Ice Age: Video 
Child’s Play
School isn’t even over yet, but—we’ll stick our necks out here—your kids are already acting like animals! Never fear. There’s more to do than the same old trip to Six Flags or SeaWorld. Get a leg up on your family’s summer fun with this list of 68 cool destinations and activities, including dive-in movies, donkey basketball, cattlepen mazes, dude ranches, and a hungry giraffe. (No popcorn, please.)
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CHILDREN’S MUSEUMS
More than glorified playrooms, these six children’s museums will expand your kids’ horizons (and, if you’re lucky, tucker the little ones out too). Consistently singled out as one of the best in the country, the Children’s Museum of Houston sends young minds around the world, be it to Yalálag, a replica of a Oaxacan village, complete with open-air market and tortilla-making classes, or to an imaginary destination via a ride on the authentic red caboose sitting in the courtyard (1500 Binz, 713-522-1138 or cmhouston.org). Animal tendencies are encouraged at the Children’s Museum at the Museum of Nature and Science, in Dallas’s Fair Park, where young’uns can cling to a wall like a gecko, crawl through an ant hill, weave their way through a spider web, and see the real creatures up close (3535 Grand Ave. and 1318 S. Second Ave., 214-428-5555 or dallaschildrens.org). Forget American Idol: At the Austin Children’s Museum, musicians-in-the-making can choose a song by one of a dozen local crooners (Willie Nelson and Kelly Willis among them) to perform onstage at Austin Kiddie Limits (201 Colorado, 512-472-2499 or austinkids.org). The newest permanent exhibit at the San Antonio Children’s Museum invites little Texans to spelunk in a re-creation of the Edwards Aquifer and create a thunderstorm, all while fostering an appreciation for our (endangered) natural resources (305 E. Houston, 210-212-4453 or sakids.org). Curious tykes won’t know what to do first at the McKenna Children’s Museum, in New Braunfels: paint the VW Beetle parked outside, play with a swarm of “butterflies” in the Mine-Control video installation, ride on pommel “ponies” in the Lend-A-Hand Ranch, or tend a real garden full of flowers and vegetables (801 W. San Antonio, 830-620-0939 or nbchildren.org). Budding Spielbergs can dabble in Claymation and learn how to use Windows Movie Maker every Saturday at the Imaginarium of South Texas, in Laredo. Each finished film has its debut—where else?—on YouTube (5300 San Dario, 956-728-0404 or imaginariumstx.org).
Nasher Sculpture Center, Dallas
At first blush, a sculpture center seems like a terrible place for kids. They can’t touch anything, they have to be quiet, and they can’t touch anything. But the Nasher makes it easy: On the first Saturday of each month, it hosts a free family event from ten to two. The kids are treated to scavenger hunts, crafts, and stories. And on sunny days, the gorgeous lawn provides enough room to roam and enough art to mesmerize. Just try to get your little one to stop staring up at Jonathan Borofsky’s Walking to the Sky, a one-hundred-foot pole with ten life-size figures. Only don’t forget—no touching. 2001 Flora, 214-242-5100 or nashersculpturecenter.org
DINING
Babe’s Chicken Dinner House, Roanoke
Paul and Mary Beth Vinyard cook some of the best comfort food in the state. You pick the meat—either fried chicken or chicken-fried steak—and the sides, including salad, biscuits, mashed potatoes and gravy, and creamed corn, arrive family style. Your kids will happily eat off your plate as George Strait plays on the jukebox, but they’re really waiting for the moment when the first notes of “The Hokey Pokey” fill the dining room. Then all the children flock to the floor with the waitresses to put their right foot in and shake it all about. Cue the video cameras. 104 N. Oak, 817-491-2900 or babeschicken.com
EZ’s Brick Oven Grille, San Antonio
The first EZ’s opened in San Antonio in 1989, and with its harlequin-tiled floors, red vinyl banquettes, and ample neon lighting, it has been a family hit ever since. Mom and Dad can order homemade tortilla soup and choose from basil chicken pasta or grilled rainbow trout. And they can even drink wine. But the kids have the run of the place—in terms of volume and menu. No cross looks here as they laugh and carry on while devouring brick-oven pizzas and freshly made bean burgers (with black beans and Fritos). It’s good to be messy. 6498 N. New Braunfels, 210-828-1111 or ezsrestaurants.com
Wild About Harry’s, Dallas
Don’t expect a lot when you go to Wild About Harry’s. You can buy a hot dog, a milk shake, a sundae, and some old-fashioned custard. So why, when you’re in Dallas, should you and the family make this crowded little joint a can’t-miss destination? Because you simply won’t find a better hot dog, milk shake, sundae, or custard. The hot dogs are fixed nine ways, from the straight mustard-relish-onion-and-cheese dog to the eye-popping Great Southwest Fire Dog (made with spicy Polish sausage, cayenne pepper, sport peppers, celery salt, tomato, mustard, relish, and pickles). The prices are also gloriously cheap, with no dog costing more than five bucks. 3113 Knox, 214-520-3113 or wild aboutharrys.com
