houston to anywhere
 

traveling to houston with my 15 and 9 yr old to visit a friend and she's taking us to her beach house for the weekend in mid april. On monday we still have a few play days before we need to return to boston, where can we rent a car and drive to that they would find fun with mom.

how silly, I know we could rent a car at hobby airport, but meant where could we drive and play for a couple of days before coming home on Wed afternoon

How about Austin or San Antonio?

I think your kids would love Austin.

If she is taking you to her beach house, I would assume that you will be in Galveston. Will you be playing tourist in Galveston, or just spending time with your friend on the beach? Galveston offers Moody Gardens, The Strand, Schlitterbahn Water Park. And contrary to popular belief, Houston's not that bad. We should have wonderful weather where you could spend a day at Nasa and the Kemah Boardwalk. There is also the Houston Zoo and Museum District which includes an Imax, Planetarium and Butterfly Exhibit. Shopping at the Galleria with the indoor ice rink can also be fun. I know others will want you to run from Houston, but you might consider staying!

now that's a thought, my friend is going to take us to Galveston to stay at her beach house, my 15 yr old has surfed the Cape for a few years and is very excited about trying it out there. So maybe you're right just stay in Houston for a couple of days. How far is hobby from the downtown, and I've been to Austin and loved it, but was only there for a day so maybe...san antonio was pretty cool, but had enough after two days, they've never seen it though

I agree with all of seashell's suggestions. San Antonio might be fun too - you could see the Alamo, eat on the Riverwalk at Boudro's for tableside guacamole, maybe visit SeaWorld if it's open for the season. The Hyatt Hill Country Resort is a fun place for familes to stay; it has a lazy river that runs around the property that you can innertube on. April is a fabulous time to visit Texas.

molly, we must have been posting at the same time. If you decide to stay in Houston, the MFAH is getting ready to open a huge exhibit on Pompeii that's getting lots of buzz. It's in the same area as the HMNS with the IMAX and butterfly exhibit, and the zoo. Miller Outdoor Theater is pretty fun too and in the area - you can search online and see if there are any good shows going on; it's an outdoor venue where you can bring a picnic, sit on the hill, and watch the show for free.

Most kids do love Kemah too; you can eat and enjoy the view of the water, and they have rides for kids and a train that runs around the boardwalk. They've also recently opened a big roller coaster there. We've gone sailing with Captain Kidd - great if the weather is nice, and they'll let you bring a picnic on board.

how far is downtown houston from hobby or sugarland for that matter?

Hobby to Downtown is maybe 10 miles. Hobby to Museum District is about 5 miles. Hobby to Sugarland is about 20-25 miles.

In regards to sufing in Galveston, it would really depend on the weather. It is not something that Galveston is known for. Enjoy your trip whatever you decide!

the drive from downtown to hobby should be fairly easy up until you get to 45. If you avoid rush hour traffic, you should be able to drive to the airport from downtown in 20 min. Sugarland from downtown is a bit more, I would say about 45 min since you're coming from the other side of town. Having said that, since it is to catch a flight, add in 2 hours because security check is quite slow at either Hobby or IAH.

If you do decide to go away and not stay in Houston, why don't you do San Antonio for a day then Austin for another - then head back to Houston? Of course, there will be plenty to in Houston as already mentioned.

If you've never had mudbugs before, we have the texas crawfish festival in April...

http://www.texascrawfishfestival.com/index.htm

Kids will probably like the space museum at Johnson Space Center. It is between Houston and Galveston.