Galveston, TX

Galveston, TX (2009) - It has been almost a year since Hurricane Ike crushed Galveston Island as well as dozens of other shoreline towns and communities and offshore towns and communities all the way through Houston and the greater area. The signs of time have changed Galveston and the surrounding area. You can still find some of the old favorites (Stewart Beach), but some of the favorites are gone for good (Soda shop on the Strand). Still, the beach is there. The beach offering sea shell hunts and sand castle contests and belly surfing and sun ray catching as well as bird watching and fishing are still there.



Galveston has come a long way since the blows of Hurricane Ike. Some of the scars will never heal, but many have been erased. As a family, enjoy the sea wall. There are plenty of beaches, some free (along the seawall and Jamaica Beach) and some not (Stewart Beach). There are plenty of restaurants along the sea wall; some family friendly (McDonald's, Chili's, and Gaido's) and some not. There are hotels and other conveniences (grocery store, souvenir shops, etc.). We just parked along the seawall (free) and walked down some stairs to the beach (free). We had a great time. The only bummer was no bathrooms or places to change clothes.



As a family, strolling the Strand is a gamble. Before Hurricane Ike there were family friendly stores and restaurants. After Hurricane Ike there are many bars and t-shirt shops displaying things I don't want my kids to see or read. On the family friendly side, the Army Surplus shop and the Old Strand Emporium are still there, but both were closed at the time we were there. They used to be fun to browse with lots of conversation starters about history and progress. We didn't find a restaurant that appeared kid friendly, but if you go one street over to the wharf, you will find some pricey restaurants that look family friendly. We skipped pricey.



Another side note, buyer beware when renting a beach house! We had wanted to help Galveston's recovery by renting a beach house, but found it to be too expensive and too much of a gamble to take our kids. During summer season, it is extremely hard to find a house willing to rent for the weekend. Almost all reservations are for a week. We found some of interest and decided to do our due diligence and do an on-site review of the homes. Apparently, all the photos on-line were before Hurricane Ike. We were applaud and sadden by what we found. Houses within a normal, working family's budget were questionable at best. One house that was promoted as "newly renovated" (by the way, since Hurricane Ike, all the houses promote "Newly renovated") had insulation falling down from under the house. I don't know why there is insulation there, but that seemed a bad sign to me. Another house we looked at that was "newly located to beach front" meant that the house in front of it had been washed away. The washed away house had not removed the slab or the pylons from the beach. We found in a number of locations broken pylons still in the ground with splinters of wood jetting up, creating a hazard for running children. We did find a number of gorgeous homes, but the prices were outrageous. For families it is far more cost effective to go to a hotel or rent a condominium.



We still love Galveston and are holding our breath as they go through their necessary changes. We have families and would prefer they hold onto family values. Unfortunately, we see the signs of Sin City creeping in. If the adult entertainment sites and sounds continue to grow, we may have to write Galveston off our list. But for now, there are still fun things for families to do for a day or for a weekend.

Trip Stats:

• Who: 2 Moms, two 10 year old boys, two 5 year old boy and one 7 year old girl
• What:

1. Galveston Island, http://www.galveston.com/default.asp
2. Galveston County Parks, http://www.galvestonparks-seniors.org/default.asp

• When: Friday (arrived at noon and left at 5:00pm, traffic down was none, but traffic back was awful)
• Where: Beach
• Why: Outdoor Play
• Cost: FREE, we parked on the seawall and walked to the beach. We took a picnic and plenty of drinks and snacks. PETTY CASH, we did go to McDonald's for ice cream and shakes and bathroom breaks.

Fort Travis Seashore Park

Port Bolivar, Tx (Galveston) - What says summer more than sand and surf? Beach and boats make for a fun, family excursion. Add free to the excursion and you have a super fun day for Mom and Dad. The Bolivar Ferry and the Fort Travis Seashore Park are both free and both fun. O.k., there is no beach at Fort Travis Seashore Park, but it is a nice destination to get out and run around after riding the ferry.


The attraction of the ferry for kids is simple. It is a boat that you get to actually drive your car on. For Houstonians this is an unusual and fun experience. The ferry crosses a very busy channel so lots of opportunities to see lots of types of boats. There are plenty of sea gulls, pelicans and other birds to view, and the occasional dolphin siting really makes the trip special. The ferry ride is long enough to get out of the car, and there are places to go up and get a better view. It is not a long ride so perfect for little minds, little attention spans.

Fort Travis Seashore Park has a long and interesting history dating back to the early 1800's. I remember visiting this park when I was a kid. Taking my kids to see it brought forth mixed emotions.

The Good - My kids loved it. They enjoyed getting out of the car and walking along the sea wall. Their imaginations took flight looking through the gates at the bunkers imagining soldiers walking up and down the stairs. They imagined the big guns or cannons that may have once sat in the circular depressions around the bunkers. They enjoyed going into what appeard to be a gunner's hut or outpost. The park has a nice playground (but no shade) and some nice picnic tables with shade. There is plenty of space to run, but I recommend tennis shoes. The sticker burs in the grass had some seriously long thorns and cut straight through my son's crocks.

The Sad - As Mom, I could see the damage left by Hurricane Ike. Driving through the area we could see where neighborhoods once were but only the pylons that supported the houses remained, no more houses. In the park there are sidewalk collapses and still some chunks of concrete here and there. The kids thought it was cool, but Mom understood the human impact of such damage.

Still we recommend this full days outing. After your trip on the ferry back to Galveston Island stop at one of the pocket beaches for a little beach and surf time before hitting the road back to town. There are a number of places to stop for drinks, snacks or dinner in Galveston if you run low.


Trip Stats:

• Who: 2 Moms, two 10 year old boys, two 5 year old boy and one 7 year old girl
• What:

1. Bolivar Ferry, http://www.bolivarchamber.org/GalvestonFerry.aspx,
2. Fort Travis Seashore Park, http://www.crystalbeach.com/travis.htm
3. Galveston Island Pocket Beach, http://www.galvestonparks-seniors.org/default.asp

• When: Friday (arrived at noon and left at 5:00pm, traffic down was none, but traffic back was awful)
• Where: Galveston Island and Bolivar Peninsula
• Why: Outdoor Play
• Cost: FREE, we took a picnic and plenty of drinks and snacks

iT'z Pizza, Houston

Houston, Texas (Northwest) - Finding things to do with kids on a rainy day or a 100+ degrees day when you just can't play outside is hard to do. iT'Z Pizza, http://www.itzusa.com/houston/index.htm , is a pizza and fun place that is a good location to celebrate something special. I say celebrate, because the cost is way too high for an everyday event. You will not get out of this place for less than $75 for a family of four, even if you take coupons. Though it is expensive, it is pretty good food and does have fun for everybody.


