Fleeting Adventures

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Disneyland Day 2

Our second day of Disneyland was also an early entry day for us (we loved this perk of staying at the hotel). This day we were determined to make it all count! However, we got stuck in a slow moving line and we wasted about 30 minutes trying to get in the gate. This was Thanksgiving Day though and all the lines were moving very slow as they seemed to have to take a lot of pictures for people.

We decided time would be well spent today and rode: Mr Toad’s Wild Ride, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pinocchio's Daring Journey, Snow White’s Scary Adventure, Haunted Mansion, Indiana Jones, and the Railroad all before lunch. After lunch we were able to ride Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Matterhorn Bobsled, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Sleeping Beauty Castle Walkthrough and Innoventions. We even caught some of the parade!

This day we were also able to meet Mickey Mouse, Captain Hook, Fairy Godmother, Donald Duck, Ana and Elsa! Around the park we also saw Peter Pan, Jack Skellington, Alice and Wonderland, White Rabbit, Goofy, and Winnie The Pooh - however we were always too late to see them.

To meet Ana & Elsa you have to get a fastpass very very early in the morning. We ran back to Fantasyland as soon as we got in the gates and barely was able to get passes. They ran out around 7:45am and the park did not even officially open until 8:00am. Our passes were to return after lunch and the line was short. You stand out in a line where Olaf sits on the roof talking to you until its your turn to go inside. This meet & greet is private its just your group and Ana & Elsa and the photopass photographer. The kids really enjoyed it and they didn’t rush us at all!

For food on Thanksgiving Day we ate lunch at Hungry Bear Restaurant and had dinner reservations at Carnation Cafe. We were told that every restaurant would have some sort of turkey dinner throughout the whole day but we only saw them at the actual reservation restaurants and not the walk-ups.

Pro’s: Indiana Jones and Peter Pan’s Flight were AWESOME! The kids also really enjoyed Splash Mountain (twice). We used fast passes very wise this day! We also really enjoyed Carnation Cafe - the atmosphere and the food. My daughter also loved meeting Ana & Elsa and we were happy that they had photopass people with them today.

Con’s: The Matterhorn Bobsled was one ride we all really wanted to do - it jerked us around a lot and even though it was fun its one of those “we don’t have to do it again” kind of rides. Most of the rides in Fantasyland also have very small turnstiles and we felt pretty cramped. We also did not like Innoventions that much because we were unable to meet anyone. We didn’t realize that they only had the character meetings every hour on the hour. If we wanted to meet all three of them it would have taken us close to 3 hours; unfortunately we met none of them but we enjoyed seeing the Iron Man suits!

In the end we would say you definitely need at least 2 days in the Disneyland Park; 3 days would have made it much better. We didn't even go to Toontown at all and missed most of the shows. You also don't really need the photopass at all. There are only about 6 rides that take pictures and you only get the digital copies of those. We also only saw photographers with a small handful of characters; most of them were in front of the castle or the tree in Main Street U.S.A. However, if you go to multiple character meals then the photopass gets you digital copies, about 5 hard copies, and a folder to put those pictures in so it makes it a little better then. 

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Disneyland Day 1

This past Thanksgiving we visited Disneyland for the first time. It was a great experience that we all very much enjoyed. We were able to enjoy both parks, Disneyland and California Adventure, for three days with parkhoppers. For this post we will focus just on our Disneyland Park Day 1.

Getting into the park is fairly easy - walk through Downtown Disney, go through bag check, stand in line for the ticket gates, and boom you're in. Since we had multiple day passes they were suppose to take our picture, but they wouldn’t do this until later on in the evening. Once you enter the park the first thing you see is the garden Mickey Mouse Garden and its lovely.

Our first day we were able to get in one hour early and we headed straight to Tomorrowland. During this first hour we were able to ride Star Tours and Space Mountain with very little wait time! We then did Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters and Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage. Then we went off to Fantasyland for “it’s a small world” but since it was the Holiday’s it was redecorated in the holiday theme.

Around lunch time it started getting warmer so we decided to go to the hotel to change (benefit of being so close to the park). On our way though we decided to grab lunch in Downtown Disney at “Earl of Sandwich” - YUM! This place had a bit of a line but it was fairly inexpensive (and you can get free sandwich coupons online) and pretty good. We got a mixture of pizza sandwiches, clubs, chicken chipotle avocado, potato salad, and peppermint brownies!  

Back to the park we finished our afternoon with rides like: Jingle Cruise (Jungle Cruise holiday layover), Pirates of the Caribbean, Tarzan’s Treehouse, the Monorail, and watching Star Wars Jedi Academy. We also spent some of our day finding characters like: Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Mary Poppins, & Bert,

Our evening finished with dinner at Goofy’s and watching the fireworks in front of the castle!

After reviewing our first day we realized we did not do very much at all. For starters we only pulled one set of Fast Passes and they were for a very late ride on Indiana Jones that we ended up not using. The kids really wanted to do Space Mountain again but we never even thought “go grab a fastpass.” We didn’t even watch a parade. We learned a lot this day and decided the next two days would be better or we would do barely anything this whole trip.

