Dallas -> Waco -> Fredericksburg, TX and Back by Doug Reeves
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Dallas -> Waco -> Fredericksburg, TX and
Back
by Doug Reeves
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Tag-along Tourist > Fredericksburg,TX
3/15/06
It's
Spring Break week and the wife had planned on taking the kids down to Waco (2.5
hr drive south) to spend some time with the Grandmothers. I thought, since
this could be considered 'guilt free' time with the extra babysitters and all,
that I'd burn a couple of vacation days, look to see where the weather was good,
and put the RV in long distance travel mode. I was leaning to Pensacola,
FL or Taos, NM.
Susie threw a welcome wrench in the plans when she said, "Why can't we both go somewhere in the plane?" Time to change plans and instantly form my plans around her, since she doesn't really like to fly and is especially nervous with both of us in the same plane (remember the kids?). Any opportunity that presents itself is given the attention it deserves. I suggested Fredericksburg, TX for some shopping (which she would like). Short and sweet - very close to home with a weather outlook that looked pretty good. So, Monday morning bright and early Susie and the kids set out for Waco in the car. I slept in...because I have a plane. I gave her a little while to get on her way, casually ate breakfast, surfed the web a little, packed, then headed out to the airport. No rush. I beat them by 20 minutes.
They swung by the airport and we headed over to Luby's for lunch with her Mom and to drop the kids off with her. A short time later we launched for Fredericksburg (T82) with winds about 15kts on the tail at 6,500'. We took the southerly route around the Ft. Hood airspace and got to T82 in a little under an hour. Checked into the Hanger Hotel there at the airport ($119/night) and picked up our rental car ($39) for the 5min drive into town.
The view from the porch at the Hanger Hotel.
We drove into town and found a space to park on Main Street right in front of a Rock Shop. Sue likes making bead necklaces these days so she was pretty happy to park right in front of a store she was interested in. I followed with the wallet, smiling politely. One generally just walks the length on one side, turns around and walks back, stopping at each little knickknack store (there are ~100 the brochure says). The sidewalks are lined with guys waiting for their wives/girlfriends in the various shops (me being one).
An interesting history data point on this town is it is the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester William Nimitz. There is a museum and other stuff dedicated to him - one in particular being the actual home he was born in. You can now buy candles and dresses there.
More beads, lamps, kitchen stuff, etc....fast forward a couple of hours of the same and it's now time to go back to the hotel. The town has a nice quaint feel to it with a German flair (sausages, egg noodles, beer). Mix that with a sort of mash of Austin artisans and San Antonio 'Don't Mess With Texas' folks and a little Napa Valley 'we love wine' people and you'll get a pretty accurate picture of what to expect. Regardless of whether you are a fan of the antique/knickknack scene, the stroll up and down Main Street was relaxing.
OK, back at the hotel. We relaxed a bit and got ready for dinner. As luck would have it a nice restaurant is just across the highway from the airport (The Cotton Gin Restaurant and Lodge). You apparently need reservations, but we lucked out and got the last table outside. I ordered the 'Eight Ounce Filet Mignon Served with roasted garlic & serrano bernaise sauce'. It was wonderful. Susie order Trout and we had a killer German chocolate cake dessert. Back to the hotel and we both slept like babies. Here's a shot of the 40's style room and some night shots.
We woke Tuesday morning to the sounds of no kids <g>. Unfortunately the diner isn't open on Tuesdays, so we settled for the continental breakfast and an early launch. The air was silk and Susie had an 'only semi-nervous' flight back of about 50 minutes. Two highlights: 1) we took the northerly route to go on the west side of Ft. Hood and passed over Enchanted Rock and 2) our path took us over P-49 (with the permission of ATC). It's pretty interesting to get to fly over the 'Western White House' at 5,500' knowing that a lot of eyes are on you for sure, but we talked to Waco first and quickly received permission with no problem (I actually asked twice, as their first response was a little garbled). I let the autopilot take us over the top and didn't deviate from straight one degree.
Susie was back in Waco by 9:30am to take the kids to the zoo with her Mom and I launched back for Dallas and a day of doing other things RV. They drove back up the next day. I'm typing this with Tate playing on the computer next to me and Audrey running around chasing a friend that is spending the night. Total chaos - and I couldn't be happier. Susie is teaching a yoga class. I have a hundred things to do before bed...the breakneck pace picks up again... There for one afternoon and evening though, just like that, it was all loose and laid back.
A nice couple of vacation days - made possible at the drop of a hat by the fine folks at Van's Aircraft, Inc. Thanks Susie! Thanks Van!
Best,
Doug (and Susie) Reeves
dougreeves 'at' vansairforce.net
susie 'at' vansairforce.net
PS: Maybe sometime in the future I'll ask Susie to write some of her highlights.