250,000 pounds of snow!

Family Fun Activities:

• HEB Plus! Winter Zone
• Snow Tubing Hill
• Rides & Inflatables
• Carnival with Midway
• Petting Zoo & Pony Rides
• Toddler Snow Tubing Hill
• Recycle Snowman Contest
• Rock Climbing Wall
• Food & Crafts
• Live Entertainment
  • 1030 am – VOCAL TRASH
  • 11 am – WINTER DASH RACE
  • AWARDS PRESENTATION
  • 1130 am – RONALD MCDONALD
  • 12 Noon – VOCAL TRASH
  • 1230 pm – THE ELITE PLAYERS
  • 130 pm – RONALD MCDONALD
  • 2 pm – VOCAL TRASH
  • 3 pm – ROYAL ACADEMY OF FINE ARTS

Purchase your tickets in advance at the Parks & Recreation Office, 4141 Bailey Road. The office is open Monday through Friday from 730 am-530 pm through January 26, when pre-sales ticket sales end.

Discounted Tickets (buy before event):

• $8 Child (ages 3-16)
• $2 Adult (ages 17+)

Regular Admission (day of event):

• $10 Child (ages 3-16) or $8.00 with a canned good
• $4 Adult (ages 17+) or $2.00 with a canned good

Parking available at Pearland High School, 3775 South Main Street, Pearland, Texas.

URL to map: http://g.co/maps/ad7sp

RV Parks in Area

Advanced RV Resort is Tom Bass Regional Park that offers a public golf course, fishing ponds, model airplane field, nature walking trails and gated entrance.

Almost Heaven RV Resort can accommodate any size RV in our 132 full hook-up sites. Amenities include free WIFI, and an extensive selection of movies and books.

I am writing about ways families may celebrate Christmas in a less commercial way. The State Parks and State Historic Sites are made to order for authentic experiences.

Photo Courtesy of Louis Vest, Ship Pilot Houston, Texas

First Stop : Battleship Texas State Historic Site

Yuletide TEXAS “A Sailors Christmas”

Battleship TEXAS State Historic Site
3523 Highway 134
LaPorte TX 77571
281/479-2431

Thursday, December 1, 2011 to Saturday, December 31, 2011
10 am to 5 pm
Price is $10, children under 12 free with adult.

Yuletide activities include sending message to the North Pole, taking picture with Santa, creating Battleship ornament, enjoying performances by area bands and choirs, and filling up on hot chocolate, wassail and cookies. You also exercise by exploring the ship.  From the huge guns on deck to the crew quarters to the engine room. Who could resist?

Map from Latin American Studies.org

San Jacinto Battleground

You may also explore the entire San Jacinto Battleground site (map in PDF), where Texans captured Santa Anna after the Alamo. There are nature trails and the  San Jacinto Monument, picnic areas, wetlands and a reflecting pool. You will see 20 boulders on the battlefield that were laid by the San Jacinto Chapter, Daughters of the Republic of Texas. These boulders give visitors a sense of place in the final battle fought for Texas Independence on April 21, 1836.  Follow the boulders and the action of the battle.

Reflections of San Jacinto Monument

San Jacinto Monument

Take a trip up the San Jacinto Monument in an elevator to the Observation Decek ($4 adults, $3 children). Bring your camera for pictures of Houston, the Ship Channel, Battleship Houston and the San Jacinto Battleground .  If heights do not make you or your family happy, spend $4.50 per adult and $3.50 to see the 35-minute documentary, Texas Forever!! The Battle of San Jacinto, presented on the hour beginning at 10 am, in the Jesse H. Jones Theatre for Texas Studies, also located in the monument.

Note: Have you have heard that everything in Texas is bigger?  It is true. The San Jacinto Monument, honoring all those who fought for Texas’s independence, stands 15 feet taller than the Washington monument.  In addition, the Texas Capitol also rises approximately 15 feet higher than the National Capitol in Washington.

Fall is Finally Here

Fall arrived with slightly cooler weather, but no rain.  However, as usual, we have gone maze crazy in Texas. You must visit one of the popular mazes this fall.  Grab the youngsters and the teens because they are going to have a blast.  So, how about some fall family fun?