The fun is the expensive part. They have video games, games of chance to earn tickets and games of chance to earn prizes, bowling, and rides such as a kiddie train/roller coaster, bumper cards and the Disk-O, which is geared for teens and adults. You have to buy game cards, which are like credit cards, that have a number of points. You slide the card on a scanner on the video game or ride you want to enjoy. Games/Rides can be 2 points or 10 points depending on complexity.


They do have a store where you can exchange tickets for prizes, but you better earn a lot of tickets to get any prizes. BEWARE: you need your game card to transfer your tickets too and if you don't do it right, you could lose all your tickets. One of my kids lost over 100 tickets by not swiping his card correctly. Happy Day, when I mentioned it at the front desk, they comp'ed him the tickets and strongly re-enforced how to correctly transfer tickets to the card.


BONUS

If you have a toddler or preschool size child, iT'Z has developed a Tiny Tikes area with inflatable jumpers and games and tiny rides like the cars you see in front of grocery stores that just rock back and forth. My 5 year old loved the inflatables and spent a lot of time here. It also created a "Home Base" for my Pre-Teens. I stayed in the Tiny Tikes area and my 10 year olds could go play and check back, and I could see the game floor and try and keep tabs on the boys.


BUMMER

There really is no good place for parents to create a "Home Base." (We were lucky to be there on a slow day. I suspect the toddler area fills up quickly.) If you have older children who don't want Mommy following them around, you cannot sit anywhere and still be able to watch your kids from a distance. The dining rooms are walled in with no windows and no views of the games and rides area.


A bit pricey but a good experience.


Trip Stats

• Who: Mama, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy


• What: iT'Z Pizza, http://www.itzusa.com/houston/index.htm


• When: Thursday, Noon-ish


• Where: Northwest Houston off Hwy 249 near Willowbrook


• Why: Indoor Play


• Total Cost: $81.83 which breaks down to.....


• $44.85 - for 3 Summer Thursday Specials of 90 minutes of unlimited play


• $19.99 - a coupon from a door flyer for 4 buffets and 4 drinks


• $16.99 - for 1 Eat and Play Combo (buffet and 50 game points)

Tranquility Park and Hard Rock Cafe

Houston, Texas - We were downtown for an errand and since I had the kids, I decided to park in the theater district and do a little walking tour. We, again, rode the elevator in the JP Morgan Chase Tower to the 60th floor to the viewing deck. We really enjoyed the view of downtown and could see as far as the Astrodome, the Galleria, and the 290 corridor.

From the viewing deck, I could see city hall and the corners of Tranquility Park. It didn't look far so we went for it. That was a mistake. The official weather report says the high was only 96 degrees, but it felt much hotter. The heat just sucked all the life out of us. From the tower it was only 3 city blocks to the park, but those were some long, hot blocks. The park was a huge disappointment to the kids. They were too tired to run and there just wasn't anything for kids there. There were some trees and some shaded picnic tables. The tables were all occupied by some young adults playing rap music. The fountains were nice, but the metal bridge is a hugely bad idea in the heat of a Houston summer.

Two more blocks of walking, and we made it to the Hard Rock Cafe. On a Tuesday afternoon, there was no crowd. It is a nice little place with plenty of pictures and rock n' roll collectibles. The food was a little pricey, but not bad. We paid $35.00 for one salad, two kids meals, a glass of water and tip.

The 10 year old and I recuperated enough at the Cafe to walk a block and a half back to the car, but the 5 year old did not. At the Cafe the 5 year old just layed down in the booth and went to sleep. I had trouble getting him to eat or drink anything. The heat really hurt him. I mustered the strength to carry him back to car. He was limp and argued about eating and drinking the rest of the day. Thankfully, by morning he was back to his old self.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: JP Morgan Chase Tower http://www.chasetower.com/sub-frameset.htm, Tranquility Park http://www.visithoustontexas.com/visitors/parks_and_outdoors/listing.details.php?category=13683&id=28464, and Hard Rock Cafe http://www.hardrock.com/locations/cafes3/cafe.aspx?LocationID=56&MIBEnumID=3
• When: Tuesday, Afternoon
• Where: Downtown Houston
• Why: Indoor/Outdoor Play
• Cost: Tower and Park are free. Hard Rock Cafe is a restaurant with the average entree at around $11.
• Parking: For almost 2 hours, we paid $5 to park in the underground theater district parking garage.

Minute Maid Ballpark Tour

Houston, TX - Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp , is home to the Houston Astros professional baseball team. As a native Houstonian living everyday in one of the biggest cities in the country, I don't go to tourist attractions often. I am busy living an everyday life, raising two boys and trying to make ends meet. Tourist attractions are usually over priced for everyday people.

As a volunteer for my son's Cub Scout Pack, I was in charge of obtaining tickets to an Astros game highlighting a Scout Parade. Since I had to go downtown to pay for the tickets, I decided it was time to do the tourist thing and take the Ballpark Tour. I shelled out $9 for one adult and $5 for each child age 3 - 14. The tour was worth the time, travel and money.

They offer public walk-up tours year round, Mon. - Sat., at 10 am, noon and 2 pm. We were there on a Tuesday to take the Noon Tour. Traditionally, they have 50 to 60 people on this walking tour, but on our day, we were the only ones. They didn't cancel. They didn't bump us to 2 pm. They gave us a private tour of the park. For me and my two boys, it was awesome.

Tamara, our tour guide, was a wealth of information about the ballpark, the Astros and baseball history. She even had a few tidbits of information about the history of the railroad. The ball field was added to Union Station which has a long history dating back to the 1800's. The Astros have made an effort to preserve some of the history and have reconstructed Union Station to its original glory.

