Looking for a Vacation Spot Here in Texas

Hi K.,
I am a Texan who just moved back from Orlando so I understand the beach thing. The beaches in Florida are awesome... plus they have so much touristy things there so coming from what I saw there versus here and what would be neat, I would go to the Hill Country, maybe go camping in New Braunsfel and ride the river on a tube and take in Schliterbaum( I think that is how it is spelled) It is the #1 water park in the United States. It even beat out Disney's Blizzard Beach. I did that once many years ago and we camped too. It was oodles of fun.. There also are cabins too that can be rented in very secluded areas up there. My brother use to do that quite a bit. Maybe go to Trip advisor and see what you can do.. I also have good friends who love going down to San Antonio and stay at a resort there where they can golf... Also San Antonio has the river walk and Alamo. Those are fun things to see.
Good luck in finding the perfect place to go to with your family. :)

Hi, I LOVE Turner Falls in OK. It's only about a 2 hour drive or so from Dallas. It has lakes, streams, rock climbing, hiking, natural caverns, and natural waterfalls. I couldn't believe there was something so pretty in OK!!! But if you haven't been there it's worth going to see. However, I don't think you're going to impress the Floridians too much with anything in TX or OK...Florida is probably much prettier, and I am sure the beaches are a lot nicer. But Turner Falls has something for the whole family. Their site is www.turnerfallspark.com.
A.

I have never personally been here, but I heard that Yogi Bear park in Waller,TX is pretty neat. http://www.campjellystone.com looks like they have all kinds of stuff to do. In addition to the park accomidations they is a local Six Flags too. They have kitchens in the cabin, which can make for a budget friendly yet fun vacation.

Hi K.!
Don't know if you've personally seen the beaches on Galveston Island or if you're going on the opinions of others who may not have seen the beaches lately?? I was just there about 1 month ago. My family (husband, 2-yr-old son; my parents; and my brother, his wife and his 3 kids) all rented a beach house farther south on Galveston Island -- a little ways down from the big commotion. It was so nice, peaceful, beautiful and almost completely private! That part of the island was farther away from most of the action, which was nice. The beach was steps away from our house. There were mostly just other beach house rentals, private homes and condos nearby. We could walk 3 houses down to get to the beach every day. So nice to wake up every morning to the sound of the ocean! And we had our own kitchen so we were able to eat in several meals. We had a great time!! Here's a website of some of the vacation rental properties -- we stayed at the Blue Heron. The rental rates are reasonable, especially when you split it between all the families.

http://www.beachandbayrental.com/galvestonrentals.htm

Unfortunately, some of the beach areas in Texas are limited if you only want to drive 6 hrs. I think Padre Island is very nice but that's an extremely long drive! Good luck!

Have you looked into Port Aransas? My husband and I went there over Spring Break and really enjoyed it. It seemed like the hotels/condos were reasonable and it had lots of shops and restaurants. We were also pretty impressed with the beach, it was a lot cleaner than we had expected.

Have you thought about Arlington? Close to the amusement (Six Flags)and baseball parks and downtown stuff (zoo, aquarium, museums, arboretum isn't too far, and botanical gardens)(fort worh stockyards, childrens museum, etc.). It's not too far for you and no beaches to argue over. I used to live there and it has a lot to do and is still close to you. Just an idea, not sure if you were wanting to go further away.

Hi K.. Just wanted to let you know there is a fantastic booklet from yesterday's (Sunday's) Dallas Morning News about places to travel in Texas. It has TONS of info about different tourist destinations and even some good coupons. Hopefully you can get your hands on that paper! Hope it helps!
D.