Cameron Park Zoo, Waco, TX

http://www.cameronparkzoo.com/

We love to visit this zoo in Waco.  Most recently, I chaperoned the 5th grade field trip to "The Waco Zoo".  It's fun for all ages.  In fact, the day we visited there were school groups ranging in age from Kindergarten to Senior Class Trips. 

I think one reason we like this zoo so much is because it's not HUGE like some of the zoos in bigger cities.  You can easily walk the shady loop in just a few hours and still see the Big 3 -- lions and tigers and bears. Oh my!  There's also elephants and giraffes. Plus my favorite ... the snake house!

And about half way around the loop, there is a great place to stop and take a break. This zoo has playground and splash pad for the kids. So make sure they wear swimsuits under their clothes so they can cool off in the summer heat!

And before you leave, stop in the gift shop to check out their cool tshirts.  My son, who is a Beatles fan just had to have this one . . .

There's also a snack bar by the entrance where we always stop for popsicles before we leave. Overall, this zoo is a great place to take the family the next time you're in or near Waco.

Big Lou's -- Home of the GIANT Pizza

http://biglouspizzaonline.com/

For my 42nd birthday, I decided to celebrate BIG by ordering the famous 42" pizza from Big Lou's!

This San Antonio pizzeria has been in business since 2000, but they became famous after their giant pizza was featured on an episode of "Man vs Food" a few years ago.
http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/man-v-food/photos/san-antonio

I knew there was no way I could eat this mega-pizza all by myself, so I took my entire family with me to celebrate my birthday and see if they could help me finish off the 3-1/2 ft. pizza.  Hmmm .... what do you think?  Did we eat it all?

Going to Big Lou's is an 'experience' for which you need to plan ahead. It has become quite a tourist destination and on weekends you can expect to wait an hour or more for your pizza.

When you first arrive, you stand in line to place your order and pay. Then you wait either in the waiting room or on the outside patio for your table to be ready. We grabbed a few sodas from the bar and then decided to wait outside with all the kids since there were picnic tables on the patio.

When your name is finally called, your party is led to a table in the main dining room.  From that point, it was only about 15 minutes until our mega pizza was delivered!

This was the biggest pizza any of us had ever seen.  It was definitely a WOW moment to see it being carried out by two servers from the kitchen.  The slices on this giant pie were as big as a small child!

And even though we tried our very best that day to eat the entire 42" pizza, we were a few slices short of our goal.  So next time, we'll have to invite a few extra friends to join us!

Embassy Suites San Antonio Riverwalk

If you're looking for a hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk, especially if you're traveling with children, I highly recommend the Embassy Suites. This hotel is located on the banks of the Riverwalk in the heart of downtown San Antonio. And since it's only been open since 2010, it still feels brand new.

It is not, however, located on the main riverwalk, but on the newer section.  So while it may not be in the middle of all the riverwalk action, it is still a great hotel for price and the space.  And when you throw in the complimentary hot breakfast and evening reception ... it really is a bargain!

We are partial to Embassy Suites whenever we travel with the kids because of the extra space in their all-suite rooms.  It's nice to be able to spread out in the separate rooms and relax without tripping over luggage and people.  So when we found out there was a new one on the Riverwalk, we had to try it out.  HINT -- when reserving a room at any Embassy Suites, always request a corner room.  While all the suites are nice and roomy, the corner suites are extra large.  Your request may not be granted if you're visiting during a busy weekend or holiday, but it's worth asking! 

Fortunately, our request was honored on a recent weekend trip to the Riverwalk.  Our corner suite could have easily accommodated more than the four of us.  It had a huge living room with a sleeper sofa, as well as a dining table and wet bar.

And the separate bedroom had two queen beds, a dresser with large drawers for storage and a walk in closet with floor to ceiling mirrors.

The extra large bathroom was very nice with a tile floor, granite counter tops, and a tub and shower.

In addition to the large rooms, we also love the complimentary breakfast and evening reception that the Embassy Suites are known for.  In addition to traditional breakfast buffet items, you also get made-to-order omelets. 

Being a new hotel, this particular Embassy Suites had a very nice, large dining area where the evening receptions and breakfast buffets are held.

Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

Port Aransas, TX

Everyone knows about the beach and the great fishing in Port Aransas. But have you visited the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center?  This little nature center is a great place to visit early in the day before you head to the beach.

Walking along the raised boardwalk through the marshy wetlands
will give you an upclose view of birds, turtles, and fish.

And if you're really lucky -- you might see an alligator!

About halfway down the boardwalk you'll find an observation tower. 

The kids love climbing to the top for a panoramic view of the wetlands. 

There's even a free viewing scope at the top of the tower
that lets you zoom in on the surrounding wildlife.

As mentioned earlier, there are two resident alligators in the pond that are named Boots and Bags. But catching a glimpse of them is a rare treat. We lucked out on our second visit to the Birding Center and finally saw one come up for air!  That was definitely the highlight of the trip for us.

So the next time you're in Port Aransas go check out the Birding Center, preferably early in the morning before it gets too hot. We like to rent an electric buggy to drive over there.

And on the way back, stop by the Robert Points Park near the ferry landing and watch the ships come through the channel.  You'll probably even see dolphins swimming in their wakes.

This park also has a great playground for the kids.

Sandcastle Lessons

Everyone loves to build sandcastles at the beach. It brings out the kid in all of us.  So when we went to the beach last summer, we decided to take Sandcastle Lessons from the famous Port Aransas Sandcastle Guy. In case you haven't heard, Port Aransas has some of the world's best sand for building castles and sculptures.

Mark Landrum was an accountant until he realized how much fun it was building sandcastles and teaching others how to do the same.  So now he's a full-time Sandcastle Guy and loving life.

We emailed Mark a few days before our beach trip to see if he could give our group a lesson. Thankfully he had an opening at 6:00pm on a Sunday evening  (he does 4-5 lessons a day).

He provided all the equipment needed for the lesson.  His "high tech tools" included shovels, 5-gallon buckets for water, additional 5-gallon buckets with the bottoms cut out for molding the sand, and some plastic cutlery for adding details to your castle.

The first order of business was to take the Sandcastle Builders Pledge to "have fun, be helpful and use mistakes as an opportunity for creativity". In other words, when something crumbles -- and it will -- don't cry over it. Just make it into something new.

Then we got down to the business of making our sandcastles.  We really learned a lot!  For example, getting a good, solid foundation is the key to successfully building a sandcastle that won't crash.

Now we know what those 5-gallon buckets are for --- to fill with sand for our base.

Once you have a solid foundation, then you top it with mud pies. Who doesn't like making mud pies?  We added sand to our water buckets until it made a soupy sand mixture. Then grabbing a handful, we plopped down our mud pies, one on top of the other.

Once your tower is as tall as you want it, the real fun begins! This is when you start carving the sandcastle using those high-tech tools . . . plastic forks, knives, and spoons.

Mark showed us how to make several different roofs for our tower. You can have a thatched roof, shingles, or a "german mushroom". And you can add eaves,with or without scalloped edges.

Then, working our way down the castle, we decorated the tower.  Mark taught us how to make our towers have bricks, "bear claw" marks, add windows and balconies. Even pillars.  And finally, for the base we learned how to carve stairs for our castle.

Everyone was deep in creative thought working on their masterpiece.  What a great Team Building exercise! And finally, after adding that last finishing touch, our sandcastle was done!

For lessons in the Corpus Christi / Port Aransas area, contact Mark Landrum at (361) 290-0414 or lessons@sandrum.com.  www.sandrum.com