The tour is a walking tour so be prepared. It took about an hour and 10 minutes, but it did not seem long. We saw the stadium from several points of view where Tamara stopped and gave us tidbits of interesting information. We stood in the upper deck, in box seats, in the VIP lounge, the broadcasters booth and then the best part for us, on the ball field, in the dug outs and in the pitching cages. The 10 year old loved it all. The 5 year old enjoyed the pigeons and running on the field. But don't touch the grass. It was a game day so the grass was off limits. Apparently you have to have a college degree to maintain that grass, and we just weren't qualified.

We recommend the Minute Maid Ballpark Tour.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, one 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Minute Maid Park, http://houston.astros.mlb.com/hou/ballpark/index.jsp
• When: Tuesday, Noon Tour
• Where: Downtown Houston
• Why: Indoor/Outdoor Education
• Cost: $9.00 per adult and $5 per child age 3 - 14.
• Parking: When it is not game day, you can park in the Diamond Lot for free (corner of Texas Avenue and Hamilton Street, connected to the ball park). The streets around the ballpark have meters so read the signs carefully. There are also a number of surface parking lots which can get pricey.
• Notes: Purchase tickets in the Team Store in Union Station. There are restrooms in Union Station. There is no time for potty breaks on the tour. If the roof is open, the tour moves inside and outside so it will be hot in the summer months. There are no vending machines or snack shacks open for tours. I had a cooler in the car with snacks and drinks which worked out well to give the kids a snack before going in and a healthy drink when we came out.

Monkey Business (Inflatable Jump Place)

Houston, TX - Monkey Business, http://www.monkeybizness.com/ , is an extremely fun, slightly dangerous place to take your kids. Monkey Business is a place like Pump It Up, an inflatable party place. Monkey Business hosts open play times so anybody can come and have fun. This is a great alternative for rainy days.

Here is the fun part. They have two rooms but may only have one room open depending on number of participants. Both rooms are identical so no loss if only one room is open. Each room has a plain square jumper with some super sized boxing gloves that little ones can hardly even pick up much less box. They have another jumper with jump space and a small slide inside. They have a jumper with a climbing cone for your real monkeys. They have the super, tall slide and an obstacle course. Plenty of space to run around, jump and have fun.

Here is the slightly dangerous part. You have a lot of kids, all ages jumping. Kids are not always cautious or wait their turn, so accidents happen. One trip, my 10 year old twisted his ankle. Another trip he slid down the slide on his elbow and rubbed/burned off his skin. The wound was larger than a quarter and took several weeks to heal. My 5 year old has never been hurt, and he is the adventurous one.

I suspect because toddlers are usually early risers, the morning crowd usually has more little ones than older ones. Lunch time and later, you will see more and more big kids.

Tip: They allow you to bring in your own snacks and drinks. They do have a vending machine for drinks in the lobby. You can order pizza, but they call a local pizza parlour for delivery so plan to wait 45 minutes for food. No food or drink are allowed in the jump area, but they have benches and a "party" room where you can eat and drink.

We still enjoy this place just be aware of the natural hazards of kids and exuberant play. Don't forget your socks.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Monkey Business, http://www.monkeybizness.com/
• When: Wednesday, late morning
• Where: Northwest Houston
• Why: Indoor play
• Cost: $5.00 per child age 1 to 18 before 11 am; $7.50 per child after 11 am; adults are free, parking is free

Quintana Beach

Quintana Beach, TX - This was a nice surprise find. Living in Houston my entire life, I have always driven down to Galveston Island to enjoy the beach. However, after Hurricane Ike, the island just isn't the same. The beach is overrun with sea weed and the Strand is more bars than family fun.

Since we were making the trip to Lake Jackson to visit the Sea Center of Texas (see yesterday's post for more details), I did a little research around the area to see what else is there. I was happy to find Bryan Beach State Park (we did not find it) and Quintana Beach (jackpot). NOTE: websites of interest for this area are listed at the end of this post.

Quintana Beach is a 15 minute drive from the Sea Center of Texas. We didn't find the official County Park, but we did find a clean, park on the beach, stretch of sand and surf. We followed TX 288 from Lake Jackson until it dead ended into Hwy 36 and then you will find signs that will direct you through Freeport, over an intracoastal waterway on Fm 1495 and onto CR 723. We turned left and followed a long and straight road with high berms on either side. The first drive we came to said "no Beach Access," but the next one we found said "Welcome to Quintana Beach." Reviewing the Yahoo map, I think we turned too early. If we had gone until the road dead ended, we would have found the County Park. Even though we were not at the official park, we had a good time.

About the beach, this beach you drive directly onto the beach and pick a spot to park. There were no restrooms or other facilities, but they did have some trash cans. There were a number of birds, but the birds had no interest in us and did not bother us. The sand was perfect for building sand castles. The water was shallow for a long way out. One of the 10 year olds wanted to walk out until it reached waist deep on him. We made it to upper thigh high on him before we decided we were getting too far from shore and turned around. Being so shallow, the 5 year old loved it. There was a constant lapping of little waves which made splashing around a lot of fun.

Take a picnic lunch and plenty of other snacks and drinks. Once you cross the intracoastal bridge, there are no shops or restaurants.

We went on a Thursday afternoon and we were almost the only people there. To our left, about 100 feet away was another family, but to the right you could barely make out the shape of the next car, it was so far away. We could see what appeared to be a nice fishing pier, but we didn't check it out. Driving in sand with my minivan was not something I wanted to test. I did see one or two other cars drive down there, and they did not appear to have any troubles.

Anyway, a good trip, we had a lot of fun.

Websites of Interest:

• Quintana, Texas - http://www.quintana-tx.org/#Brazoria%20County,%20Texas


• Quintana Beach County Park - http://www.brazoria-county.com/parks/Quintana/index.asp


• Freeport, Texas - http://www.freeport.tx.us/


• Bryan Beach State Park - I couldn't find a website for this park, but if you Google Bryan Beach State Park, you will find reviews of it on various sites. Reviews talk about fishing, birding and hunting. We didn't drive to this beach, but best I can tell is it is an undeveloped nature reserve.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Quintana Beach, http://www.quintana-tx.org/#Brazoria%20County,%20Texas
• When: Thursday, afternoon
• Where: along the coast in Freeport, TX (15 minutes from Lake Jackson)
• Why: Outdoor play
• Cost: Free
• Travel Times from Cy-Fair/Northwest Houston: 1 hour and 15 minutes to Lake Jackson another 15 minutes to Quintana Beach. We drove back during prime time Houston traffic (4 pm) and it took us 2 hours to get from Quintana Beach back to Cy-Fair. We did utilize the 290 HOV.

