US Trip: San Antonio with Kids
The one part of our trip that was more vacation and less obligations, was our short trip to San Antonio. Despite our best intentions, most of the trip was spent visiting with old friends and family, cleaning out and sorting through our storage unit, and spending a little bit of time shopping. While the kids loved having playdates with their old friends, and I enjoyed a solid three weeks without cooking anything because we were always meeting up with people for meals, it still wasn’t a relaxing vacation - until we drove to San Antonio.
Our first stop was the Witte Museum. My sister and I decided it was better to gift each other experiences for Christmas, and a trip to this museum was her present. Admittedly, I had never even heard of the Witte museum before she mentioned it. And I was very, very skeptical that it could be any good. It bills itself as a natural history and Texas heritage place, and I really want the kids to learn more about where they came from, so after a quick lunch down the street at an old-school burger and milkshake diner, we ventured into the museum.
The kids were immediately taken by the giant dinosaur skeletons. My daughter discovered the palaeontology room and immediately began digging for bones. She was so enamoured with this activity that we kept returning to it over and over as we explored different rooms showcasing early Texas inhabitants, wildlife, and settlements. In addition to the hands-on digging, there was a section on basket weaving and an immersive video experience on the early settlers. We also spent some time in the special “Mythical Creatures” exhibit. It was on its last weekend when we visited, but the kids were duly impressed with the giant unicorn on display.
Our second stop was our hotel, the St. Anthony. I love the design of this hotel and its proximity to the River Walk without actually being on the River Walk. Plus, it has an amazing rooftop pool for warmer months. (Definitely reserve a cabana if you plan on spending an afternoon lounging poolside, sipping drinks!) We stayed in a gorgeous superior suite which was great for the adults (who had a comfortable bedroom and huge bathroom situation) and the kids (who had the lounge and their own half bath for nighttime bathroom breaks). The breakfast they serve is delightful, and there is a full restaurant and bar onsite.
After settling in, we decided to walk down to the River Walk for dinner. Of course no stroll down there would be complete without a truly random encounter with something strange. This time we ran across a man hanging out with his snake. I am totally grossed out by snakes, but Jon and the kids thought this was the coolest thing ever, so that’s how I found myself taking pictures of my son holding a giant python named Bites-on-Site.
Fortunately, she did not bite on site and we were able to continue to dinner. There are a ton of restaurants to choose from on the River Walk. None are particularly great, but none are bad either. It is more of an experience to stroll along the river and pick a place with whatever vibe and cuisine you need at the moment. We ended up at Budro’s Texas Bistro, and while good, I don’t think I’d go so far as to call it one of the “50 Best Restaurants in America” like Esquire did. However, the quail was perfectly cooked and delicious. I’d definitely go back - but maybe not with kids. It was not the most kid-friendly atmosphere, though they did have a kids’ menu that I appreciated. (Meaning it was just smaller portions of the regular menu, not food like chicken nuggets.)
After a good night’s sleep, we set out the next morning to explore the Alamo. If you’ve read my “What to Bring” post, you know that I’ve stocked up on lots and lots of American history books for the kids, and my son loves one book about the battle of the Alamo. I thought he would be really excited to see the Alamo in real life.
I was wrong.
The Alamo was a bit of a disappointment. It was largely under construction, and it wasn’t very kid friendly. The actors weren’t providing information in little-kid friendly nuggets, and neither kid had the patience to listen to an old guy drone on about medicine in the 1800s. There was a movie looping on a screen in the gift shop that they sat down and watched, but this was far from the educational experience I wanted for them. I managed to get an obligatory photo before abandoning this stop:
I tried to save the best stop for last: Legoland. To be fair, this is a “Discovery Center,” not a full on Legoland like the one in California. It is basically an indoor play area with a whole lot of Legos. It is found inside a mall (The Shops at Rivercenter) and reminds me of Mt Playmore on steroids.
Inside there are two rides. In the first, Kingdom Quest, you climb aboard of little car, arm yourself with a laser pointer, and travel through a ride shooting at different creatures in an attempt to save a princess. The kids loved this, but I’m relatively certain it doesn’t matter where you point or shoot; the same number of enemies will disappear. The second ride was inside and named Merlin’s Apprentice. Kids’ pedal power determines how high their car will go as they spin around a central post. My four and six year old were pretty lukewarm about this one. It wasn’t particularly exciting. There is a Miniland, a huge display of Lego towns and villages, an area to build and race cars down a slope, derby-style, a girl-centric Lego Friends area, and a playscape. There was also a 4-D movie theater that played a short Lego City film every 30 minutes. It’s a 3-D film (complete with glasses) plus the theater periodically blows wind or bubbles, giving it a fourth dimension. It was a novel concept, but one I hope isn’t adopted at regular theaters. Kids can choose to participate in mini workshops with staff (even a Master Builder!) if they want, too.
There is a small cafe and Starbucks inside, and a large Lego shop the catches you as you enter and leave Legoland. We did a small amount of damage at the cafe, and a large amount of damage at the store. Even though there were tons of Legos to play with inside, all my kids really wanted was a new Lego set. I realize that while they like the ability to be creative and build whatever they can imagine, my son really enjoys the satisfaction of following all of the building instructions and finishing a set better. I think if he had chosen to go to one of the workshops, he would’ve appreciated the structure a bit more and would’ve like Legoland better. I almost felt like Legoland was too young for him. He’s easily finishing sets for 10+ year olds, and Legoland was definitely targeting a less technical audience.
After Legoland, we headed back to Austin. The next time we are in this part of the world, I want to take the kids to The DoSeum, The San Antonio Zoo, and the Natural Bridge Caverns. I also think they would like The Science Mill in Johnson City between San Antonio and Austin, but alas, there is never enough time to do everything.