Pro’s about this day: Getting in the hour early really helped us get two of the busiest rides out of the way. We didn’t even get to the gate until like 715 am so we were only in there 45 minutes early and when we left Space Mountain it was just 8am and there was already 30 minute waits on both of those rides - crazy! We also liked having the photo pass for our Space Mountain ride! We were surprised to get a little wet on Pirates but we would have loved to eat in the restaurant in there. Space Mountain ended up being one of the kids favorite rides and Astro Blasters we all loved - especially the people movers!

The Jedi Academy was fun to watch even though the children were not chosen. To get chosen you want to get there early and set as close to the front as possible but also as close to the middle where they walk out of. They seem to chose more children around 8 or so then really young or older kids. However, most kids chosen this day were not even wearing Star Wars clothing like most people say to do and we saw 0 signs. One thing we disliked - a parent threw a fit his child was not chosen and they went ahead and let the child join instead of explaining to the father again how everyone is chosen. But our kids were not disappointed and loved it!

Con’s of the day: The firework show. Don’t get me wrong it was an awesome show BUT it was delayed due to issues and we found out that those issues were due to only half of the large fireworks working. Now they never actually told us this but during the show you could tell that they weren’t all working. We were happy to see the show though! We also were not happy that we never saw photopass people with characters. Most of the characters were on their own and we only saw photopass people with Mickey Mouse once during the whole day. At this point us paying $70 for the photopass seemed pointless as we had pictures in front of the tree and Space Mountain.

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Disneyland Hotel

The Disneyland Resort has three hotels that are considered "on property" they are: Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Suites, Disneyland Hotel, and Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel. None of them are technically inside the parks but they have a monorail that you can catch to get to the parks faster and the Grand Californian actually has their own entrance into Disney California Adventure. Because of the way it is all set-up some good neighbor hotels are actually closer to the parks than these hotels but they don't give you all the extra perks that Disney does; like getting into one of the parks one hour early everyday.

We were able to get a room at the Disneyland Hotel, in the Fantasy Tower, about a month before we left with a premium view from Orbitz.com. When we arrived to the hotel we were confronted with either self parking or valet - we chose valet as its only about $5 more and the self parking area is HUGE. As soon as you walk inside the hotel you are confronted with a gift shop, the front desk, a tv area for the kids, and some comfy tea cup chairs to relax in. Check-In was very fast and friendly. They were even able to print off some character meal tickets for us even though we bought them from www.getawaytoday.com.

Once we got up to our room the kids were in heaven. We had a view of the pool that looked awesome at night. The headboard not only lit up but played music. We also requested 2 queens and a pull out and that is what we got. Everybody loved that there were mickeys throughout the entire room and some nice art work. 

This hotel has some wonderful amenities as well. Two gift shops/convenience shops, hot tub, two pools, and monorail slides, laundry room, fitness room, two restaurants, and a bar area. Not only does it have all of this but its just steps away from Downtown Disney and about 5 minutes away from the monorail to get into Disneyland. 

This hotel has so many things to love. The staff members were very friendly and professional even when a lady was yelling at someone for 20 minutes because she forgot to book dinner reservations for her entire stay and everything was already sold out. It was Thanksgiving week and most restaurants were sold out within 2 weeks of being put up online, especially on Thanksgiving Day, - RESERVE EARLY. The kids loved the light up and musical headboard. They both requested for it to play every night before bed. Fireworks are what light up on the headboard and the music is "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella. The pools were also very nice. Since it was November it was a little chilly some nights but one pool was a little warmer than the other one and of course they have a hot tub. Towels are provided in the pool area and you need a key card to enter the pool - this was nice to keep random people out as many people enter the premises to go to the restaurants at the hotel. My daughter loved the monorail slides and they have their own little area that they go into to not bother swimmers. They also have bushes and stuff around the pool area to provide more privacy. The laundry room was fairly cheap - $1.25 for each load. Goofy's restaurant was also very pleasant but this will be discussed in a separate post! 

What did we not like about this hotel? Well, the prices of everything in the convenience store area was outrageous - but everything in Disney is so I guess thats a given. The monorail slides also close much earlier than the pool area like at 5pm or so. There's nothing else not to like about this hotel and if we go back to Disneyland we will either stay here or try out the Grand Californian.

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Legoland, California

Part of our adventure out to Los Angeles was to visit Legoland. I've heard many good and bad things about Legoland, California two being that it is meant mostly for children under 10 and it only takes 1 day max to finish it all. Even though both of our kids were 9 and 11 we decided we had to go anyways just to experience it. We've done Lego Discovery Center before and really enjoyed it and my son and husband have always dreamed of going to see Miniland USA. So we went! 

Sidepoint: the drive from Los Angeles to Carlsbad is absolutely gorgeous. You get to drive by the ocean and see all the mountains. It was absolutely spectacular for us Texas folk who have never even seen the Ocean before. 

So as you enter Legoland they start having some lego characters out there getting you excited for your day! Once you park you see the hotel that was recently built - instantly the kids start asking if we are staying there for the night (no we didn't but they wouldn't be disappointed with the hotel we did have). You get through the gates and boom your in Lego heaven! We walked through the gift shop briefly because I completely forgot sunscreen and it was a sunny, warm day but we didn't stay long as we wanted to get some stuff done. 

