Thursday Thirteen #7 Our Summer Vacation

Darth was born in San Antonio, where he spent the first year of his life. This past Spring, he began to feel "homesick for the place of his birth" so that is how we lighted on San Antonio for the vacation this year. Here are some of the details...

Thirteen Things #7 Our San Antonio Vacation



1. Sweated...hot hot hot.

2. Even though the Clarion is supposed to be the upper level hotel of that group (Sleep, Comfort and Clarion) DON’T BELIEVE IT about the one in Universal City It was run down and not that clean…ick.

3. It DID get us fairly close to our next stop (Thursday), however, which was Schlitterbahn. If you like waterparks with thrill rides, this is a great park. They also have some kid areas where you can take the smaller kids (and Mom) to hang out.

We stayed at the resort, and it was worth doing. We went to the park, our room opened at 4:00, we schlepped our stuff in at that time, put Todder (and Mom) down for a nap and the others went out for more water park time. When Todder awakened, we went back out again for more rides. Closes at 8:00PM.

4. Then we had kind of an “open” day (Friday). We used to live in San Antonio, so we visited some of our old haunts. We visited Rio Rio Cantina (not as good as we remembered) and Republic of Texas (still good)…

Also the Alamo.

Someone told us that it would be better to see the IMAX about the Alamo and then go, and I think that was a good way to do it. It helps to put some personality with the names and when you see the actual Alamo and the names carved in it and all, you feel more of a connection.

There is also a Davy Crockett ride (I first typed Davy Jones…wonder where else I have been lately?:-)) that we did not do, but had planned to. If anyone has been, tell me how it was.

There is also a boat ride and a dinner boat ride on the river. We didn’t think the kids would like it so we didn’t sign up for it, but probably should have. They were a little disappointed about not doing it.

5. Saturday, we went to Fiesta Texas (Six Flags) . Now I know I am going to sound like an old person here, but it was not as good as it was before Six Flags took it over. It used to be a show park with rides (and I am not a ride person) and the shows were excellent. Now there are so many rides, it is difficult to see the shows and do all the rides you want (which for me was about 2, but there were others involved). Also the whole Bugs Bunny thing really watered down the Tex-Mex flavor of the park.

6. That being said, the show we saw (Rockin’ at Rockville High----I will not say that the Bugs Bunny Show was really a show…my kids liked it though…surprise) was very good and funny. Make sure you see it if you go. There was one of those extreme bike and skateboarding shows that we saw (not for me) and it probably was good if you like that kind of thing. The final show of the night is good. A laser and fireworks show that is projected on the side of a rock cliff. Try to sit at the top of the hill so that if people sit in front of you, they are “below” you. You don’t have to be close, but high is good.

7. Food at Fiesta Texas –If you want variety, go to the German section. In the old days, they only had German food there, but now it’s everything (Mexican, Italian, American, German). They used to only have German music over there too…sigh…oh well….moving on.

8. The great thing there (and it may be this way at all Six Flags parks) is that if you bought a souvenir drink, they gave you an arm band and you could refill for free all day. Which at 1000 degrees Fahrenheit , was many times. AND they had people who only did the refills, so you didn’t have to stand behind the guy who was trying to order dinner for his eight kids. They also had a Flash Pass (5 passes for $10 which would get you to the front of some of the more popular rides. That night we stayed at the Rodeway Inn about 2 miles from the park (they say three blocks…).

9. Here are some other characters who were at the park…The whole Justice League, Scooby Doo rides and stores…in the stores there were also Disney characters, Sponge Bob, Peanuts characters (????)….that park is fun and all and the kids really enjoyed it, but it used to be much more representative of San Antonio…the German part, the Mexican part, the country music part…it’s all still there, but now all this other stuff too (whine whine whine….I just can’t get over it.)


10. Sunday, we had another open day. We went around to the hospital where Darth was born, and then to the Marketplace. Marketplace is close to the Riverwalk (kind of) and is kind of a Mexican open market for home décor, Mexican clothing, spices, etc. There is an inside part that is more a souvenir mart of ANY kind, but the outside part is more the Mexican part. Lots of food, music and LOTS of stuff to buy. Good prices too, mostly. While we were there, we ate at Mi Tierra . That is a famous place to eat Mexican, and they are open 24 hours a day, so you can go whenever. TIP- go put your name on the list about an hour before you actually want to eat. Then shop for a little while and come back. The wait was looooooonnnnnng.

11. Monday (our last real day there) we went to Sea World . We got the Ultimate Seafari package, so we had to go early…8:15 at the Education office. With this package, you get

a continental breakfast,

a tour of the dolphins (petting them),

seals (you get to feed the seals and dolphins…I think you can do this later, too, but there are lots of people then),

sting rays (petting them) ,

whales (no petting or feeding J),

the little animal hospital dealie,

prime seating at the first Shamu show,

petting something that looked like a kimono dragon and a boa (with pics on both)

and

a flashy lanyard that gets you to the front of the line at the scary rides.

Oh…and two free beers each for the adults (this mattered not to me...).

The tour was from 8:15 to about 12:45 including the breakfast and the Shamu show. Then you are on you own like a regular person except the ride thing and the beer. I think it was worthwhile to do. BTW, while I think that Fiesta Texas has somewhat deluded it self over the years, SeaWorld has really gotten better. Probably the best day for me.

12. As an aside, there is also a week long stayover camp where the kids get to help with the animals. Sounded like it would be quite an experience if you had the $$$$.

13. We stayed at a different hotel every night, so that we could be close to whatever we were seeing the next day or so that we could get there quickly after the event closed. A little crazy, but for us it was worth it.

We liked the RiverCenter Marriott (on the Riverwalk) because it was convenient to the Riverwalk and very nice, but I would have to say that our best hotel experience was at the Omni .

We stayed there the night before we went to SeaWorld, but it would be better to stay there the night before Fiesta Texas (closer to that park). They had a deal where the kids got a little bag with Shamu (or Tweety), some cookies, some crayons, a postcard, a slinky, a watch to hook on the belt loop. I know that sounds dumb to think that was a big deal, but it made the kids feel special. They apparently also have some other perks like a bag of toys to play with while at the hotel. There is a good breakfast buffet that comes with the room.

Try to get Frank for your waiter…when you are finished eating, he will bring you a big “to go” coffee if you ask… freshly perked.





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