How to save money on a road trip to San Antonio

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- School is almost out and just about every Texan, at some point, packs up the car, buckles the family in and takes a road trip.

We recently took a family road trip to San Antonio, and I wanted to give you the lowdown on what was really fun, a little expensive, pretty cheap and ways we tried to save money.

We left Houston on a Friday and came back on Monday. Of course, the Alamo City has every type of lodging so finding your price range should be simple.

Once we unloaded the truck we picked out a restaurant in the King William District called Rosario's. "Yelp" rated the price range $11-$30. Dinner was great, along with the atmosphere.

The restaurant is only blocks away from the Alamo, where we stopped for photos.

Saturday was our big day-SeaWorld. It's expensive. I would look for coupons/discounts on tickets. Also, check what you're allowed to bring in.

We packed a small six pack cooler with water. That alone saved money on drinks. We also ate breakfast before arriving, doing our best to avoid eating food at the park and took our Radio Flier red wagon to pull the kids around in.

Of course, we watched the Shamu show and the kids loved it. We sat in the splash zone and got doused. My kids already had on swimsuits and sandals when we arrived and that helped them dry off quickly.

We spent about five hours at SeaWorld, getting in some other rides and shows. We were tired when we left!

One thing I would do differently is to arrive at SeaWorld at about 5pm. We noticed people doing this as we prepared to leave. By that time, the park is half empty and was cooler than the blazing noon heat. Lines were much shorter and shows less crowded. Plus, the park stays open until 10pm.

For dinner we found a BBQ spot and called it a night.

I love the outdoor and am also fond of our state parks, so on Sunday we headed north of San Antonio about 30 miles or so and went to the Guadalupe River State Park.

We paid a nominal park entrance fee and drove down to a parking lot near the river. I had planned for this before we left Houston, so I had packed a small canopy for shade, lawn chairs and a small BBQ pit. All I had to do was pull into a grocery store in San Antonio before we left that morning, and buy some marinated fajita meat and sausage links to throw on the grill.

Between the park entrance fee and groceries, this day was much cheaper than SeaWorld. Oh, and this little raft for less than $20 at Academy came in handy!

It fit my two boys and their little cousin Sophia. The park was beautiful and it was all families.

Monday we packed up and headed home, tired but with some great pics.

I always love hearing road trips stories, so I hope mine helps a bit.