Enchanted Rock (I have no idea who's in the picture, it was the biggest one I could find).Part two of my stroll back down memory lane in Fredericksburg is the fun stuff we did around town.
Enchanted Rock (now a State Park) is a 425 foot high granite batholith, the largest in the United States. A batholith, for my geographically-challenged friends, is an underground rock formation left uncovered by erosion. (OK-I admit I had to look that up. I thought it was just a huge chunk of granite). The Tonkowa Indians believed the rock to be haunted due to fires that appeared at night and strange sounds heard at all hours. (Scientists guess this was the noise of the big rock expanding and contracting from being heated during the day and cooled at night). We used to take day trips, sometimes with picnics, and hike to the top. I highly recommend this to families because it's an easy climb for youngsters with all the smooth rocks to grab onto, and it's not very steep. But the view from the top is beautiful, and truly enchanting. Some years ago they started limiting the number of people who get to enter the park each day, so plan to go early if you go. Gabriel is almost big enough to try a climb, and I can't wait to take him.
Another hike we would make often on our trips was to Balanced Rock. It was a big round boulder that was balanced on a small triangular rock point. Here's a postcard I found while searching around for its history. I'm having trouble finding history, but I guess it was supposed to be another geological wonder. I have a great picture somewhere of my Dad, with full 70's sideburns, pretending to hold the rock on the pedestal with one arm and showing off his biceps with the other. I'm sure this pose was repeated countless times by countless families. But sadly today the rock no longer exists. There are several different theories as to the cause. One theory is that a bunch drunk teenagers shoved it off the pedestal and it broke into pieces. Another is that the quarry who owned the land it was located on actually blew it up in order to avoid having the state protect the land and turn it into a State Park, or that they were afraid of lawsuits from tourists injuring themselves climbing up to see it. Either way, it's another little cool piece of my history that's gone now.
And finally, there was the charm of strolling around the town of Fredericksburg itself. Back then it was just starting to become a tourist destination, but even then we tended to avoid the touristy spots on Main Street for the locally-owned and local-frequented stores. We would visit Knopp-Metzger department store, Birck's Butcher Shop and Barbecue Restaurant, and the Dietz Bakery, which somehow has survived the onslaught of Wal-Mart and many other new bakeries. These were the merchants who made German small-town living so special. These days, the streets and shops are all very crowded, everything for sale is overpriced, and the shops are owned by people who relocated to Fredericksburg to cash in on the tourism. It's still fun to browse all the shops, eat a Reuben at the deli, and drink a homebrewed beer as you walk down the street and people watch, but once again, just not the same. There are still a few spots to catch the charm - breakfast at Andy's Diner on Sunday morning, where many of the old school Germans gather either before or after church, and walking or driving along the neighborhood streets to see the beautiful houses and flower gardens. or attending Mass at the old Catholic church with it's beautiful masonry and stained glass.
I have made many visits with Jav, but he has yet to see some of the things that made Fredericksburg so special because we choose to spend time with our relatives rather than sightsee during our time there. But someday I hope to show him some of the things I loved as a child, if they don't all disappear before then.
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