Big Lou's -- Home of the GIANT Pizza

http://biglouspizzaonline.com/

For my 42nd birthday, I decided to celebrate BIG by ordering the famous 42" pizza from Big Lou's!

This San Antonio pizzeria has been in business since 2000, but they became famous after their giant pizza was featured on an episode of "Man vs Food" a few years ago.
http://www.travelchannel.com/tv-shows/man-v-food/photos/san-antonio

I knew there was no way I could eat this mega-pizza all by myself, so I took my entire family with me to celebrate my birthday and see if they could help me finish off the 3-1/2 ft. pizza.  Hmmm .... what do you think?  Did we eat it all?

Going to Big Lou's is an 'experience' for which you need to plan ahead. It has become quite a tourist destination and on weekends you can expect to wait an hour or more for your pizza.

When you first arrive, you stand in line to place your order and pay. Then you wait either in the waiting room or on the outside patio for your table to be ready. We grabbed a few sodas from the bar and then decided to wait outside with all the kids since there were picnic tables on the patio.

When your name is finally called, your party is led to a table in the main dining room.  From that point, it was only about 15 minutes until our mega pizza was delivered!

This was the biggest pizza any of us had ever seen.  It was definitely a WOW moment to see it being carried out by two servers from the kitchen.  The slices on this giant pie were as big as a small child!

And even though we tried our very best that day to eat the entire 42" pizza, we were a few slices short of our goal.  So next time, we'll have to invite a few extra friends to join us!

Embassy Suites San Antonio Riverwalk

If you're looking for a hotel on the San Antonio Riverwalk, especially if you're traveling with children, I highly recommend the Embassy Suites. This hotel is located on the banks of the Riverwalk in the heart of downtown San Antonio. And since it's only been open since 2010, it still feels brand new.

It is not, however, located on the main riverwalk, but on the newer section.  So while it may not be in the middle of all the riverwalk action, it is still a great hotel for price and the space.  And when you throw in the complimentary hot breakfast and evening reception ... it really is a bargain!

We are partial to Embassy Suites whenever we travel with the kids because of the extra space in their all-suite rooms.  It's nice to be able to spread out in the separate rooms and relax without tripping over luggage and people.  So when we found out there was a new one on the Riverwalk, we had to try it out.  HINT -- when reserving a room at any Embassy Suites, always request a corner room.  While all the suites are nice and roomy, the corner suites are extra large.  Your request may not be granted if you're visiting during a busy weekend or holiday, but it's worth asking! 

Fortunately, our request was honored on a recent weekend trip to the Riverwalk.  Our corner suite could have easily accommodated more than the four of us.  It had a huge living room with a sleeper sofa, as well as a dining table and wet bar.

And the separate bedroom had two queen beds, a dresser with large drawers for storage and a walk in closet with floor to ceiling mirrors.

The extra large bathroom was very nice with a tile floor, granite counter tops, and a tub and shower.

In addition to the large rooms, we also love the complimentary breakfast and evening reception that the Embassy Suites are known for.  In addition to traditional breakfast buffet items, you also get made-to-order omelets. 

Being a new hotel, this particular Embassy Suites had a very nice, large dining area where the evening receptions and breakfast buffets are held.

Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center

Port Aransas, TX

Everyone knows about the beach and the great fishing in Port Aransas. But have you visited the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center?  This little nature center is a great place to visit early in the day before you head to the beach.

Walking along the raised boardwalk through the marshy wetlands
will give you an upclose view of birds, turtles, and fish.

And if you're really lucky -- you might see an alligator!

About halfway down the boardwalk you'll find an observation tower. 

The kids love climbing to the top for a panoramic view of the wetlands. 

There's even a free viewing scope at the top of the tower
that lets you zoom in on the surrounding wildlife.

As mentioned earlier, there are two resident alligators in the pond that are named Boots and Bags. But catching a glimpse of them is a rare treat. We lucked out on our second visit to the Birding Center and finally saw one come up for air!  That was definitely the highlight of the trip for us.

So the next time you're in Port Aransas go check out the Birding Center, preferably early in the morning before it gets too hot. We like to rent an electric buggy to drive over there.

