San Antonio

Since it's almost time to go back to school, we decided one little family weekend road trip was in order.  Matt and I picked San Antonio because it's close and fun and full of Texas history.  We stayed on the riverwalk and loved showing the kids all the sights.  Our first order of business on Thursday evening was to drop our bags and head to Ben's number one request - the Alamo.  It was too late to go inside but we made promises to the kids to return soon.

 

We wandered up and down the Riverwalk a bit and found a nice place for dinner.

Friday morning we headed straight out to Sea World to be there when it opened.

 

We started with the kiddie coaster and a few rides, then caught the pet show before some of the bigger rides opened.  It was great going early because we were able to ride almost everything multiple times before the lines started growing.

 

We were all set for the big Shamu show, but unfortunately a little thunderstorm blew in right as it was about to begin so everything had to close down for half an hour.  It actually turned out to be more of a treat because they turned on some fountains for the orcas and we got to watch them play on their own for a while.  We found out that the love letting the water spray into their mouths!

They finally ended up cancelling that Shamu show due to time constraints, so we headed over to the Azul show instead.  The kids got close-ups with the belugas before the show started.

This was a fantastic show with acrobats, divers, synchronized swimmers, parrots, dolphins, belugas, and one great comedian.

Afterward, we hopped on the splash mountain ride again just before the lines got too long and the kids hung around at the end to get just a bit more wet.

Finally, we went back for the real Shamu show and then let our tired feet tell us it was time to head home!  It was a fun day at Sea World.

Saturday morning, we made our way back out along the Riverwalk and stopped for a picture at one of Alex's favorite waterfalls.

Loved this little duck family!

The kids absolutely loved the river and all the fountains everywhere.  It was nice going in the morning because I had never enjoyed the riverwalk without thousands of other people there as well.

Finally, Ben got to explore inside the Alamo and around the grounds.  All the guys liked the cannons.

Our tiny tour guide is pointing out that this cannon has a cannonball inside.  He also requested a picture at every single cannon but I don't think we need to share all of those.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Uncle Lindy, Aunt Nell, and my cousins Brooke and Elizabeth that afternoon, but I forgot to take a single picture.  We had to get going to make our dinner reservations at the top of the Tower of Americas so the kids could finally eat in a rotating restaurant.  Matt and I also celebrated the fact that we got engaged there 12 years ago!

The views were great and we loved watching the moon come out and the sun go down.

What a fun way to end our summer!  Now a little more fun, then it's back to lunchboxes and school buses...