Aloha all,
we are back on Maui, but here is the last blog about our 2018 road trip. Sorry, it’s another long one, but if you want to know which president I changed my mind about, which city is our favorite in Texas, where to eat the best Jägerschnitzel and who shot JFK, then you might want to read on. No rush, you have half a year to read it. The blog is called “Best of Both Worlds” because living on the road for 6 months and on Maui for the other 6 months is the best of both those worlds for us. But I will not blog about going to the beach or playing frisbee, so nothing to read until we are back on the road.
We spent the last two weeks in Texas. Looking at a map and seeing how little of this big state we have seen, I think we could spend a year there and not see everything we would like to see. At least we have now seen all of their three Presidential Libraries and have sampled a good share of the Jägerschnitzels in the German towns of the Hill Country, but otherwise, we have barely scratched the surface of Texas.
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| Chris messing with Texas |
We spent three days in Dallas. Well, actually we spent one day walking around town, one full day in Georg W. Bush’s Library and most of a day on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository Building. If you are wondering why we would spend so much time in a school book depository, then I assume that you were not alive on Nov 22, 1963. They have converted the space from where JFK was shot into a museum about him and the assassination. Of course it would be interesting to know what he might have achieved if he had served two full terms as president, but killing him obviously did not kill his legacy: There were huge long lines to get into this museum. In fact, I’d say it was busier than any of the Presidential Museums we have been to on this trip. A little bit of trivia: He also remains the only president who always had an approval rating over 50%. In case you were wondering whether Oswald acted alone or whether there was a conspiracy: Even after a full day at this museum we don’t know that for sure. But they are pretty sure Ted Cruz’s dad was not involved.
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| JFK was shot from right here |
I remember when George W. Bush left office some people were joking whether he would even open a Presidential Library, since they usually don’t contain coloring books. Not so funny anymore, right? W. was and is not my favorite president. But either I am a sucker for a well curated museum or it’s the new perspective after the 2016 election. George W. Bush has built a wonderful Presidential Library and I really changed my mind about him to a certain degree. Like the other libraries, it contains hardly any books, coloring or otherwise, but great exhibits about him and his presidency. My favorite part was the ‘Decision Theater’, where you can hear about various issues, make your own decision and then hear W explain his decision. I still think invading Iraq was a terrible mistake, but overall, I think he was a decent president and a relatively smart and likable person. So we will keep an open mind and we will continue to visit as many presidential libraries as we can of ANY of the first 44 presidents…
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| George W. Bush Presidential Library |
We also got to go to an NBA basketball game in Dallas. Unfortunately, their super star and fellow German immigrant Dirk Nowitzki was injured. But we still got to see how beloved he is in Dallas: The night we were there, he was given the ‘key to the city’ by the mayor. Did you know: Nowitzki has played for the Mavericks longer than some of his team mates have been alive. And just in case he has to retire after all; they have a new German. And Maxi Kleber (which by the way loosely translates to ‘super glue’) helped the Mavericks beat the Brooklyn Nets in a very exciting game.
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| Dirk Nowitzki gets the Key to the City |
Just south of Dallas is Waco. Even though it is sometimes possible to visit the compound for which Waco is mostly known, we did not get there on this trip. Instead, we visited the Waco Mammoth National Monument. This is one of the best preserved findings of mammoths in the world and the only place they were able to dig up a whole nursing herd of mammoths. Listening to the NP ranger talk about the discovery and the things they continue to find and learn from this site made me want to start digging myself. But hearing that what we heard on the 45 min tour took over 40 years to uncover, I doubt I would have the patience, so it’s good that there are professional archeologists who are even more curious and more patient than us.
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| Mammoth herd discovered in Waco, TX |
We spent three full days on the footsteps of LBJ. This is very fitting after visiting the spot where JFK got shot since that was the day Lyndon B. Johnson became president. First we visited his boyhood home in Johnson City, which is not named after him, but after a relative who founded the town. We also visited the ranch where he lived and what became known as the “Texas White House”. We also saw the simple building where he was born and the family cemetery just down the road where he is buried. We also visited the re-constructed school where LBJ went. We have been to a lot of old school houses throughout this country; so far, there had always been portraits of Washington and Lincoln on the walls. Here it was Washington and Robert E. Lee. As cold as it was, we couldn’t tell by the weather, but now we knew we were definitely in the South.
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| At the LBJ Ranch |
Of course we also spent a full day at the LBJ Presidential Library when we were in Austin later, where we got to learn a lot more about him. What an interesting man, I wish I could have been to one of his backyard BBQ summits, where he invited world leaders to his Texas ranch. Of course, Vietnam is a big part of his legacy. But there is so much more, like his plans for the “Great Society” and the “War on Poverty”, which is hard to really win, but he was a lot more successful than in Vietnam. Interesting also that he was deeply rooted in Texas, but he was the one to push for and to sign the civil rights act and the voting rights act and change the racist immigration laws that were still in place in the early 60’s. It seems a lot of the progress we take for granted today was initiated by LBJ.