And on the way back, stop by the Robert Points Park near the ferry landing and watch the ships come through the channel.  You'll probably even see dolphins swimming in their wakes.

This park also has a great playground for the kids.

Sandcastle Lessons

Everyone loves to build sandcastles at the beach. It brings out the kid in all of us.  So when we went to the beach last summer, we decided to take Sandcastle Lessons from the famous Port Aransas Sandcastle Guy. In case you haven't heard, Port Aransas has some of the world's best sand for building castles and sculptures.

Mark Landrum was an accountant until he realized how much fun it was building sandcastles and teaching others how to do the same.  So now he's a full-time Sandcastle Guy and loving life.

We emailed Mark a few days before our beach trip to see if he could give our group a lesson. Thankfully he had an opening at 6:00pm on a Sunday evening  (he does 4-5 lessons a day).

He provided all the equipment needed for the lesson.  His "high tech tools" included shovels, 5-gallon buckets for water, additional 5-gallon buckets with the bottoms cut out for molding the sand, and some plastic cutlery for adding details to your castle.

The first order of business was to take the Sandcastle Builders Pledge to "have fun, be helpful and use mistakes as an opportunity for creativity". In other words, when something crumbles -- and it will -- don't cry over it. Just make it into something new.

Then we got down to the business of making our sandcastles.  We really learned a lot!  For example, getting a good, solid foundation is the key to successfully building a sandcastle that won't crash.

Now we know what those 5-gallon buckets are for --- to fill with sand for our base.

Once you have a solid foundation, then you top it with mud pies. Who doesn't like making mud pies?  We added sand to our water buckets until it made a soupy sand mixture. Then grabbing a handful, we plopped down our mud pies, one on top of the other.

Once your tower is as tall as you want it, the real fun begins! This is when you start carving the sandcastle using those high-tech tools . . . plastic forks, knives, and spoons.

Mark showed us how to make several different roofs for our tower. You can have a thatched roof, shingles, or a "german mushroom". And you can add eaves,with or without scalloped edges.

Then, working our way down the castle, we decorated the tower.  Mark taught us how to make our towers have bricks, "bear claw" marks, add windows and balconies. Even pillars.  And finally, for the base we learned how to carve stairs for our castle.

Everyone was deep in creative thought working on their masterpiece.  What a great Team Building exercise! And finally, after adding that last finishing touch, our sandcastle was done!

For lessons in the Corpus Christi / Port Aransas area, contact Mark Landrum at (361) 290-0414 or lessons@sandrum.com.  www.sandrum.com

Visiting Big Tex

State Fair of Texas

http://www.bigtex.com

They say that everything is bigger and better in Texas.  And for over 125 years, people have enjoyed the super-sized fun that is found at the State Fair. Under the watchful eye of the 52-ft tall mascot Big Tex, 3 million people attend the State Fair of Texas each year.  Team Baird decided that it was time to see what all the excitement is about.

Lodging

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/travel/daldt-dallas-marriott-city-center/

The official State Fair website recommends several nearby hotels in the Dallas area. We went with the Marriott Dallas City Center and couldn’t have been more pleased. This was a great hotel located in downtown Dallas, right on the light rail route to the Fair. And using our AAA discount, we didn’t pay any more than you would for a motel.  As an added bonus, the hotel is connected to the Plaza of the Americas which has a food court and ice skating rink.

DART light rail

You can drive to the Fair Park and pay $15 to park, and hope that you find a parking space within walking distance. Or you can ride the light rail. An all-day pass is $4 per person.  Our hotel was just 3 stops away from the fairgrounds, so this was a great option for us. And the kids really enjoyed it.

Tickets

As soon as we knew we were going to fair, I pre-purchased our admission tickets online.  You can wait in line and purchase tickets at the gate for $16, or order them in advance for just $13.95. 

You can also purchase your food and ride coupons in advance.  A sheet of 20 tickets is $10 or 50 cents per ticket.  There are no arm bands that let you ride all the rides.  Nor are there any discounts for purchasing large amounts of tickets. It’s a flat rate of $0.50 per ticket whether purchased in advance or onsite.