Since we were told that the day wont take long we decided to ride the first thing we saw - Coast Cruise. We all rode this and it was nice and relaxing. You get in a small boat, they take you around the area and you get to see some Lego animals, some of Miniland, and an octopus band that really plays. While we were on this ride we also overheard that the Sky Cruiser was already on a 90 minute wait, guess we wouldn't be riding that today as Legoland is only open until 5pm and it was already 11am. We then got off and did some wandering around: signed up for Mindstorms in the afternoon, looked at some of the rides, and then hit up the Lost Kingdom Adventure. This ride is one of those target shooting rides so nothing to special. We then grabbed some burgers for lunch and tried to plan out the rest of our day. The kids both decided they wanted to ride 2 particular rides that were both on 30minute waits, plus we still had a 45 minute Mindstorm class to do, and it was almost 1pm - on a time crunch already and we had barely done anything. 

After lunch we did jump on over to one of the kids must do's "The Dragon." We thought it would be a larger roller coaster but really it was a ride for younger kids. They both enjoyed it though so thats all that matters. We then wandered around some of Miniland USA. Everyone really enjoyed this area as it was relaxing and interesting to see everything these people have made out of lego's. They have a lot of Washington D.C. buildings, a mini NYC, Las Vegas, and even Los Angeles. They also have a lake with boats that move. 

After browsing Miniland USA it was then time to do the Mindstorms class. This class was about the Mindstorms Robots and taught the children how to work them plus a little bit about the human body. Both of them really enjoyed it and they both wanted a robot before leaving (which we have not bought yet). If you ever visit Legoland this is something that is a must. You have to sign up very early in the day as they have limited spots but your kids will enjoy it! 

After the class we headed over to Lego Technic Coaster - the largest coaster Legoland has. It was a decent sized coaster for children but no where near as large as most amusement parks. Being that this is their largest one with a decent drop you can tell this park is designed for smaller kids in mind. The kids very much enjoyed this ride and loved the drop! They really wanted to go on it again but unfortunately the line was long. 

We then headed back over to the Miniland area to see Star Wars Land. This area is just like the Miniland but Starwars themed. Both my kids absolutely loved it and called it their favorite area of all. Of course this area was still being finished but what they did have was awesome! 

Since the park would be closing soon we decided to grab some Granny's Fried Apples and walk around to see the rest of the park. We saw the snow tubing area and they had some "Lego Friend" girls singing and dancing. We were able to walk by the lego factory but it had already closed for the day. We tried finding one of the rides that you pull yourself up to the top but we couldn't find it and were all anxious to get to the gift shop. We then strolled through the gift shop and left right at closing time. 

Did we like Legoland? Yes. Would we go again? Probably not. We only did 4 rides but in reality there was only a few more rides we could do that the kids would have enjoyed. It may be better in the summer when the waterpark and water rides are open but we are not sure. This park is definitely designed for younger children in mind and there are plenty of things for them to do there. However, I do not see anyone being able to finish this park in 1 day. The hours the day we went were only 10am - 5pm and we got there shortly after opening. For most of the year it looks like sometimes they add on an additional hour or two but for the most part that is their opening hours. They also have an aquarium and a waterpark to explore so you definitely need some more days there. I don't think our kids left very disappointed not being able to ride more. We went mostly for Miniland and Star Wars Land (which may be the only reason we ever go back) and they both enjoyed these areas very much.  

If you do plan to visit Legoland definitely try to get your tickets on sale (we were able to get the kids tickets for free and 50% off an additional adult ticket as there were 5 of us). Arrive to the park when the parking lot opens as they open the gates early - this means you can browse the gift shop or Miniland before the rides open. Want an hour earlier in the park to ride select rides? Stay at the hotel as guests get 1 extra hour every day. Want a cheap souvenir? All kids meals come with a plastic cup! 

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Amtrak

Around Thanksgiving our family took a trip out to California. After some thought and discussions we decided to have an adventure and we took a 36 hour Amtrak ride from Austin, Texas to Los Angeles, California. The format on this post may be a little weird as I am going to break it down into station reviews and train review. 

Amtrak station in Austin, Texas: This station is small and dusky. There are bathrooms and vending machines available in the waiting area so that is a plus but they are run down. The inside of the station though is very small - maybe 20 people can sit inside. Outside though they have some covered seating which helps. The day we left there were lots of storms and we quickly learned that we did not like not having a covered walkway to the train. Once we got on the train we were completely soaked; we also saw our luggage sitting in the rain for a bit too (luckily all of our clothing was stored in ziplock bags so our clothes were dry! 

Amtrak station El Paso, Texas: We only stepped off the train for a moment here so not many thoughts on it. It did look nice though, or at least the building. It was not covered though and the train station was farther back to the tracks than the one in Austin (which is literally right next to the tracks). It does have a pretty large outdoor area though thats gated off that looks nice. One downside to this station though is there are no stores nearby. 

Amtrak station Tucson, Arizona: This was a pretty decent sized station and it was really nice. They had nice large bathrooms, vending machines that even took credit cards, and a large waiting area. To the end of the waiting area they even have a few pieces of Railroad History - an old switchboard; the kids enjoyed checking this out. There is a restaurant/deli directly next door to this station however it closes around 8pm so if the train is running late you miss out. Other than this store there is not to much nearby for a fast meal. Also, walking to the train is covered or at least mostly covered to avoid rain! 

