If you’re like me, you can’t wait for Spring Break to get here – a whole week of relaxing with your sweet children. You can relax and have fun, take picnics, play games, and just love each other. But then, memories of past Spring Breaks full of bickering siblings come trickling back. “He took my toy. It’s my turn to be Mario. She keeps touching me.” Now that you think about it, 10 whole days with your children at home may have you running for the hills. Lucky for you, we have some tried and true inexpensive day trips to break up the monotony, keep you sane, and your kids happy without breaking the bank.
Crowe’s Nest Farm Animal Life Center
Located in Manor, approximately 30 minutes east of Austin, Crowe’s Nest is a 100-acre farm that offers a fun and unique learning experience for kids. You will want to get there in time for the guided tour at 10 am to see how to milk a cow (you might even get to try it). After your guided tour, you can walk around at your leisure to view the fairy tale-themed gardens, such as Humpty Dumpty and Fairiewood, the animal pens (they have a HUGE pig, peacocks, chickens, a bobcat, sheep and more), the aviaries, and a duck and fish pond to name just a few.
Age range: Best for preschool to elementary.
Cost: $5 per person
http://www.crowesnestfarm.org/index.html
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center
Located in Glen Rose, the Wildlife Center is a two-hour drive, but well worth it. Once you get there, buy a bag of feed for $7.95 (there is a limit of one bag per car) and take the 2-3 hour drive through the wildlife preserve. You’ll see beautiful views of the animals that you can feed from the car (watch out for the ostrich – they like to hog the road). Fossil Rim boasts more than 1,000 animals on 1,700-acres. The center is open 8:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., with the last car admitted at 5:30 p.m. Approximately halfway through, you can stop at the Overlook Café to eat and see sweeping views of Chalk Mountain. If you would like to stay overnight, lodging is available.
http://www.fossilrim.org/index.php
Inner Space Caverns Located in Georgetown
Inner Space Caverns is a cool (72 degrees year round!) way to see into the past, but with 98% humidity, you won’t need a jacket. As one of the best-preserved caves in Texas, you will see beautiful stalactites, ancient flowstones, and giant columns as well as amazingly clear lakes. Kids will love learning about the sinkholes where skeletons of prehistoric animals have been found. Cave drawing-type pictures are painted on a few of the walls to show the kids what those prehistoric animals looked like. Funny tour guides will take you on the Adventure Tour (standard tour) for $17.95 for adults and $9.95 for kids ages 4-12 (kids 3 and younger are free). If you would like to see more, they also offer additional tours that last longer and cost more.
Tips: Wear comfortable walking shoes. Because of the uneven terrain, strollers, wheelchairs, walkers and crutches are not allowed. The souvenir shop is stocked with cool rocks and minerals that can be purchased. Cameras are welcome.
http://www.myinnerspacecavern.com/index.php
Pioneer Farms
Located just off of Braker, you won’t have to travel far to be transported to another place. A living history museum, the farm offers a good view of pioneer life with the cotton planter’s farm, Texian farm, Tonkawa encampment, German immigrant farm, and more. On Friday, March 19, Pioneer Farms will offer Daily Life on the Rural Prairie from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Cost: Tickets are $6 for children and $8 for adults. A variety of classes are offered for those 10 and older.
Sweet Berry Farm
Located in Marble Falls, Sweet Berry Farm is about an hour’s drive west of Austin. The farm offers fresh seasonal produce for picking — and since Spring means strawberries, they should be ripe for picking! When your basket is full, you can pet the horses, donkeys, goats, and other animals onsite. Pack a lunch and sit down at one of the picnic tables. Oh, don’t forget to indulge in their homemade strawberry ice cream.
Cost: The strawberries are $2.75 per pound. Picking boxes are 50¢ each and can hold up to 8 pounds. There is no minimum or maximum amount of fruit that you have to pick. Tip: Be sure to call ahead to make sure that they have enough berries—there have been some years when a late freeze has claimed many of the strawberries.
http://www.sweetberryfarm.com/
Waco
There is so much to see and do in Waco, this day trip could be broken up into a couple of days. Yes, it does take a little over an hour to get there, but once you get there you’ll find a ton of stuff to do, cinluding…
Cameron Park Zoo
Grab the kids and head for the animals. This shaded zoo offers a wide variety of species that you would normally see at the Ft. Worth zoo (lions, tigers, bears, elephants, lemurs, nocturnal exhibit, bison butterfly garden, aquarium, lemurs and much more), but is small enough that you can fit it in half a day, making it great for preschoolers and elementary-aged children who can get tired of walking around all day. The animals are in natural looking habitats and divided up into continents to make navigation easy. The zoo is open 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Saturday and 11 am to 5 pm on Sunday.
Cost: Adults $9; Children (4-12) $6; Sr. Citizens $8; 3 and younger are free
http://www.cameronparkzoo.com/
Dr. Pepper Museum
If you’re a Pepper, then you have to stop in at the Dr. Pepper Museum. The museum takes you back in time to explore the history of Dr. Pepper and of course you have to stop and get a Dr. Pepper float. There are a variety of tours offered to engage different age groups – just call ahead because some tours need a reservation. The museum is open 10 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Monday through Saturday and Noon to 4:15 p.m. on Sunday.
Cost: Adults $7; Children $3; Sr. Citizens $5
http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/
Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum
Increase your knowledge of Texas history with a stop at the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Visitors can view the Lone Ranger collection, historic Ranger badges, a Thompson machine gun used by a Texas Ranger, as well as an exhibit called Women and the Rangers that explores the role women had on the frontier. The museum also offers a Jr. Texas Ranger program, as well as educational programs that include programs for home-schooled children and scouts that cover topics such as crime scene investigation, mapmaking, orienteering, and mapmaking. The museum is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily.
Cost: Adults $6; Children (6-12) $3; 6 and under are free.
http://www.texasranger.org/index.htm
Okay, so we can’t promise to stop the bickering, but this will surely give the kids something else to talk and think about than who took who’s toy. So, fill up the gas tank, turn on the radio, head out, and enjoy your sanity.
Jennifer Taylor is pinch-writing for Sizzle Sights columnist Hannah Diller this month, while Hannah took time off to write the cover story. Jennifer is a freelance writer who enjoys getting out with her kids (despite the occasional bickering!). She and her family live in Austin.
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