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| LBJ Presidential Library |
Fredericksburg is in the heart of the Texas Hill Country. Not sure who came up with that name, there are some small, rolling hills, but it’s not a very striking feature. I’d rather call it Jägerschnitzel Country. Fredericksburg and New Braunfels were founded by German immigrants right as Texas became a state and still have a distinct Texas-German character today. In the Pioneer Museum we learnt that the process was a lot more organized than I thought: For a year’s worth of wages, you could buy a package that included the trip from Germany to Texas, supplies for a year and a plot of land. Sounds as easy as booking an all-inclusive vacation package, right? That might have been what they were promised, but I’d say if you think of the exact opposite of an all inclusive vacation, you are much closer to the true pioneer experience.
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| Enchanted Rock State Park |
The Texas Hill Country is an up and coming wine destination. Way up actually, with 9 million acres, they are the second largest wine region only behind Napa Valley. We stayed at a vineyard overnight after a wine tasting, thanks to the “Harvest Host” club we belong to. Before our trip, we thought we’d use that all the time since they have hundreds of vineyards, breweries, museums and farms that let you park your RV overnight for free. They only ask that you sample their wine or beer, visit their museum or buy some produce. What a great deal…unfortunately, in reality, most of the time the next Walmart or RV park was closer, easier or more convenient.
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| Champagne from the vineyard we stayed at the night before our anniversary |
Fredericksburg is also home to Admiral Nimitz. That’s why they have the most comprehensive museum about the Pacific War. I’m usually not that interested in every detail of every battle of a war. But this museum also gave great insights into the causes for the war, the personal tragedies and sacrifices, the tough choices and the ultimate triumph. Learning about World War II has one big advantage over other wars: It’s fairly easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys. The line only get’s a little blurry when the Japanese-Americans get sent to internment camps and then get recruited to fight for the Allies. There is a separate museum about Admiral Nimitz himself, it’s nice to put a face to the highway on Oahu.
I have heard that we were supposed to “Remember the Alamo” countless times since moving to America. That was really tricky since I didn’t know what the Alamo was all about. Since it happened in 1836, I knew that this was not about a rental car reservation. In two days in San Antonio, we went into the Alamo, we watched two movies about the Alamo, we went on a guided tour around the Alamo, listened to a history talk in the Alamo and visited a museum about the Alamo. So it will be hard for us not to remember the Alamo now.
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| A selfie to help a remember |
The museum was actually called “The Battle for Texas -The Experience”. They advertise it as a “sensory journey like no other”. Apparently, the ticket agent has gotten so many disappointed visitors that he greets every guests with “Do you realize we are a museum?”. Petra was not with us, so it did not scare us away.
In case you need a little refresher what you are supposed to remember, here is the history in 100 words or less: Mexico invites Americans to settle their Texas territory by offering cheap land and independence. Santa Anna becomes president/dictator of Mexico, voids the constitution and the Americans rebel. Mexican soldiers ask for a canon back, the Americans raise a flag “Come and Take It”. That works great in the Battle of Gonzales against a handful off soldiers. The rebels quickly take over large parts of Texas, including the Alamo. But it prompts Santa Anna to attack the under 100-200 rebels with an army about ten times the size. Of course the Mexicans took their cannon back and killed all rebels at the Alamo, including James Bowie and David Crockett. But very soon afterwards, the rebels win Texas independence under the battle cry “Remember the Alamo”.
The other great attraction of San Antonio is the Riverwalk. I have never seen a city do so much with such a little river. We just loved it that from almost anywhere in downtown, you can walk down a few steps and you are in a different world. Instead of your normal city traffic, you find yourself in a amusement park atmosphere, with boat tours, bars, restaurants and walking trails. The Christmas lights made it even more magical. We also used the riverwalk to get to the revolving restaurant for a great lunch over our new favorite city in Texas and to the Alamodome to watch a high schools football playoff game.
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| San Antonio Riverwalk |
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| Revolving Restaurant at the Towers of the Americas |
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| High school football playoff at the Alamodome |
Since Austin is the state capital, of course we had to visit the state capitol. Since this is Texas, it looks a little different than most and of course is a little bigger than most. Actually since they added a lot of underground office space during the last renovation, it is now the largest state capitol by square footage.
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| Texas State Capitol in Austin |
We also had the best BBQ of the trip in Austin, played the last round of disc golf of this trip and winterized Joy and put her in storage. But we promised her we’d come back soon. So much more to see!
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| One of about 20 disc golf courses we played on this trip |
For now we are still happy to spent the winter in Hawaii, since it is still the favorite of all 49 states we have been to so far. But I hear Oklahoma is OK, so we should check it out before declaring Hawaii our favorite state.
Aloha from Maui,
Chris & Sandra & Joy