Amtrak station Los Angeles, California: Union Station in Los Angeles is gorgeous, and huge. Completely enclosed so no getting wet in the rain - nor will your luggage. Large bathrooms, plenty of food shops around, rental cars on site as well. This being a large station though (and not just an Amtrak station) it gets very busy with many many people. Due to the crowds it was hard to even get into the restroom but there is plenty of seating. 

We rode coach so the seats were not very comfy to sleep in but they were doable. Coach seats recline a decent amount, have a headrest, and a foot stool - bring a blanket and pillow and your pretty set to sleep. However, if your on the inside of the seats it can be difficult to get over your neighbor; and if your on the outside you may be woken up a few times during the night due to your neighbor. We did like that there was a fold out table though and an electric plugin for every group of seats. Luggage? Well, you can throw your carry ons up top or you can check your bags depending on your stops (we checked some bags). The train is two levels and has quite a few cars. The top levels are where the majority of the coach seats are, some of the rooms, the restaurant, and the viewing cars. The bottom levels have rooms, bathrooms, luggage storage, cafe car, and staff only areas. Most people spend most of their time upstairs and these are the cars where you can walk back and forth between the train cars. 

So what do you do about food while on the train? Well, you are aloud to bring any food onto the train as you wish - they actually say a small amount for each person but they do not check anything at all when you board or after. We brought a small suitcase full of different snacks and treats; we had cookies, chips, chicken/tuna salad kits, muffins, granola bars, and crackers. Amtrak also has both a cafe car and restaurant on long distance trains. We decided to try the restaurant car for breakfast our first morning on the train. We chose breakfast for two reasons - one we were hungry, two it was the cheapest of the three meals. Breakfast cost us about $10 per person where as lunch or even dinner would have cost us upwards of $30 a person. For breakfast the kids had french toast and the rest of us had eggs, bacon, and toast. The food was not awesome but it was not horrible; service was decent but once again not great. The cafe car we visited a few times for some drinks during the day as we had run out of water. Now from the description online I assumed it was cooked food but more like what you get at ball games or amusement parks; I was wrong. This food is literally food heated up in the microwave from a convenience store and canned sodas sold at ridiculous prices. When we found this out we were a little bit more disappointed but we were not worried as we already had plans for lunch and dinner. Our plans for lunch went through and James' sister was able to drop us off some McDonalds when we stopped off in El Paso (she luckily had just moved there literally weeks before). Our dinner plans though were to go to the restaurant in Tucson next to the train station; this stop was scheduled for one hour and it should not have been a problem. Well, remember all that rain in Austin before we left? It put the train behind by 2 hours which meant we got to Tucson 1 hour late and so the stop was dropped to 30 minutes and the restaurant was closed before we got there. Due to this issue we all just snacked and ate some food from the cafe car. 

The restrooms on the train were not horrible and some were a decent size where you could change in them or even have an adult and child in one restroom together. The train also had areas with water fountains so people could refill bottles if they wish. This would come in handy at nighttime when both the restaurant and cafe car are closed. Amtrak doesn't have wifi on most trains but our cell reception was not horrible. We would lose service in a few remote area's but not often. The sightseeing car was also pretty interesting. It is full of top to bottom windows, seats that face toward the windows, and tables for groups. We enjoyed grabbing a table and playing a few games to pass by but these tables are hard to come by. Most people wake up early, grab a table, and just sit there all day long. Actually, most seats in this car are hard to come by so we didn't spend very much time here and instead spent more time in our own seats napping! We did enjoy seeing many of the sites pass us by though even though it was mostly desert. 

Would we ever take an Amtrak ride again? YES! We all enjoyed it very much. However, we would make some important changes though. We would get a family room no matter the cost. These rooms include all meals, everyone gets a bed with provided blankets and pillows, access to showers, and its an area to get away from everyone else on the train. We would also make a trip up north where there is more to see other than farm and desert land. Overall though we had a great time and enjoyed our trip! 

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Campo Azul

Close to where we live there is this Mexican restaurant near by that I've been wanting to try. It's near by, local, and for some reason reminds me of a place we ate at in Mexico - even though its not even the same name to I really don't get why it reminds me of it. So we finally got brave enough to try a new place and tried Campo Azul in Round Rock, Texas. 

The inside was clean and there seems to be a decent amount of seating. We were greeted quickly and seated promptly. It was actually very slow and only a few tables in the restaurant were taken. We ordered our drinks and waited a bit for them. Received our chips and salsa, ordered some queso, and then ordered our meals. 

The whole reason why I like Mexican restaurants is for their queso. There queso here was pretty bland. It seriously tasted like they just melted a block of cheese and brought it out. Now I understand that queso quite literally means cheese but a queso dip is suppose to have a little more to it. Even though there appeared to be peppers and such in the dip it was very much a disappointment. We barely managed to even eat half of the dip we ordered.

