Fredericksburg

Last week we drove up to Fredericksburg for a few hours to get something to eat and walk around. One of our favorite lunch spots is the Fredericksburg Brewing Company. There is plenty for Adam to look around at while he misses his nap, they usually have pretty good service, and great food in my opinion. I had no trouble downing about ninety-two percent of a half pound burger and all but two french fries, which were sniped by the little big man sitting in the high chair beside me.

After lunch we went to the National Museum of the Pacific War. Alan and I have been to this museum years ago when it was just the Nimitz Museum and a little bit of the current George H.W. Bush gallery. Since that last visit it has easily quadrupled in size and caliber and one could easily use all of the forty-eight hours a ticket buys to read and soak up the history housed there.
On December seventh of last year, the George H.W. Bush Gallery re-opened after a massive remodeling project. It was completely redesigned and now seems to be much more of an interactive experience in portraying the war in the Pacific. There are photos, traditional museum displays, multimedia videos and kiosks with WWII and military history quizzes. It truly is like stepping back in time.

Speaking of time... we had a limited amount of time to look at photos and exhibits. Walking into a museum like that with a toddler is like setting the countdown clock on an explosive device. Thankfully there are quite a few life sized planes, tanks, boats, etc... that were like crossing over the "checkpoint" in a video game - buying us a few more minutes. The first one we came across was a Japanese Midget Submarine, but don't let the name fool you, it was so large I don't think Aaron realized it was a kind of "boat," on top of that the room was very dark, enhanced with a light show and sound effects, so we moved on.

Next stop, a full size B-25 Mitchell bomber.

The only downside with this one is that you can't get very close to it, so again, beyond the initial five second amazement, Aaron moved on.

An attempt to take a shot with both of the boys... Aaron was somewhat over-stimulated and refused to sit still for more than about three seconds......not even to take a picture with his Mama.

He was pretty excited about the tank, which he knows from his books and watching history shows.

Alan and his "mini me."

Old Jeep!

Aaron recognized this one as "Grandpa's old Jeep" (my dad has one very similar parked in his backyard). He could not understand why we wouldn't let him drive (sit in it, turn the wheel, shift, and make ridiculous motor noises) it. So much so, he was getting worked up and we had to move on. (See video below).
This mini-fighter was neat for a few seconds until Aaron decided not only was it scary (teeth and face) apparently he was too small to drive it? (See video below).
"Big gun on trailer," according to our little museum guide...
I'm not sure why but every time we came across one of these benches he would run up to it and strike a pose of some sort. He managed to hold this pose long enough for me to snap a photo.

A serious discussion about driving big boats...
This was just funny...

Our little "Grump grump" hung in there like a champ and barely made a peep the entire time we were in the museum.

At various points I was dragged around and told "Mama, come on!" Needless to say, I didn't get much reading in and only saw about a third of the photos. It was still worth it though.

They perfectly designed this room to catch you off guard and even though I was not exactly immersed in the "reliving the war" experience, I was immediately overcome with the hebegebes and moved on as soon as I snapped this photo...

Another area that Aaron was convinced was some sort of playground. He ran around the cubes for a minute or so and then struck a few poses. Thankfully we had the place almost to ourselves, and no one mistook our pint sized wonder's innocence and energy for disrespect.

On our way out...

The Memorial Courtyard is a wide open space good for running...

Circular fountains are great for running in circles...

Another Daddy and Mini-Me photo...

More running...

I compiled a few video clips from our outing...