Sea World

Life was much easier before we visited Jellystone Park in Tyler, TX.  After Sean’s scare in their pool, he has been reluctant to go near water.  Add in Brian being able to go on roller coasters (unless you want to be covered in puke) and you learn you have limits as to where both kids would be happy.  I decided to take the kids to Sea World in San Antonio (June 22).

One of the many reasons I chose it is the ability to get special tours.  We decided on a Behind the Scenes tour and a Penguin tour.  I was hoping to eat with Shamu but its books waaaaaaay in advance.  Just a hint for the behind the scenes tour, don’t go on 100+ degree days.  It was awful.  One of the many things we learned is that the employees have areas with even less shade than is available in the main park.

Stingrays

We all got a little cranky from the heat.  I was the only one willing to feed a stingray although Brian kept trying to pet them.  Sean was too worried about falling into the water.  We moved onto touching a shark and by this time, I was the only one willing to touch it.  We all enjoyed seeing the dolphins and got to see the trainers do a bit of training (not part of the tour, just good timing).

Penguins!

What we all really enjoyed was the Penguin tour.  It was a bit difficult to hear the tour guide on this one.  Sean was drooping at this point and we were all tired of walking.  The highlight was being able to touch a penguin and get our picture with them.

Next up, visiting a college friend and a movie.

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Today(June 21) was all about getting wet to escape the Texas heat.  Schlitterbahn is well known as one of the best water parks in the US.  I have been a bit hesitant about going as Sean had a fearful experience at the Jellystone Park pool up in Tyler, TX.  He went from 3ft of water to 4ft and realized it too late.  Luckily Brian was right next to him and pulled him back to the 3ft area.  Since then, he has expressed a fear of drowning.

We arrived at the park about 10:30 am and paid $10 for a locker ($2 gets returned when you turn your key back in when your done for the day).  Don’t forget to bring your own towel (we did and had to buy new ones).  You can bring your own food which is handy for picky eaters.  Since our trailer fridge was in the shop, we opted to eat at the park.  We were in West Schlitterbahn (yes, its so huge they split it into two areas). I spent most of the day worrying about Camping World calling me while I was away from my phone (they are supposed to fix our fridge).

I love Schlitterbahn.  The majority of the water is from the river except for the heated pool and a few smaller pools (like the wave pool).  I could have easily spent the entire day there.  We forgot to pack our water shoes and towels so we ended up buying them there.  Unfortunately, I left my waterproof camera at the hotel so we don’t have pictures.

The Alamo

I do have pictures of the rest of our evening though.  After the waterpark, we cleaned up and headed over to the Alamo.  I actually remember seeing the Alamo when I visited as a teenager with my Mom, younger Brother and Grandparents. I was very prepared for how small it is and how we wouldn’t need much time to visit.

We spent some time checking out the awesome trees that are growing here.  Brian loved them!  We also struck a few poses with the canons and checked out some basic information about the Alamo.

Daniel Boone wannabe.

We then hit the gift shop and came away with a few gifts and some cool hats.  Brian enjoyed seeing the Texas Rangers that were patrolling.  We spent the rest of the time outside and just briefly entered the Mission.  I know my kids and having to not talk while in the Mission wasn’t going to happen.  We were in long enough that we could say we did it, then walked out.

We also were getting a bit hungry.  We settled on The Rainforest Cafe with a wait of over an hour. Since we had time to kill, we decided to go for a riverboat ride.  Sean was a bit tentative (still worried about drowning).  We only got to go for half the ride before I got a message that the table was ready so we told the captain and hopped off.

Both boys love the Cafe so it was nice to have something familiar to eat.  Although, there was a 5 yr old girl who was screaming near the entrance.  She did not like the jungle storms.  I remember, when the kids were younger, watching the dining room from the gift shop so the kids could see how the storms are.  No one wants to have to listen to a kid going crazy during dinner.

Here are some pics.  Tomorrow we check into a much cheaper hotel while we continue to wait on the fridge in the trailer to be fixed.

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June 20th – Left today for New Braunfels, TX to drop off the trailer at Camping World.  I am hoping the fridge will have a quick fix that I am unaware of.  We decided to splurge for two nights to stay at the Hyatt Regency Riverwalk.  Pat decided that instead of an interior room, we should splurge for one with a view of the Alamo.

I have to say the view at night made the extra money worth spending.  I can’t say anything bad about this hotel.  It was stellar in many ways.  Bed were extremely comfortable (coming from someone who has a hard time sleeping somewhere other than her own bed).  Shower were fantastic with plenty of counter space to spread out and get ready in the morning.  Sean gives the shower two thumbs up for being relaxing.  Part of the river has been diverted into the lower level and you can sit in the lobby and listen to the water.  The kids loved getting ice cream from a store on the river level. Of course they served Blue Bell ice cream which both boys devoured.

Since we were tired from the drive, we decided to just eat at the Hard Rock Cafe.  Any time you want to eat on the Riverwalk, expect a long wait throughout the day and even more of a wait on Friday and Saturday night.  But wait, it’s Thursday night you say?  Well on a Thursday night when the Spurs are playing means the restaurants are even more crowded than usual.

The hotel was also a bit noisy due to the open air atrium and the Spurs playing the final game.  I think the noise was pretty acceptable, but then again, the Spurs lost.  I would hate to think of all the noise from the partying that would probably happen if they had won.

Tomorrow we head to Schlitterbahn!

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