The food. Ehhhh I was quite disappointed. I ordered a chicken chalupa with rice. The chicken that was in it had a brownish color to it and really turned me off to even wanting to eat it. They also charged me for the guacamole that the menu stated came with the meal. The rice was okay - nothing awesome but it was okay enough to eat. I took just a few bites of my meal and gave up because it was so disappointing. My kids had burgers and were just fine with their food. My husband ordered enchilada's and stated they were okay but nothing special enough to come back to.  

The prices were decent. For our family of four we paid $50.00 (including the 20% tip). The cheap prices though do not make up for the quality of food. This is a place that we will not be coming back to unfortunately. 

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Since we've lived in Austin we have heard many things about Big Top Candy Shop on South Congress. One day while we were in the area we decided to stop off and see what the hype was about. This candy store is pretty big and they carry many different types of candy in both bulk and individual. If you cant find candy you've been looking for else where this is pretty much the place to try - they seem to have everything. 

However, they don't just sell candy. They have an Old-Fashioned Soda Fountain where they serve many types of drinks (I tried the Vanilla Dr. Pepper), shakes, popcorn, and other snacks to buy. My husband very much enjoyed his drink and said he could definitely taste a difference between them and pretty much every other soda in town. Next time we go we are definitely going to try some ice cream!

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Schlitterbahn

My kids have been wanting to go to Schlitterbahn since we moved to Austin, Texas. My son kept telling me that we had to go because it was "the best water park" and my daughter spent hours on youtube and could not stop talking about the Master Blaster. So finally I broke down and I took them to Schlitterbahn right before school started. 

Price wise it is pretty expensive at $53 for adults and $43 for children under 12. You can save $5 on each ticket by buying them online or even at HEB. However, they make up for the price by offering free parking, free tubes, and by allowing you to bring in food and drinks. Many people had coolers and tons of food and there are picnic tables everywhere. We brought in some snacks and sandwiches and just bought a souvenir cup for $12 and received free refills all day. 

Schlitterbahn is made up of two separate parks - the West side being the original park and the East side being the newer park. The East park is then divided into three parks: Blastenhoff, Surfenburg, and Tubenbach. 

We started our day off at Surfenburg. After getting a locker and finding an open picnic table we started hitting some of their activities. They have the Dragons Revenge water slide, Kristal river, boogie bahn, and an activity pool. We did a couple laps in the river and realized that its a huge change from what we are use to. This river goes by super fast - so fast that you see people grabbing the sides just to try and get out. One unique thing about this river though is they have a chute that you can go down and it takes you straight into the fast moving river - definitely a hit! We also checked out the Dragons Revenge water slide which had a fairly decent line with about a 20 minute wait. This would be our first water slide at Schlitterbahn. All the water parks I have ever been to the water slides are simple - you sit down on your bottom or in a tube and the slide takes you down - sometimes you may have large drops, go into a funnel, or it may be super fast whipping you around many loops - but you always go down. At Schlitterbahn their larger and most popular slides take you up and down while you sit in a  tube. For us this experience was pretty cool - and we are glad our first ride was on the Dragons Revenge. I say this because even though this ride is considered one of their high thrill rides it wasn't a bad slide (no large drops) and my children both considered it a medium thrill. We finished our time over here by hitting up boogie bahn - which both of the kids loved!

After a quick lunch we made our way over to Tubenbach. Tubenbach is mostly just The Falls, Deluge, and AquaVeyer that all connect together. The Falls is considered one of their longest rides and takes a good 15 minutes or so depending on how many people are around. Everyone must have a tube and you go down multiple "chutes" at various speeds. A lot of the area's are pretty calm and sort of relaxing - every once in awhile you get to an area that has faster chutes and I believe this is more of the Deluge part of the ride. This ride also has longer spans between chutes compared to some of the other rides in the park. As you go along you'll see many people with their feet hanging or people flipping out of their tubes and its not a problem but once you get to the AquaVeyer everyone has to sit in their tube because its just a huge conveyer belt that takes you up and back into the water. One thing about this ride though is you do not have to finish it if you don't want to. There are multiple on and off spots, which offer play area's for kids as well, so if its becoming to long just hop off at the next spot. 

After Tubenbach my daughter was just yelling that she wanted to go on the Master Blaster so we headed on over to Blastenhoff. Blastenhoff is where more of their thrill slides are out and where Master Blaster sits. Our first stop we did a few trips in the Torrent River - which is fast but only when you get to the booster sections. It is also connected to Blastenhoff beach so good area for kids to be able to play at as well. We then headed over to wait in line for the Master Blaster. This was a long line and the warnings told us it would take a good hour or so. Unfortunately 45 minutes after waiting in line (and maybe 15 minutes away from the front) they had to stop the ride. After about 15 minutes they told us it could be anywhere from 5 minutes to 2 hours to fix so after waiting a few minutes we decided to head back down to the river. Of course wouldn't you know as soon as we get down the stairs - boom its working again. Instead of heading back up to wait inline again we decided to head on over to Schlitterbahn West for 3 hours and come back just for Master Blaster. So we grabbed all of our snacks from Surfenburg and took the trolley over to the West side. 