Phil’s Icehouse, Austin
As parents, no matter what we actually say regarding a particular night’s menu, it is often heard as “Tonight we are having steamed green stuff, sautéed yucky mush, and a weird brown thing that is neither chicken nor tender.” But the mention of Phil’s Icehouse is always met with ear-splitting cries of delight. Yes, Phil’s has a delicious variety of burgers served on those delicious sourdough buns. And yes, Phil’s has those tasty sweet-potato French fries, as well as a selection of adult beverages. But a trip to Phil’s also means outdoor seating, fun on the playscape, real shuffleboard, movies in the summertime, and Amy’s ice cream! Full confession: When Phil’s is mentioned as a dinner spot, the screams of glee often belong to the parents. 5620 Burnet Rd., 512-524-1212 or philsicehouse.com
The Breakfast Klub, Houston
This is the best Houston has to offer, not only in terms of Southern breakfasts but also in terms of the easy diversity the city prides itself on. Located just south of downtown in the burgeoning neighborhood known as Midtown, the Breakfast Klub is a meeting place for local politicos, members of the black power structure, hipsters, and lots and lots of people who do not care a whit about their cholesterol. Portions are generous and kid-friendly: The butter-soaked grits are to die for (literally?), and the fried-wings-and-waffle plate will make a five-year-old’s eyes grow wide with pleasure—or plain old greed. Service transcends polite, but beware: The wait to get in can be long on Saturdays, when the local farmers’ market next door is in full swing. 3711 Travis, 713-528-8561 or thebreakfastklub.com
HOTELS AND RESORTS
Great Wolf Lodge, Grapevine
Prepare to succumb to all things “kid” when you pass through the doors of this massive resort. There’s a lively animatronic display in the lobby with singing animals. There’s an interactive video game called MagiQuest, which sends children all over the hotel with electronic wands that bring pictures on the wall to life. There are rooms that have built-in “cabins” for the kids to sleep in. But they can enjoy all those things only if they leave Great Wolf’s main attraction: an 80,000-square-foot indoor water park that has eleven slides, seven pools, and a mammoth water fort. The six-story Howlin’ Tornado proves that nothing beats flying down a waterslide in the heat of summer or, for that matter, the dead of winter. 100 Great Wolf Dr., 800-693-9653 or greatwolf.com
Willow Point Resort, Buchanan Dam
Maybe your idea of a family getaway involves actually getting away. So if you want to ditch all those high-tech entertainments that rule your offspring’s daily lives, this lakeside retreat, with eleven spick-and-span log cabins fanned along the water’s edge of a three-acre peninsula, may help them rediscover the basics of fun: swimming in a lake, playing on a granite sand beach, searching for chunks of quartz along the shore, fishing for anything that bites, paddling a canoe, sitting around a campfire, and at the end of the day, climbing a ladder up to a snug sleeping loft. 427 Ellison, 512-793-5000 or willowpointresort.com
Rough Creek Lodge, Glen Rose
Who says a short attention span is a bad thing? How else can a youngster make a dent in the activities offered at this 11,000-acre resort? There’s fossil hunting, fly-fishing, s’mores by the campfire, horseback riding, shooting lessons, paddle boating, hay rides, mountain biking, four-wheeling, paintball, horseshoes, tennis, kayaking . . . (big gasp) and more, including the requisite amorphous pool. Swank accommodations feature four family-friendly cabins with a master suite and bunk beds. 5165 County Road 2013, 800-864-4705 or roughcreek.com
The Woodlands Resort, the Woodlands
With five pools, two double-helix waterslides, underwater music, scavenger hunts, a pop fountain (think random geysers), and aquatic entertainment in the summer—from balloon-twisting clowns to dive-in movies—you’re going to need to check your progeny from time to time for the formation of gills. Should those telltale ruffles begin to sprout below the jaw, a good airing out along 145 miles of hike-and-bike trails should help. 2301 N. Millbend Dr., 800-433-2624 or woodlandsresort.com
Lost Pines Resort and Spa, Lost Pines
Ah, Lost Pines, the place where both parents and kids can have it all: pony rides, massages, day camps, fire-lit bars, nature hikes, lazy rivers, horseshoes, and championship golf. Everything spells “getaway,” even if the resort is conveniently located in the triangle between Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. Situated on a gorgeous stretch of the Colorado River, Lost Pines ensures that parents and kids can always act their age. If only such balance could be struck in everyday life. 575 Hyatt Lost Pines Rd., 512-308-1234 or lostpines.hyatt.com
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