The Joys of Beaumont, TX - Sensory Friendly Edition

 The Joys of Beaumont, TX – Sensory Friendly Edition

Written by: 

Totally AUsome, Totally Jace

Jasmine Simmons & Jaceion 

 

Have you ever been to a city other than home but it felt just like home to you? If so then you’ll understand what I mean when I say that Beaumont, TX felt just like home for the Totally AUsome family. Beaumont, TX, a city with rich history, cultural influences and wonderful people, welcomed the Totally AUsome family into their city with open arms over the weekend. While we were worried about going because we didn’t know if it would be sensory friendly for Jaceion whom is autistic, to our surprise it truly was! This was truly a great weekend to explore the city as it was Memorial Day weekend and also national travelers and tourism week. Indulge with me as I explain their history and our experience in such an illustrious place.

Beaumont, TX was founded in 1838 and named after Mary Dewburleigh Barlace Warren Beaumont, the wife of business man Henry Millard. Beaumont is a city whose bayou roots heavily influence Texas and Cajun cultures. The city also severs as the governmental seat for Jefferson County. Another fun fact would be Beaumont is 90 miles of Houston where we currently live and 30 miles west of Louisiana which is where we are originally from. While in Beaumont we visited several locations such as: Beaumont Children’s Museum, the Fire Museum, Rao’s Bakery, Tyrrell Park and Botanical Garden, Cattail Marsh Wetlands, and Gator Country just to name a few.

First up on our road trip to Beaumont it was a must that we stopped in Baytown, TX at the world famous gas station Buc-ees. Buc-ees is known for being the world’s largest and greatest gas station often called the Disney World of convenience stores. While in Buc-ees we grabbed our road trip snacks such as icee’s, their delicious brisket sandwiches, and beaver nuggets and then shopped for some of their brand clothing. While Buc-ees is the world’s greatest gas station it was crowded so that did overstimulate Jaceion at times. While providing calming techniques for him he quickly regulated himself and enjoyed the rest of his time by taking pictures with the Buc-ees mascot. If you ever want to stop at this specific location its address is 4080 East Fwy, Baytown, TX 77521. Next up on our road trip was the Ben J. Rogers Regional Visitors Center located at 5055 Interstate 10 S, Beaumont, TX 77705. The visitors’ center houses the colorful Beaumont sign. We had to stop and take a picture with the sign because this symbolized our first ever influencer trip as well as our excitement for being welcomed into such a great city. 

 

After taking pictures with the sign we headed over to the Fire Museum to experience the world’s largest working fire hydrant. The museum opened in 1984 in tribute to firefighters. It houses a collection of antique engines and firefighting equipment dating back to the 1800’s. The Fire Museum and fire hydrant are located at 400 Walnut St, Beaumont, TX 77701. During our time there, the city of Beaumont was hosting a summer splash day. During this special occasion, the large fire hydrant turned into a splash pad and Jaceion and the other children, absolutely enjoyed that. In addition to the fire hydrant becoming a splash pad there was also a community painting that children were able to help paint, an assortment of snacks, goodie bags, and a food truck at our disposal. For the children whom weren’t into the splash pad or into painting there was also chalk available for them to draw and be off to themselves if it was too overwhelming. The joys on all of the children’s faces both neurotypical and neurodivergent was truly amazing. While Jaceion loves chalk he opted to enjoy the splash pad instead as he loves water even more. Before leaving, Jaceion insisted on taking a picture in front of the fire hydrant. It’s safe to say this activity was sensory friendly and we would do it again.

After leaving the splash pad we headed over to our hotel. We stayed at Home 2 Suites by Hilton and it didn’t disappoint. To accommodate us the hotel placed our room on the top floor due to there being various baseball/softball teams staying in the hotel. The reason for this was to create a safe and quiet space away from the potential noise and excitement that the teams would naturally have.After freshening up we were ready for dinner. We dined at Pappadeaux’s Seafood Kitchen located at 4040 I-10 South, Beaumont, TX 77705. We had never been before but after talking to some of our friends and family who have children with autism and various disabilities they assured us that this was a safe space for Jaceion to visit and boy were they right. The atmosphere was pleasant. While most restaurants are noisy, have loud music and or have bright lightening Pappadeaux’s was the complete opposite. When we walked in the restaurant the lighting was dimmed which is perfect for a child who gets overstimulated by lights. The hostess greeted us with such delight, acknowledged Jaceion and walked us over to our table of preference. When we sat she provided us our menus and then handed Jaceion a coloring menu for him to relax enjoy the peaceful environment. One thing that I did love was that the restaurant was not overly crowded and they spaced out their customers which was a big deal for our family because Jaceion does become very nervous around new people and the wrong move would send him into tizzy. The music was also played at a decent level that would not cause him to need his noise canceling headphones. The food was top tier, the service was superb, the atmosphere was awesome and we’d love to go back again. This is definitely an A+ sensory friendly restaurant.

The next morning, we visited Rao’s Bakery located at 4440 Dowlen Rd, Beaumont, TX 77706. This is the oldest Italian bakery in Southeast Texas. While it is a bakery it is also the ultimate one stop shop for coffee, tasty morning treats, desserts and so much more. The establishment’s ambiance was welcoming, cozy, and peaceful. It was not like you average coffee shop. Jaceion opted for a ginormous cinnamon roll about the size of his head and according to him it was delicious. I chose to get a chocolate chip muffin that was also about the size of Jaceion’s head and the chocolate was some of the best chocolate I had ever had. Jaceion’s dad chose to get a cookie sandwich which would drive a person’s sweet tooth crazy. Overall the experience was great. 

