As good a day as I could ask for.  Too much to report.  Bullets.

Chilly and VERY WINDY.  Even on a 900 lb. bike, I struggled at times.

Bandera; Self proclaimed Cowboy Capitol.  8:30 AM, already bustling.  Today was their “Pig Fest Explosion!”  Put kids of a specific age into a corral, let in a pig of a specific size.  The child who catches the pig wins.  Age groups go right up to adult I was told. (Pigs gets bigger as age gets older.)  I could have spent my entire day here and been satisfied.  The event also serves as a magnet for hogs of a two wheel variety. I reluctantly moved on.

Medina: The Apple Store.  4” Thick Apple Pie.  $4.50 per slice.  A little too heavy on the cinnamon, which for me is saying a lot.  It was a fine breakfast, but not up to Julian, CA’s style.  No offense.  Town calls itself the Apple Capitol of Texas.  Even has a statue of an Apple.  Well, oookay!  I was there too early to try their burgers.

Twisting road was too short to be much fun.  But if it was a taste of the famous Twisted Sisters route, I’ll be back.

Fredericksburg:  Sensational!  A full day’s visit would not do it justice.  Very German.  Birthplace of Admiral Chester Nimitz (who I was very knowledgeable of already). His literal birthplace is now a toy store.  There was a Museum of him, Museum of the War in the Pacific (huge and intensely detailed), and some other site I didn’t get to.  Hundreds of plaques from all over adorn the outside park.  The visit reminded me that Admiral Nimitz and one E. P. Potter co-wrote a book: Sea Power.  Potter was a professor of mine at Annapolis.  I’d forgotten that.  One ticket allows a two day visit, which would not be an unreasonable need.  To think this museum is so far away from any ocean is weird.  The place was full too.

Town has wine tasting rooms, breweries, candy shops, antique shops, etc.  Just incredible.  But to put the icing on the cake . . .

Driving out of town, saw some event in a park.  U-turned.  Commemoration of Phase I of a new Texas Rangers Museum.  Really just a nice tower now.  The museum itself is due in 18 months.  But at least 100 people dressed in period clothing.  Three functioning cannon. A staged shootout.  Displays of guns, saddles, Etc.  Just too cool.

I regretfully had to skip a visit to Austin.  I already have a t-shirt, so not a great loss.  I’m camping at Stephen F. Austin State Park, so that’s okay.  And the park is east coast style! Soft dirt, grass, big trees, no burn ban (no snakes and no scorpions either).  The place reeks of campfires.  And it’s only going to get down to the 40s tonight.

The only disappointment today was that it was too short.