In Fredericksburg, Texas, we decided to utilize our Coast to Coast discount at Oakwood RV Park, a Good neighbor Park. We learned here the fastest way to meet your new neighbors is to back a 38' wide body motorhome into a narrow cul-de-sac site with five trees leaving about 2 inches of clearance on each side. Some friendly RVers were anxious to offer their assistance while others watched in amazed wonderment while Norm attempted to back in. Norm remained patient and calm while watching Linda in the monitor, using both his side mirrors and checking out of the driver's window as a couple of men were telling him to go this way or that. One kind man even held a small tree back so that it would not scrape the side mirror. Beware: too much help could distract the best driver! Never take the word of the guy in the office - go check the site yourself and if in doubt, stay out. Our next door neighbor came over and said that he had asked the park manager to never put a wide body motorhome with a slide in that spot. He introduced himself as Pete Shilts. Pete and his wife Ginger have wintered in Fredericksburg the last few years and shared much information about what to see and where to eat. Ginger is a free-lance writer and had just published an article about Fredericksburg in a new magazine, RV Companion. (To date there have been only three issues.) Not only did we find her article wonderfully written and beautifully illustrated with photos provided by the Chamber of Commerce, we also saw articles by other familiar names, Barb and Ron Hofmeister, Mel Chaney, Bill Graves, Mark Nemeth, Donna Yew and Less Doll. Ginger's write up was in the February 2000 issue, Vol 1, Issue 2. The magazine has an appealing layout with loads of useful and interesting information. You can learn more about RV Companion by visiting  www.rvcompanion.com.

Taking Pete and Ginger's advice, that evening we went to Auslander's for authentic German food. Although the ambience was of fine dining in the German tradition, casual dress was the norm and the prices were in the moderate range. We had delicious meals of Cheese Schnitzel and Sauerbraten. The restaurant is located at the west end of downtown and on our way we noticed all the streets were unusually wide. We were soon informed that the locals take pride in the fact that Fredericksburg was the first and maybe the only Texas town planned with streets wide enough for a horse and wagon to turn around without backing up.

The Nimitz Museum is housed in the old Steamboat Hotel, built in 1852 by Admiral Chester Nimitz's grandfather, one of the original Fredericksburg settlers. The museum depicts the life of Adm Nimitz from his childhood through his service in World War II. Behind the old hotel is the Peace Garden, constructed by the People of Japan, and given to the citizens of America in honor of Adm Nimitz. From the garden we took the History Walk of the Pacific War which displays relics of guns, boats, submarines, planes and plaques dedicated to those who served their country. The Plaza of Presidents contains a circle of monuments for each U.S. President that was involved in World War II. Noted were little known facts about their allegiance to their country - John F. Kennedy was denied due to a back injury when he first tried to enlist and petitioned to be allowed to serve, Lyndon B. Johnson left his legislative seat to go to the battlefields, and Richard M. Nixon, a Quaker, served in supplies in the Pacific.

The highlight of the museum complex was the National Museum of the Pacific War - George Bush Gallery. Day by day planning strategy and details of the many battles are recorded in artifacts, wall plaques, interactive centers and on short films shown throughout the museum. There is even a life-like animated camp with wax figures in one section and an original, intact Japanese mini-submarine in another. We spent about five hours absorbed in the history taking a break for lunch at nearby Altdorf's biergarten. (One advantage of being retired is we can read every plaque and study every exhibit.) At closing time, we were ushered out, but invited to return on the same admission tickets the next day. The tickets gain entry to the entire Nimitz Museum complex covering almost a whole city block. During our visit in the complex we saw several large groups of Japanese students in their school uniforms being guided on tour by their Japanese teachers.

A walk along Fredericksburg's Main Street was like going back in time since the buildings are all preserved or restored to original. Old Churches, like the Coffee Mill Cathedral (named for the building's unusual shape) tower above the Main Street in elegant dignity. Dooly's Five and Dime Store brought back memories of our childhood. The stores are interesting and you will not find tee-shirt shops and cheap Chinese made trinkets. Town Center's Park has statues commemorating the signing of the only peace treaty ever kept between the Indians and "Texians". We stopped in Fredericksburg Winery, one of the area's six winery's, for a tour and wine tasting. The wine connoisseur went into detail about the wines, wine making and how to serve and savor. The Pioneer Village Museum is run by the town and depicts the Fredericksburg of old. Just a few miles east of town we were treated to a wild array of color as the wildflowers were bursting into Spring. The Wildseeds Farms grows dozens of varieties to sell but mostly to harvest the seeds. Texas Bluebonnets covered acres at the back of the farm. Norm bought packets of seeds for grandson Luke for his first garden and also for his mother. We took some photos but pictures cannot capture the beauty of the delicate blossoms and colorful fields of flowers. We noticed signs along the highways "Do Not Mow" and learned that although some of the wildflowers were growing on their own, many were planted to restore the natural beauty that road construction had displaced.

