Dining del Lago

Lake Cruise: A Kid's Perspective

Splash! For a great summer water adventure, go down to Lake Travis and take a boat cruise. Recently, me and my mom went out to Lake Travis and visited many restaurants. Boy! What a time to remember! One of the best parts was getting to the restaurants in the boat. We had a very kind driver named Will who lifted the boat and took us zooming off through the water!

First we went to Volente Beach, one of the best places for kids. It's kind of like Schlitterbahn, but smaller. But I had just as much fun. On one ride called the Big Slide there are two slides. One slide is a tunnel; the other slide does not have a top. From the top of the ride, it looks scary because it's so high. But when the water pushes you, it's more fun than scary. The slide gets very fast at the end (sometimes) and you end up in a pool that you can be dunked into!

They also have a kids' activity pool. There is a rope in one area of the pool where there are floating lily pads and a log. You can hold onto the rope and see if you can walk across the floating lily pads and the log. In another area of the pool, there is a floating, pretend alligator that you can climb on. Nearby the alligator is a mushroomlike shower in the water. The water drips off of the edges so, if you're under the mushroom, you won't get your head wet. There is also a small waterfall in the pool, and a hot tub for the whole family.

After all that playing, you'll be hungry. Right where you want it, there's a restaurant called Sundowner Grill. I had the best meal on the Lake there. They have a kids' menu with cheeseburgers, chicken tenders, popcorn chicken, and mini corn dogs. I had the mini corn dogs ($4.99). They were fantastic! Mini corn dogs are just like regular corn dogs except they're about the size of an adults' pinky finger. Also, they don't have sticks in them because they're too small! They came with tater tots. There's not a tiny square of your plate that is empty when you get your meal because there's so much food. Even though the regular cook wasn't there, the food tasted great.

Another cool place on the lake where there are lots of fish is Shades. This restaurant floats right on the water. Fish live around the restaurant and you can feed them. Huge catfish and carp circle around waiting for you to feed them. They'll eat pretty much anything except lemon. We know because we tried it, and the fish bit it and let it go. Their favorite food is tortilla chips, but I think they'd eat any kind of chips. The food was very good. The chicken strips were nice and hot and crispy. The chicken strips came with French fries so I gave some to the fish. They liked them a lot too!

For two great days at the lake with your family, spend one day at Volente Beach and eat at Sundowner Grill. The next day, take a boat ride to Volente Beach again and then take a boat cruise to Shades for dinner (or lunch, depending on when you want to leave Volente Beach). It's a great adventure, and it's not too far away!