So after a 5 minute trolley ride, finding a spot to put our stuff, and grabbing a drink refill (since we snacked in the trolley already) we were ready to check out this side of the park for 2.5 hours. I thought this amount of time was sufficient because I have always heard that the West side is not that great - we would later find out that we were wrong. Our first to do item was the downhill racers right at the front of the park (and the only reason the kids wanted to come over). 4 people can go at a time so it goes fairly fast - you wait in line for a mat and then boom your racing with a friend. Some of these people pretty much fly off of the slide but the kids enjoyed it. Pretty much this entire park has a bunch of rides where you sit in a classic black tube (but yellow bottomed tubes with handled are available for younger kids) and you go down a bunch of chutes. These rides can be very fast unless you get stuck in an area which you could easily then be at for 5 or more minutes. My daughter had no issues and always made it way ahead of us (and made plenty of friends) where as my son would always get stuck behind. On these rides you can get out of your tube to get out of the infinite loop but you need to be on it before you get on the chute and sometimes you would just end up right back in the whirlwind - until someone would come down with enough force to jump you out of it or push you down the chute and they would take your spot. There are life guards posted about every 3 chutes which do help out a lot. Due to these trouble spots it can take a long time to go down some of these rides and since some (like the Cliffhanger) have different endings just make sure you decide what ending to take and come up with a family meeting spot. We did the Cliffhanger twice doing both endings - one was a waterfall and one was landing into the Congo River. Did I say River? Yup I did. Schlitterbahn sits right next to the Congo River and actually uses the river water for their park (they filter the water and it means no chlorine or chemicals YAY) so its only normal to have a slide actually end in the river as well. Problem is the river is deep and nasty - if you take this ending and you have young kids make sure they know to stay in their tube at all times and try to keep them with you. After getting off of our first chute ride we found the Der Bahn Speed Slides. The kids LOVED these slides and we did them a few times together before heading back onto the Cliffhanger again. Now when you take the Cliffhanger river ending it takes you clear to the other side of the park and we needed to head back to the East side of the park. As we were walking we found SO many other areas that the kids would have liked - activity pools, body slides, wave pool - it was crazy large and not what we expected at all. But we had to do the Master Blaster period so we headed back to the East side. 

We were thrilled to see that the Master Blaster had a fairly short line (like 20 minutes) and since we went over our time some already we were happy that we would get to do it. My daughter absolutely loved this ride and was very excited she was actually able to do it FINALLY after constantly watching people ride it on you-tube. It has plenty of ups, downs, and twist and turns anybody would want on a water slide! It was definitely worth the wait. After we were done we had a small amount of time so we did a quick trip around the river again before trying to find one last thing to do. Both of my kids agreed that, besides the Master Blaster, The Falls was their all time favorite ride in Schlitterbahn so we had to do it just one more time! We were able to successfully go around it 1 more time before the park closed. We then rushed on over to our locker, changed clothes, and grabbed a trolley to get back to our car. 

We had spent 10 hours at the water park - completely exhausted, hungry, but yet not ready to go at all! We had a ton of fun and we all believed it was completely worth the money and the hour drive there.

Schlitterbahn does offer so much more than what we did. They have Cabana's that can be rented (and look awesome), on site hotel rooms, many young kid area's, bar's, food stands, heated pools etc. We did a small portion of Schlitterbahn but yet we were satisfied - except my kids wanted a specific funnel cake but they chose another ride over it! 

Here are a few things we learned while there as well. Bring shoes with straps - we had water shoes which worked, but many people had flip flops that would get lost, but you can also wear any shoes with straps, some people even had tennis shoes. Wear your shoes all day - if you can't take them on a ride you'll be asked to take them off and carry them with you - this happened to us TWICE. In the gift shop they have a waterproof pouch you can buy - buy it, put your phone, car key, credit card, etc in it and skip a locker. I did this (after I bought the locker) and ended up keeping everything but my keys in it and nothing got wet or ruined. Bring in your own food/drinks - its welcomed and will save you lots of money - but they have some pretty awesome looking desserts to try as well! Want to wear sunglasses? Have a strap for them. The kids both lost their sunglasses within 1 hour of being there - lost them on the chute going into the Kristal River because its that fast. Did we miss the sunglasses? Not really but they would have been nice.

We will definitely be going back to Schlitterbahn. It was the first time ever that we felt like we enjoyed an outside water park. We also very much enjoyed not having to do the same stuff over and over (even though sometimes it is nice to enjoy everything at least once which we couldn't do either). If you've never been I say its definitely worth checking out. 

The picture shown is of West - the Congo River specifically. I have more pictures on my camera that I have not gotten off yet but I will soon and add them!

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Baked By Amy's

This summer we learned that Amy's Ice Cream had a bakery where they serve other yummy treats. So one day while we were visiting Phil's Ice House we realized that Baked By Amy's was next door so we stopped in to check it out. They had plenty of good looking treats for fairly decent prices. We ordered a couple of cookies and a mint chocolate chip cupcake. The cookies are $2 a piece but were pretty large, and tasty, and according to my son the cupcake was awesome! 

One thing I liked about this store is that it is also right next door to Amy's Ice Cream so its fairly easy for everyone to get a dessert they love in one quick stop. We hope to be back soon to try some more baked goods! 

A quick add in store they advertise that they also offer classes and can host birthday parties on site. I have not been able to find any information about the baking classes but the birthday party flyers at the store seemed pretty decently priced. 