During our stay in Fredericksburg workers from the Census Bureau visited the campground so we got counted. The 2000 census of Fredericksburg will show at least two more people live there than really do, but fulltimers need to be counted somewhere. At the campground we were parked under cottonwood trees which dropped their brown seed pods all over the motorhome and Honda, then it rained. Our motorhome and Honda looked like they were the targets of a Kentucky tobacco spitting contest as brown spots and streaks stained almost every inch. The next day we headed to Lone Star Corral, an Escapees Co-Op Park west of Hondo. At check-in we informed the park we only needed two things, to wash our vehicles and do e-mail. We were informed we "could not" wash the motorhome or Honda and they had no facilities for e-mail. (This was only the second park we have stayed where they do not have an e-mail facility.) The lot owners in the park were washing their RV's while we looked at our brown spotted and stained rig. The residents of the park were friendly and Linda cleaned out our basement storage and left two bushel loads on their "goodwill table." But, due to their park rules we will never stay there again. While in Hondo we saw a migration of small light-green butterflies, hundreds of thousand butterflies flying southwest. From early morning until one hour before sunset for several days the butterflies fluttered again a strong wind, never stopping, never landing, never eating.

San Antonio has changed since Norm was stationed there in the Air Force thirty-six years ago. Even the Alamo has changed as more fences and buildings have been added - it now has a stone floor instead of a dirt floor. The Alamo is reverent to the people of Texas and it is tightly guarded inside and out. Guests are asked to be silent in the building and men are requested to remove their hats. After touring the Alamo and the museum/gift shop we attended an interesting lecture by a ranger on the early history of Texas and the Alamo. We visited the San Antonio Zoo and the adjacent Japanese Tea and Sunken Gardens that was built in an old rock quarry. During a visit to San Antonio a river walk is a must. So we walked the river through much of downtown San Antonio and ate at "Dick's" on the river. (Suggestion, most restaurants switch to dinner prices at 3:00 p.m., so eat before then and get the same food at the lunch price.) Next, we took a riverboat ride through the city and our tour guide explained the progression from the old city to the new San Antonio.

At a RV park north of San Antonio we were able to wash the motorhome and restore it to new looking. A church group came to the campground to wash RV's but we decided to wash it ourselves. We did not want a stranger on our roof and wondered if we would be liable if someone fell off and got injured. Near interstate 35 we happened on the town of Gruene (pronounced "green"). It is an old restored German town full of antique and craft stores and woodworking shops. We ate at the Gristmill River Restaurant, located in an old mill, overlooking the Guadalupe River. The chicken we ordered was covered with jalapenos, onions and cheese and was the hottest chicken we have ever eaten, but delicious. After an afternoon of looking through shops and stores we stopped at Gruene Hall, the oldest, continually operating dance hall in the State of Texas. The hall helped launch the careers of George Strait, Lyle Lovett and Hal Ketchum. Appearing in the hall have been Bo Diddley, The Dixie Chicks, Jerry Lee Lewis, Garth Brooks and Willie Nelson, as well as Nolan Ryan's 50th birthday party. John Travolta filmed a dance scene for the movie "Michael" in the old historic hall. (George Strait appeared 1975-1981 at the hall as lead singer for "Ace in the Hole Band.") On the afternoon we visited Joe and Tree Brunelle were entertaining with song and music. Norm and Linda sipped on "Shiner" and took in the entertainment.

Our next stop was Austin, Texas where we visited the Capitol complex and saw a film on the history and construction of the State Capitol building. Then we took a guided tour through the large elegant building. The Capitol covers 2.25-acres and has 8.5-acres of floor space. At 311- feet it is the tallest capitol in the nation and is rumored to be taller than the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. Near the capitol we found St. Mary's Cathedral, a Catholic church that was established in 1852 when Austin had a population of under 1,000 people. We took a private tour and marveled at the stained glass windows, some which date to 1893 and were produced in France.

