This year we decided to do a few things close to home for spring break. With a 5 year old and a 2 year old traveling can be quite an adventure of its own. We didn’t want to go anywhere that would be notoriously over crowded so we opted for a few adventures in our comfort zone.
We started the week by driving up to my husband’s grandmother’s lake property on Lake Fork. The area itself is pretty quaint, which was the vibe we were going for. We just wanted to relax by the lake, do a little fishing, enjoy the outdoors and of course make s’mores. It was just what we needed to start off spring break. Bonus: we found an awesome little park in Quitman, TX that was built by the Sabine River Authority. It was perfect, I highly suggest you check it out if ever on the area!
Next on the agenda our favorite, Huntsville State Park. All the camping spots were booked of course, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the numerous trails and beautiful spring weather. (One of these days we will take the boys camping!)
We really wanted to do something new so we decided on the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, TX. I knew ahead of time that this was a much smaller zoo, however we heard great things.
It was definitely small, and honestly, a little underwhelming. A lot of the bigger animals were hiding and there were quite a few exhibits under construction. Overall it was a pretty little zoo, and we did enjoyed our visit (especially seeing all the peacocks that freely roam the grounds).
And that’s a wrap for Spring Break 2025…we’ve got plenty more adventure on the agenda for this year 🙃
We knew we’d be laying my grandma to rest this summer in Saint Louis, MO, and in order to get there, we had to plan.
To get to St. Louis from our home in Texas we were looking at an 11 1/2 hour drive one way. With a 2 year old and a 4 year old that task seemed almost impossible so we decided to break it up in to multiple days.
Our first day of driving was supposed to be about 5 hours but of course took much longer;we knew it would. We took into consideration potty breaks, bathroom breaks, and honestly the occasional snuggle breaks for our sweet toddler.
We stayed in McAlester, OK the first night and it was just okay. The hotel was decent, the area was fine, the biggest letdown was the dirty pool. I intentionally booked every hotel along the way with the pool in mind and unfortunately that didn’t work out as planned. But we made the best of the situation and had dinner and ice cream at the Braum’s next to the hotel.
Day two we planned to see my little brother and family in the Kansas City area. We really had such a great time. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing our sweet boys enjoy their family, especially their cousins. We stayed in Lenexa, KS the second night and in hindsight we definitely would have stayed with family. I did not pick a good hotel, it was a tad sketchy and the bearded one got stuck in the elevator! (Which of course we can laugh about now).
Another 5+ hours in the car on day 3 and we finally arrived in St. Louis. I picked my favorite hotel for our 3 night stay, Hilton Home2Suites. If you’ve never stayed, I highly suggest it. The rooms are huge and have plenty of space for the littles to run around. They have a large kitchen area, pool, breakfast everyday, and so much more. It’s our go-to hotel on long vacations. The first night there we picked up some groceries and used the hotel grills for our dinner.
While in STL we attended my grandmother memorial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. It was definitely difficult, but I was happy to be around my loved ones.
After the service we all went to a pretty good restaurant, Three Kings Public House. Once again our boys got to see more of their family.
We didn’t want to rush back home to Texas so we decided to do some sightseeing and explore STL a bit. First we picked up my older brother and went to see our old house, my grandmother’s house, and hit up a few favorites like Ted Drew’s and Imo’s (you can’t go wrong with frozen custard and pizza).
The next day we wanted to check out the science center but it’s closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays so we went to the zoo instead.
Fun fact: The STL Zoo is free! My brother and I have so many great memories of the zoo and it was the perfect place to take the boys. We stayed all day, saw all the animals, and road the train a couple of times. It was the perfect ending to our whirl wind road trip.
After we left STL we traveled home a different way, which took us through Arkansas. We stayed in North Little Rock in a hotel downtown. The hotel was good but once again the pool was closed. We did however find a cute little park on the river and let the boys run off some of that energy from the long hours in the car.
Our last day in the car was the longest at just over six hours (before all the stops). But at last, we made it home safe and sound. After 4 different hotels, 6 days on the road, and ridiculous amount of hours in the car, we finally made it home.
My biggest takeaways from this road trip would have to be
Go with the flow, stop often, don’t get stuck on the minute to minute plans, you will eventually get to you destination
Pack snacks, lots and lots of snacks, our boys have their own snack boxes
Keep them entertained, we bought dual DVD players which we used a lot
I know I’m not alone when I say this school year was beyond exhausting for teachers across the globe. We have undoubtedly earned this years summer vacation. But, instead of spending our first weekend at home recuperating and decompressing, we packed up and headed to Fredericksburg to visit the elephants at The Preserve.
When I first heard that there was an elephant preserve in Texas I knew I had to go. Elephants are hands down my favorite animals and I’ve always been fascinated with them. After doing my research I booked our Air B&B and tickets to see the elephants. I figured this would be the perfect way to celebrate the end of a rough school year.
As always our Air B&B did not disappoint. If you’ve never rented an Air B&B I highly recommend you do so.
We checked in the night before so we had time to relax before the big elephant adventure. It was a good thing we prepared ahead of time because the Bearded One was a little under the weather. Lucky for us me and baby O had plenty of room to run around the AirB&B while the Bearded One rested up.
The day of our elephant encounter started off rainy but cleared up by the time we arrived. I was a little nervous that baby O would be scared of the elephants and I didn’t know what to exactly what to expect.
Each encounter only allows about 30 people so it wasn’t crowded and we all were able to interact with the 3 beautiful Asian Elephants (Rosie, Kitty and Becky).
They staff did an amazing job explaining everything about these fascinating animals. They were knowledgeable and made the experience not just educational but interactive and fun.
We were able to give Rosie a bath, take pictures with Becky, watch Kitty get a pedicure, and so much more. Everyone was allowed to interact with “the girls” and baby O wasn’t even scared!
Elephant Encounter at The Preserve Giving Rosie A Bath Elephant Feet!
Overall I give this experience 10/10 and I would definitely do it again! (We might wait until Baby O is a little older and more attentive).
If you’d like more information please follow this link:https://www.visitthepreserve.com/ . The staff said they would soon be adding more animals and exhibits so stay tuned!
The Adventures of Messy Bun and The Bearded One 