McKinney State Park & Dallas Arboretum

An impromptu trip seems to be what daddy does best. Summer is ending and school is about to be back in session, so we decided to go for a short road trip.

McKinney State Park
A short distance South of Austin is home to a small urban State Park – McKinney State Park. Be advised that the Summer heat can be somewhat unbearable in Texas. Here you will find many locals enjoying themselves in the water, but mommy is of course skeptical on the safety level of the water.

Note that there is a lower falls and a upper falls in the park. The upper falls seem to have more younger folks and high energy. Can you tell?

Well.. the kids prefer to do this.

At the lower falls, it seems to be more calm and plenty of people have their camping chair to relax.

And the kids still prefer to do this..

It is a bit more walking distance from the parking lot to the lower falls area. Both falls are very nice and have its own uniqueness and attraction.

Austin Nature & Science Center
Looking for free things to do in Austin with kids or have extra time to spare? Can’t go wrong with the sand pit - digging for dinosaur fossils. We visited this place about 4 years ago. Check out the after and before.

Gege on the right walking through the skeleton. Didi and gege can now both touch the top of the skeleton on the left. Sure grew up fast..

The boys still like to play with sand. Daddy still loves his shirt, short, sunglasses and hat..

Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
We had a great experience with Dallas Botanical Garden about 3 years ago, so we decided to come back during the $2 admission Summer specials. This time around, it also did not disappoint, as there are still plenty to see and the children’s garden that must not be missed.