We promised the kids last Summer that we would start saving up for a vacation.  I don't think we've really ever been on a vacation so this was going to be a real treat.

After looking at destinations and Travis's schedule we decided that we would go to San Antonio, TX February 14-20.  It would mean pulling Samantha out of school for a few days but we felt it was worth it.

We left the morning of the 14th all packed and ready for the 12+ hour trip.  Travis was worried about hitting Dallas, TX during rush hour but we sailed right through it.  We then hit Austin and ended up in stop-and-go traffic until San Antonio.  The kids were in tears after a long drive and the disappointment of not being able to go to the pool that night.

We finally made it to our hotel and got checked in.  After a quick settling in I took the kids to the pool for a bit (it's vacation, right?)  The pool was very warm which was a welcome for all of us.

Sabbath we got up and had breakfast at our hotel then headed to church.  We visited the Scenic Hills SDA Church and enjoyed our visit.  The kids' Sabbath School was full and they each came home with a gift from them.

After lunch we spent the afternoon in the pool and relaxing.  That night we hit a nearby Target for a few necessities.

Sunday was our "BIG" day was we planned to spend all day at SeaWorld.  We had purchased back-stage passes and were to arrive at the park by 8:30.  We drove in and there were no guards at the gate, no where to pay parking, etc.  It was empty!  We just sailed through, parked and went to the front.  There were two other families there with us for a total of 11 of us.  It was chilly that morning and our only regret of the day was that we didn't take our coats.

We finally found a security guard to helped us contact someone to get our tour started.

We learned that Kara was our tour guide for the day and instead of the 1 hour tour I thought it would be, we got a 3 hour behind the scenes our, mostly while the park was closed.

We started off feeding the seals and sea lions.

 Afterwards, we were walking to our next destination when one of the performing seals came up in a golf cart!  It was special and unexpected treat!  The trainer told us to get our cameras ready and he would have the seal pose for us.

We headed to one of the dolphin tanks next where the trainers were working with the dolphins.  On our way out one of trainers offered to have a couple of dolphins show us how they lay on the scale to get weighed!

Attached to this tank is the Beluga Whale tank.  We loved hearing them "chirp" and swim back and forth in front of us.  We saw the older pure white ones and the baby gray ones.

We then went to their conservation/rescue house where there were birds and reptiles.  Each of us got to hold a beautiful white cockatiel.

On our way to another location we ran into Shamu who agreed to have a photo with us....

We knew we were on a special tour when we walked right by this sign....

Behind that sign was the backstage area where they keep the crane and tanks to move the dolphins, the "extra" dolphins, sting ray and small sharks.  We got the feed the sting ray and pet the shark..

Our tour guide, Kara delivered us directly to the first Shamu show of the day. We thanked her for her wonderful and knowledgeable tour!

We made sure we got seats OUT of the splash zone at the Shamu show...

We then had to check out the other shows.  Such as the dolphin show and the seal/walrus show...

At 3:45 we were to meet at the dolphin tank so that we could touch and feed a dolphin.  The tank was filled with dolphins but they called one over just for us!  What an amazing experience!

We ended the day at the small amusement park in middle.  The kids loved the little rides, especially the little roller coaster, they went four times!

Mom insisted on one more picture before heading out of the park.  We all sat in front of Shamu to remember the day.  Aftewards, the kids and Travis took in the last Shamu show while I headed to the gift shop for the last souvenir.   What a great, memorable day for us!

The next day we hit the Alamo, Riverwalk and Tower of America.  It meant more walking but the kids did great with it all.  In the middle we took a boat tour of the riverwalk.

 The kids loved seeing the cactus and palm trees for the first time.

 These ducks were just swimming around in the first park of the Riverwalk.

 We splurged and had lunch at the Rainforest Cafe

At the Tower of America's we got to see a 4-D movie...

 By late afternoon the kids just had to have a treat.

The next day we spent the morning at the hotel relaxing and watching a bit TV.  In the afternoon we went to the San Antonio Rodeo grounds.  Although we didn't get to the actual rodeo we enjoyed the grounds and animals.  We met a 9 year old barrel racer and watched her race, we saw hundreds and pigs, cows, and other animals.  We saw lots of western hats and boots, lasso's and other cowboy related things.  The kids were so tired of walking by the time we left!

Wednesday we had decided to go through a drive-through safari that was 1/2 hour north of San Antonio.  They have a pair of giraffe twins which is very unusual.  We gave the kids an opportunity to drive through the park and feed the animals by hands.

I suggested we check out of our hotel a day early and drive to Dallas taking off 4 hours off of our trip.  We did that and on Thursday morning we went to Dealey Plaza where JFK was shot and killed.

There is an "X" on the road where JFK was killed.

The ride back was long and tiring but we had such a great time, it was worth it!.