Last year we went to Omaha for Mother's Day weekend (read more on that getaway here) and had so much fun that I wanted to keep it going this year. We had a hard time choosing between road tripping it to St. Louis or the Dells, but ultimately chose the Dells because we found some excellent online discounts and deals to use on the hotel stay and restaurants in the area.
So we packed up the minivan and headed out on the highway Friday after Max got out of school. It takes around 5 hours to get to the Dells from Des Moines, however we had several long bathroom breaks, a park playing experience, and dinner. The drive up there took 6 hours and was mostly done in the dark on unfamiliar, curvy highways. That drive wasn't the most fun, but the kids were great and actually slept most of the way up to the Dells.
We stayed at Great Wolf Lodge which was absolutely PERFECT for young kids and still had plenty for us all to do and enjoy. We also loved that we got a great deal on a suite (thanks to a 20% off code we happened upon) and that each room in the hotel comes with a microwave and mini-fridge. Two very important things when traveling with kids!
We spent most of our time enjoying the hotel water parks (yes, I said parks, plural, because there were three water parks in the hotel!).
Fort Mackenzie and dropping water bucket was a favorite for all of us except Elizabeth. She was not a fan of this. Luckily there was a splash pad to the right on this monstrosity that she thoroughly enjoyed.
The wave pool was the favorite for us all. This was one of the best wave pools I've ever been in.
We totally got sucked into the hotel's pricey snack bars. Hubs and I split a Barcadi Berry bucket and the kids got a bucket of ice cream. Everyone was happy Saturday afternoon!
We took time out from swimming to explore the Dells briefly. We went on the Lost Canyon tour. Definitely recommended if you're headed to the Dells. The kids loved seeing deer in the canyon and Hubs and I enjoyed looking at the rock formations.
Then we went to the downtown area of the Dells. We found lots of cool shops and enjoyed a brisk walk on the Riverwalk.
The above picture is easily my most favorite of the trip because it captures our life and personalities: Elizabeth singing "Let It Go" (more like screaming it), Harrison whining about something (I had stopped listening at that point), Max hugging me as he stroked my butt (weird and caught me off guard) as he thanked me for the vacation, Hubs "I can get myself in here too!" and me, mumbling under my breath "just take the f*&#ing picture!" Like I said, our life.
View from the Riverwalk. Another must if in the Dells.
Some brave soul actually offered to take our picture!
Rocky Rococo Pizza is a childhood favorite of mine. I was thrilled to find one in the Dells and got pizzas for everyone! It was still as delicious as I remember!
After swimming, the tour, walking, and more swimming, the kids were beat. They crashed while Matt and I enjoyed a glass of wine on the deck of our hotel room. Perfect ending to great and busy day.
Sunday morning we got up early, the kids wished me a "Happy FATHER'S Day" (yes, Father's Day. I pretended not to be slightly offended), and we were off to Madison, WI for zoo visit and exploring the downtown area. This drive was only an hour long and had gorgeous views along the way. I had pictured Wisconsin a lot like Iowa: flat farm land. Instead I found Wisconsin to be very hilly, green, farmland mixed in with pine trees. It was a beautiful view to take in.
Our visit to the Henry Vilas Zoo didn't go quite as planned. First off, the kids were kind of...well...asses. There were a few break downs, lot of fighting, and the inability to follow any kind of direction. Not the Mother's Day I had in mind, but I'm used to things not going as planned by this point in our lives!
The best part of our zoo trip: all of the animals were very active and we got an up close look at them. The lion ran, trotted and roared, the rhino ran and got incredibly close to use, and we saw giraffes run/gallop. The most disappointing part of the zoo trip: numerous animals weren't out for viewing because they have an entire new section of the zoo that doesn't open for another week. So we missed some of our favorite animals, but the new expansion looks to be very neat for the people of Madison to enjoy.
Elizabeth wore her flamingo shirt and I wore my rhino shoes for our zoo visit. It's now a requirement to wear these items at every zoo visit.
The way cool playground inside the zoo that the kids got to run around on and burn some energy.
After the zoo we drove around downtown Madison, WI (I didn't get any pictures of this). Then we began our drive home. The drive home got rather interesting with the threat of severe weather in Iowa (luckily that diminished), kids who needed to pee and stretch their legs, and a little bit of road construction. The drive home took us nearly 7 hours, but a good hour of that was spent in Dubuque at Eagle Point Park.
During our Dubuque trip during spring break 2014 (read more on that here), Hubs had wanted to take the kids to Eagle Point Park to see the lock and dam along the Mississippi River. He was incredibly disappointed when the park was closed during that visit, so we took advantage of the nice weather to visit the park as we drove through town.
All in all, it was a great getaway for all of us. As usual, I wish we had longer to spend in the Dells and explore more, but life and responsibilities called us back all too soon. We came back exhausted and all ready to plan our next adventure on the road.....we shall see where it leads us!