Dewberry Farm

One of my favorites is just outside Katy, Texas. The Dewberry Farm: Corn Maze and Family Farm Fun!  Four-acres of corn maze, sixteen-acre Pumpkin Patch, not to mention more children activities added each year!

To see larger graphic click on the farm above.

General Admission Includes

Wagon ride to pumpkin patch, Corn Maze, Barrel Train Ride, Fort DewHickey, Hay Mountain, Giant Roller Slide, Black Mamba, Singing Chickens, Barnyard Area, Rubber Duck Races, Pig Races, Windmill Park with games, Farmer Flinger and Little Farmersville.

• Children 2 and under: FREE General Admission
• Kids (age 3-54) $12 (tax included)
• Seniors 55+ $9 (tax included)
• Military and Law Enforcement $10 (tax included)

Special Activities (additional fee)

• Goat Feeding 25¢ per container of feed
• Black Hole $2 per trip
• Corn Cannon $3 to shoot 9 ears of corn
• Face Painting $3+
• Punkin Hollar $3 per stroll
• Pony Rides $5 per ride
• Gemstone Mining bags of rough $5
• Flower Bouquet Picking $5 per bouquet cup
• Kidilla Hoppers $3 for all day pass
• Pedal Carts $3 for all day pass
• Slide Mountain $3 for all-day pass
• Zip Lines $3 for all-day pass

2011 Farm Hours/Dates

September 24 – November 13
Saturdays – 10am to Dusk
Sundays – Noon to Dusk
Monday, October 10, Columbus Day 10am to 6pm

Note: They open again on November 25 as the Dewberry Christmas Tree Farm. Admittance to farm is free at this time.

• Take a hayride to the “forest” on the back 40
• Search the Christmas Forest for the right tree
• Cut your tree (we furnish saw)
• Ride back  to Santa’s Workshop for tree baling
• Check out the country store and all the fun activities for children of all ages

Rocky Creek Maze on the Chaloupka Farm in Moulton, Texas

Fall 2011 Season

Open October 7 – November 20
Fridays  5-9 pm in October only
Saturdays 10 am-9 pm
Sundays   2-6 pm
Haunted Maze: Fridays & Saturdays, Oct. 14 to Oct. 29, and Sun., Oct. 30

Tickets|

Adult ages 12-up: $9 per person
Children ages 4-11: $7 per person
Seniors ages 65-up: $7 per person
3 and under: free!
Haunted Maze: $5 plus regular admission

Regular admission includes unlimited access to the cornfield maze, mini mazes, slides,
hayrides, barrel train rides, and butterfly garden.

Haunted Maze Opens Mid-October

YesterLand Farm in Canton, Texas

2011 Fall Season

Weekends September 24 – October 30
Saturdays 10 am – 6 pm
Sundays noon – 6 pm

Fall Farm Admission

Ages 3 – 54 yrs $10
Seniors (55 + yrs) $ 8
Active or Retired Military, Law Enforcement, Firefighters and First-Responders $8 with valid ID
Children 2 & under – Free

Farm Admission includes

Farm admittance, Corn Maze, unlimited Hayrides, Pork Chop Downs Pig Races, Farm Zoo, Rubber Duck Races, Play Area, Kiddie Western Play Town, Watch the Pumpkin Movie in the giant Tipi, Dress the Scarecrow, use of the Picnic Pavilion and Photo opportunities galore!

YesterLand Amazement Park – Ride Tickets are $1 each or $20 for 24 tickets – Most rides take 2 ticketsSanta’s Runaway Sleigh Coaster

• Tubs of Fun
• Kiddie Swingers
• Chubby Choppers
• Ride the Rattler
• Canoe the Rapids
• Barrel O’Monkeys Train
• Fire Trucks
• Red Baron Airplanes
• Merry-Go-Round
• Ferris Wheel
• Spinning Apple

Check out TheMaize.com for  more locations in Texas and across the USA and Canada.  If you cannot find a corn maize or a pumpkin patch, you are not looking!  Have fun!