I just got back from a vacation in San Antonio. We left on Wed. and got back late Sunday night. The plan was to spend a couple days at SeaWorld and then a day in San Antonio on the Downtown Riverwalk and to see the Alamo. It was my family, my mom, and my sister and her family. So we had 3 kids with us. We had with us two 2 year olds and a 4 year old. I’ve added pictures at the bottom of the post.

We stayed at a Best Western on Military Drive because I wanted to go cheap on the hotel and this turned out to be a good place since we had a great free continental breakfast included.

The location was also nice because it was half way between downtown and SeaWorld and very close to a Walmart and other familiar places if we needed them.

The trip down to San Antonio was cold and I was worried that we would have that weather all the time we were down there, but the next day the weather was clear and sunny with a light cool breeze. We couldn’t have asked for better weather everyday we were there.

Early the first morning we set out for SeaWorld and arrived right as it opened which gave us perfect parking. The park was not crowded at all which made doing activities and getting around very easy. It was a perfect day to be at the park all the way around.

We started off by feeding the dolphins since many people went off to see the first Shamu show.

On the way to feed the dolphins we stopped to see the Anheuser Busch Clydesdale horses. Those are some massive horses and the kids really liked seeing them. Kennady, my niece, would have been happy just seeing those horses and nothing else. She was pretty upset that we had to leave them to go look at other things.

Since most people went to see the first Shamu show we had a smaller crowd and were able to spend more time with the dolphins without feeling cramped and overrun by people. And this let the kids have a great time seeing the dolphins up close. Alex and Parker both fed them some fish.

After the Dolphin feeding we went to the Shamu Show. We were first in line and had great seats. We sat close and in the center splash zone but everyone said if you sit in the middle you won’t get wet and they were right. I’m glad too because I had my digital video camera and digital camera with me all the time. The show was excellent and I got some great footage. I amazed at the intelligence of these animals, and the Orca Whales (Killer Whales as you might know them) are beautiful with their black and white colors.

We spent the rest of the day checking out the sea lions and other attractions.

Over the course of both days we spent there we saw just about everything we could possibly see. Right now Sea World has a special where you get two days for the price of one so that worked great for us. The park really took a good two days to see all the shows and experience everything it has to offer.

On Thursday, after our last day at SeaWorld was over, we drove down to the riverwalk and ate at Casa Rio. The restaurant has been on the riverwalk since 1946. The wait was an hour but that is too be expected at 7pm on a Friday night on the riverwalk. While we waited we walked up and down a large stretch of the riverwalk. That helped pass the time and was something we wanted to do anyway. The prices at Casa Rio were super cheap, the wait staff was very friendly, and the food was excellent. The whole dining experience was great.

The third day of the trip we set off for downtown again to spend time on the riverwalk and see the Alamo.

We started off at the Alamo. There is a small beautifully manicured lawn of zoysia grass in front of the Alamo with a railing to keep people off it. While we were waiting to go in Parker breaks loose and runs onto it and starts running in circles with his arms out like an airplane. I yelled for him to come back and he just kept running in defiance. He is two so it didn’t surprise me. The Park Ranger finally said I could go in and get him, and just about everyone in line has stopped to take notice of my situation.

The Alamo is considered a sacred place, a living tribute to the heroes who died during the battle for Texas' independence and is taken very serious. The kids were mildly impressed (normal for their ages). It’s been something like 12 years since I have seen it. We were in and out very quickly and the crowd was very small so we had a great time there as well being able to see everything we wanted to see without the hassle of lots of people.

After that we ate at Fuddruckers, which was nice, and then went to ride a boat down the riverwalk. The kids loved the boat ride, and it finally gave us a rest from carrying kids around or trying to keep an eye on them.

After the ride we went to the Tower of the Americas which is a 750 foot tall tower constructed for HemisFair, the 1968 World’s Fair. A glass-walled elevator ascends more than 500 feet to the observation deck, providing a panoramic view of the city. If you are going to San Antonio check this out. There is also a restaurant on top but we didn’t eat there.

We took a bus back to where we parked and that concluded our last day in San Antonio. That night we watched the home movies we took while on the trip as it stormed and hailed outside. That storm lasted about 30 minutes.

The trip home was crazy. We left the hotel at around 9:30am and didn’t get home until after 10pm. There was traffic jam after traffic jam all along the route. We finally decided to take a 30 minute detour as we came close to the Oklahoma border in order to by pass some of it. This along with many bathroom break stops put us in 3 hours late.

Needless to say we were happy to finally get home and dead tired, but the trip was well worth it.