Hello, we're having a "staycation" in the Austin area for Spring Break.

Any advice on things to do to keep us occupied for a week would be appreciated. It will be me, my 5 year old son, my sister, my brother-in-law, my 6 year old niece, and my 8 year old nephew and 6 month old nephew.

Some ideas I've come up with:

1. Seaworld
2. San Antonio Spurs game
3. Enchanted Rock
4. Fredericksburg
5. That African/Texan Safari Tour
6. The Austin Rodeo
7. Hill Country for Wildflower photos (should be great after all this El Nino rain)

Help me! That's not enough to do for a week and I need ideas to keep those kids busy!

Children's museums in Austin (http://www.austinkids.org/) and San Antonio (http://www.sakids.org/)

You can also check out the Hill Country Flyer train (http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/) - currently the steam locomotive is undergoing repairs, so they use a diesel-electric locomotive.

A day in downtown San Antonio--Alamo; Alamo IMAX movie, "The Price of Freedom"; lunch on river; boat ride on the river; La Villita. The kids aren't too young for the Alamo or the IMAX movie. We took our son beginning when he was aged 4 or 5 and he was so inspired that he's now a history major at UT.

tubing down the river is big in Austin. It is a blast.

Thanks folks for the great ideas. I've been to the Children's Museum with my son before but maybe we should go again.

Kinda done the San Antonio thing a bit but maybe the Alamo and all may be worth it as I couldn't do it earlier when my son was real young.

I'm thinking it may be too cool to do the tubing in mid March. Water is usually quite cold even in summer, and it's still only in the mid 50's (air temp). Hopefully it will be warmer by then. I'll save that for summer.

I am thinking that:

8. Renting a boat on Lake Travis may sound like a good idea if the weather is nice. The water is finally high after drenching El Nino rains.

Other ideas?

Oh, make sure you have lunch on Lake Travis. I can't remember the name of the restaurant but it overlooks all of Lake Travis. It is actually more of a restaurant - it is a place to have weddings, meetings, etc.

JillD--

That is The Oasis, but I'm not sure it is someplace I would take a bunch of children.

What about InnerSpace Cavern in Georgetown?

http://www.myinnerspacecavern.com/

There's also Aquarena Springs in San Marcos (glass-bottom boat rides, aquarium, wetlands boardwalk)

http://www.aquarena.txstate.edu/

And the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

http://www.thestoryoftexas.com/

Check to see if your branch of the Austin Public Library (assuming you are in Austin) has a "Caravan" story hour for elementary-age children.

For that matter, you and the other adults could take turns reading to the children, maybe a chapter a day of a good children's book.

Been to InnerSpace Cavern in Georgetown twice, don't really care to see it again, especially after seeing Carlsbad Caverns. Thanks for the idea though!

Cranachin,

If the weather is rainy we may consider that But seeing as though March is usually the best time weatherwise to do stuff around Austin, outdoorsy activities are probably our best bet. Also, we need to let the kiddos get their energy exerted so they fall fast asleep at night! If we read to them all day we'd never get them down at night...

Cranachin,

Your URL http://www.austinsteamtrain.org/ doesn't work.

JillDavis, thanks but we've been to the Oasis about a thousand times, as have every relative that has ever visited. It is always a great view though.

Something simple like Zilker Park - playground for the kids. If nice weather, pack a lunch or grab a picnic table and grill hotdogs, perhaps an IMAX movie at Bullock.

bk--

The problem was that the ")" got incorporated into the URL in my post.

Try the one in your post - it worked fine for me.

I didn't mean read to them all day - LOL! I doubt they would sit still for it. But I bet they would for a chapter a day. Maybe you could come up with things associated with the book(s) - crafts to make, games to play, foods to prepare, dress up like characters in the book and act out the story, etc. - that would add to the enjoyment.

Why not let them plant a garden? That would be busy outdoors, and it would have a payoff of vegetables and/or flowers down the road.

(By the way, I definitely miss bluebonnet season!)

Cranachin,

Thanks, that train ride looks fantastic! It even includes a Wild West Gun Show. The kids will love it!