Sea Center of Texas

Lake Jackson, TX - The Sea Center of Texas, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/ , is a cute aquarium that is worth the visit if you are in the area.

The Sea Center of Texas is quite a drive from Houston. But bundle it with a trip to Quintana beach (see tomorrow's post for more details) and you have a full, fun day's outing. From the northwest (Cy-Fair) area of town it took me an hour and 15 minutes to get there. It took me, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy about 45 minutes to slowly walk through and see everything.

The Sea Center of Texas is FREE and offers a "touch" tank. The day we were there; they had a number of different types of crabs for the kids to pet. The kids loved it. Once done with the Touch Tank, turn around and find a table with crafts/coloring. Moving past the Touch Tank you come to a series of floor to ceiling tanks with a variety of fish including the ever popular shark. Continue viewing the tanks until you work your way back to the beginning. I think there were 5 tanks to view.

Outside they have a boardwalk where people can enjoy the sights and sounds of a fresh water wetland and a salt water wetland. It is a good length and has a couple of benches for resting. The Sea Center of Texas is also a fish hatchery. They offer tours of the hatchery, but bad for us, they did not offer any tours the day we went.

Hatchery tour or not, the Sea Center of Texas was a very nice stop.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Sea Center of Texas, http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/seacenter/
• When: Thursday, late morning
• Where: South of Houston near the coast in Lake Jackson (not Galveston)
• Why: Outdoor play and education
• Cost: Free Admission and Free Parking
• Optional Cost: Donations are welcome and if you donate $5 or more, the gift shop will give you a poster.

Downtown Houston

Houston, TX - Finding things to do with the kids that won't break the bank is a little tricky. We have been to the swimming pool a lot, and it is too hot for the local park. What to do? We live in the suburbs so a trip downtown sounds like the thing to do. Since you will have to pay for parking and most likely lunch, here are a few things to consider that are free.....

JP Morgan Chase Tower - This building has a view deck on the 60th floor. Just take the express elevator up and enjoy a view that reaches from downtown past the Galleria. Only the windows directly outside the elevators are available to the general public, but it is an outstanding view. The glass goes from floor to ceiling so even the little ones can enjoy this spectacle.

Discovery Green Park - In an earlier post I discussed this park. Good things: sidewalk dancing fountains the kids can get totally soaked in and bathrooms. It has nice walkways and beautiful gardens as well as space for shuffle board, bocce and a small putting green.

Parks - Now remember this is downtown so playgrounds and bathrooms are not available at most parks. These parks are intended to offer some peace among the hustle and bustle of downtown. They usually have some kind of interesting sculpture, shaded seating and nice landscaping. The best reviews I have found are at a website called Downtown Houston at http://www.houstondowntown.com/Home/Lifestyle/WhatToDo/Parks/

Recommendation - Be prepared to walk a lot.

1. We parked at the public parking garage at Walker and Main Street.
2. We walked one block to the Main Street Square. My 5 year old enjoy watching the trains drive by. The fountains were fun to look at too, but these fountains are just for viewing and not for playing in. The down side is there are a number of beggars and street musicians trying to get a dollar or borrow your cell phone. We walked around the square and then headed over to the JP Morgan Chase Tower. Walk Main Street up to Capitol Street and turn left and go one block.
3. There is a Burger King across the street from the tower so we had a quick lunch and then went up the JP Morgan Chase Tower for a view from the 60th Floor. We didn't continue our walk simply because I didn't realize how close we were, but if I had thought it through we would have continued our walk to Tranquility Park. Continue walking down Capital to Smith Street and take a left about one block.
4. Tranquility Park has water pillars and interesting walk ways. Can't play in this water either but nice to look at. Continue walking down Smith Street and you will come to Herman Square.
5. Herman Square is right in front of City Hall and is just a nice reflection pool with shaded benches. You are now at Walker Street and just four blocks from the Parking Garage.
6. Downtown Tunnels - if the heat is getting to you, explore the tunnels. You can go one block from Herman Square and get to the tunnels from the Wells Fargo Plaza. The tunnels will wiggle over to the parking garage at Walker and Main. There is a good map of downtown and the tunnels at Houston Downtown.com, http://www.houstondowntown.com/Home/GeneralInfo/GettingAround/Maps/

By now the kids should be wiped out from walking. Definitely leave the downtown area by 3:30 pm to make sure you are ahead of traffic. Bonus for us suburbanites though, kids count when driving on the HOV (High Occupancy Vehicles). The HOV opens outbound at 2:00 pm for vehicles carrying 2+ passengers. Go to METRO to get schedules and maps at http://www.ridemetro.org/SchedulesMaps/HOV.aspx .

Trip Stats

• Who: Mama and one 5 year old boy
• What: Downtown Houston, http://houstondowntown.com/home/default.asp
• When: Wednesday, lunch time
• Where: Downtown Houston
• Why: Outdoor play
• Cost: Free walking tour, lunch was about $11 at Burger King and then parking.....
• Parking is not free: We paid $6 for a little over one hour. The price goes up the longer you are there. I didn't catch the maximum, but it is not unusual to pay $10 to park in downtown Houston ($20 for special events). There is parking on the street, but look for the meter boxes. It is hard to find and not free either.

Discovery Green Park

Houston, Texas - Houston is hot. They talk about times being "Africa" hot, but boy howdy, have they tried "Texas" hot? Not just any "Texas" hot, but "Houston" hot? That is hot. In June and July so far we have had 9 days of 100+ heat. Not a big enough number for ya'? How about more than 40 days of 95+ heat.

So what do we do to cool off? In the good old days, we played in the sprinkler. Today the modern kids play at splash pads and dancing, sidewalk, water fountains. Discovery Green Park, http://www.discoverygreen.com/ , in downtown Houston across from the George R Brown Convention Center has a sidewalk, dancing fountain that the kids can get totally soaked in. Thankfully, there are bathrooms adjacent to the fountains so changing in and out of swimsuits and/or wet clothes is not an issue as long as you have brought spare dry clothes.

