We took a little trip to San Antonio last weekend and had so much fun. It was definitely a whirlwind trip– but we were able to cram quite a bit into our 2 days! Our trip started at 5 am on Saturday morning. The only time slot available for the new children’s museum was 10:30 am, which meant we had to leave our house by 5. It wasn’t so bad. Traffic was really light, the kids slept and we stopped at the Czech Stop for some breakfast once the sun came up. (Would you believe that this was the first time that we had ever stopped at the Czech Stop?? In all the years of traveling 35 in college, we never ever stopped. Unbelievable!)
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Once we made it to SA, we headed straight for the shuttle to take us to the museum. It was opening weekend and there wasn’t parking near the museum because of all of the outdoor activities that were set up. It definitely added to our fun– the boys felt like they were on a school bus.
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The new children’s museum is called The DoSeum and it is freaking cool! I wish that we would have had more time (and that it wouldn’t have been so crowded) because there were some areas that *I* wanted to explore more. It really isn’t just for kids– we had a blast, too! Upon entering, there is a wind tunnel with different props you can use to experiment with the wind. Logan loved it– Atticus wasn’t too sure.
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Chris’ most favorite part of the museum was definitely the lights and sounds room. In the sound room, children were encouraged to investigate different sounds with all of their senses. There was a piano that had the insides exposed to show exactly how it works. The piano was connected to a pad that you stand on that vibrates when you play it. There was a tube of styrofoam pellets connected to speakers that the kids could control. When they turned on different frequencies, the pellets would seem to dance around– it was mesmerizing! For the older kids, there was even an area to compose and record your own music.
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The light exploration room was really fun, too. We discovered that Atticus really likes light tables… so it looks like I need to just go ahead and buy the one that has been sitting in my amazon cart. 🙂
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The next room we visited was for traveling exhibits. There were a couple of areas with robots that you could manipulate…
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And on the other side of the room, there were members of the San Antonio Orchestra demonstrating their instruments and letting the kids try them out. Logan LOVED this part. (***the flute and the trombone players disinfected their mouth pieces in between each child… so no germs were spread***) And I will say… Logan was pretty darn good at that trombone!
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The next room was most definitely Atti’s favorite. If you have ever spent any time with Atticus, you know how much this kid loves balls. Throwing them, rolling them, and just holding onto them…. balls are his jam. This next room was full of tunnels and other contraptions. The tunnels all had air flowing through them so if you stuck a ball next to an opening, it would get sucked in– which the boys thought was hilarious.
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We also played outside for a bit. The play structures are geared towards kids a little older than Logan and Atti, but we had fun anyway!
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Next to the play structures there is an amazing water table. There were sections for kiddos of all ages. Ramps, whirlpools, funnels… dumping, splashing, sprinkling. SO. MUCH. FUN.
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And then *MY* favorite part is of course the part that we got the least amount of photos from…. the Our Town section of the DoSeum was so freaking cool– like it made me want to be a kid again just so I could go play. This area was set up like a little town, but the attention to detail was just amazing. There was a grocery store complete with kid sized carts to push around… with boxes of food (all actual HEB brand boxes that had been converted into toys) with areas in the grocery store for kids to pretend to not only be the shopper, but they could also get behind the counter and work. Logan was obsessed with the pretend meat slicer behind the deli counter. Atticus really liked taking the eggs in and out of the container. In the Our Town area, there was also a pretend food truck, bank, airport, vet, mechanic, trolley, roads with cars to drive…. SOOOO much fun stuff to explore.
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Unfortunately, the Our Town area was super cool, but also super crowded… so much so that we were all feeling pretty done by the end of it and didn’t visit the remaining areas. We headed out to grab some lunch and check into our hotel to rest/nap before our photo session with our friends, Lauren and Keegan– our whole point of coming to San Antonio before we decided to turn it into a family vacation! On our way to the session that evening, the boys fell asleep in the car. Somehow (and just know that I’m still in shock about this part…) we were able to transfer them to their stroller and they stayed asleep for the first half of the session! UNBELIEVABLE!
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After our session, Keegan recommended that we check out The Cover for dinner… and holy crap am I glad we did. What a FUN place! I really think we need one in Denton. It would definitely fit right in! Local, organic, sustainable food (some of it grown in a little garden right there on the patio!)… an awesome outdoor area with a playscape for the kids… and a killer beer selection. My heaven. <3
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We got back to the hotel after dinner and pretty much crashed. We were all beat. Luckily, we didn’t have to be up early in the morning, so we all slept in and enjoyed the comfy hotel beds and the AC cranked down to freezing (the BEST part of staying in a hotel!). The next morning, we grabbed breakfast and had a lazy morning in our room. We then headed out to Natural Bridge Caverns for some cave exploration. We’ve had a ton of rain lately, and because of this the underground aquifers have filled up and changed the way the caverns typically look. According to our tour guide, the acquirers haven’t been full since 2007.
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After our morning at the cave, we headed home. What a fun trip! We are definitely going to try to start taking more little weekend get aways. Where should we go next??
Gramps likes the photos!