Santa’s Wonderland Launches Cool New Site

I know it’s not the Christmas season yet, but I wanted to write abouta new website just launched by a local attraction that’s been here for over 12 years. It’s pretty much a landmark…especially if you drive by at night during the season.

Santa’sWonderland is that place on HWY 6 on the way to Navasota with all the lights and the Old West looking town. You’re sure to have seen it if you drive by during the Christmas Season. It’s a beautiful site. It’s the most lights I’ve ever seen in one place. They actually made “walls” of lights. Pretty cool. Well, if you haven’t been, you should check it out this year. It’s not open yet, but they will be selling advance tickets pretty soon. They are opening on November 20th.

They asked me to help them work on their website…both the Santa’s Wonderland and the Santa’s Town website. The artwork was created by a Santa’s Wonderland family memeber. It’s really a beautiful site. There’s snow falling, flickering lanterns, photos and all the information you need to learn about Santa’s Wonderland.

They’re scheduling live music, they have a mechanical bull, a petting zoo, and of course, hayrides and vehicle tours through the lights.

They told me they added a bunch more lights this year, and have added some LED lights and worked out some of the parking issues as well.

They have shops, a cafe and so much for the whole family. They even play various Christmas Movies at Santa’s Town. Check out the Santa’s Wonderland website for more information.

We’re still updating some of the pages on the site, so check back for more information. I’ll be writing another post once they schedule the live music events for the season, so stay tuned.

Oh, and Merry Christmas!

What to do In Bryan/College Station on July 4th, 2009

So, July 4th is upon us again. It’s hot, no sign of the heat lessening, and everything seems to be outside of the 4th, so be careful, wear sunscreen, drink lots of water, you know, all that safety stuff.

As far as fireworks, there’s a burn ban in effect, so you’ll have to ask the fireworks merchants what the restrictions are.

So, we haven’t decided what we’re going to do, but there are plenty of things to do this year. I’ve done a bit of research and found some great, fun sounding activities for Independence day. Some of you might actually be in the same place as me this weekend.

I’ll start with the Tried and True events that happen every year:

George Bush Library

For the tenth year, the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum will host the College Station Lions Club’s annual Fourth of July Celebration, “I Love America.” This is the 49th year for this community event. The Museum will open at 9:30 a.m. and extend their hours until 8:30 p.m. Admission to the Museum on the Fourth of July is free for everyone all day. Historical characters will be mingling with the crowd to pose for photographs and answer questions about their distinguished careers. Live entertainment, concessions, and games for the children will all begin at 5:30 p.m. The evening will culminate with a spectacular fireworks display and concert by the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra. People are encouraged to come early and bring their lawn chairs, picnic baskets and blankets. Please no glass containers!

Parking is available to the public at the West Campus Parking Garage on the Texas A&M University campus. Shuttles will begin running at 4:30 p.m. from the garage to the Museum. Handicapped parking is available in Lot 41 in front of the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum entrance.

For more information, please call (979) 691-4068.

Washington on the Brazos

Celebrate America’s independence on the site where Texas declared her independence!  Enjoy a full day of festivities on Tuesday, July 4th at the “Birthplace of Texas,” Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site.  Admission to the Park is free, and activities will be held from 10:00a.m. until 10:00p.m.

Children can participate in period games from the late 1800’s beginning at 6:30 p.m.  Free Blue Bell ice cream and free Coca-Cola drinks will be served at 7:00p.m. At 8:00p.m. relax with a picnic and listen to the Houston Symphonic Band perform patriotic favorites. The highlight of the celebration begins at approximately 9:15p.m. when HEB presents Fireworks-on-the-Brazos – an enormous fireworks extravaganza that can be viewed from all locations within the 293 acre park.

Visitors can tour historic sites within the park during the day, including Barrington Living History Farm, Independence Hall, and the Star of the Republic Museum.  Regular admission/tour fees apply. Call 936-878-2214 for tour hours and fees.

Food vendors will offer a variety of food choices on-site.  Visitors may wish to bring picnics, blankets or lawn chairs, and flashlights.  State park rules apply; alcohol prohibited.

Washington-on-the-Brazos State Historic Site is located halfway between Brenham and Navasota on State Hwy. 105, approximately one hour northwest of Houston.  Directions and more information are available by calling 936-878-2214.

Family Movie Opening this week: Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs…Opening Wednesday the 1st of July…here are more movie times. Looks like it’s in 3D. We watched Bolt in 3D And it was pretty cool. Toy Story 3 is gonna be 3D. Up is still playing…if you haven’t watched Up, go watch that. I cried within the first 30 minutes…great movie. We didn’t watch it in 3D, but I heard it was really fantastic in 3D.