Midway

I thought that the $40 in tickets that I pre-purchased would get us through the first day. WRONG! Especially once the kids hit the Midway.

Most rides are 10 tickets each.  Yep, that’s $5 per person per ride.  So, with two kids, we quickly went through those $40 worth of tickets the first hour!

Old school entertainment -- the Fun House was as popular as ever.

Food

Let’s face it … the State Fair of Texas is all about fried foods.  If it can be battered and fried, then you’re bound to find it at the state Fair.  This year’s winner in the food competition was Fried Jambalaya and Fried Cookie Dough.

We tried the fried cookie dough and thought it was delicious. 

We also sampled the Fried Snickers, which tasted just like it looks.
Ummm ...yeah. A melted Snickers bar. 

Another popular item was the Chicken Fried Bacon.

We stopped by the State Fair of Texas Wine Garden to sample some Texas wines and craft beers. It was a nice place to sit and rest our feet for awhile while sipping wine and enjoying a cheese platter.

All food and drinks at the State Fair are purchased with tickets.  Water and sodas are typically 8 tickets each. Beers and Wines are about 12-15 tickets.  And most foods are between 10-15 tickets. To give you an idea of what things cost, we got 2 corndogs and an order of french fries for 33 tickets.  You do the math.

Fletchers Corny Dogs are a State Fair staple, so expect long lines.

Exhibits and Shows

I admit we didn’t spend as much time exploring this part of the fair as we did the food and the Midway. But we did walk through several exhibit halls and saw a few demonstrations with cooking knives and cleaning products.  And there was one exhibit hall where you could sample tastes of Texas --  salsa, pecans, nachos – but the lines for these freebies were so long that we kept on walking.

There is also children’s petting zoo in one exhibit hall and livestock in another.  We peeked in and saw this huge pig! Kind of makes you think twice about eating that bacon.

We also stopped and watched horse trainer Robert Liner in his show Spirit of the Horse. And guys and girls alike enjoyed the auto show which is so big that it's held in two separate exhibit halls.

Tucked away in the back of the fairgrounds is my favorite exhibit -- the Greenhouse on the Midway. Here you’ll find beautiful gardens, as well as various Southern Living guest speakers.

This is also where you’ll find the Texas Railway, a collection of model trains, winding its way throughout the greenhouse.

And we enjoyed watching the fascinating Farmer Mike, aka the Picasso of Pumpkin Carvers!

After touring the Greenhouse, we decided to hop on the Texas Skyway to get an aerial view of the fairgrounds. (And to rest our feet!) The gondolas will carry you 1800 ft from one end of the midway to the other. 

Getting off the Skyway, we found ourselves near the Beers from the World beer garden. So Freddie stopped to grab a pint, although he was confused by the name since they only offered domestic beers.

Also near the Skyway is the Chinese Lantern Festival.  Admission to this exhibit is an additional 10 tickets. Unfortunately we were on our way out and had used all our tickets, so we didn’t get to visit this exhibit.

And if that's not enough to keep you busy, there are lots of different bands, dancers, singers, and other entertainers performing throughout the fairgrounds.  A highlight for us was watching the United State Marine Drum and Bugle Corp straight from Washington DC.

We spent two half-days at the fair which I felt was plenty to see and do everything that we wanted to do.  You could probably do it all in one day if you arrived early and stayed all day.  But the fairgrounds are so big, that we were exhausted from all the walking after just 3 or 4 hours each day.

All in all, it was a great experience and fun for the whole family. Definitely something that everyone needs to do at least once.

A few final tips

• The best advice I can give is to wear the most comfortable shoes you own!  The fairgrounds cover 277 acres.
• Arrive early.  If you go on a weekend, try to get to the fairgrounds during the first hour of the day. After lunch, the crowds are thick and the lines are long.
• Bring your own drinks and snacks.  You are allowed to bring in your food and drinks. So I carried a tote bag instead of a purse and put several water bottles in it.  And you can also carry snacks like peanuts or goldfish for the kids.