With gas prices and a failing economy, families are not able to travel across the country to vacation as much as they used to. Instead of driving to Walt Disney World, why not try vacationing in our own backyard, Austin style.

Austin and the surrounding area has many wonderful, family oriented vacations spots. Zilker Park is one of them. The park is located at 2100 Barton Springs Road and is in the heart of Austin. The park has many things to enjoy. The Botanical Gardens in Barton Hills is a great place to start. The garden has many varieties of flowers and ponds. They have also recreated a dinosaur habitat. The park also offers plenty of slides, swings and even its very own miniature train, The Zilker Zephyr. It winds through the park taking its riders through the 30 acre park. The park also offers a natural spring to swim in. Barton Springs is a wonderful place to cool off on a hot summer's day.

Another place to visit in the Austin area is Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center. The center is located at 4801 La Crosse Ave. in Austin.

The center has 16 unique gardens to visit. Anyone who loves the outdoors and wild flowers will find something they love at Lady Bird Wild flower Center. Each garden is themed and show case native flowers.

The center also has several trails you can hike on. Take a tour and see all the wonderful and beautiful flowers. The center also has seeds and plants for sale. The center also has events scheduled all year round. You're sure to find something that will entertain the whole family.

If you have smaller children, then The Austin Children's Museum is the place to visit. With over 12,500 square feet of gallery space there is plenty of room to explore. The museum is a hands on learning place, where even the young at heart can still learn.

The Children's Museum is located at 201 Colorado Street in down town Austin. Kids and adults can learn things like where milk comes from, or be a rock star on stage in the music gallery. With so many things to do and see, this will keep the family busy for hours!

Want something a little more luxurious and relaxing? Why not take the short drive out to Bastrop to the Hyatt Regency Lost Pines Resort and Spa?

This luscious resort is settled in the lost pines of Bastrop. There are so many things for every member of the family to enjoy. If golfing is your game, then the Lost Pines Resort is the place to be. The resort has its own 18 hole golf course.

If you are adventurous, then take part in a white water rafting trip down the Colorado River. The resort will make all the arrangements. It's sure to be exciting.

If you're not into white water rafting, how about visiting the resorts very own water park, which include a two story water slide, a pool, and a lazy river if you just want to float on a inner tube and relax.

After a long day of rafting, why not relax in the resorts world class spa. Lay back and enjoy all the amenities a spa has to offer.

Don't forget to enjoy many of the restaurants the resort has to offer. When the day is done, head back into your Lost Pines Resort rooms. They are luxurious and relaxing.

Vacationing has never been easier or closer. Instead of driving across country, just try your own back yard, Austin, Texas!

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Austin families are lucky indeed to have a facility such as the Austin Children’s Museum. With 7,000 square feet of interactive and educational permanent exhibits, inventive traveling features, story-times and public events, this museum serves as a hub of Austin’s family community. Upon entering, kids are delighted to board a scaled down Austin Metro bus. Sitting in the driver’s seat or holding a strap in the passenger section, this exhibit is cleverly planned to distract the kiddos as the adult pays admission and learns about the day’s events. Other permanent exhibits include the dairy cow, an oversized milk-cow statue with a looping video about dairy farming, with a doll-house sized barn and toy cows to play with. The Rising Star Ranch provides a wonderfully varied sensory experience especially designed for the under-two set, while the Tinkerer’s Workshop allows older kids to experience creating their own structures by inventing, designing, building and testing their ideas. This being Austin, music is emphasized in the amazing Austin Kiddie Limits. Fun for all ages (including adults), this room is a kid-oriented interactive version of the acclaimed live music television show Austin City Limits. With toy instruments, cowboy hats and other costume pieces, a stage and a video monitor, kids can play along with their favorite Austin musicians including Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, Miss Lavelle White, Asleep at the Wheel, Kelly Willis, Flaco Jimenez, and Toni Price. The best part is that the kids can see themselves on the video monitor, making it a real rock-star experience. Their program offerings include something for every age group. Baby Bloomers is a weekly opportunity for kids under three to explore the entire facility with only toddlers and their caregivers in the museum. Discovery Time offers daily, hands-on activities that enhance the permanent and changing exhibits. Storytime, held in their large foyer, is offered for different age groups, and often includes music making, bubble blowing, and other interactive elements. Gallery programs include the popular Wednesday Community Night, featuring different performances, storytelling, music and activities, and Science Sundays, featuring hands-on activities led by real honest-to-goodness scientists. Checkout the Childbloom guitar program for a cacophonous and hilarious take on combining story telling with accompaniment by the kids, or the Austin Keyboard Orchestra program to learn how to build and play an instrument. Located in downtown Austin the Austin Children’s Museum is centrally located for people in different areas of the city. It is also located close to other Austin attractions like Zilker Park the famed bat bridge so that visitors can see a number of fun Austin attractions in an afternoon. The Austin Children’s Museum offers camps during the summer and spring break, for ages 4 to 10. They offer seasonal programs including the popular Gingerbread House workshop in December. The facilities are available for birthday (and other kids of) parties, including sleep-over parties. Special events can also be held on the premises. With a stated goal to help Austin’s kids and families become more creative, more inventive, and more competent, the Austin Children’s museum combines fun and education in a world-class facility. Ki lives in Austin and enjoys the local music scene. He works as a realtor in the Austin real estate market. He also regularly writes on his blog about updates on Austin Texas real estate. His site features a graphical search of the Ausin MLS.