San Antonio Get-Away

We decided to take a short trip to San Antonio for a little get-away before the weather got too warm. We got off to a rocky start. But we made the most out of the vacation, and it turned out to be a great time. I planned the trip about a month out, and originally was concerned that we may not have gone soon enough to beat the heat, as Houston was already pushing into the the 80s in early April. Turns out the heat wasn't our problem, rain was. About a week out, I started checking the weather forecast for San Antonio only to find rain, rain, and more rain. As the vacation got closer, the chance of rain only got higher. Then, just two days before we planned to leave, Brenna started to run a fever. After two doctor visits (the last being the morning we left), we got the thumbs up from the doctor that she was good to go. We struggled a little bit with symptoms while we were away, but nothing that keep us down.

Mom and Dad flew down and went with us. We left on Thursday afternoon and made the 3 hour drive to San Antonio. We stayed at the Hilton Hill Country Hotel and Spa. It was fantastic! We got connecting rooms that shared a living room with a large balcony, so we never felt crowded and Brenna had plenty of room to play. It was just across the street from Sea World and only about a 15 minute drive to downtown. The hotel was beautiful and a great place for families. The grounds were kept to match the hill country style with four huge stone fire pits that they lite each night for the kids to make smores. They play a family movie each night outdoors in the courtyard (and indoors in one of the ballrooms on rainy days). They had a playground, three pools, and a hot tub. Unfortunately, we didn't get to enjoy any of them because Brenna was sick.

Shamu garden at the hotel

One of four beautiful fire pits

One of several fountains through-out the hotel that Brenna threw a penny in every morning.

Children's pool was a lagoon style pool with zero entry.

Adult pool with hot tub. There was also a lap pool.

Pawpaw and Brenna on the balcony with a view of Sea World's flag from our balcony.

 

Despite what was forecasted to be a 80% chance of rain, we decided to brave the weather and spend the day at Sea World. We figured worst case is we get rained out and come back to the room. God answered prays that day and held the umbrella for us. We got to Sea World that morning when it opened at 10AM under dark overcast skies and expecting the bottom to fall out at any moment. We never saw a drop of rain and the sun even broke through toward the end of the day. We spent all day there and didn't get back to the hotel until after 5PM, just as the rain started to come down.

  

Sea World was really fun. We didn't do any rides because Brenna wasn't big enough, but the shows alone are worth the ticket. We started the day off at the Sea Lion Stadium for the Cannery Row Caper. It was a really cute comedy show featuring sea lions and otters.

 

After the Cannery Row Caper we made our way through some of the animal exhibits. The park is really beautiful in a natural sort of way, lots of mossy trees and wild flowers. Even the animal exhibits were more open and created in the theme of the animals natural habitat verses what you sometimes see at the zoo.

Sea Lion exhibit

Feeding the fish and turtles at Alligator Alley

Alligator Alley

Turtle taxi

Flamingo Cove

Next it was off to Shamu Theater for Believe. I read several reviews on Sea World before we left and all consistently said that Believe was a disappointment because of the lack of animal interaction following the accident that took place just weeks prior. Encase you haven't heard, a female trainer was killed during a Dine with Shamu Show at the Orlando park. Since the accident, the trainers are no longer allowed in the water with the whales. Still, I thought the show was fantastic. Just being able to see these hugh animals up-close really puts you in awe! It also makes your heart break for what they should be able to experience in the wide open ocean versus the miniature tanks at Sea World.

Shamu Theater

Brenna catch phrase for Believe "That was a big one!"

Mama Shamu and Baby Shamu only 4 months old.

Big kiss for the trainer.

After Believe, we made a quick trip over to Azul at Beluga Stadium to catch the last mid-day show. Azul was a mixture of acrobatics and animal performances featuring the beluga whale, dolphins, and birds. The show was great with lots of syncronized swimming, diving, and acrobatics.

Beluga Stadium

Waiting for the show to start

After the last show it was time for a much needed nap! We decided to take the wagon instead of the stroller so when she fell asleep on my shoulder, we found a nice shady spot away from the crowds and near a picnic table. We threw down a quilt and she napped for nearly 2 hours.