Lucky for Mom, there were plenty of seats around the fountains and the fountains are recessed a bit into the ground making a natural bench around the fountains (you will get wet if you sit on the edges).

There were at least 2 day cares when we where there, and it was crowded. My 5 year old was not slowed down a bit by the numerous bodies. And surprisingly, when all the noisy critters left, my little critter wanted to leave too. I guess the noise and busy-ness added a sense of excitement.

Discovery Green Park is more than just a fun fountain to get wet in. It does have restrooms and a couple of restaurants (didn't go to the restaurants so not sure what the prices are like). It has nice walkways and beautiful gardens. If you bring your own equipment, you can enjoy a game of shuffle board or bocce or even some putting practice on a small putting green.

The park does have a playground, but most of it is fenced off. The playground is disappointing. It is just a bridge with a couple of short slides. Skip the playground and just enjoy the refreshing water fountain.

Trip Stats

• Who: Mama and one 5 year old boy
• What: Discovery Green, http://www.discoverygreen.com/
• When: Wednesday, late morning
• Where: downtown by the convention center
• Why: Outdoor play
• Cost: Free
• Parking is not free: We parked in the Convention Center underground parking and paid $5 for one hour. The price goes up the longer you are there. I didn't catch the maximum, but it is not unusual to pay $10 to park in downtown Houston ($20 for special events). There is parking on the street, but look for the meter boxes. It is hard to find and not free either.
  

Williams Tower Water Wall

Houston, TX - The Williams Tower, formerly Transco Tower for you natives, Water Wall has been a popular attraction for decades. Who could possibly count the number of bridal portraits taken at this location or the number of first dates that strolled around the park? This is a fun one to see, but bundle it into a trip to the Galleria Mall.



The kids loved the big open field that they could just run and wrestle and run some more. They enjoyed getting close to the water and feeling the cooling spray. We walked around the Water Wall and the kids were amazed, "Mama, there is water on both sides of the wall."



If you are planning a picnic, test the grass before you sit. The closer you get to the Water Wall the wetter the grass gets. Add some sprinklers and you get a very moist lawn which is great for wrestling boys to land on, but not so much fun on Mama' fancy shorts.

Other amenities? Not much. No bathrooms, no drinking fountains. They do have a few benches to rest on and a number of shade trees.



Don't park at Williams Tower. This makes the walk really short but you have to pay to park. If you visit Macy's at the Galleria, you can park in their parking lot for free and just walk a block over to the Water Wall.



Trip Stats

• Who: Mama, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Williams Tower Water Wall, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williams_Waterwall
• When: Thursday Afternoon
• Where: Galleria Area, 610 and Post Oak.
• Why: Outdoor play
• Cost: Free
• Galleria Mall: http://www.simon.com/mall/default.aspx?ID=805 , this is not my thing, but if you enjoy shopping, this is the place for variety. However, be prepared to pay higher prices. This is an "up scale" mall. They also have ice skating and plenty of places to eat so not all bad.

Houston Firehouse Museum

Houston, TX - The Houston Firehouse Museum, http://houstonfiremuseum.org/index.html , is a historical monument, a look into the history of fire fighting, AND kid friendly. What kid is not awed by the sounds of a fire truck? The museum was a great stop and the kids loved it, but please remember that this museum is inside the original fire station No. 7 built in 1898. This is not a big museum. If you have energetic kids, this will be a quick stop and not a full afternoons excursion.



The museum has several antique fire truck with plaques telling you about the truck and how it worked. Throughout the building there are easy to read signs giving interesting tid-bits about the history of fire fighting and there are artifacts showcasing old equipment and new equipment. All fine and good for Mom and Dad, but what about those kids?



The best part of the museum is the kid friendly part. They have several antique, NO TOUCH, trucks but thankfully, the curators remembered what it is like to be a child and included a truck the kids could crawl on and in. Walk to the back of the museum and you will find a ladder and pole set-up that allows kids to climb up and slide down a fireman's pole onto a padded mat. They even took the cab of a more modern truck and affixed it to a wall so the kids could crawl in and pretend to drive. Cool part about the cab is it has switches that actually turn lights on, and thankfully the curators remembered what is like to be a child and did not include the siren. There are some other fun things like helmets and fireman jackets the kids can try on and a wall with cartoons and areas to color. There is a display that allows kids to feel the weight of the hoses and to tighten them off and on the display. I understood that it was a replica of part of a more modern truck, but I didn't understand what the hoses of different sizes were for. Fighting fires, I suppose.



Anyway, the kids loved it. I loved it. It was a very good stop.

Trip Stats:

• Who: one Mom, two 10 year olds boys and one five year old boy
• What: The Houston Firehouse Museum, http://houstonfiremuseum.org/index.html
• When: Thursday afternoon
• Where: downtown Houston
• Why: indoor play and education
• Cost: $3 per adult and $2 per child over 4 years old
• Parking: You can park on Milam Street for free as long as it is not rush hours. Read the signs carefully.
  

George Bush Park

Houston, TX - George Bush Park is located on the west side of Houston off Hwy 6 and Westheimer. It is a large park on the map, 7,800 acres, but the park part is a very small area. We enjoyed the playground area which has some very nice sitting areas, restrooms, water fountains and shaded pavilions with picnic tables. We did not enjoy that none of the playground is shaded. There are trees around so maybe in the distant future there will be shade.

If you look at the park on-line at http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/georgebush.aspx , you will see a nice picture of a wood bridge. Our only guess is it must be along the Hike and Bike path which on a 100+ degree day we opted not to explore. There appears to be a very long hike and bike path. We didn't see it so no idea how nice or how challenging.

We did see the Bark Park. The Bark Park is a fenced area where you are allowed to take your dog off leash. It is a pretty good size so dogs can actually get in a full run if they want. They had some shaded seating for owners. My kids said the part they thought the dogs would like the most is the pond. There is a nice little, shallow pond for dogs to jump in and cool off or just have fun. There were only a handful of dogs when we went by on a Wednesday afternoon, but everybody seemed to be getting along just fine.

