Last week was spring break for Emma, so we decided to have a mini family getaway in San Antonio! What follows is a quick recap of our trip along with photos — and I feel the need to point out that Jose was indeed with us, although apparently I failed pretty badly in taking photos of him. (Nearly all the ones with me in them are from his phone.)
We drove there on Wednesday afternoon and checked into our hotel on the Riverwalk. We’d already eaten dinner on the way, but walked down and had ice cream as a “yay we’re here” treat.
We spent Thursday at SeaWorld — Jose’s idea, since he has fond memories of going there as a kid. I had never been, and the girls had a blast. It was surprisingly chilly that day and stayed gray, so although we’d brought swimming gear for the splash pads in the kids area, we didn’t end up using it. Fortunately there were plenty of other fun things to do! We spent quite a while in the kids area and also saw two shows (one with beluga whales and dolphins, and one with orcas). Jose’s cousin Kim and her family had decided to go that day too, so we spent about half our time in the park with them! We finally left at 5:30 after arriving at 10:00 — it was a super full day. The girls quickly descended into exhaustion and grumpiness, but rallied for dinner before we all crashed in bed.
I call this one “Portrait of a ‘Relaxing’ Lunch with Two Small Children.”
We had originally considered going back to SeaWorld on Friday, but decided that was too much. We went to the DoSeum instead — a kids museum — and that turned out to be a fantastic choice! We stayed there for several hours, and then came back to the hotel. Emma had been asking to go in the pool since we arrived, so we went for a swim. Both girls loved it, but after about 20 minutes the pool was suddenly inundated with a rambunctious group of pre-teen boys and it got a little crazy. We got out, changed clothes, and headed back to the Riverwalk for a boat tour, followed by dinner at a Mexican place.
Reluctant Wonder Woman…
On Saturday, we walked from our hotel to La Panaderia for an amazingly delicious breakfast. After that we packed up our things and checked out of the hotel, then drove over to Market Square. We hadn’t considered St. Patrick’s Day in our planning and the market was super crowded with holiday festivities (since when did St. Patrick’s Day become a big thing anyway?), but we stayed long enough to have a fruit drink and for Emma to eat a GIANT mango cut like a flower. Then we hit the road back to Houston.
All in all it was a hectic but fun family getaway. This is only the second time I can remember taking a vacation with all of us that didn’t involve visiting family — the other time was when we went to Boston in 2014 for a wedding. Emma was only 2, and Charlotte wasn’t around yet, so this trip was a new experience. We had to deal with crowds everywhere (it was spring break for San Antonio too) but for the most part, we all stayed chipper and had a good time. The girls loved staying in a hotel, and Emma said several times that “this is the best day ever!”
