Category Archives: Tourist Sites and Activities

Sea World- San Antonio Texas

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John 13–
The Sea World in San Antonio, Texas, is a really fun family place to visit. My favorite thing to see and do there is the sea lions. The sea lion show is one of the best shows. The sea lion show is a comedy skit about a sea lion that is a detective and is trying to find out who stole all the fish from a fish company. The show includes a walrus, sea lions, and an otter. My second favorite thing there is the Great White roller coaster ride. The ride has a lot of upside down turns and other stuff like that. Another popular show is the water ski show. The water show has a lot of different tricks and stunts. They use three speed boats, jet skis, bare foot skiing, slalom skiing, and a lot of other tricks. It is also a really good show. The biggest and most popular show is Shamu Rocks. It is the best show to see the killer whales perform.

Rides: The rides at sea world were amazing. My favorite ride there is the Great White Roller Coaster ride. The ride does a lot of flips and other sharp turn type of things. The second best roller coaster is the Steel Eel. It has a lot of high sharp drops and is really fun and amazing to do. The big coasters require the riders have be 48 inches or taller. For the smaller rides they have to be 42 inches or taller. One of the water ones that is awesome to ride is called the Rio Loco. It is a ride that goes around a lazy river type of journey, but has a lot of different white water rapids and at the end of the ride there is a waterfall. Watch out ’cause you get soaked wet! Journey to Atlantis is another water ride. At first it sends you pretty high up then it shoots you down backwards! Then you go back up a small hill and then straight down. You come down with a huge splash. The people that get really soaking wet are the people at the bottom on an observation station. When the boat comes down, a huge wave of water hits you and gets you soaked.

I think that Sea World is a good family friendly place to visit. The prices are high, so when you are you going it is a good idea to bring a lot of money with you. They do let you in with a little bag, so if you want to bring water you can. I recommend everyone bring a bottle of water, because it was 110 degrees the day we were there. If you do buy a pass for the whole year, buy this special cup they have and you get a discount for refills. There are a lot of hands on things to see and do. So, if you are in the area, I recommend going there and seeing Sea World.

Hadley-11
Sea World is a fun place to go. There are roller coasters and animals all at the same time. The best show to see – I think – is Shamu Rocks, which is the Shamu show at 8:00 PM. Shamu does a lot of cool tricks and flips. The best roller coaster is the Great White roller coaster. Even though it has all the twist and flips, it is really smooth. The Steel Eel, which is the other roller coaster, doesn’t have any flips, but it is not very smooth. Sea World also has a lot of rides for little kids and you can meet characters like Shamu. Even though you can’t feed the Dolphins (unless you want to pay $12.00 per person) you can feed the sea lions. It is really fun. We didn’t do the water park, but it also looked fun. We did some of the other shows and they were also really cool. So if you are in San Antonio I think you should really go. It is fun!

Rockin R River Rafting – Guadalupe River, New Braunfels, TX

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John – 13
Rockin R River Rafting company is on the Guadalupe River. The day that we went rafting, the river was going really slowly. I recommend you not to take the inner tubes and take the larger river rafts. Even though it may cost more, you will spend less time slowly going down the river. Plus you can hold more than one person in one of the white river rafts. Our entire family of 5 easily fit into a raft. The company is a good friendly company to go rent your inflatable stuff from. The place is the average price in the area to rent from. The river doesn’t have that many rough rapids, and it is fine for kids of all ages (but I would recommend you not take a baby on the ride). Rockin R River Rafting is one of the better places to rent stuff from on the Guadalupe River.

Hadley-11
The Rockin R River Rafting is a really fun trip down the Guadalupe river. There are different things you can rent to ride in. There is a raft for 5 people and a tube for 1 person available for rent. The tube takes a long time to float down the river. The raft allows you to paddle and move faster. There are different rapids, some aren’t that bad, but if the river is low you will get stuck sometimes. In the river there are catfish, and it has a rock bottom so the rocks are slippery. There are two places that you can stop at 1 hour and another is 2.5 hours if you are paddling in the raft. The one we did was the 2.5 hours, and it was really fun. So if you are ever near the Rockin R River Rafting it is worth a stop.

Barnett – 8
I love the Rockin R River Rafting company. It is fun to go on a river rafting trip. You can up to six people in a raft. You can bring snacks on the trip, but you are not supposed to take metal or glass containers. It is a good idea to take drinks along, because I got thirsty. I did not have to paddle the raft. Everyone else in our family had to paddle, but the little kids don’t have to paddle. We saw a lot of turtles on our trip. They are swimming along the river and up on logs on the river. There were two people in the river trying to catch turtles for turtle soup! The trip took over two hours. Explorers should go on a trip like this. You should go to Rockin R River Rafting because I recommend it.

