5th Night: Wisconsin Dells!
Last summer when Another Nathan and I were driving for his move, we stopped for dinner in the Dells, and I was so delighted I could barely stand it, and all I could think was that I wanted to come back there with my family. So much kitsch! So many water parks! Like Myrtle but in Wisconsin!
So when we decided to take this road trip this summer, this was the first stop I planned, and I sort of worked backwards from there. Y'all, it was just as fun with the kids as I wanted it to be.
I labored over hotel decisions forever and ever, because there are a million choices, and they run the gamut from roadside motel pay by the half-day (me: wide eyes) to, like... fancy resort with all-inclusive meals and booze and unlimited water slides.
Knowing that we had three young kids who would be too short for many slides, one of whom can't swim unassisted, all of whom get randomly nervous right when we aren't expecting it, we opted for a less expensive hotel with a great series of pools for designed for young kids, and it came with free included park passes for a huge waterpark in town. (We figured if the kids didn't know the "fancy" waterpark existed, they would be thrilled with the slides and play areas at our pool -- and we were correct -- but then we would have the option to go to the big park too, if the crowds didn't sound annoying or if there weren't other things in town we wanted to do, etc. OPTIONS.) So anyway that ended up being a great decision.
We checked into the hotel, and it was a suite, so the kids all had beds, and Mark and I also had our own separate bedroom with a door that closed (this was a godsend by this point on our trip IF YOU KNOW WHAT I AM SAYING). and immediately put on swimsuits and played outside in the outdoor pools.
Y'all. Wisconsin in August is still chilly. It was like, 75 out or something. For us, that's not exactly swimming weather. I do not know how this whole town stays in business when you can only swim maybe two months a year, but hey! Whatever! Some of the pools were heated (IN AUGUST OMG HAHAHAHAHA *wipes tear*) and the kids were happy even on the cold slides and waterfalls, and it was super fun.
We went to a famous* pizza and brewery place for dinner, where I had the weirdest beer of my life (wheat beer filtered with banana? Wisconsin WHAT EVEN) and we wore moose antlers because hey America family road trip (!?) and then we drove through the (kitschy, delightful) downtown area of Wisconsin Dells.
And then, because the main thing to do in the dells is swim, we went back to the hotel and got in the indoor pool. At nine o'clock at night. Because the kids seemed fine, and vacation had apparently made us punchy. (*Famous for small town Wisconsin standards. Mostly I just wanted to yell MYRTLE Y'ALL but I refrained.)
The indoor pool was adorable, with a polar theme and lots of penguins and polar bears (who live at opposite poles, which is now a Thing I Know because I brought my pedantic 8-year-old to a pool with a polar theme, and he had Concerns about how realistic it was/n't) and the children were very taken with it. (Me too.)
Day 6: Wisconsin Dells, Ginormous Water Park
We did indeed decide to go to "the big water park" the next day, and it ended up being gobs of fun. Here's the thing about Marky and me: we really love waterparks. We were basically giddy. I don't think the kids knew what to make of us.
So we did a few slides all together in the big tubes as a family (Charlotte basically sobbed down one of them, she was terrified and then super angry at us and we felt like crap parents, but also, you know, she was fine so whatever.) And then Nathan and Anneliese got rullll brave and did a few by themselves. Mark waited for them while I took Charlotte a huge splash pad where she found the quietest corner of the quietest slide and then sat in an inch of water and watched other kids come down while gently splashing water over her thighs. So, to each her own I guess.
There was no slide Nathan and Anneliese didn't want to try. I went with them on a bunch (there were a few things they wouldn't let me do because of my cast and broken arm (OH WAIT DID Y'ALL FORGET I WAS TRAIPSING AROUND THE COUNTRY LIKE A NEON STORM STROOPER?) and anyway we had Mark's work phone with its waterproof case so I got some fun pictures.
Anneliese was the only one in our family brave enough to try the zip line, where you hold onto a handlebar thing and jump off a giant tower over a pool, and she was crazy nervous and did it anyway, and sometimes I am so proud of her little quiet adventurous spirit that I might burst.
The only thing better than being super proud of your kid is seeing them feel super proud of themselves.
We finished the day with a long swim in the wave pool all together, and then good showers with actual hair washing and such, before we needed to get in the road for a long drive. (Again, I give myself an A+ for packing.)
Really excellent day. I would go back here every year, I really would. Delightful and cheesy and I won't lie, a waterpark day without the blistering heat is pretty awesome.
