State of Texas

The Battlegrounds is one of the best kept secrets in the area; with its beautiful picnic grounds, large Spanish moss covered trees, and the monument museum you cant go wrong for an entry fee of $1 per adult (13+) and children free (12 and under). Bring a bike out and ride back into history as you stop and read the sight markers scattered throughout the 1,200 acre park. Or follow Park Road 1836 to the East side where the picnic grounds look out over the Houston Ship Channel and you can see the 146 suspension bridge going to Baytown in the distance. The park is a great place to find a bit of solitude 9am 6pm daily except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Monument Museum (open same hours as the Battlegrounds) has a lot of interesting artifacts and information about the Texan and Mexican armies and comes at no additional cost but if you want to ride the elevator to the top it will cost an additional $4 for adults and $3 for children. Be sure to bring insect spray, but if you do forget they sell insect repellant wipes at the Monument Gift Shop for around $1.50 a piece but they work wonders (trust me, on my last trip I HAD to use them).

As a school teacher, I have taken tons of students to the Monument. The kids love it. There favorite parts are the museum, and the elevator ride to the top. There is also a huge grassy area where you can picnic. If you want to eat out, ...

The San Jacinto Monument commemorates the battle where Texas won its freedom from Mexico. When you look at the monument it looks a lot like the Washington Monument. Though it is taller. In fact, I think it is the tallest monument in the wor...