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Laguna Gloria

Recently me and the kids braved the heat and checked out Laguna Gloria in Austin, Texas. The first thing we did was check out Mrs. Driscoll's house. It is a beautiful house inside and out that is used now as offices and to show off art work. On our visit there was currently no art being housed their but we were still able to walk around and look at the house itself. 

We then headed outside to see some of their outdoor exhibits. Their was a beautiful set-up just to the right of the house with a few sculptors. In this area the kids favorite part was the massive keyhole and they loved how it looked like gold. We didn't stay to look at this long as they were doing some work over in the area and we didn't want to get in their way. 

We then headed down towards Lake Austin to continue our journey. They have a few area's that have wonderful views of the lake and since their were boats out it was nice just watching. In this area they have a walk-way to most of the exhibits that is covered with tree's and really helps break up the heat for a small bit. There are also signs warning about poison ivy though so keep smaller kids near by here. After our short walk we finally made it to one of the exhibits we really wanted to see - Common Crossings. This piece is made up of 9 railroad pieces, sorry not exactly sure what they are called. They did explain to us that there were 6 males and 3 females so the kids were trying to figure out which ones were which. It was an interesting piece of art and something you definitely have to walk around to see from every angle. There are also a few benches in the area to rest and some art pieces towards the back of this exhibit as well. 

Our journey then continued on the laguna side of Laguna Gloria. We were told the Mrs. Driscoll loved looking out on the Laguna so while your walking in this area there are plenty of benches to just sit down and look out on the water. Since it was so hot outside we didn't rest to much and just marched right along to see another favorite exhibit of ours - Current. This is lobster rope that has been crochet together to look like waves in water. We were told it took Orly Genger a year to do this piece. 

There are many other sculptors in the area to look at and even an art school on the grounds. However, the Texas heat was getting to us so we cut our visit short at just under an hour. It would be a great place to go to during Fall/Spring with cooler weather. You can also take snacks and just sit on a bench and enjoy watching boats, paddle boarders, or kayaks out on the water. It is also very affordable to go - children under 18 are free and adults are only $5; however if you go on Tuesday's its free for everyone! 

Laguna Gloria is part of The Contemporary Austin group which also has The Jones Center in downtown Austin which houses a lot of art as well. We have not gone their yet but definitely plan to one day.

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Mt. Bonnell

On trying to explore Austin more we decided to make a journey out to Mt. Bonnell. It's a bit of a trip up a winding road but its well worth it. Once arriving you start your journey by walking up 102 steps - according to my children they are like 2 steps in 1 - but it only took like 2 minutes to walk up them. 

At the top there is a viewing platform with great views of Lake Austin and the hills. However, you can make a few different journeys on some trails. We decided to start off going left. This trail took us to see a great view of the Austin skyline and some of Lake Austin. There were also two different picnic tables over on this side.

We then went back to the center platform and took a small break before taking the trail to the right. This trail goes down a little bit farther than the right and gives many great views of Lake Austin and other parts of Austin. We really enjoyed this area and there were many spots to just stop and look around. 

My daughter and I really enjoyed the views and our 20 minute hike. We were however glad we all had some water because it was very sunny outside. My daughter is already wanting to go back and have a picnic - but we will be going when its nicer outside. 

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Ski Shores Cafe

Sunday was such a nice day in Austin that we decided to go enjoy lunch outside the house. As we were trying to figure out what to go eat I remembered about a cafe that we saw last summer when we were out on Lake Austin. We enjoy eating at places near the lake, like Hula Hut, so we decided to try this place out. After doing a quick google search we found the name and headed out to Ski Shores Cafe.

There menu has decent variety - tacos', burgers, wraps, appetizers - and is on their website if you want to check it out before heading out. For an appetizer we decided to try their fried pickles with ranch dressing. These fried pickles were the chips - and even though they were good I think I prefer the spears more. The waitress had warned us that it would be a 25 minute wait for the food but it was no where near that time. I ordered chicken fajita taco's, James ordered catfish, and the kids ordered grilled cheese and a burger. 

When our food first came out I thought it was a tad bit weird that my chicken was not cut up - they just had a whole tenderloin in the tortilla with toppings. However, after eating a bite I decided that it was really good. I normally don't like chicken/steak fajita meat that is not cup up pretty small because it then becomes really hard to break apart in the taco itself - but their chicken was very tender. It also came with chips and salsa on the side - but I just used the salsa as another topping. James said his catfish was also very good.

The environment was very nice and they had a boat dock directly in front of the restaurant. Many people came by boat while we were there which seems very convenient. Where we are from there is nothing on the lakes for boaters - if your hungry you bring some food with you or you dock your boat and leave for food. Having multiple restaurants on Lake Austin and a few boats that sell things like BBQ and Sno Cones on the lake itself is just a great idea. 

Overall we had a great lunch and a nice drive out there. Our meal only cost about $44 for all 4 of us which is pretty average for Austin. We probably wont come out this way very often but if we are ever out on Lake Austin we will definitely remember to eat here.

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Zilker Botanical Garden

I've been trying to get out more and explore Austin with the kids this summer. One of our first stops we made this summer was the Zilker Botanical Garden. It was a very nice experience and their is a lot to see there. 

