On the Countdown!!!

We are going on vacation in a few weeks - yippee!!! We are going to South Padre Island and are very excited. I've never been there before and am really looking forward to the calm, relaxation. Lance has been several times so knows a few things that he definitely wants us to do, but I need some feedback for several things we are considering, but aren't really sure of.

Have any of you ever been to SPI and done the sand castle building lessons? This sounds intriguing to us as the kiddos LOVE sand castles, but we don't want to waste our $$$ if this is not really a great thing to do with kids?

How about the Pirate Ship cruise out of Post Isabel? Lance was down there a couple of weeks ago and he thought it looked pretty cool, but it's pricey. Has anyone been? Is it worth it?

We are definitely going to the beach, Schlitterbahn, and just relax! We have rented a little 2 bedroom/1 bath bungalow and it has it's own pool in the backyard along with a grill, so we are looking forward to having our own little private area where we can cook and swim on our own timetable.

On our way home, we will spend one night in Corpus Christi and do some things there. Any advice on kid-friendly things?

Hope you and yours have had a vacation this year or will soon---we all definitely need to get away from time to time!!