Travels with Children
The adventures I embark upon with my four young children.Archive for Texas
Double A Baseball in Frisco, Texas
We recently went to our first minor league baseball game and it was a blast for everyone. We saw the Frisco Rough Riders beat the San Antonio Missions at Dr. Pepper Ballpark in Frisco, Texas (a northern suburb of Dallas). This was so much more fun and family-friendly than a major league baseball game.
For starters the scale is just more kid friendly. The park is much smaller, old-fashioned and explorable. But the cost is also very reasonable. The highest priced tickets in the park are $19, but you can sit in the outfield grass (which was very fun and still close enough to see the action) for $7 a pop. For dinner we bought 2 drinks, 2 hotdogs, an individual pizza and ice cream in a plastic batters helmet all for $22.
There are also lost of family friendly extras. There are 2 bounce houses behind the second base section and a kids playground with picnic tables and multiple giant slides–plus it’s in the shade. So if little kids get bored with the game there’s a place to go for a change of pace and to burn off some energy.
Before the game you can meet the players and get autographs and every few innings they do some kind of audience participation thing. Like after the third inning they chose a few kids from the crowd and had a sack race from home plate to first base.
There’s also a costumed mascot whose antics during the game can even keep a toddler interested. My son called him “the big crazy chicken” but he is in fact a prairie dog named Deuce.
I can’t recommend this adventure enough. For ticket and scheduling info visit the Rough Rider’s website. Or to find the nearest double A ballpark in your area visit this site for a great list. And don’t rule out Triple A baseball, which is probably just as fun and affordable.
Fort Worth Zoo
First I just want to say hi to all the Travels with Children readers! Our recent trip to Texas was filled with Adventures and I’m thrilled to share a few of them with you. Thanks Minnemom!
I grew up going to the Fort Worth Zoo, back when the animals were crammed into tiny cages and no one thought there was anything wrong with that. Now, the 99-year-old Fort Worth Zoo is considered one of the top zoos in the country. I have to agree. The habitats are large and beautiful, the paths are wide and the education program is extensive.
Besides all the usual zoo features–hippos, zebras, giraffes (including a new baby!), a primate house, herpetarium, and big cats–the Fort Worth Zoo also has an area called Texas Wild! with animals native to the region and a replica of an old Texas town. It would be a nice addition to a homeschooling section on Texas or natural history. There are plenty of interactive features at many of the exhibits, especially at the herpetarium. Kids gets to guess which snakes are venmous and which are non-venomous. It’s a feature I fondly remember from childhood and was happy to see they’ve kept.
The highlight of the zoo for us was The Bird House. It’s a big aviary filled with day-glow blue, green and yellow cockatiels and parakeets. For $1 you can purchase little popcicle stick that’s been dipped in nectar and rolled in birdseed. My toddler absolutely loved hand feeding the birds and so close to the action. Be forewarned that the aviary is closed in the winter months.
There’s also an old fashioned carousel and 2 trains. The Yellow Rose express runs back and forth from the north end to the south end of the zoo with stops along the way. You can get a ticket for the carousel and a one-way on the train (in case your kids poop out at the far end and you need the quickest way back to the entrance) for $2. The Forrest Park Mini-Train is a much longer ride (45 minutes) and circles the outside of the zoo and botanical gardens. It’s a blast.
In general: The zoo boasts being open 365 days a year (10am-5pm). We went in January and it was both lovely weather and we had the entire park to ourselves. When we went again in April the place was packed with school kids on field trips. It was still a wonderful visit just a little more difficult to keep up with a roaming toddler in the sea of people. You can get detailed admission info and driving direction atwww.fortworthzoo.com. The quick breakdown is that adults are $10.50, kids 3-12 are $8 and 2 and under are free but if you purchase tickets in advance from any Albertson’s grocery store you can get $1 off each ticket. If your child is stroller age, bring your own. I didn’t like the strollers and thought the rentals were expensive at $7 a pop for a single and $9 for a double. Eateries include Pizza Hut, Dickey’s Barbeque, Ranch Grill, Grandy’s, an Ice Cream Parlor with Bluebell Ice Cream and a food court with Tex-Mex and Burger King. It’s hard to eat healthy here so if you’re info that, pack your own snacks and sack lunch. There are plenty of shady spots to picnic.
Travels with Children 