Cabela's

I had heard this place mentioned by this person on this listserv as a place well-loved by her kids, but had oft-wondered what the h-e-double hockeysticks could a fishing/camping/hunting store like this have to offer the young 'uns? Well, we were passing by on our way to Aquarena Springs so I thought we'd pop in.

AND, as it happened, forget Aquarena Springs! We were in here for about two hours. You can add it to your list of excursions in a wonderfully air conditioned atmosphere for when it's ten billion degrees outside here in Texas. There was a huge walk-through aquarium, and several 'lands' well-populated with the (stuffed) creatures of the land... I feel a little gauche speaking so highly of this place that leans so heavily on taxidermy for its decor but y'know, I'm not supporting taxidermy... I'm just trying to stay alive and keep my children alive and reasonably happy for the next few years until everyone learns to read and doesn't have to rely on me so heavily for entertainment.

So anyway... here's where I rave a little bit more about Cabela's. Aside from the aquarium and all that, there was also a thirty foot tall 'mountain' heavily populated with creatures of all sorts with a real live watery waterfall coursing down it's slopes, into a pool stocked with (real) fish, and flowing under a bridge into a second pool in the center of which stood a gigantic moose.

Upstairs we found a cafeteria and a general store, which we didn't even check out because we were so drawn to the camping section of Cabela's... the kids played for ages in and about two fully set up and decked out tents. I was extremely impressed because despite all our frolicking and mussing and messing and touching of absolutely every single last little thing, the staff never once looked at us askance. That feels really good... to be in a store and not feel like you should rush out because your kids are being kid-like.

There was also a shooting gallery... like a real for-fun one, where you drop a coin in and get to fire away at a little landscape and if you hit the target the tin can pops up or the light turns on in the house or the praire dog pops out of it's hole... well, if that's not fun I don't know what is.