Overall, we would recommend this park if you are in the are, but I wouldn't make a special trip over there. If you live on the northwest side of Houston like we do, there are several parks closer that are just as much fun, i.e. Bear Creek Park, Matzke Park, Telge Park, Bane Park, etc. BUT if you are in for the Hike and Bike, perhaps George Bush Park is better. If you are in the Hike and Bike category, you may also want to look into Terry Hershey Park which connects to George Bush Park at Memorial Drive and Hwy 6.

To end this, a good park, but not good enough to go out of the way for.

Trip Stats:

• Who: one Mom, two 10 year olds boys and one five year old boy
• What: George Bush Park, http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/georgebush.aspx
• When: Wednesday afternoon
• Where: west side of Houston off Hwy 6 and Westheimer Parkway (the first jaunt to the right once you cross Hwy 6 while traveling on Westheimer Road)
• Why: outdoor play
• Cost: Free except for gas

San Jacinto Monument & Texas Battleship

La Porte, TX - Trying to find cheap and fun things to do with your kids throughout the summer is sometimes hard to do. Visiting the San Jacinto Monument & Texas Battleship can be either a cheap or expensive event. Our group had one adult, two ten year old boys and one five year old boy.



On the cheap
Do the Texas Battleship. Kids are free with an adult ticket. On a Monday for one adult and three kids it was $10 to get on board. It took us about an hour to explore all the decks and let the kids spend time sitting in the seats of the big guns and pretending. We took our time and really enjoyed the battleship.



Take a picnic lunch. There are plenty of shade trees and picnic tables. There are decent bathrooms and plenty of space to run and explore.



Drive the battle grounds. You have to pay $1 to enter the park but keep the receipt they tape to your windshield on your windshield, and you do not have to pay again when you go across the road to visit the San Jacinto Monument.



Anyway, Drive the battle grounds. When you pay your $1 at the guardhouse, they will give you a map of the grounds. On the map you will see numbered markers. When you drive around, the markers coincide with boulders that have the same number engraved on them. Between the map and the boulders you will get a brief outline of the battle of San Jacinto and see where Sam Houston was wounded and where Santa Ana surrendered. To us Texans, this is a big deal. I was excited to share it with the 10 year olds. The five year old was just happy to be there.



The San Jacinto Monument, the only cheap things to do is walk the grounds and view the first floor museum which is very small but interesting. They do have nice bathrooms and water fountains. The monument is where things get pricey.



Expensive
The San Jacinto Monument does not have kids free with an adult. Estimate at least $4/person for each activity. You will need tickets to see the 35 minute movie (we did not see it). You will need tickets to see the photographic exhibit of "Developing Houston" (we did not see it). You will need tickets to go to the observation deck and if you go to the observation deck, be prepared with several quarters. It is $0.50 per viewer (binocular). The observation deck was disappointing. It cost us $13 just to get up there and another $1.50 to give each child a turn with the viewers. We were up there maybe 5 minutes and the kids were done. The viewing deck does not go all the way around. It is a small area and gets crowded easily. They did have a short one minute video giving an overview of the battle and surrounding area, but it is almost impossible to hear over the chatter of other visitors. There is one plaque with information about the Houston Ship Channel that was pretty interesting. It was interesting, but not something I would do again.
Trip Stats:

• Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: San Jacinto Monument and Texas Battleship http://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/
• When: on a Monday, day trip (11 am - 3pm)
• Where: La Porte, Texas (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
• Why: outdoor play and Texas history education
  
• Costs:
• Texas Battleship (on a Monday) $10 for one adult and 3 kids
• San Jacinto Battleship (on a Monday) $13.50 for one adult and 3 kids and another $0.50 / viewer ($1.50 for three kids to have a turn with the binoculars)
• Parking $1
• Optional costs - There is a concession stand by the battleship which we did not look at since we took a picnic. There are gift shops at both the battleship and the monument. I did get suckered into buying some really cute sailor hats for the boys ($13/hat), but the boys really looked cute in their sailor hats.

Challenger 7 Memorial Park

Webster, TX - If you live in Houston, you are aware of NASA and the shuttle program. If you were living in Houston in 1986, you are aware of the tragedy that befell the Challenger 7 and its crew. The sad news is that all lives were lost. In their memory memorials have been erected in Arlington National Cemetery in, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX and in the Challenger 7 Memorial Park in Webster, TX.


Now for some good news, the Memorial Park is well maintained and offers a number of fun amenities to its visitors and still offers a place to respectfully remember those who bravely boarded the Challenger 7. The park is an easy drive off I-45 (exit #19- FM 528 and turn west, turn left at the second light-NASA Parkway and turn left at the first stop sign and you are in.)


When you first turn in you will see open fields and an administrative/maintenance building to your left. Keep driving. There is a memorial to the right to respectfully remember the Challenger 7. Stop and then keep driving. You will soon see a wooden dock where you can fish. If you keep driving. You will wind around some more, see more open fields and then you will come to a sizable parking lot.


Immediately to your left is five (5), count them 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 COVERED playgrounds. On the left you will also see bathrooms, covered pavilions, picnic tables and a couple of grills. At the far end on the right is a Nature Center and the start of the boardwalk and nature trail. Travel past the parking lot and you come to a loop that u-turns you back towards the Nature Center and the rest of the park. Throughout the loop are a number of picnic tables and at the bottom of the u-turn is a canoe boat launch. It looks like it could be a nice wading area, but there were signs that said the boat launch was closed. It was hot and we were tired so we didn't go that far. We had already spent a lot of time climbing and exploring the playgrounds. Bonus for Mom was the swinging benches. We saw several of them and most were well shaded by trees.


It was very peaceful the Monday afternoon we visited. It is a healthy hour drive from northwest Houston, but a good spot to stop for a picnic on the way too or from Galveston.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Challenger 7 Memorial Park, http://www.co.harris.tx.us/comm_lee/PChallenger7/
• When: afternoon, on a Monday
• Where: South of Houston headed towards Galveston (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
• Why: outdoor play
• Costs: FREE

Bayou Wildlife Park

Alvin, TX - We highly recommend Bayou Wildlife Park, http://www.bayouwildlifepark.com/ . This is a wildlife sanctuary that offers tram tours, a mini petting zoo and pony rides (a short, guided ride around a circle).


