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Easy Houston Day Trip or Staycation… Visiting the Kemah Boardwalk with Kids!

by Jill Jarvis Leave a Comment

Are you heading to Kemah for some waterside family fun? If you are like me, you’d rather get advice from another parent than from advertising pamphlets… So when Houston mom Ashley came back from her little roadtrip, we asked her to tell us about it!

In her own words, here are Ashley’s tips for visiting Kemah, with kids!

My family (husband and 2 sons, Patton 4 and Crosby 2) went to Kemah on Sunday and stayed at the Kemah Boardwalk Inn. We bought a Groupon for 2 all day ride passes and a $50 meal card to any Landry’s. ($172 = 4 all day ride passes + $100 meal card). Let me tell you, it was AMAZING!)  Be watching Groupon for when it pops back up!

It was a mellow rainy off and on kind of day. We requested early check in with not problem. So instead of checking in at 4pm, we checked in at 11am! (Being nice goes a long way!)

We had lunch at the Cadillac Grill. The food was good, the staff was okay. But let’s face it, you only eat outside on a patio for the view, not the service.

After a brief nap in the hotel, we rode rides until around 4pm. The carousel and the train were the only things I brought Crosby (2) on but they do have a small ferries wheel as well. My husband and Patton (4) rode almost all the rides he was tall enough to ride (over 48″).

We had dinner at the Aquarium Restaurant with a great view of the tank and by a window so we could see the rain and the waves. The food was great and our server was very accommodating and attentive. Patton decided he didn’t want to pet the stingrays because rides were more important.

So round two of the rides included more train and carousel rides for Crosby and myself, and more of everything else for Patton and my husband. We ended the night at the ice cream shop located a few doors down from the hotel entrance. We sat outside on the patio and listened to the band finish up for the night.

On a side note of extra goodness in Kemah…..There was an attendant sweeping by the ferris wheel while Crosby and I watched my husband and older son Patton ride. The attendant saw Crosby was interested in the broom, so the man said hello. I apologized and explained that Crosby is autistic and nonverbal and probably wouldn’t acknowledge him.

The man smiled, said that was okay, and went along with his business. I looked up to watch the ferris wheel again and when I looked back down, the man was on his knees talking to Crosby. They played and made sounds at each other while giggling. It was a wonderful feeling to have a stranger take the time to not only acknowledge Crosby, but to go out of his way and play with him.

We woke up Monday morning and walked next door to the little restaurant and had a wonderful breakfast, loaded the car, and set off for our next adventure, NASA!

We spent more money than we do on a typical day, but but it was our one night staycation splurge… And pretty small splurge for a vacation. We are already planning our next trip to Kemah in the fall after school gets back in session!

Filed Under: All, Kemah Boardwalk, Things to do June 22, 2017

About Jill Jarvis

Jill Jarvis is the owner of JillBJarvis.com, a BigKidSmallCity.com and Things to Do in Houston, with Kids, blog!

She is the mom of 4 and started the website years ago... when she was tired of constantly cleaning up the same mess in the family room.

Another mom showed her that you could just go do fun things in Houston, without hours of planning.

This inspired the blog and changed everything about how she enjoyed life in Houston, with kids!

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jill-jarvis-bigkidsmallcity-circle-300 Welcome!  JillBJarvis.com is the go-to blog for things to do in Houston with kids!  It is upbeat and dedicated to making our big city feel small.   START HERE!    

On this website you will find a full list of Houston weekly events, things to do around the city, travel ideas and resources for parents.

I know just what it’s like to be overwhelmed by work, life and family. I spent a lot of years traveling for work, missing big milestones for my kids and feeling bad about everything.

I started this website to make a list of all the events happening around Houston and then pick one to enjoy with my kids. And instead of thinking of all the things I was missing, I started to enjoy the things we were doing together.

If you are a parent that is feeling overwhelmed by all the things you could be doing in Houston… please just use our weekly lists and daily posts as suggestions. Pick one thing to do with your family and intentionally ignore the rest!

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