While staying in South Texas, we had many opportunities to explore South Padre Island. This resort town on the Island of the same name had a lot of activities to do and explore. Of course, the thing we explored most was the beach! South Padre Island (SPI)’s main draw is its miles of white sand beaches on either the Laguna Madre or the Gulf of Mexico. The island has tons
While we wintered in south Texas, we had many opportunities to explore the museums of the region. One day, we decided to check out The Museum of South Texas History. While a lot of the history museums we encountered in Texas were dedicated to a section of Texas history, such as the war for Texas’s independence from Mexico, or the Mexican-American war, this museum spanned from the age of the
While staying in Brownsville, the kids and I decided to spend a day exploring the Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Park and learn about the Mexican-American war. The free park is dedicated to the opening moves of the Mexican-American War of 1846. This war was the last significant map change for the United States. The US Army eventually occupied Mexico City and forced the annexation of California, Nevada, Utah, Arizona,
While we were wintering at Resaca de la Palma State Park, we had many opportunities to explore Brownsville, Texas. One of our favorite spots to return to was the Gladys Porter Zoo! We visit a lot of zoos. This is made possible on our slim budgets thanks to our membership to the Red River Zoo in Fargo, ND. Both Gladys Porter and Red River are AZA members, so our membership
As we stayed the winter at Resaca de la Palma, we had lots of opportunities to explore the many parks and playgrounds that Brownsville, Texas had on offer. Dean Porter Park Dean Porter Park, located across the street from the Gladys Porter Zoo, this sprawling facility is actually a collection of facilities. There are 2 playgrounds that we enjoyed, coming back to the pirate ship playground multiple times. The park
While Staying at Lake Casa Blanca State Park, we took some time to explore Laredo, Texas. One of our stops was the Imaginarium inside the Mall del Norte. The kids have explored many museums and play spaces, and came here with high hopes. The Imaginarium of Laredo, Texas had a very limited footprint compared to other places we’ve visited, though that’s not surprising as it was located in a mall.
One stop during our stay at Lake Casa Blanca State Park was the Laredo Water Museum. The museum is another of those free museums that are overlooked by most people. Instead of being eclectic like others, this one was dedicated to water conservation, and how water is collected from the Rio Grande and treated for use in the Laredo area. The Laredo water museum was put together by the Laredo
On a little vacation from our stay at Resaca de la Palma State Park, we took a little side trip to Lake Casa Blanca State Park in Laredo, TX. This sprawling park, just outside of Laredo, Texas, is wrapped around the south end of Lake Casa Blanca. It hosts a small network of hiking and biking trails, as well as tons of day-use areas for fishing, swimming, boating, and more!
This winter we based ourselves out of Brownsville, Texas. Mom worked for Resaca de la Palma State Park, but I was free to find other work. Previously, I’ve had a lot of success working as a handy person through the app Task Rabbit. Unfortunately, Task Rabbit doesn’t support areas much further south than Corpus Christi, about 3 hours north of us. For a while, I tried another app Handy, through
While we were in South Texas we got to celebrate The Boy’s Birthday! While driving to Resaca De La Palma State Park we saw a few billboards advertising pirate cruises. Knowing that The Boy has been pirate-obsessed since he was 3 or 4, we knew that this would be the perfect birthday present! The first thing we did was book online with Black Dragon Pirate Cruises, based out of Port