We had a great time at the Bayou Wildlife Park from the moment we entered the gate. As soon as you turn into the property, you are stopped at a guard house where you pay your admission fees and purchase buckets of feed. The animals know you have just purchased food and they are waiting for you when you cross the cattle guard. The posted 5 miles an hour sign is no joke. With the number of animals we encountered, I would not drive any faster than that. But don't be too quick to throw your food out the window of your car, save it for the tram ride.


We finally reached the parking area and waited about 20 minutes for a tram. In that 20 minutes we took advantage of the bathroom facilities. We enjoyed the petting zoo, feeding a few animals through the fence and taking pictures. When the tram arrived and was ready to reload, they asked us for our numbers which we were given at the gate when we paid our admission fee. The lowest number got to pick where they sit first. The driver guided my boys to the front of the tram where they had kind of a shelf they could sit on criss-cross applesauce. I sat on the bench by the shelf.


Once the tram started the tour we enjoyed approximately 30 minutes of meandering around the 80+ acre park. The driver was fantastic with great information about all the animals. Fun and education, it just doesn't get any better than that. Anyway, as we toured the land and listened to the interesting facts, we were greeted time and time again by wonderful animals. We saw up close and personal lots of deer but we also saw emus, ostriches, a longhorn and camels. From the tram we came close to, but not personal, zebras and water buffalo. We saw from a distance a rhino and wildebeest. Safety tip, don't try to feed the animals from your hand, hold out your bucket but definitely hold your bucket with two hands. One large cattle creature took the bucket right out of the hands of one of our boys. The animals appear very docile. The only aggressive animal we saw was an alligator, who was guarding her nest of eggs, within a fenced enclosure.


I had four boys with me that day and everyone of them said thank you and asked to come back.

Trip Stats:

• Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
• What: Bayou Wildlife Park, http://www.bayouwildlifepark.com/
• When: late morning, on a Monday
• Where: South of Houston headed towards Galveston (about an hours trip from northwest Houston)
• Why: outdoor education about wildlife and fun
• Costs: $16/adult, $6/child and $8/bucket of feed. Tip on the feed: you really need to go ahead and get a bucket for every person who wants to feed. The animal walk right up to the tram and take a nibble out of every bucket hanging out. We had two buckets for four boys. It was a challenge to share.
• Food & Beverage: There are plenty of picnic tables, but no concession or snack stand. Bring your own food and beverages. There is a very small gift shop that was not open the Monday that we went. We did see a vending machine for drinks, but we had our own so not sure how much or what kind.
• Creature Comforts: The bathrooms are good. But be prepared for heat. There is no air conditioning anywhere. You can wait inside a very large shaded barn area, but unless there is a cross wind, there is no air. The tram has open sides so you can feed the animals. The tram does have a rooftop to shade you from the sun. The tram also travels through a lot of trees so the trip is quite comfortable besides you will be too excited about all the animals to worry about the temperature.

Matzke Park

Cypress (Northwest Houston), TX - Matzke Park at the corner of Jones Road and Grant has been remodeled and is really nice. We live about 15 minutes from this park, so it was a little by accident that we found it while traveling from the Willowbrook area towards our home. Anyway, worth the trip.

The park is literally on the corner. On Jones Road it is located next to the elementary school, Matzke Elementary. On Grant Road it is on a new cross street, but I didn't catch the name of it. The new cross street appears to connect Grant and Mills Road but I am not sure. I didn't drive it. The website says the park has restrooms. I am guessing it is by this new road are the restrooms. It has a walking path from the soccer fields to the playground, but in the Houston heat and with a small child, I chose to park at the elementary next to the playground.

A little about the layout, the park is a good size with soccer fields at one end and the playground at the other. Next to the playground is the butterfly garden, picnic tables and one water fountain. It is a healthy walk for children to take the walking path over to the restrooms on the other side of the soccer fields on the other side of the park. The website says that restrooms are planned for closer to the playground. If that becomes true, then this will be an excellent spot for picnics and play.

The playground is awesome and appears to be accessible for children in wheel chairs. My kids thought the wheel with letters and numbers in braille was cool. They also enjoyed banging on the chimes. The playground had places to climb, slide, bounce and run, and plenty of space for the 5 year old to explore and the 10 year olds to run.

The butterfly garden actually had butterflies. The flowers were beautiful and the kids loved the butterflies. There was plenty of benches and plenty of shade throughout both the garden and the playground area.

We recommend this park for picnics and play.


Trip Stats:

• Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy



• What: outdoor playtime



• When: late morning, weekday



• Where: Matzke Park, http://www.hcp4.net/parks/matzke/index.htm



• Why: exercise and fun



• Costs: FREE

Bowling

Houston, Texas - Mom, home alone all day with two 10 year old boys and a 5 year old boy, could grow some grey hair trying to keep the kids off the furniture, off the walls and nothing broken including the kids. But I have found creating a schedule of activities really helps keep the time moving and the kids under control. We try to plan at least one outside activity every day. Usually it is either a trip to the community pool or to a park. This year we have collected a number of coupons and are trying a few entertainment places: today - bowling.

Bowling has fond memories for me (Mom). I remember my Dad spending Daddy-Daughter time teaching me how to bowl. I remember before I married my husband, bowling with my future spouse and actually being able to beat him at something (yes, we are a little competitive. keeps things spicy.). So when my friend offered me a coupon to take the boys bowling, I thought this will be fun.

The first game was fun, but the second game was not. We went ahead and got bumpers on the lane. The 10 year olds said they would agree to bumpers to help the 5 year old, but they really didn't need the bumpers. Hmmmm. The 10 year olds loved the bumpers. They didn't worry so much about technique as they did about throwing the ball as hard as they could. They scored pretty good the first game. The second game was a lower score mostly because the boys discovered you could bank the ball off both bumpers . It became more of a game of who could hit the bumpers the most times like a pinball machine and less about hitting the pins.

The 5 year old did the "Granny" bowl placing the ball on the floor between his legs and pushing as hard as he could. We were continually amazed that the ball never stopped and actually made it down the lane. We were continually amazed at the number of pins the 5 year old hit. He was very into the game the first round, but the second round he was much more into the soda and popcorn and playing with one of his Match Box cars.