After visiting Rao’s Bakery we visited the Tyrrell Park, Cattail Marsh Wetlands and the Botanical Garden that are all housed at 4233 Babe Zaharias Dr, Beaumont, TX 77705. The Tyrrell Park is roughly 500 acres of beautiful land where many go to have family events, go for exercise, play golf, and enjoy God’s wonderful nature. It is home to the Bert and Jack Binks Horticultural Center and the Warren Loose Conservatory, the second largest conservatory in a public garden in Texas. Our first stop while on the 500 acres we visited the Cattail Marsh Wetlands. At the marsh there was a national travel and tourism event going on that included bird watching, various kid friendly games, chalk, the community painting that was being worked on at the splash pad, and a snowcone truck. It was truly peaceful and breathtaking to see the birds, alligators and other animals in their natural habitats as we walked the boardwalk towards the middle of the water. Jaceion was a little hesitant at first of walking on the boardwalk but once he saw other children walking he joined in. He pointed out various birds and looked for alligators in the water. We visited the center and had the chance to look through the telescope to see the birds in their nest that were far away. This was an event that allowed us to move at our own pace and just enjoy the scenery which was very calming to Jaceion. Fun fact: there is free weekly yoga sessions from 9:30am – 10:30am at the Cattail Marsh. 

Shortly down the road we visited the conservatory and botanical gardens. Inside of the conservatory was one of Jaceion’s all-time favorite things which was two dinosaurs. He was in amazement that a large dinosaur was in the conservatory. This was also a peaceful experience as we walked around and looked at the various plants that were housed there. After walking out of the conservatory we began to walk to the botanical garden. As we got closer Jaceion spotted a snake and that quickly ended our experience as he is scared of them which is okay because most are. The garden from what we could experience was beautiful but once we saw the snake we did leave.

Our last stop of the day ended with Beaumont’s Children’s Museum located at 701 Main St, Beaumont, TX 77701 inside of the Civic Center. The museum definitely sparked Jaceion’s imagination which allowed him to experience the various activity centers that were within the museum. With various hands on exhibits that made learning fun Jaceion built structures, became a doctor for the day, went shopping at HEB and even became a bank teller. I personally loved this facility for Jaceion because the employees gave us a sensory bag for him for when he became overstimulated. Inside of the bag were various items such as: fidget spinners, bouncy balls, squishy balls, sensory tubes and so much more. The center also had a sensory safe space called “Make it Sense-sational” which allowed for children to go into a quite area for them to decompress and regulate themselves as naturally this would be a loud environment simply because it is filled with joyous children. We spent the remainder of our day at the museum as Jaceion thoroughly enjoyed himself so much that he did not want to leave.

On our final day in Beaumont we visited Gator Country located at 3296 Pine Tree Rd, Beaumont, TX 77705. If you’ve passed through Beaumont before on I-10 going towards Louisiana you’ve more than likely passed up a ginormous wooden alligator that sits off of the interstate and you’ve said “what in the world is that”. Well that alligator is what welcomes you to Gator Country. Fun Fact: Gator Country is part rescue facility, part animal theme park and has been featured on TV stations such as Bravo, A&E, and Animal Planet. Now I must admit that we were all with exception for Jaceion’s dad a little nervous about this portion of the trip because I nor Jaceion are big on animals outside of dogs and pet fish but we mustard up the courage to give it a try. When we arrived the cashier was very informative and gave us the dos and don’ts of the exhibit. We were provided food to feed the alligators, tortoise and goats. In the beginning Jaceion walked behind his father and I as he was indeed nervous and when it was time to feed the goats he did say he didn’t want to so we did not force it. But I on the other hand, loved feeding the goats, it was a great experience. I do believe he had a hard time because the goats were up close and personal versus the alligators who were off in the water a good distance from the boardwalk/fence. Jaceion did throw the alligator food to them majority of the time and enjoyed it but did decline to feed the tortoise. When we went to visit the reptile exhibit he saw a snake and completely panicked. This caused us to provide a breathing exercise to him to get him to regulate himself and his emotions. We removed him from the area and went back to feeding the alligators as he was comfortable with that. I would say this is something for all children to experience but as a parent use your best judgement because you know what your kiddo can handle and what they cannot. After running out of food we bid Beaumont farewell and headed back home to Houston.

Overall, the trip was a great one. For the activities we did experience I would honestly say they were all sensory friendly with exception of Gator country and this is solely based on Jaceion’s experience. As stated, I do encourage for parents and their children to give it a try but ultimatelyparents you know your children better than anyone. I do recommend Beuamont, TX as a sensory friendly city and we look forward to visiting again in the near future. I would like to sincerely thank the city of Beaumont for an eventful Memorial Day weekend and national travelers and tourism weekend. It is our hope that this detailed blog will encourage similar families to go out and explore the world with your kiddos because there are safe spaces and places out there that are welcoming for our kids Thank you again Beaumont, TX for making us feel at home.