As soon as you pull in your stopped at the gate for payment. Children under 12 are $1 and adults are between $2-$3 depending on if your a resident of Austin; parking onsite is free. We then walked into the gift shop to pick up a map of the gardens. 

Our first stop on the walk was the Rose Garden's. This area seemed to be very thin at the moment but would probably look very pretty and colorful when everything is in full bloom. We however, did see some pretty flowers in this area. 

My son wasn't very fond of the entire idea so to make him happy he was in charge of the map and making sure we were going the correct way. Our first stop was the butterfly area since that was the main thing my daughter wanted to see. There were not many butterfly's hanging around but we did see a few and she enjoyed it. There were also butterfly benches in the area that made great picture spots while resting. 

We then walked over to the prehistoric garden area which was the only spot my son wanted to see. There was a waterfall, a spot with a dinosaur, and a lot palm trees. It was a very beautiful green area with lots of shade and water running. While walking over to the oriental garden we then walked through the rose garden again seeing the back half of the area. 

Our favorite part ended up being the oriental garden area. A lot of different walking paths and different types of plants. The children enjoyed the wooden bridge, ponds, and seeing lots of bamboo. Their is one spot on this side of the botanical gardens where you have a good view of downtown Austin; there is even a bench in this exact spot to enjoy it all. 

On our way out we followed some more trails, saw the cactus circle, and stopped in the gift shop for a drink (no food or drinks allowed in the garden areas). It was a hot day but we still spent about an hour out there and some parts we rushed through because of the heat.

If you go during the summer be hydrated before you go, have comfortable clothes on, and wear sunscreen. Overall we all had a great time and even my son enjoyed it. There is a lot to see and learn about so take your time and read some of the signs. The pioneer section was closed but after it reopens we will probably make another trip back out there to see that part as well. 

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We've been in Austin for over a year now and have tried many burger places. One place we have not tried until recently though is Mighty Fine Burgers. They have a very simple menu - different sized burgers, fries, onion rings, lemonade, and shakes. 

We ordered some burgers and fries and found a spot to eat out on the patio. It was a little warm but thankfully the patio was covered and had fans going. The burgers were pretty good and according to my husband one of the best in the area. I didn't enjoy their fries very much but everyone else did. One thing we didn't try was a shake - but their blueberry shake sounds awesome so of course it will be something we try when we go back again!

Overall we all really enjoyed the food. The price for all 4 of us was only $30.00 as well making it a decent place for dinner or lunch!

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Amy's Ice Cream & 10th Annual Trick Olympics

On June 17th Amy's Ice Cream hosted their 10th Annual Trick Olympics at their South Austin Grove location. We have never heard of anything like this so we decided to check it out. So we fought traffic and made the long drive down to South Austin to see what it was all about. 

After picking out a spot to watch we went to grab some ice cream. We ordered the birds nest with either chocolate or mint chip. This combination was ice cream, sprinkles, and m&m's and was very good! 

The trick olympics consisted of some of Amy's Ice Cream employee's rolling up ice cream and doing things like throwing it up in the air and catching it in a bowl, throwing the ice cream under their legs, having team events, and various other events. 

The kids really enjoyed watching the event. It was also a nice day to sit outside which made the evening even better. The ice cream was also very good and we can not wait to go try some more flavors.

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Mmmmm… Pizza! The kids requested pizza for lunch and after much thought we remembered Home Slice on South Congress and decided we had to go. We have been before but not in over a year and we wanted to see if it was still as good as we remembered it. Yup, it was still awesomely good!

When we arrived we were able to get seated very quickly - for it being lunch time this was pretty awesome itself. Our server was awesome and immediately asked if the kids wanted dough balls. Yup instead of crayons and coloring pages Home Slice keeps the kids busy by giving them their own ball of dough to play with. My daughter was confused and barely touched it but my son ended up having flour everywhere and had a blast. If you can get kids off of their phones long enough to eat yet alone do anything else you know it’s a good strategy.

We ordered our food and decided just to get garlic knots and a large pepperoni pizza. They offer a lot of speciality pizza’s but we are pretty plain when it comes to pizza. During certain times of the day you can also order pizza by the slice which is dependent on what they have available. We could have done this but having left over pizza is never a problem for us.

The pizza was completely awesome and everyone ate at least one full slice - which are like 2 slices at a normal pizza place. The garlic knots were also pretty good. The price is not bad I believe we paid about $30 for the food and the atmosphere is really laid back! If your ever in the area its definitely a place to stop for some pizza!

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We drive by Brushy Creek Regional Trail almost every day and there are always people using it. The other day I decided to take a short 2 mile walk on some of the trail to see what it was about. Lets just say it is 6.75 miles of pure blissfulness and I can't wait to experience more of it. 

It is paved practically the whole way so it is great for walking/running/biking. Most of the way it is shaded with plenty of tree's but there are some area's out in the open. Since it is hidden by tree's make sure to bring bug spray especially in the early mornings/evenings because they are everywhere. 

It is a huge trail and I only walked a small portion of it, something I will change this summer, but I do know it goes right beside a park or two - so you can always make stops for kids to play. There is also a small portion with a water area you can walk by as well. 

This trail can get busy but is large and really nice so you never run into anybody at all. If you haven't experienced it you should go check it out!