PETTING ZOO IS FREE FOR VISITORS STAYING IN OUR FAMILY-FRIENDLY RV PARK, CAMPING CABINS AND CAMPGROUND! $10 DAY PASSES ARE AVAILABLE FOR UP TO FOUR PERSONS.
why we built bok vegas
The Beginning
Both of us were divorced, single parents facing financial challenges when we met in 2009. Raising a blended family of seven was tough, particularly when it came to finding affordable activities.
Our first step was to find a vehicle that could transport all of us, and we chose a 2007 Ford Freestyle.
Day Trips
We started taking the kids on day trips to free activities like the Aquarium in Lake Jackson Texas. Along the way we would stop at random historical markers or old cemeteries. On the Lake Jackson trip we didn't plan well for food and made the mistake of stopping at Mc Donald's. We ordered off the dollar menu, but the grandparent spoiled children chose to order off the regular meal menu. We were totally unprepared for a $70 fast food bill. It is almost laughable now. That bill was for seven people and now it costs us $30-$40 for just the two of us.
Needless to say, after that we packed picnic lunches to avoid future financial disasters.
Tent Camping
Our income increased little by little and we were able to start overnight and weekend trips. We bought a ten-man tent and even managed to take two separate trips to Six Flags Arlington in the same Summer!
We stayed at State Campgrounds in our tent or in affordable one room cabins to provide whatever family building experience we could afford.
RV Life
As the years passed, our income increased more. Between contract programming in addition to the day job as well as other financial developments, we were able to purchase a 2001 Minnie Winnie motorhome.
We traveled often to Matagorda, Texas, Port Aransas, Texas and Corpus Christi Texas. We were able to go to Alabama and even Orlando, Florida.
This provided the opportunity to share on-shore, off -shore and charter fishing experiences. This was followed by the USS Alabama (twice), the Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola and Disney World while it was still the Magic Kingdom not the Magic Wokedom.
As the RV years came to an end, we gifted our beloved Winnie to our oldest son Travis as a wedding gift. He and his wife used Winnie to save money as he finished aviation mechanic school. He and his wife moved to North Carolina and Winnie is now retired on their homestead where they hope to turn her into an Airbnb rental someday.
Cruise Life
This part of our adventure was made possible by our first major programming contract. We didn't know if it would continue to produce that level of revenue so we decided to check a box off the bucket list and go on a cruise.
Our first cruise was out of Galveston, Texas on the Carnival Triumph. This was a five day cruise with port stops at Cozumel and Progresso Mexico.
It was the beginning of a cruise addiction with one exception. Queue the music... "Just sit right back and you'll hear a tale, a tale of a fateful SH*T". Yes, we disembarked and the Carnival Triumph set sail only to have an engine fire and drift in the Gulf of Mexico on what is now known as the poop cruise.
Two years later we gave it a try again. We kept cruising from Galveston, Fort Lauderdale and even Puerto Rico. Seventeen cruises that ended with a two week cruise that included a half transit of the Panama Canal.
We didn't take kids on all the cruises but believe it or not, we took them on most of them.
Vegas Life
Our first trip to Vegas occurred during the latter part of our Cruise Life and was fun but we are not big gamblers so it wasn't very addictive.
When we met we joked about eloping to Vegas and getting married by Elvis but we just didn't have the money. We simply eloped.
In 2018 we decided that we would make it up to ourselves and booked an Elvis wedding at the Graceland Wedding Chapel during the month of September.
This turned out to be one of the best experiences of our lives.
If you are an Elvis fan, we highly recommend doing this if you have the opportunity. Be sure to request Brendon.
We returned to Vegas several times after our vowel renewal and probably would still be going if not for the COVID circus and civil unrest of 2020.
We Bought A Farm
In 2015 we custom built what was to be our forever home in an upscale neighborhood in Pearland, Texas.
As we watched the violent riots in disbelief we started prepping but moving was out of the question, this was our forever home.
That changed the day George Floyd was buried less than two miles from our home. That evening the violence came to our street. Objects were thrown at neighbors walking their dogs and fights began to break out.
The amply funded Pearland Police arrived in less than three minutes and thankfully they were able to quickly disperse the crowd.
The decision made itself. We sold our house. We bought a farm.
Bok Vegas
We have been working on monetizing the farm with cabin rentals, camping, RV sites and always wanted to do homesteading education and farm tours.
We never had much of a plan for farm tours but after building, re-building and re-configuring the habitats for the last two years we ran short on motivation to move forward. We decided to entertain ourselves by creating themes for each enclosure or coop and our first attempt became Chicks'-Wil-Lay.
The conversation continued as we worked and the idea grew into let's do a Vegas theme. Which led to a Gilley's based enclosure for of our Kune Kune pigs, Pancetta. She is a young female pig which is called a gilt and Gilties was built as a bar with even a faux "mechanical" pig.
Light Bulb Moment! Petting Zoo. We floated the idea with some friends, neighbors, customers and Facebook home school groups. The positive feedback has been tremendous. There isn't anything affordable to do for families in the area and not only can we provide a unique experience but also memories that will last a life time.
As you may gather, we never do anything small. The ideas became larger and passing cars will stop, back up and take a second look.
Flashback to our origin. Two single parents without a dime between us. And that is the why behind Bok Vegas, an affordable place in the Piney Woods of East Texas for families, schools, groups and whomever wants to camp, picnic, relax, hike and learn about sustainable breeding, farming and how to be prepared for what the future brings.
Autobiographer Life?
There are so many stories behind our adventures. A family friend has encouraged us to write a book and include details like the original and re-proposal, the Lego man, Freestyle braking incident, Winnie braking incident, the midwife not arriving in time for our son's third baby's birth and the dress story (when you know some things are meant to be).
We would love to share our entire story with you and you can laugh with us or even at us. We are too dirty and tired to care.
I'll end with a special note for my wife. I'm not ready for our adventure to end. I love you. You are my life and only reason for being.