Since we had some free time on our hands while Brenna was napping, we split-up and did some exploring on our own. Me and Mom grabbed a bite to eat, while Daddy and Jacob caught the fish and string ray feeding at the Coral Reef Aquarium and Shark Tank.

Brenna was still sleeping, so me, Daddy, and Jacob caught the 4D Pirates show starring Leslie Nielsen. It was really funny and lively and was just as good as the ones Jacob and I saw while at Disney World a couple of years ago. When Brenna finally woke up, we headed over to Shamu's Happy Hardor for some play-time.

Brenna and Daddy on the racing slides!

As our last stop of the day we visited Dolphin Cove to feed the dolphins. Brenna really enjoyed getting to feed the dolphins, but she said "They stink!" I think she was referring to the sardines and not the dolphins!

The next day wasn't as accommodating. We woke up to rain and flash flooding throughout the area. We made the best out of the morning thanks to the hotel! They had children's activities planned that we took part in. Brenna got her face painted and her nails done! Then it was off to the ballroom to watch Up!

She wanted a red heart on one side and a giraffe on the other.

After the movie, she settled in for a nap. By 3 PM the skies were clear and the rain was gone, so when Brenna woke up from her nap we headed to the Riverwalk! Fiesta began that weekend, so alot of activities were taking place on the Riverwalk. Fiesta is an 11-day festival celebrating the heros of the Alamo and San Jancito. First stop, the Alamo. It wasn't as big as I expected, but impressive none the less. We were able to tour it early in the day and then see some of the dedication ceremony that took place that night.

The Alamo in all her splendor!

Entrance to the Alamo grounds

Side corridor of Alamo grounds

Alamo Museum built on the grounds

Dedication ceremony

Next on the agenda was a river cruise! The Riverwalk is beautiful. I expected something along the lines of the French Quarters, but New Orleans can't compete with San Antonio. Everything was very clean and family-friendly. All the historic building were well maintained.

After the river cruise we ate dinner at Tony Roma's Famous Ribs and then returned to street level to visit Ripley's Believe It or Not and the Louis Tussard's Wax Museum. Brenna didn't even make it into the door of Ripley's before she adamantly proclaimed that she didn't want to go! All the "pretend people" didn't look friendly to her. She asked Mawmaw "What's his name?" pointing to the pretend man with his lip pulled over his nose at the entrance. Mawmaw told her his name was Joe. Brenna said "I don't like Joe!"

Pawpaw next to the world's largest tire and the world's largest man weighing in at 1400 lbs.

Toothpick replica of the Eiffel Tower standing 23 feet tall and weighing in at a total of 5 pounds.

The last day of our vacation was a nice mild day with clear skies. Perfect weather for the zoo. The zoo was nice, but not as beautiful as the Houston Zoo. It did have a few more animals than the Houston Zoo. It was a nice treat for Brenna to see the Hippo and Rhino. Here's a couple of my favorite animal pictures.

Brenna and Daddy checking out the Grizzly Bear

  

Brenna taking a popsicle break

Brenna and Mawmaw fishing in the kids pond.  Caught one!

She also really enjoyed the Caterpillar Flight School, which was an indoor butterfly garden. She would find the butterflies on the flowers and bushes and then blow on them. I'm not really sure why, but she thought it seemed like the thing to do.

Brenna loves anything with fur, so the petting zoo is always a favorite for us. They only had goats at the Fun Farm, but Brenna was excited none the less. She got to brush their coats and then feed them.

The highlight of the day was the Brackenridge Eagle Zoo Train. Brenna loves trains and this was her first time riding on a real one. She asked if it was taking us to the bookstore since that's where we usually go to play with the Thomas the Train set.

Well, that about wraps it up. Overall, despite a sick kid and some less than desirable weather, we had a really great time. However, this little outing did make up my mind about our future family vacation. We had been debating doing Disney World sometime soon with Brenna, but I think we'll wait alittle longer. She enjoyed Sea World, but she was still alittle too young to really appreciate everything. As most of you know, I've always enjoyed cruising. Now I appreciate it in a whole new way as a family vacation. With a small child, cruising is much less stressful than a land vacation. There's no wondering where to eat, how to get to the next attraction, or coming up with something to pass the time in the hotel. Everything you need is right outside your cabin door, no car seat required. We'll definitely be cruising for our next vacation!