Cindy deRosier: My Creative Life: Dave

This is my fourth post about our family's travels to Central Texas. I suggest reading the first, second, and third posts before reading this one. Because I blog about educational travel, I was given free admission tickets, media rates, discounts, and other benefits for some of the attractions we visited throughout the trip. This has no bearing on my reviews. Everything I'm sharing is something that I recommend without hesitation. If you notice any gaps in my narrative, it's because something wasn't worth mentioning.

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Fredericksburg, Texas

I'm not exaggerating when I say that the total solar eclipse on Monday, April 8 had been on our family calendar for 7 years. After experiencing his first total solar eclipse in Oregon in 2017, Steve has been counting down the days for this one. He and his parents (who drove his telescope and other equipment to and from Texas) chose Fredericksburg as our viewing location due to a combination of factors. Specifically, it was centered in the path of totality and located closest to California.

Just minutes after dawn on the day of the eclipse, Steve was out back setting up his telescope.

For those who are interested, that is an 8-Inch Schmidt-Cassegrain Telescope (affiliate link here and below). He's had since he was 14 and loves it. You can see his camera on the tripod; he uses this solar filter film for astrophotography.

For weeks, Steve had expressed concerns about the forecasted weather and the possibility of cloud cover in Fredericksburg. But we were not in a position to try to chase better forecasts during the days leading up to the eclipse. We were committed. As you can see, we did indeed have a mostly cloudy sky that morning. There were hints of blue and bits of sun peeking through the clouds, but it was more cloudy than clear for most of the morning.

Here, Trevor is checking out sunspots. You can see two in the sun photo.

Blue skies! And solar glasses for everyone.

By the time we all gathered, the skies were cloudy again.

Ooh, it's getting dark!

Clouds were constantly moving in front of the sun. The view changed literally every few seconds.

As it continued to get darker, the solar lights came on and the birds quieted down. (And the neighbors got louder. Sigh.)

The whole time, the clouds were moving. We'd have a few seconds that were clear, then a few seconds of clouds. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Finally, totality, with brief glances of the diamond ring.

Slowly, it got light again and the birds resumed their chirping. (The neighbors were as loud as ever.)

The experience was neat and I'm glad Trevor and I were able to be there. We'd experienced something like 78% coverage from home in 2017, so this experience was very different. I wish the skies had been totally clear so Steve would have been able to get astrophotos as spectacular as in 2017, but I am grateful for what we saw.

And, it was really nice to have a vacation day where we didn't go anywhere. Our travels are usually packed with activities, so it was a very rare luxury to just stay in one place and relax. We had a full day planned for Tuesday; I'll tell you about that tomorrow.

This is my third post about our family's travels to Central Texas. I suggest reading the first and second posts before this one. Because I blog about educational travel, I was given free admission tickets, media rates, discounts, and other benefits for some of the attractions we visited throughout the trip. This has no bearing on my reviews. Everything I'm sharing is something that I recommend whole-heartedly. If you notice any gaps in my narrative, it's because something wasn't worth mentioning.

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Fredericksburg, Texas

On Sunday, April 7 we got up early and headed to downtown Fredericksburg. The town of 11,000 residents regularly swells each weekend as tourists flock there, but they were expecting up to 100,000 people for the next day's eclipse. By arriving really early in the day, we had the place mostly to ourselves.

Our first order of business was breakfast. Fredericksburg was founded by German immigrants and much of the food in town is German. Czech kolaches are also prominent in Fredericksburg. We ate at Hill Country Donuts and Kolaches and thoroughly enjoyed everything we tried.

That's a half-eaten kolach on the right. Soooo good! I usually remember to take pictures before we dig in, but this time I didn't.

We strolled along Main Street, which is quite charming. If you know to look for it, you'll find a secret message in the cross streets. As you head east, you'll find Adams, Llano, Lincoln, Washington, Elk, Lee, Columbus, Olive, Mesquite, and Eagle. Look at the first letters. They spell ALL WELCOME. As you head west on Main Street, you cross Crockett, Orange, Milam, Edison, Bowie, Acorn, Cherry, and Kay. COME BACK.

The most impressive attraction in Frederickburg is the National Museum of the Pacific War.

We arrived a few minutes before opening, anticipating huge crowds later in the day. That gave us a chance to look around the outdoor exhibits.

We were literally the first people through the door when the clock struck 9:00, which is the only way we were able to get any photos in the George H. W. Bush Gallery without other people in them. There were a lot of visitors that day.

The museum takes you chronologically through the Pacific War. It is packed with interesting artifacts and displays, with videos and first-person audio sprinkled throughout.

If you read every word, watched every video, and listened to every audio track, you could spend 3 days in the Bush Gallery. We didn't have three days. We spent about three hours, which was a good amount of time to learn a lot about this period of history.

At 17, Trevor enjoyed the main part of the museum and got a lot out of it. I don't think that would be the case for kids younger than about 13. However, there is an excellent kid-friendly exhibit called Children on the Homefront: Growing Up with War that I highly recommend for guests of all ages.

This interactive game was really fun. It challenges you to find 50+ items in three different settings that can be repurposed for the war effort. Everything from rubber boots to old wagons to cooking fat could be useful. I had no idea so many objects helped lead to victory in the Pacific.

Back outside, don't miss the Plaza of Presidents, Memorial Courtyard, or the Japanese Garden of Peace.

You may be wondering what the National Museum of the Pacific War is doing in a tiny town in Texas Hill Country. The answer is Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. The interactive Admiral Nimitz Gallery, around the block from the Bush Gallery, showcases the life of this Fredericksburg native.

We were all ready for a late lunch, so we went to the highly-recommended Auslander Biergarten Restaurant.

I really like eating with a larger group because we can try more dishes. Everything was fantastic. I love German food.

After lunch, we walked to see the beautiful St. Mary's Catholic Church and School....

... and the Marktplatz von Fredericksburg, home of the Vereins Kirche Museum.

I'd wanted to do the Downtown Fredericksburg Walking Tour and find all the bronze mockingbirds, but it was ridiculously crowded by this point. We fought our way through the crowds, made it to our car, and headed to a roomier destination.

Wildseed Farms is 600 acres of wildflowers, vineyards, a tasting room, and a marketplace. It is the largest working wildflower farm in the US, which is what we were there to see.