Tale of Two Restaurants and a Museum

We headed out this morning at a leisurely pace to see Fredericksburg.  As we were leaving town, I noted that I had forgotten my cell phone and purse, but we decided that these things were not needed and we continued on our way.

We arrived in town and went straight to the National Museum of the Pacific War as we have wanted to go here for some time.  We truly enjoyed the historical details presented at the museum. The lay out of the rooms was a little sporadic at times, but the content provided was very helpful in understanding the many dynamics of the war.  I walked through the displays with Zaira, Edward and camera trying to take in as much as I could.  Michael and Brendan took a leisurely stroll (literally as Michael was pushing Brendan in a stroller!) around the museum.  As Edward would later say.."Daddy is enjoying the museum a little too much!"  The other two older boys, Sean and Henry, weaved in and out of the exhibits on their own...catching up with us from time to time to share comments they found interesting.

Edward, Zaira and I found our way out into the main lobby first.  I noticed a press conference in a side room and asked one of the men at the front desk what was happening.  He said a plaque was dedicated to the men in the Doolittle Raid and some of these men were present at the time.  I thanked him for the information and sat down to wait.  After a few minutes, I realized that Michael might find it interesting to talk to some of these men.  So I went back into the museum to find him. When I asked, Michael jumped at the chance to meet these men.  Unfortunately, by the time we made our way back out into the lobby the men had left for lunch.  Michael only had a chance to meet one man who left quickly after meeting him.  So Michael went back into the museum.

Notice at this point...it was obviously lunch time.  However, I sat back in the lobby and waited for Michael to finish his time at the museum.  I did manage to ask where we should go for authentic German food and had the spot picked out when Michael arrived in the lobby late into the afternoon!  Thankful the restaurant was right around the corner.


We sat down and ordered our drinks, which arrived promptly, and then our meal.  At this point, Sean had gotten a little rowdy and loud so I asked him to step out of the restaurant to calm down.  He came back in after a couple of minutes and said he had found out something interesting.

Confession time!  I was not ready to listen to what he had to say and was only half listening...assuming he was going to tell me about one of the many historical markers that were all along the sidewalk.  Imagine my surprise when he said, "This restaurant does not accept Mastercard."

Sidenote:  We do not use a lot of creditcards or ATM cards, etc.  We like to keep it simple...all we have is a Mastercard!

So I looked at Sean and asked him to say that again.  He promptly repeated his statement and went on about his business.  I turned to Michael and asked if heard what Sean said.  Michael, also only HALF listening, said he heard, so I repeated what Sean told me.  Michael then looked at me and asked what we were going to do!  I told him to stop the order and we would figure out a way to pay for our drinks.

The waitress must have thought we were crazy!  She just looked at us dumbfounded when we confirmed that the restaurant did not take Mastercard.  She asked if we had another way to pay and we told her we did not because I had left my wallet at home which contained our checkbook.  She went to the back and spoke to the owner, who suggested we go to the bank and obtain cash.  We told her we did not have a way to do that and we waited for an answer.  The waitress finally returned and told us we should leave the restaurant!  I have never been so embarrassed in my life!  Well...Michael then proceeded to stand up from the table and bump my full glass of tea all down my front!  I can now way I have REALLY never been so humiliated in all my life!  Unable to pay for a meal AND being completely soaked with tea...we managed to gather all of the children and head out the door!

I must say I was ready to go home!  However, wanting to make this an enjoyable day, I swallowed my pride and suggested we try another German restaurant across the street.  So we made our way to restaurant number TWO!  We made sure we could pay with our only means of payment and waited for thirty minutes for a table!  We did enjoy the meal and even watched a little Aggie football (yes, we are Aggies!), so all was good.

We then went to the second part of the museum which detailed Adm. Nimitz's life.  This museum was much smaller and we were able to enjoy this part together.  We even worked out a little puzzle with all of the boys using the naval code system.  It was enjoyable as we learned about this amazing man who worked so hard to assist our country in battle.

We then proceeded to the final portion of the museum, which was partly outdoors.  The clouds looked a little ominous so I chose to sit back in the car with Zaira and Sean (who were both getting a little weary from the day).  The others learned all about the Avenger (airplane), PT boats, and re-enactments.  Something I will try to understand through the pictures taken.

I did manage to find a a local church with a Mass that would begin right as the tour ended.  We did in fact make it with a few minutes to spare.  And what an amazing sight to see as we walked into one of the magnificent painted churches of Texas!  We were welcomed kindly and were glad to have the opportunity to worship in such a beautiful setting.  It made a nice way to end our time in Fredericksburg.

We had to drive home in the dark and Zaira was a little fussy along the way but we made it back to Mom's with little effort.  Tomorrow we make the drive to the airport, but hoping to find some interesting stops along the way.