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Published: July 31st 2006
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We pulled into the Wisconsin Dells in time to get the RV ready and dinner cooking. We were a little disappointed in the campground as I was going for scenic and got a cross between Myrtle Beach and Coney Island. It is a ways out of town which was the plan as I thought it would be quieter; I did not count on I-90 and the train that run right by it.
We ate dinner and then the kids played in the pool. We are close to it and one of the benefits we did find was that we could relax by the RV and they could swim. This gave us a needed break and we just sat outside and mellowed. It is actually pretty warm and humid here, surprisingly so. After an afternoon thunderstorm it cooled down and then rained much of the night (made me a bit glad I wasn’t in a tent).
The next day was a workday for Ed and he picked up his rental car and went down near Milwaukee. The kids and I planned ourselves a doozy of a day and we were off.
First stop was a breakfast buffet.
Second stop
was gem mining with dirt from guess where (Franklin, NC). However, the kids love water, mud and rocks and had a great time.
Third stop was the Tommy Bartlett Exploratorium which is a weird cross between a discovery kids museum, space mountain, and schlock science. It was a lot of fun for a few hours and we were all able to play in the air conditioning which is essential if not playing in the water here.
Fourth stop was lunch in the downtown tourist strip. Danielle has added a new food group to her diet (Ravioli) which is the only new one added in quite awhile. Then we shopped what was eerily reminiscent of Atlantic City, Coney Island, and Myrtle Beach of my youth (not the new glitzy stuff, the old salt water taffy land).
Fifth stop (I tried to be done but the kids wanted nothing of it and even gave up swimming for this) was Wizard Quest. This actually turned into the best stop of the day even though I was pretty beat. It was right up my alley and Jacquelyn had a great time (Danielle was a bit young but hung in there). You collect glimmers by
answering questions and solving riddles in 4 rooms (earth, fire, water, air) and then use your glimmers to free the 4 wizards. You get 90 minutes. We were a little stressed at the end but we made it, freed the good guys, and had 6 minutes to spare. It was well done and if any of you ever make it here, stop by.
Sixth stop was my nap.
Seventh stop was a simple dinner at the RV.
Eighth stop was family mini golf in downtown with a free ice cream cone for the winner (with incentives at hand, Ed and I tied).
Then, miraculously, sleeeeeeeeep.
If any of you got dizzy by day 1, no worries about day 2. We did absolutely nothing and never even got in the car. Ed went to work as well this day and we slept in. Then we worked on our scrapbooks. The kids did go swimming for a little while and we even turned on the TV (which might have been on twice in the last week). But essentially we bummed around and I loved it. The kids got a little bored and by dinner we were ready to set out to
the Marley Caribbean restaurant and a water ski show. We finished dinner quickly (it was actually okay) and went next door to get a game of mini golf in prior to the show (there is mini golf next door to everything here so it was no big feat). I am not exactly sure how to describe the show other than HOKEY! (it deserved capitals). The kids did enjoy themselves but it was the kind of show that if a baton twirler would have come out, it would not have been a shock. They had a water skiing show, followed by ‘daredevils’ on a wheel, then a juggler, then a comedian, and then a laser light show that involved water fountains, colored lights, and some lasers. I’ll say it was good clean family entertainment but I much prefer Cirque Du Soleil.
We woke up on our third day early to get to Mt. Olympus Water and Theme Park. It was pretty incredible. They had an outdoor water park, an indoor water park, an outdoor amusement park, and an indoor amusement park. No pictures as we were constantly wet and the lockers were very far away from where we were (the
place was immense) but we had a great time and when we left 12.5 hours later (no joke), we were absolutely exhausted. We went on the water slides with tubes, the ones without tubes, the ones inside with tubes (and without), go karts, roller coasters, wave pools, water tubes, splish splash swimming holes, twirley rides, up and down rides, you get the drift. Danielle got to ride most things but the height requirement got her on a few. When she could ride she did, even if it was tall and fast. We met another family on one of the rides who was on their second summer of RVing. They also had a Gulfstream. The mom’s name was Lori. They had a daughter Danielle and had been to many of the same places we had during the summer. They also had lost their tow vehicle on a highway outside of Nashville and totaled it when it hit a tractor trailer but the good news was that the similarity ended there. Anyway, we spent some time with them as the kids were all enjoying themselves. We had a great family day but it was a bit of a long blur. I can
attest that we slept rather well that evening.
We were all dragging a bit on our last day in the Dells so we decided (when we finally woke up) to go on the Ducks (amphibious vehicles) and see something of the actual Dells (which is why the whole place is there in the first place). It was kind of fun and about as much energy as we had. After some food we went back to the theme park with our cheap second day tickets and just lolled around. It was Saturday and the crowds probably doubled so we just hit the things that did not have long rides and kind of lazed our way through the place. We left for dinner (Danielle wanting her new food group, Ravioli) and then went back to the campground to get packed up to leave the next day. All in all, the Dells are a strange kind of place. Where else (other than South Carolina) do you camp to the sound of your neighbor taking his golf cart and running back and forth over his full garbage of beer cans to crush them? It reminded us of home as there seemed to be
more rednecks in this neck of the woods than anywhere since we left the South. Even though we had been there for 4 days, I think we took less pictures there than anywhere else on the trip.
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