Feature

The International Dyslexia Association:
www.interdys.org
(Austin Branch: www.austinida.org)

National Center for Learning Disabilities:
www.ncld.org

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.

I had seen the signs advertising Capital of Texas Zoo as we whizzed along Highway 71 East toward Bastrop several times. My curiosity piqued, I consulted the wisdom of yelp.com, where the few reviews glowed. So on a beastly hot Sunday afternoon, our family bestirred itself to the zoo.

My previous zoo experiences have been almost entirely urban and large – the San Antonio Zoo, the San Diego Wild Animal Park, the zoo in our former hometown of Greenville, South Carolina. To get to Capital of Texas Zoo, however, we turned off of 71 in Cedar Creek and drove four serpentine miles into what seemed like the middle of a horse pasture. “Is this a zoo for ranch animals?” my oldest inquired.
The answer turned out to be “not exactly.” This zoo, which in the last couple years has expanded its hours to 365 days per year, now houses five hundred animals. It’s a childhood dream come true for owner Michael Hicks, who runs the place with help from two full-time keepers, a corps of volunteers, and four teenaged Junior Keepers. Mr. Hicks designed the place to fulfill a dual mission of conservation and education, and he takes his Zoo Show on the road throughout the year.

If you grew up around Austin, you may remember Aquarena Springs, in nearby San Marcos, as a theme park whose array of visual delights included Ralph the swimming pig, a cable car ride, underwater clowns, and synchronized swimming shows performed by costumed mermaids. Visit the area today, however, and you’ll find an entirely different sort of place. Depending on whether your tastes run toward the more natural or the more visually entertaining, you’ll be either pleasantly surprised or faintly disappointed. For our family, the nature center offered a relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

November is National Adoption Month

July 2000 may not recall anything special for most Austinites, but for the Horn family, its significance is nothing short of historical.

"Our birthmother selected us in July of 2000," says Joyce Horn, of South Austin.

That was nearly two years after Joyce and her husband, Al, realized that in order to have children, they would need to adopt.

After completing a lot of paper work, mandatory training, and filling out a personal profile, the Horns were accepted by an adoption agency with only a vague promise of a child sometime in the future.

It was a winter day in Austin and the rain had fallen for days, a surefire recipe for cabin fever. Nature needed to be explored, blue lips notwithstanding. After all, this is Texas, and before we know it we’ll be longing for a chilly breeze. Besides, there are a few young pirates around these parts who hanker for buried treasure.

And buried treasure is exactly what my three pirates found, when we combined forces with our friends John and Donna and asked them to introduce us to the world of geocaching. After spending a good part of the day chasing down boxes large and small in locations ranging from a solitary hiking trail to a hidden corner of a busy parking lot, we almost felt like we had rediscovered Austin. I think we might be hooked!

Wimberley is one of those towns whose considerable charms keep unfolding, and taking the time to uncover those charms makes for the perfect weekend or day trip.

Clinging to the hope that autumn really is arriving central Texas, I thought I’d share some tips this month for camping with your family.

June brings memories of my last visit with my father on Father's Day 1994.

My father was a firm, wry witted, good old boy. A genuine John Wayne generation specimen. When he was 49 he had the first of several heart attacks, surgeries, and hospitalizations that would impact almost every aspect of who he was-and who I am. During that first hospitalization, he was terrified. He also said "I love you" to me for the first time in my life.

I am thinking of him often lately. Perhaps it is because it is the 10-year anniversary of his leaving this life, or maybe because it's Father's Day. But really, I think it has more to do with the Iraq war.

Austin families can step back in time this Christmas season to walk along the narrow, bustling streets of ancient Bethlehem, without ever leaving the Texas Hill Country.