Here are some other things that might interest you:

Soggy Bottom ATV Ranch

Independence Day, Picnic at the Lake [more]
* Come hang out, listen to music and enjoy all the activities, celebrating the birth of our proud nation.
* 4 on 4 Water Volleyball Tournament, Prizes to be given.
* Washers Tournament
* Free hot dogs and sodas while supplies last.
* Bring your fireworks and let’s have a blast!
* Regular park hours, gates will open at 8 AM on Thursday and close Sunday at dark.
* Normal Park Rates Apply
* Mud Races

Live Music:

Stafford Downtown Bryan: Reverend J Goodin and Bulletproof Brown – 9pm

Other Events:

Aquablast at the Bryan Aquatic Center. Celebrating their 25th Birthday from 1-7pm $3 admission.  For more information call 979-209-5222

Triumph Homeschool Community: 4th of July Picnic! Cornerstone Acres, 5105 Wallis Road beginning 6:30 p.m. [more]

Traditions Club House: Food and Fun. Live music by Elmo Weedon (Traditions memebers only)

JJ’s Snow Cones: Don’t forget to stop by to get an ice cold yummy snow cone.

5th of July

Texas World Speedway: Fireworks, Miata Ride Along, Vintage Indy Car races, Burn out contest, 5K Fun Run. Check it out.

Have fun!

Date Night Dinner, Books, Coffee and a Movie

So, My wife’s parents came to town last night and they kicked us out.

We started the evening with a meal at Ozona Grill. It was a slow Sunday night for them, so our server was very attentive. My wife got a “Cheap Margarita” and they let me try their Ace Pear Cider on tap. I liked it so I had a glass.

Leigh had a salad and I had their Chicken Fried Steak. It was all very good. Something funny, my wife saw a sign at the server station that said “Sip and Go Policy”. We started speculating what that could mean. I thought it meant that the servers were encouraged to take a sip off the top of whatever drink they were serving, you know, total quality management, make sure the soda isn’t flat, etc. Leigh thought that it meant they would be fired if they were caught taking a sip from anyones drink. Well, truns out, it mean that if they need a drink, they are to use the small disposable cups provided to them, take the quick drink, and keep on serving. The management doesn’t want the servers hanging out at the server area having their drink. Makes total sense.

So, we finished and wen’t to Barnes and Noble to look at books. Leigh looked in the Christian section and flipped through a book called “Ruthless Trust” by Brennan Manning. It’s a book exploring the issue of “trust” being the most important aspect of a Christian life.

I looked at a book called “Masters of Deception” about optical illusions in art, including Dali, Escer, the guy who paints veggies and fruits to look like faces, etc. Really amazing book. Of course, I am attracted to the art and graphics section of the store because I’m a Graphic Designer.

The store was closing so we went to It’s A Grind for a coffee and a brownie. It was nice. Their special right now is the Funky Monkey that is a frozen coffee, chocolate, peanut butter, banana drink. yum. They even split it into two small cups for us, very nice of them. Leigh doesn’t like “banana” flavor, you know, the “banana runts” candy flavor. I do. So they made my half with banana and hers without.

So, we left there and started toward the Cinemark theater over by Sam’s to watch Star Trek. On the way there, there was a tent set up for a petition to stop the red light cameras in College Station. We stopped by and signed the petition and asked them a bunch of questions. I’ll write about that tomorrow. They have a Facebook Group.

Then we watched Star Trek. Really cool. A little confusing with the whole time travel thing, but it was fun.

So, there you go. Dinner, books, coffee, signing a petition and a movie.

And we didn’t talk about the kids the whole night.

Summer Movies for 50¢ at Cinemark Theater

Check it out, at the Cinemark Theater during the weekdays this summer, there are going to be family/children’s movies for 50¢. The Cinemark Theater is the one at Harvey and Hwy 6 next to the Sam’s.

They’ve got it so that if you buy the package, it’s 10 movies for $5, and if you buy a ticket for each show at the box office, it’s $1. They start at 9:30am. Here’s the schedule:

Charlotte’s Web: June 2-3
Kung Fu Panda: June 9-10
Madagascar 2: June 16-17
The Tale of Despereaux: June 23-24
Surf’s Up: June 30-July 1 (this is one of my favorite movies)

Water Horse: July 7-8
Horton Hears a Who: July 14-15
Space Chimps: July 21-22
Veggie Tales: The Pirates Who Don’t Do Anything: July 28-29
The Spiderwick Chronicles: August 2-5

See ya!