Fredericksburg – Texas Hill Country and a Visit From Family!

We really enjoyed our short nine day stay in this lovely small German town! Fredericksburg definitely made the “return to” list. Besides having a great and walkable downtown area (that was only 3-4 blocks from the RV park), the area has a multitude of wineries and great restaurants, the LBJ Texas White House and ranch nearby, and the surrounding hills are rich with abundant wildflowers!

Relocation to Fredericksburg Texas

It was an almost easy commute of 85 miles, except for some navigating and road changes getting out of San Antonio. Once we were on I-10 it was quite easy. From I-10 we took Hwy 87 through some beautiful hill country right into Fredericksburg. Our park was the Fredericksburg RV Park, a highly rated place that we agreed with the rating.

About halfway on our drive the terrain started changing from absolutely flat to rolling hills. It almost reminded me of the drive from eastern Virginia to the west, where we lived. Although, here in Texas, there just were not that many trees.

Fredericksburg History (A German Town)

This small town of 10,000 residents was founded by German immigrants in 1846 and named after a prince in Germany. The town is noted for still having a Texas-German dialect since many of the early settlers continued to speak German. Fredericksburg is also the birthplace of Fleet Admiral Chester Nimitz.

It is interesting at how diverse is our country. For example, down in the Rio Grande Valley, the population was 90+% hispanic, while in San Antonio it was more diverse with many blacks, and in Fredericksburg, it was almost all German. At the local grocery store, I blended right in!

Family Visit

We were also thrilled that my brother-in-law John and his wife Cindy were able to come down from Dallas for a long weekend. We saw many local attractions with them and a couple of wineries. Plus we enjoyed a few of the local eateries. Each evening we would play cards or other games in the rec center. Very nice.

John works for Fedex and is still in his working years, although is looking forward to retirement down the road. Cindy is between jobs and seems to be enjoying that status enough to stay in that mode. They also own some condos on Anna Maria Island on the gulf coast of Florida that keep them busy with bookings and maintenance. You can check out one of their great vacation getaway places at LINK.

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Ham Radio in the RV Park!

On occasion, I will see a ham radio antenna on a RV in a park. At our Fredericksburg RV Park, I counted three antennas, so a quick call on the 2mtr simplex frequency of 146.520 I found Bob, AD5I. He and his wife Bonnie have been coming to this park for years from the Dallas area and love it.

I also met Roy, KF5YU, who just recently installed an all band fiberglass marine antenna for HF work. He mainly works 40 meter CW (morse code) with both a keyer and a straight key. Roy used to spend his summers in Angel Fire NM, where are headed in a few weeks. Roy said the best hike is the one that is right in town.

Bob and Bonnie

After several long chats on the radio with Bob (AD5I), we decided to meet for lunch with Pat and his wife Bonnie at a great little Chinese place. They have been traveling in their motorhome for years and shared some of their favorite places, especially in Wyoming where we will spend the summer.

It was very interesting to hear their 20+ years of travel adventures compared to our only two years on the road. Meeting interesting people is another great thing about our RV journey. I missed getting a photo of us. Bummer…

We have 28 states under our belt so far and are looking at a slower pace in a couple of years. Maybe stay a month at each location instead of a week. After two more years, we should have a good idea of our favorite locations.

A/C Replacement

Good news and bad news. The bad news was that springtime in the deep south was getting hot (in the high 80’s and low 90’s) and our living room A/C was not keeping up. So, I bought a infrared laser pointed temp sensor and it showed only 2-3 degrees of cooling at the vents. It should be more like 15-20 degrees.

The good news was we had two weeks remaining on the two year warranty from Dometic, the A/C maker. How often does that happen? After finding a great mobile RV tech, he took care of all paperwork, ordered a new unit, and installed it at the park. Easy peasy.

Fredericksburg Downtown

I love a small town that has much going on in the downtown district. Fredericksburg has a quaint downtown shopping area that is 3-4 blocks long and is loaded with art galleries, restaurants, winery tasting rooms, and of course the many gift shops. It was fun to stroll up and down both sides. And you can carry an adult beverage on the sidewalks along main street.

LBJ Ranch

Any stay in this area must include a visit to the ranch. Whether you were an LBJ fan or not, the ranch and Texas White House were an interesting couple of hours. An interesting fact is the ranch includes a working airstrip that one of LBJ’s grandsons is allowed to use.

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Winery Tastings

We did a few tastings and chatted with the vinters. One owner/operator lady said that she retired from the insurance industry and enrolled in a wine making course. The next thing she knew was she owned a start up winery in the Texas wine country. She runs it with her daughter and some others.

Hill Country Wildflowers

The wildflowers were at their peak during our visit. Some good timing by accident! This may have been the highlight of the visit. Can you imagine miles of rolling hills filled with Bluebonnets, Indian Paintbrush, Mexican Hat, and about 5,000 other varieties.

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Back in the 1960’s, Lady Bird Johnson, had millions of wildflower seeds planted along the Texas roadways and the US. The main concentration is the Willow City Loop located just 30 minutes outside of Fredericksburg. This 45 minute drive on private property was incredible. There were many pullouts from the narrow road to park and stare in awe at God’s creation.

Enchanted Rock State Park

Enchanted Rock is a pink granite mountain located in the Llano Uplift approximately 17 miles north of Fredericksburg. It rises up 425 feet and you can climb to the top over the smooth, but steep surface. From a distance, the people looks like ants crawling to the top.

Wow! That was a busy week, but very enjoyable. We have now traveled many miles to the SE part of New Mexico. Our first true desert! Thanks for following along. Subscribe and leave a comment if you wish.