Silverleaf Villages Resort Getaway

My sister is a member of Silverleaf, so I met her on a three day getaway just before July 4th. Because most of our state is in the middle of one of the wettest summers ever, the weather is not as hot as usual which made sitting and relaxing outside really nice. There was some rain but intermittent so it didn't interrupt too much. We had fun mostly hanging around the resort with everyone. We made an excursion to Caldwell Zoo, which the kids always enjoy. There were enough activities at the resort to allow us something to do or just sit and relax.

When we left the resort to head home we ate at a great Mexican food restaurant called Mercados Cafe. It's in Tyler just a few minutes from the resort. Head toward Tyler on Hwy. 155. When you get to Loop 323 take a right. The restaurant will be just up the road a little on the right.

Quick Tips:

Best Way To Get Around:

This is pretty much a standard anywhere you go in Texas, you need a car.

We stayed here with my sister who owns a Silverleaf timeshare. There are many things to do at the resort with planned activities throughout the day. They have a mini movie theatre in the activity center. Also in the activity center is a game room, pool tables, and a snack center that has great hamburgers. They have board games that can be borrowed from the center and the activity center is where you check out complementary miniature golf, tennis, ping pong, and archery equipment. There are also two sand volleyball courts, so I would assume that there are volleyballs for checkout in the activity center as well. There are two children's playgrounds with very nice jungle gyms, and two pools. One is smaller and quieter. The smaller one is where the hot tub is located. There is also horseback riding available through resort. My four year old kid loved playing miniature golf. She played three times.

The two bedroom unit we stayed in was nice. It was a little old with a few nicks and scratches but since it has a rustic look those added to the charm. It wasn't quite clean when my sister checked in but minor problems there. They are supposed to be renovating the older units so soon none of them will be "old" in appearance.

There is also in process the building of an indoor water park. The frame was up for this at the time we were there and it is supposed to be finished this fall.

This is a very good Mexican food restaurant. They provide complimentary tortillas with butter and honey along with the standard chips and salsa. Everything was above average TexMex. The salsa was great and even the beans and rice were exceptional. A lot of restaurants have bland refried beans so most of the time I don't eat very much of them. Not at this restaurant. I could make a meal off their tortillas, refried beans, and salsa. And the atmosphere in the building is really nice. Looks like a really old building inside and out.

This is one of the best zoos anywhere. It is a small zoo but that in itself is a good feature because you don't walk long distances between exhibits. The zoo was free to the public for years, but following recent renovations there is now an admission that is reasonable for the quality of the zoo. Adult admission ages 13-54 is $7.50; senior adults 55 and up is $5.50; children 2-12 is $4; and under 3 is free.