Quick Vacation

Oklahoma, no more than 2-3 hours depending on your location. Arbuckle Wilderness, Rent a nice cabin for less than $200 a night that has fishing, boating, hot tub, etc.. There is so much to do in Oklahoma. From wilderness, playing in waterfalls, amusement parks, museums, etc.
check out this website. http://www.travelok.com/things-to-do

Glen Rose, TX is two hours away and a nice trip. You can go to Fossil Rim, Dinosaur Valley State Park where they have real dinosaur prints, they is dinosaur exhibit thing that is fairly new, so we have not done that. You can go to Big Rocks park which is a free city park with lots of big rocks to climb on and a shallow part of the river to wade in. There is a fun restaurant out side of town, but I can't think of the name of it. Just ask around and they will know. Also, there is a rock store near town and you must stop by there. The old man that runs it can tell you lots about fossils, etc. He will even give you ideas of where to go and fossil hunt on your own. You are not very far from Granbury, in fact can stay their instead. They have a drive inn movie that is fun and a neat little down town area. Everything is very family friendly. It is a nice short vacation from DFW and one of my kids favorite places.

San Antonio. Besides the Alamo, there is a zoo, children's museum, cultural center, missions, and the river walk. I loved going there as a kid and still do.
Beavers' Bend is also great if you just want to spend time outdoors.
We recently went to Surfside. It can be inexpensive if you get a condo and do your own cooking.

I'm currently planning a road trip with my 7 year old daughter to see some friends who are renting a condo on the beach near Corpus. Since my husband isn't going, I decided to stop one night on the way down and back to break up the drive. I think I've decided on San Antonio at the Inn on the Riverwalk - http://innontheriverwalksa.com. They're offering a promo - $25 per night off your stay (up to $50) if you show a gas receipt. I figured I can get one of the cheapest rooms for around $75, which includes breakfast and if you like their Facebook page, you can get free breakfast delivered to your room each morning. They say they're not too far from the commercial part of the Riverwalk and an easy drive to area attractions. There are Seaworld packages for 4 people (look on the Seaworld San Antonio site). We're also going to stop in New Braunfels and visit the caves and children's museum. Someone told me about Salado which would be on the drive down. It has an exotic animal petting farm (looks like it's free to visit).

We went to Fossil Rim (south of Fort Worth) a few years ago - once as a day trip and once as an overnight trip. Overnight is better - less rushed. You can also go to the dinosaur park. Another time, we spent a night in Fort Worth, which my daughter loved. We didn't get out of the stockyards during the visit even though we wanted to visit the zoo and some museums. You could make it a 2-3 day vacation.

San Antonio: Sea World, Fiesta Texas, the Riverwalk and stay in an inexpensive motel with an indoor pool.