Frank and Joanne Caldarola, friends we met on the internet but had never met in person, invited us to stay on their property north of Austin, so we took them up on their offer. They have ordered a Dutch Star motorhome similar to ours and will pick it up before the end of the month. They have a beautiful house they built themselves, but have decided to sell it and travel fulltime. Behind their house is an airfield runway and we parked the motorhome beside their hanger. Frank and Joanne treated us to a meal out and entertained us in their home. They are beautiful people and we hope to see them on the road some day. (The end of the month we heard from Frank and Joanne. They had picked up their motorhome and look forward to the fulltime life later this year.)

After leaving the Caldarola's we drove until late afternoon and looked for a campground to spend the night. Near the small town of Murchison, Texas we spotted Staway Ranch RV Park and decided to stop for the night. At the campground office a lady greeted us and asked if we were with the rally. We said "What rally?" She said the Newmar Kountry Klub - Kountry Lone Stars Rally. We own a Newmar motorhome and it seems we had stumbled onto a Klub Rally so we joined them for one day. Special guests at the rally were Dave and Pam Wilson, Newmar Kountry Klub International Directors, two of the nicest and friendliest people we have ever met. We never know what will happen when we stop in a campground.

Fort John Riverfront Resort is our home park for our Coast to Coast membership. It is located in southeastern Oklahoma near the community of Smithville and we had wanted to visit there since we hit the road. The drive into the park is most interesting, up and down an "improved" narrow road and across a running creek. (During high water you drive "through" the creek which we did.) The park is in the Kiamichi Mountains and on the Mountain Fork River which our campsite faced. There was only one RV in the park when we arrived and would you know it - they were friends we had met in Harlingen, Texas, Bob "Eb" and Donna Eberly. The had sold their ranch and horses in the Utah mountains to start fulltiming about four months ago. Eb is deaf but is jovial and reads lips so well that he carries on conversation with everyone in the crowd. We had a nice long fireside visit with them when suddenly as nighttime settled in, Eb jumped up and turned on the outside lights - "I want to hear what you all are saying." The park owners, Roy and Linda Reich, treated us like family and we plan to return anytime we are in the area. For a scenic and relaxing vacation we suggest you give Fort John a try. (Note: In February 2001 Fort John filed brankruptcy and dropped out of the Coast to Coast system.)

Our next stop was the Newmar Kountry Klub Rally in Shawnee, Oklahoma. We arrived one day early and were amazed as the Newmar motorhomes rolled in. We saw ten Newmar Dutch Star motorhomes the same years as ours and eight were the same color. The food, entertainment and seminars were interesting and the people were friendly. The second day of the rally Linda received a telephone call from her daughter, Amy. She was ill and was being admitted to a hospital for tests. This is the part of traveling fulltime that we dread, an emergency phone call from family. We had to make a quick decision, should we head for Kentucky in the motorhome, should Linda fly to Kentucky, or should Linda drive the 535 miles? After talking it over, we decided Linda would drive to stay with Amy and Norm would remain with the motorhome, ready to drive it back to Kentucky at a moments notice. Linda drove the Honda all night and arrived early the next morning. Amy's doctor allowed her to have the tests done as an outpatient and Linda spent nearly a week helping her.

Back in Oklahoma at the rally, Norm continued to attend the events and had a pleasant surprise. Virgil and Sarah Miller flew to Oklahoma to attend two days of the rally. Virgil is President of Newmar Corporation. Norm attended a catered breakfast and set by himself at a table. Virgil and Sarah walked in and set at the same table. That was great, sitting at the same table with the President of the company that built our motorhome. Virgil and Sarah are two of the nicest people in the world.

Norm drove the motorhome to the Escapees Park in Branson, Missouri and Linda joined him there. Branson is a most interesting place with a permanent population of 3,706 and hosting nearly four million visitors a year. The town boast by our count, thirty-nine large music theaters. Some of the biggest names in entertainment have theaters in Branson and perform there - Andy Williams, Bobby Vinton, Buck Trent, Doug Gabriel, Mickey Gilley, Jim Stafford, Jimmie Rodgers, Mel Tillis, Moe Bandy, Osmond Brothers, The Platters, Tony Orlando, Wayne Newton, The Lawrence Welk Show - to name a few of the regulars. With our limited budget we figured we could attend only two shows and we chose the Bobby Vinton Show (with the Glenn Miller Orchestra) and the Lawrence Welk Show. Both were great shows with a variety of music and we highly recommend both. The month has ended but we have decided to remain in Branson another week, there is so much to see and do here. Please check back next month.