St. Louis Arch – St. Louis, Missouri

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John – 13

The St. Louis Arch is the tallest memorial in the United States. It goes up to 630 feet high up. When you first see the arch you may think that it doesn’t look big enough to hold an elevator car, but it does.  When you get up close to the arch you can tell that it  is bigger than you thought it would be.

When you get on the ride I would recommend seeing one of the movies first so that you can either learn more about the arch or about Lewis and Clark.  Both of the movies are in Imax. When we went  to the arch we saw the Lewis and Clark film. It was about the journey Lewis and Clark took to explore the west and get to the Pacific Ocean.  I thought it was one of the best movies made about Lewis and Clark that I have seen yet.  It was very informative, and I learned a lot from that video.

After the movie we went to the little gift shop they had and Dad got our tickets for our ride to the top of the arch. In the little gift shop they had book about Lewis and Clark plus they had collectables for the arch.  On the other side of the underground museum/area there is another shop.  The second shop is full of old candies and other old fashioned stuff.

The next thing we did is wait in line for the ride to the top of the arch. There was stuff to do in line that told about how the arch was made and why it was built.  When we finally did get on the ride, you sit in a pod.  It can fit five people and is a really tight fitting elevator.  There are eight of these pods on one side of the arch and eight in the other area. It took the elevator four minutes to get to the top and three minutes back down.  At the top you have a nice view of the whole city.  We went at night, and I thought it looked better at night than in the day time. On the way down, it took us around three minutes this time to get to the bottom.  I thought that it was a really cool although I am afraid of heights and it was stressful to go up and do it.  So if you are in the area you should definitely try it out.

Hadley-11

Have you ever been in a building that is 630 feet high?  If not the St. Louis Arch is where you need to go.  The arch is downtown right near the Mississippi River.  To get tickets you can call or get them there.  Before you go on the elevator to the arch you will want to see one of the movies.  The two movie they have that you can buy to see are called Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West, and Monument to the Dream: The Making of the Gateway Arch.  We went to see Lewis and Clack and it was good, but we did not see the other.  It it looked good though.

To get to the top of the arch you have to take an elevator.  The elevator is not normal though. The elevator holds 5 people and there are 8 cars at a time that go up together at the same time. On the elevator you set down in  a chair.  The capsule you are in is small, but you do not go very fast.   In  the elevator you do not go side ways or upside down like a roller coaster.  You always stay sitting flat – like a ferris wheel.  Once you get to the top you can stay as long as you want and the view is nice.  To get back down you go in a capsule like you got up. Once you get back down you can go and look in the museum.  Going up in the arch is definitely worth the money. :)

Barnett – 8

I liked the St. Louis arch.  It looks very big from the outside.  It looks like a big U upside down, and it is very shiny.  From far away it looked small, as we were driving up to it.  BUt, up close it is big.

The first thing we did was go to the movie.  The movie was called Lewis and Clark.  Lewis liked to walk along the river with his dog and be alone.  He once slipped and fell as he was trying to pick a plant.  He founds plants and feathers and collected them in a book.  The book kept track of all of the new animals.  Clark ran the boats and was the leader on the boats.  His slave, York, went with him on the trip.  They met Sacagawea, she helped them find food and things to  live.

Then we went up the arch.  We had to get in little pods.  It took almost 4 minutes to get to the top.  The pod was small and hot.  At the top they had very tiny windows.  You could see out of them.  I could see the St. Louis Cardinals playing a baseball game and the Mississippi River.  Coming down took 3 minutes.  When you are done you need to get out quickly so other people can get in and go.

It was fun, so you should do it too.

Canlan Ice Sports – Fort Wayne, Indiana

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

Hadley – 11

Today we went to the Canlan ice hockey rink which is located inside the Lutheran Sports Facility.  There is a hotel right behind it because of hockey tournaments that they have on the weekends. Inside there are three hockey rinks.  On an open free day you can rent skates – Monday through Friday.  The admission is 5 dollars and to rent skates it is 3 dollars with admission.  When we went on a Monday there was only a couple people on the ice, but you can rent a stick and puck and shoot goals. We only skated we did not shoot goals, but when we looked at the people shooting goals, they were playing a game on another rink.  If you are at a tournament you can sit at the top and look down at all the games while you eat or drink. The ice rink also does many camps.  The camps are offered all year and every season.  When you skate make sure that your skates are straight or your ankles will hurt.  If I were you and haven’t gone ice skating before then Canlan is the place you do it.  The people are really helpful.  Hope you go; it is fun!

