No trip to San Antonio would be complete without seeing the River Walk and the Alamo. Although we had already visited both when we lived here before, we still wanted to take the kids to see them. Since it was December, the River Walk was decked out for Christmas and the kids loved seeing the festival of lights. We decided to spend more than we normally do since our vacation came in way under budget, so we paid to take a ferry on the river. Though the pictures didn’t come out very well because of the poor lighting we really enjoyed the half an hour tour on the river.
It was neat to get little tidbits of information about all the buildings 
surrounding the River Walk. Across the street at the Alamo the kids loved learning about the history of the state. We went into the church and had a look around, but they don’t allow pictures to be taken of the interior. In the gift shop at the Alamo there is a huge diorama of the battle that took place showing all the soldiers that is quite impressive. It is tricky to find cheap parking to get to the Alamo and River Walk, but it is worth it and I recommend if you visit San Antonio taking the time to check it out.
Visit Museums
While in San Antonio we took the kids to two different museums that Miles can get us into for free with his ASTC membership. Unfortunately, the Witte museum was under major construction and the main building was closed. It was still fun and educational though and we were able to see all of it with no difficulties. I like when the museum has a good mix of kid and adult displays, which the Witte museum delivers. It even had a fine art section with Native Texan artists.
The other museum we visited was the DoSeum a hands on kid’s museum. Every time we visit a kid’s museum we find new exhibits and have a good time. The large outdoor climbing structure looked like so much fun that I had to join the kids in climbing it. Pretty soon even Sarah was 
climbing around, so we all got some outdoor playtime in. Trip was amazed at the excavator simulator that let him fill a water line hole. We played all day and still didn’t see everything at the museum!
The San Antonio Zoo
After Christmas we decided to take the kids to the San Antonio Zoo, which is on the zoo association list. If you purchase a membership at any zoo on the association list, then you get into the other zoos for half price. While we were in Yellowstone we became members to the Wolf and
Grizzly Education Center and have used the membership only twice, but it was still a great deal and we plan on using it at least once more. The San Antonio Zoo is large and really hard to see in a single day. We put our hydration packs on and did our best to balance seeing as much as possible with getting quality family time. We stayed at the Gibbons enclosure a long time because an employee was there so we could 
ask questions. The Gibbons are so playful and active.
Ride the Train
It was great weather and the zoo wasn’t super busy, making it a perfect day to be there. Everyone had a blast and would have been happy with just the zoo, but Sarah and I wanted to make it extra special. We took the kids on the train in Breckenridge Park, which was the longest miniature train when it was built. The kids loved the train ride and the adults loved sitting for half an hour after walking half the day on pavement. It also gave everyone enough down time to regroup for one last stroll in the zoo. Good thing we did too because everyone got to see something they 
wanted. Miles found a bird’s nest in one of the bird houses they let you walk inside the enclosure with the birds. Trip got to see more alligators and Journey was excited to see the bats. Sarah and I were happy to see the tortoises, so it was fun for everyone all day long.
