Yesterday was a beautiful day, one of the last beautiful ones of the summer. So, instead of mulling about trying to figure out what to do (Olbrich Gardens, Terrace, Walk, Park, blah, blah, blah...), we decided to do something spontaneous. Well, as spontaneous as you can be with a ten month old. We packed up (enough sunscreen, food, bibs, diapers, wipes, and toys to last a couple days) and took off to the Wisconsin Dells.
Now, we had never been to the Dells, but it is FAMOUS in Wisconsin. It is home to America's largest waterpark, mini golf, zoos, and other kinds of great fun. Families all over the Midwest plan trips for a week to see everything that they have to offer here. We were expecting, well, the DisneyWorld of Wisconsin.
What we got was so much better.
It was like a vintage tourist cheesefest. Everything was exaggerated, with outrageous colors and signs. Best of all, it was all perfectly out of date.
The beautiful river with the boat rides, tacky gift shops complete with rows and rows of knick knacks and collections of every vacationer's need (I do NEED to express my love for America in a flip flop),
and yes, roller coasters
was the strangest juxtaposition that I've seen on a single main street. Awesome.
We did what any average family with a ten month old would do. We played miniature golf at Pirate's Cove.
Liam was a big help.
Where I beat John by one stroke. Awesome.
Then we went to the torture museum. Why, you may ask? Because it's the Dells, and why the hell not? This is a museum where they have some actual weapons and tools, but mostly it's dollar store frames with a microsoft word printed off of wikipedia and recently (poorly) made guillotines. Again, awesome.
Then we went to Crabby's, a seafood buffet, where I kid you not, they had animatronic pirates, CONSTANT pirate adventure music where you felt like you were going to be swept away by Johnny Depp himself, and (this is the best) all of the employees had to dress in pirate attire. Really, go to the website. You can enjoy it all minus the prime rib and fried food glory.
Overall, it wasn't what we expected, but it was so much fun. The perfect summer day as a family. We will go back in years to come, happy to reexperience the excitement, the colors, and touristy pleasures that is downtown Wisconsin Dells.