Barnett – 8

The ice skating rink at Canlan Sports Complex is really fun.  If you fall down, it is like falling down at a roller skating rink.  You can rent hockey skates or figure skating skates.  I got the figure skating skates.  They are easier to use because they are flat on the bottom.  If you fall down, no one laughs at you.  That is what makes it fun.

The place is new and big.  If you go you should bring your coat.  It is very cold inside because it is an ice rink.  You should also bring another pair of pants.  When you fall down a lot your pants will get wet.  There are three ice rinks.  There is a restaurant called the Thirsty Penguin in the top floor.  Everything was nice there.  The people are nice because they ask if you had a fun time and want you to have a fun time.  I think you should go.  I had a great time and want to go again.

Arnold’s Country Kitchen — Nashville, TN

Posted on by kidsviewtravel

John — 13

Arnold’s Country Kitchen is one of the quickest places to eat at.  The restaurant is made to look like a school cafeteria.  But, the food is a lot bettter than school food.  The place is near a rough part of the town of Nashville. The resaturant is small, and you want to be on time when they open or you will be waiting outside for a long time to get your food.  The reasturant’s employees are nice and even carry the tray with the food you bought to a table to sit and eat.  They have a calender that shows all the specials they have for that day.  Today it was Friday and the meats were roast beef, catfish, and shrimp.  When you are picking up your tray they have the prices for what you want to buy.  The pick three sides and one meat was around $7.50; the lowest price was one side and one meat.  The restaurant has one small women’s restroom and one small men’s restroom.  On the wall are all the famous people who have eaten there.  On one wall all alone is the Food Network – Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives symbol.  The restaurant is kid friendly, and they even have a kids menu like the adults but cheaper and has less food on there plate.  The first section of the cafeteria style counter is where you get salads, deserts, cottage cheese, other cold foods. The second section is where you get your appetizers and meat. The last section is where you pick out your drinks ( lemonade or ice tea , sweet or unsweet) and where you pay.  In the restaurant you find all types of the society.  There are the men in suits, families, college students, and all sorts of people.

My favorite thing to eat there was the mac n cheese.  They use a lot of diffrent spices in the mac n cheese.  The mac n cheese is one of the things that they are known for making.  The other is the roast beef.  The roast beef is full of juice and really tender.  For the kids they even cut up the meat for them so that you don’t have to.  My second favorite thing to eat there was the green beans.  They were really spicy but held a lot of good flavers in them.  I couldn’t help myself and ate them really quickly.  My sister (who deosn’t eat much) gave me her plate, and I ate half of her food before we left the restaurant.

I would recommend eating there if you are in the area.  But, be sure to get there early and beat the crowd to eat.  When we got there at 11:1it was a perfect time, but they don’t serve breakfast so don’t go there o early.  I thought that it was a really fun place to ea,t but it was also really easy to eat there too.  So if you are looking for a good place to eat that is a reasonable price, then you go there and try it.

Barnett — 8

We walked in and had to wait just a minute to get our food.  It looked like a lunch cafeteria.  It was not very big, and it was crowded.  It was not very fancy because it was not a sit down restaurant.  The food was good.  The mashed potatoes were even spicy.  They were a good spicy.  I also had the roast beef and green beans.  I didn’t eat the green beans, but I bet they would have been spicy too.  I had too much on my plate, and I was too busy eating my roast beef.  It was really juicy and tender.  I also ate half of a roll.  It was both soft and hard.  Hard on the outside and soft on the inside.  I had sweet tea to drink.  Good sweet!  I would maybe eat there again.  The roast beef was good, and I like the tea.  But, it was crowded.  I would like to try the shrimp and macaroni and cheese.

Hadley-10

Arnold’s is a good place to eat it has good food and all the food is homemade.  When you first walk in the place it is normally crowded and you mitght have to wait to get your food.  When you get to the counter where they serve you, they will ask if you want just meat, or meat and 2 sides, or meat and 3.  The meat can be roast beef and sometimes shrimp or catfish. The sides can be turnup greens, mac and cheese, green beans, mashed potatoes, fried green tomatoes, and scallopped corn.  To get your food you go through a cafeteria  line and you tell the servers what meat and sides you want.  Then they let you pick your drink; I recommend getting the sweet tea; it is really good and sweet. You might want someone to save a seat for you because it gets really crowded. The atmosphere is really cool because a lot of famous people have been there.  I had the shrimp, fried green tomatoes, and macaroni and cheese.  I tried my sister’s roast beef.  The roast beef was good, juicy, and had a lot of flavor.  The fried green tomatoes were not my favorite.  The green tomatoes were very sour.  The macaroni and cheese had a lot of cheese on it.  It was definitely homemade.  Next time I would get the roast beef.  I would also get the mashed potatoes and turnip greens.  I tried my mom’s and they tasted a lot like green beans – and I like green beans.