Spring Break 2016 Itinerary – RVing in Texas

Our Spring Break Trip was comprised of 5 days and 3 RV Parks.

Day One

Trip started with a stop at Northlake Village RV Park in Roanoke, Tx (See  Park Review under Weekend Trips Around Houston).  The park is located within 10 minutes of Texas Motor Speedway.  Only way to stay closer is to stay in the parking lot of the Speedway.  We opted for the RV Park because it allows us 50 amp power and a sewer connection. We chose this stop to attend the Good Guys 6th Spring Lone Star Nationals Car Show.  For the car buffs out there, this is a great show to attend.  Tons of cars to see of all makes and models.  We spent about 4 hours looking at cars, the swap meet and the vendors.  For those of us that aren’t car buffs, it is still fun.  There is every variety of car and truck.

Days Two and Three

Our second stop was in Keene, TX at the RV Ranch of Keene (See Park Review under Weekend Trips Around Houston) about 45 minutes from Dallas/Ft. Worth.  This was not originally on the trip, but after we got rained out at Dinosaur Valley State Park, it was a bit of a scramble to find an RV Park with availability.  We spent the afternoon of the first day at Six Flags Over Texas .  It was a bit crowded, but not too bad and the weather was very pleasant.  If you plan to visit Fiesta Texas and/or Six Flags Over Texas more than once.  I suggest investing in the season pass.  After only a couple of trips, it pays for itself.

The second day of our stay in Keene was spent in downtown Dallas.  We visited the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza. The museum was very interesting and took a couple of hours to get through the self guided audio tour.  Be sure to check the hours of operation for the specific day you plan to visit.   In the Old Red Courthouse building, there is a tourist center with great information on the attractions in downtown.  Be sure to stop in and get the map and recommendations from the helpful staff.    After the museum, we walked over to the Dallas World Aquarium. I wouldn’t recommend walking if your kids are really young or if it is hot, but for our Spring afternoon it was fine.  The aquarium is more of an ecological travel through a rainforest than the usual aquarium.  We had lunch at the restaurant on the 3rd floor and made our way down from the tops of the trees to the bottom of the ocean.  I think I would recommend starting at the top.  It tooks us 2 to 2-1/2 hours to go through everything including lunch.  Our last stop of the day was the Reunion Tower GeO-Deck.  You take an elevator to the top of the tower and can walk around the perimeter to get different views of Dallas.  This was our shortest stop and was probably only 30 minutes or so including waiting for the elevator to take us up.  It is a nice view, but probably my least favorite activity of the day.

There are lots of there things to do in downtown that we plan to go to in the future, including the Perot Museum of Nature and Science, the Dallas Zoo, and the Pioneer Plaza, but for this trip, there just wasn’t time.

Days Four and Five

Our final RV park was the Airport Park Corps of Engineers (See Park Review under Weekend Trip Around Houston) in Waco.  A detailed review will be provided, but this is one of my favorite parks that we have stayed at anywhere.  This was our first Corps of Engineers Park.  The sites were large and level.  Our site was located on the banks of Lake Waco.  It was very clean and only about 15 minutes from downtown Waco.  Our itinerary was comprised of a couple of activities in Waco.  First, the Waco Mammoth National Monument (located approximately 5 minutes from the RV park).  We truly enjoyed touring the building and listening to the guide.  Certainly something I would recommend for adults and kids alike.  Couple of notes… Be sure to check their operating schedule.  During the time of our visit, the monument is closed on Sundays and Mondays.  Also, it is possible to stop and get tickets for a tour later in the day.  When we arrived at about 1:30, the next available tour was 2:30, but we opted to buy our tickets for the last tour of the day (4:20).  This allowed us to use our time doing things and not just waiting.  I think this would be particularly helpful during the summer because there is no air conditioned area to wait and it was crowded during Spring Break, so I suspect summer would be the same.  The tour takes about an hour.  The other major stops for us in Waco were the Dr. Pepper Museum located downtown.  The kids seemed to enjoy it and it was pretty interesting. The Silos from the Fixer Upper tv show are located about two blocks away, so we walked over to just look around.  We also made a quick stop at the Baylor Bear Habitat.

On the morning of the fifth day, we drove back to Houston.

All in all, it was an enjoyable trip with a variety of activities to keep everyone entertained.  Now to finish the planning for the Summer Trip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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