§ Sandy Dunes - Or...Slip Slidin' Away!

Back in September, I posted a short section in my blog about some ruins on a hill near the Port Aransas Texas beach/South Jetty. I then did some research online and found out it was at one time, during World War II, a gun emplacement. It was short lived, built to protect the Corpus Christi coast from any enemy invasions [mainly submarines or U-boats; a few sighted in the Gulf nearby] after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. I say short-lived since the emplacement of large artillery guns and the end of World War II near, the protection lasted two years...1942-1944.

Sunday morning, after a week of below freezing temperatures and a possible threat of snow [one day 26 degrees and windchill 19 degrees!], the morning was windy and a frigid 40 degrees... I thought it'd be an ideal time to climb the dunes. Cold air, clear skies...no rattlesnakes out!! The sandy dunes are notorious for venomous snakes. I wanted to make sure they were still underground for warmth before I did any climbing! Climbing was a challenge...the trail is almost straight up in spots, and consisting entirely of loose, soft sand, keeping foot traction almost nil. With each step I took, I slid back a  half step in the sand!  And I had my hiking boots...no help here. Not wanting to utilize my hands for balance and snake bites, I tried to remain upright and moving forward little by little. Finally making it to the top, I was captivated by the view, looking out to sea. Stepping up on the emplacement foundation, I turned a full 360 degrees and tried to envision the Army's and Navy's involvement at the time. The morning wind was brisk, the views clear and I could almost smell the iron and the odor of the howitzer residue when fired.

Along with the Texas State Historical Society, volunteers and historians of the area, it was dubbed a valuable historic landmark.  The town of Port Aransas paved a pull-off parking area adjacent to the ruins, along with an historical marker being moved from the channel to its proper place, the public is welcomed to learn and see the background of this site in Texas history.

And, of course I took pictures...

Before climbing I took these two photos off the diorama boards by the parking area, making them black and white for a 'time frame' from the 40s era...

  Then..........................................................................Now

The climb up the dunes...



...arriving at the ruins



...the view as I stood on the emplacement

Walking back down the hills was another slip and slide experience. The sand was laughing all the while, thinking this ol' lady shouldn't even be UP here in the first place! Back in the car, I then headed to my birding refuges...on FLAT GROUND again!!

Read more HERE and HERE

§ Fredericksburg - Texas Wine Country

Fredericksburg is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz. It is the sister city of Montabaur, Germany. On October 14, 1970, the Fredericksburg Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in Texas.

connecting to:
Shadow Shot Sunday
















Texas Hill Country is known for their vineyards and wineries!!! Of course, wine tasting was on our list of 'things to do'. We naturally had to stop at Fredericksburg, Texas because of Bud being a history buff, and Erik and I liking the idea of doing some wine tasting. Being that it was only a 3 day weekend trip, and the highways, byways, and walkways were nearly bumper to bumper holiday traffic and shoppers, we stopped at the huge complex of the Pacific War Museum first after finding a parking place [that was a feat in itself!]; the day was 'rushed'. We spent a couple of hours there, and toured only a partial part. Hunger pangs were taking its toll on our bodies, even after a larger than normal breakfast earlier. Once the tour of the museum was over, and stopping at the book store/gift shop within the complex, we tasted the authentic German Cuisine. Fredericksburg Texas is probably 99% German Heritage. Then, we walked the touristy area, stopping by one wine tasting room that really didn't appeal to us. We ventured to another. Called D*Vine Winery...The three of us tasted 6 different wines each. One they were out of stock, the Bluebonnet Bliss [with blackberry infused]. I sampled Pedernales River Rose [strawberry], Gillespie Gulch [cranberry], Fred Red [Black Cherry] and more that I can't recall as I type this, but one that she convinced me to try - it wasn't on the tasting list - a new one for 2011; called Enchanted Granite. And, that's the one of which I bought a bottle!!! DEElicious!!! Can a wine be delicious? This was....Enchanted Granite is a Pomegranate infused Zinfandel. Truly yummy. I will have to take a trip downtown to Spec's Liquor and see if they carry this, if not, I will most definitely have them ship me more in due time.


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Now that the 'important' part of my post is done [rofl] - the wine, I move on to the Pacific War Museum! Being that it's all walks of the military, we tried to get in as much as we could regarding the Navy and the Marine Corps since Bud and Erik are that, respectively. There was a super memorial that could rival the Viet Nam Memorial in Washington, D.C. [well, not really if you've ever seen the real thing as I have]....but the Pacific War Memorial in this complex WAS, without a doubt, very humbling and quite poignant and quite reminiscent of the Wall in D.C; similar concept. There, in the courtyard, they have several walls that memorialize ships, fleets, battalions, presidents during WWII, and 1000s of faces and names. I found one of Bud's ships that he was stationed on [AFTER the war of course]...but the ship, the USS Tabberer has some great accolades and history during the great war.


Left to Right: List of Names on the USS Tabberer [DE-418]...US Marine Corp 3rd Marine Division [Erik is 3rd Marine Division]....etched plate of the USS Tabberer. *By the way, I think it's ironic that Bud's birthday is April 18th...the ship he was on DE 418...April [4] 18 [birthday]. :o)


Part of the museum was dedicated to Admiral Nimitz - Commander of the Pacific Fleet [of which the Nimitz aircraft carrier in named]. As I perused this section, I found on display ONE chain link of the USS Nimitz anchor. The anchor chain weighs in at around 308,000 TONS!....one link weighs approximately [each] 365 pounds. I wish I had taken a comparison picture of this, with my hand beside the anchor link to show you its relative size...but trust me, it's HUGE!


To begin the tour of the museum complex, you begin here...at the renovated hotel...Fredericksburg's original Nimitz Hotel was built on Main Street in the late 1840s or early 1850s and acquired by Charles H. Nimitz in 1855. The hotel had four rooms and a large central fireplace. Nimitz subsequently built a new structure of adobe and wood and eventually expanded to fifty rooms. The hotel's Casino Hall quickly became a center of Fredericksburg social life; Nimitz also provided a room in which traveling salesmen could display their wares and a bathhouse that reportedly offered the only hot baths between San Antonio and El Paso. In addition, he operated a brewery, a saloon, and a general store at the hotel. The hotel had a rose garden, a vegetable garden, a grape arbor, and a stagecoach stop at the back protected by a high stone wall. The Nimitz soon gained a reputation for comfort and convenience. A number of families from Houston and Galveston spent their summers there, and among the more notable guests of the hotel were President Rutherford B. Hayes, Robert E. Lee, Philip H. Sheridan [Bud's ancestral files show he's relation; distantly], Horace Greeley, William Sydney Porter, the explorer Adolphus W. Greely, Ulysses S. Grant, William Rufus Shafter, Fitzhugh Lee, Earl Van Dorn and James T. Longstreet....the museum complex covers an entire block with many buildings and courtyards, along with a secondary area that is two blocks' walking distance from the main area.





FURTHER READING:


Texas Wine Country Map

Anchor Chain stats [photo of men LIFTING chain] ---
TEXAS STATE HISTORICAL - Nimitz Hotel
MONTABAUR Germany