Cranachin,

One last question... Do the train rides fill up early?

Should I book now or can I wait a few weeks?

http://www.kidzaustin.com/SpringEventz/index.asp

Google "Austin kids activities" and you will find tons of things to do with your children

Have a great Spring Break!

We liked the Botanical Gardens - it's huge, and they have specialized gardens - one for butterflies, one that's scented, a dinosaur garden, Asian garden, etc. Kids can burn off energy hiking around.

I just thought of another day-trip destination--Fredericksburg. There are several shops along Main Street that the kids would enjoy: 1) Rustlin' Rob's for the free samples of everything they sell--sauces, dips, fudge, etc. and 2)Dooley's Five and Dime store where they will see lots of neat things which you probably remember from your childhood. There are many good, family-friendly restaurants too. If you go on a Saturday or Sunday, you can go to a matinee show at the Rockbox Theatre which has family-friendly music and comedy. Finally, you could go to Enchanted Rock and let the kids run around and see some great views of the countryside.

bk--

I have no idea how quickly tickets sell out for the train. You might want to call them and ask.

Some Austin Attractions...

The Barton Springs Pool is an ideal picnic location

Mount Bonnell is a popular tourist attraction

The Stevie Ray Vaughan Statue

The Texas State Capitol holds the honor of being the tallest building in the country

The Emma Long Metropolitan Park is a haunt for nature lovers

The Pease Park is the favorite haunt of dog lovers

http://www.thingstodoinaustin.com/fr...in-austin.html

Thanks folks, keep 'em comin'...

It's a little bit of a drive and I don't know what movie will be showing but there is a drive in Gatesville and that might be unique for the kids. It's called The Last Drive In. You might combine it with a day trip to the zoo in Waco.

Okay, just finished up Spring Break. Almost all of us got food poisoning earlier in the week, so that messed up several days, but we did get to do a few things:

* hiked on local trails in Hill Country, didn't get to go to Enchanted Rock because of above mentioned sickness
* went to the Austin Rodeo and participated in Carnival, etc... Had fun that day
* went on the Hill Country Flyer train - a steam train that is really NOT worth it at all. Were in coach class which is not climate controlled and it was 39 degrees outside with 30 MPH winds. The cars were probably 50 degrees or so, very uncomfortable. Wasn't anticipating this kind of cold in Austin in mid March. Burnett is a very boring town with nothing to do, took a shuttle to the only decent restaurant (The Highlander) just to warm up. That restaurant specialized in fried foods (chicken fried steak being their specialty), but was better than the other options (Whataburger & Pizza Hut). We will NOT be going on this waste of money again.

I can't see why anyone would recommend that train ride to anyone. The scenery is not even that good, was bored after around 10 minutes on the train.

Hi! My husband actually created the KidzAustin.com website to help out with issues like this one. One suggestion that quickly crosses my mind: Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo.

We've also got lots of other things included on our site from indoor places to fun outdoors and even local camping spots.

We invite you to check it all out at: http://www.kidzaustin.com

ha . .that was supposed to say my husband and I. (While I love him, I don't want to give him ALL the credit) : )

I love taking the Grandchildren on the Austin Metro train! We went last Spring Break and plan to go again this week. We got on at the Howard Lane Station, went all the way downtown, got off then walked to the Capitol. You can either have lunch or snack there or somewhere else on Congress. Next option is to walk back or ride a bus back to the train again for the ride back. Not knowing what direction you are you could just decide what station works best for you. The Metro is so clean, smooth and a terrific view! Enjoy!