entrance was a bunch of old military hardware. Here's an old M3 Stuart tank.
An anti-aircraft gun took careful aim...
... At the neighbors across the street.
By the time I'd gone through the outdoor part of the museum, the indoor part had opened up.
I'd never been to a museum that focused only on the Pacific War, and never one so in-depth.
For instance, many people don't know that the Japanese didn't just use airplanes to attack Pearl Harbor.
They also used min-submarines.
The two-person subs didn't really work that well. You can see where the two torpedoes were mounted on the front.
This one was captured and is now on display here.
There were a lot of displays about the home front. "Victory Speed" was a way to conserve fuel - lower speeds ment better gas mileage. And every gallon counted.
One room was a mock-up of an aircraft carrier flight deck on the morning of the Dolittle raids. A stripped-down bomber was firing up her engines and getting ready for the first retaliatory bombing on Japan itself.
This flag was made by survivors of the Bataan Death March. They made it in secret and had it ready when they were rescued at the end of the war.
Across the way was the other half of the Nimitz Museum, which focused on Admiral Nimitz himself. It was built in his family's old hotel.
There was a huge model of the aircraft carrier named for him, complete with planes and crew.
Some officers watch operations from the tower.
Mechanics work on an engine on the back of the ship.
And a plane stands by for action at the rear.
My first squished pennies of the trip.
On my way out of town, I spotted a restaraunt with an overflowing parking lot.
I went inside and had my Thanksgiving meal with the entire town of Fredericksburg, Texas.
Seems everybody in town descends upon "Andy's" for their deeeee-licious Thanksgiving buffet.
I sat next to Ed and Maggie from Amarillo, Texas. They were visiting town too.
We had a great meal together, and became an adoptive Thanksgiving family. It was really fun to meet them, and we all hugged when we said goodbye.
After saying farewell to my new friends, K.I.T.T. and I hit the road, heading west...