As a Mom I would recommend bowling but plan only one game, not two. At the end of one everybody will be in good spirits, but by the end of two silliness will teeter on the edge of bad behavior and tempers may flare.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, two 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy

What: indoor playtime

When: early morning, weekday
Wednesday at 9:30 am - not a crowd but at 10 am two day cares came in and that really made it crowded. One day care came into the lane next to us and the kids were bad about not waiting their turn to bowl, horsing around in our sitting area (tripping over my kids) and were loud.

Where: AMF Willow Lanes facility, http://www.amf.com/corporate/index.htm

Why: exercise and fun

Costs:

• Parking - FREE
• Shoes - $4.50 / person
• Games - We had a value pak coupon for $0.99/game up to 10 games which made two games for 4 people only $9.00. I think the original cost with no coupon is $4.25 / per person / game.
• Snacks and Drinks - We got a pitcher of Sprite which was enough for one game, not two. Pitchers were $7.00 so we only got one. We also got a small popcorn for $3.00. The snack bar also sells pizza, but we decided to go home for lunch.
• Extras - They have a few video games: a couple of driving games, a punching bag game, a crane game, etc.

Houston Children's Museum

Houston, Texas (Museum District) - This fun little museum is not so little anymore. We have enjoyed the Children's Museum of Houston for a number of years, and this year was no different.

I don't know if there is a good day to go to beat the crowds. We went on a Monday and the line was out the door. It was crowded, but the kids still had a great time. For Me it was a little crazy trying to keep eyes on my 4 kids and apparently not all parents are teaching their kids to share, take turns and don't take a toy out of another child's hands.

The good stuff, the museum has been completely remodeled. Some of the old time favorites are still there just moved around a bit. Unfortunately, the bubble exhibit and the duck fountain are gone (had boats and ducks you watch float down a raised channel), but the new super sized, mega fun Flow Works outside is a good substitute. My kids loved the new flow works. There was a cool exhibit that showed how waves flow (did not keep their attention long, but I loved it). There were a number of stations to watch the water move and plenty of opportunity to get wet. One section my boys enjoyed was building little dams and structures and then opening the flood gates to see if the structures would survive. They made one structure that seemed to do well, but I guess it is more fun to watch them fall since the boys knocked it over when the water didn't.

Inside there are just a ton of things to do. At admissions we received a pass for the new Power Play and Kid-tropolis. I suppose they are trying to monitor how many people go in. We couldn't enter until the time that was stamped on the pass, but once we were in, we could stay as long as we wanted. The climbing structure in Kid-tropolis was very cool. The 10 year olds did it once and were ready to move on; the 5 year old would have stayed in a very long time. Unfortunately, some bigger kids climbed over him and pushed him and that was the end of that.

Power Play stations, they had some cool interactive stations, but several were too complicated for my 5 year old. He enjoyed the bottom level obstacle course and the scoot board track.

Kid-topolis is a very cool concept. The 10 year olds got jobs, earned pay checks, made deposits and spent money. The 5 year old, of course, did not grasp any of that and just played. The grocery store is half the size of the old one and was too crowded for us, but the 5 year old did go in and play for a little bit. They have a downsized police car and ambulance for the kids to crawl in which the 5 year old loved. It appeared there was a lot of good information about how a city works, but I was chasing the 5 year old and the 10 year olds, well, they are 10.

As Mom, my favorite part was the Invention Station which we almost missed. You have to take an elevator downstairs to it and the elevator is in a hallway off the main exhibit floor. Anyway, we found it and loved it. I enjoyed making paper rockets and shooting them in the cage. The 10 year olds loved making Lego cars and testing them on the ramps. The 5 year old enjoyed the rockets, the Lego cars and the sound exhibit.

The Cyberchase exhibit looked really cool but did not interest any of the kids. There was too much reading for the 5 year old and he was off in a shot. The 10 year olds went in and tried to participate in the exhibit, but again, too much reading and they were done in just a couple of minutes.

Overall it was a good trip. For something, extra special, we recommend the Children's Museum of Houston.

Trip Stats:

Who: Mom, three 10 year old boys and one 5 year old boy
What: indoor/outdoor playtime
When: weekday (all day)

• We arrived shortly after it opened at 10:15 am and did not leave until 4:00 pm. The boys wanted to stay longer, but Mom (me) said we had to scoot to beat prime time Houston traffic which we barely did using the HOV lane.

Where: Houston Children's Museum, http://www.cmhouston.org/
Why: education, exercise and fun

Costs:

• Parking - $7
• Admission - $7/person but we had a two for one coupon from the Entertainment Book.
• Lunch for this family of five was $35.00. The Children's Museum no longer allows outside food and drinks though I did see people who had stowed away picnics in diaper bags.
• Snacks & Drinks - Then we did have an ice cream break which was $1 / fruit cream bar. We did not indulge in drinks from the vending machines which were $2 each. If you decide to get drinks from the Cafe, you will pay $1.50 - $2.00 / drink which for 5 people adds up quickly. The only water fountain we found was on the bottom floor by the bathrooms.

Bear Creek Park

Houston, TX - We are very fortunate that Harris County has developed a number of parks that are family friendly. To see a list of parks go to http://www.co.harris.tx.us/parks/park.asp to see information about Bear Creek, go to http://www.pct3.hctx.net/parks/bearcreekpioneers.aspx . Bear Creek is easily accessible on the northwest side of town. It can be reached from Eldridge, Hwy 6 and Clay Road.

The Eldridge entrance puts you in a fun part. Immediately to your left is a nice area to walk with a number of birds species to view and a small pond to feed ducks. If you follow the sidewalk, you will walk past buffalo, deer and turkeys. Be aware that due to extreme heat, the buffalo and other animals may be removed from the enclosures and may not be available for viewing. On your right from the Eldridge entrance are ball fields, a fun playground and bathrooms.

The Clay Road entrance brings you into a maze of roads that drive by pavilions, picnic tables, playgrounds, bathrooms and beautiful trees and fields. There is plenty of space for kite flying, throwing a frisbee or ball and just running around. During the week, there is not a lot of traffic and the roads make a nice level area to go for bike rides with small children.

Of course, you can reach all the sections of Bear Creek Park from inside the park. You just have to zig and zag a little through the roads.

For us the park is close and fun with lots of space to explore. We recommend Bear Creek Park for a family friendly day.