Family Vacation for Four

We took our first real family vacation this past week at the Wisconsin Dells. It's not a place John would have picked out, but it's only 3 1/2 hours away and has tons of things for the kids. When we were driving up to check into the Riviera Suites Motel, we were having second thoughts because the motel looked so seedy. Cheap blue painted doors, small pool right in the front in the middle of the parking lot, an actual key to get into the room instead of keycard. Just one lock too, no double-lock. I had forgotten the difference between motel and hotel, but not the price (motels in the area going for around 89/night while hotels were around 200/night since it was in season). Luckily when we got into the room, we were pleasantly surprised. The room was actually quite nice. Two queen beds and a 2 person jacuzzi in the room, along with fireplace, microwave, and fridge. It was very tastefully decorated. And turns out that the kids loved the outdoor pool. It was the perfect size - not too big where we couldn't keep an eye on the kids. One side of the pool was around 1 foot so that Asia could stand up in it. The other end was around 3 feet so that Zach could stand up in it on his tiptoes. There was a small water slide into the deeper end. Both kids liked it! During the first day though, some kid had a BM in the pool. We were swimming in the pool, then one of the guests had their kids get out and told me that something was at the bottom of the pool. Then he pointed at it because I didn't understand what he was saying. There was something light brown at the bottom of the pool. I told John but we didn't immediately exit because we thought that it should float if it really were feces. Anyway, I brought Asia back to the hotel for a bath just in case. John and Zach followed soon after because a motel employee (alerted by a guest) confirmed that there was indeed a reason to clear out the pool.
We took lots of walks along the main road. At the Dells, you never have to leave this main road because everything is on it - all the theme parks, restaurants, and hotels. That's how you know it's a tourist attraction. But it's convenient if you're there for the kids. We took the kids to a little kids' park - something really for young kids. It was a storybook garden. You walk along the path and see wooden cut-outs of storybook characters. There was a little house with a stuffed mannequin that was supposed to be the grandmother who gets eaten in Little Red Riding Hood. Kinda freaky. If you walk in, it sets off a motion detector that tells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, only I was too short to set it off and the kids didn't set it off either. Only John's entrance set the speakers in action. There were also the 3 Bears, the little ol lady who lived in a shoe, etc. The best part of it was the train. It rode maybe every hour or 1/2 hour and you could just keep riding on it. Zach went on it twice. It takes you all along the garden. There's also a playground and a carousel! That's what Asia liked. She just wanted to keep sitting on the horses and go round and round. Sometimes, she was the only one on the carousel. We also bought some birdfood for 6 dollars and fed the ducks and geese at the park. The birds were just roaming around. Some of the geese were a little scary because they'd chase after you. I saw many kids running away from them crying. There were also some fun mirrors that distort your image. And there were animals. I guess that was a new edition. There were some giraffes, monkeys, tigers, etc. And a pretty lame animal show. It didn't keep the kids' attention because what they talked about was more for older kids. One part of the show, they brought out a canvas bag. A little girl had to put her hand in it and try to identify what it was. Her response was, "Is it a lemur?" That wowed the zoologist because he wasn't expecting that kind of guess. But it was a baby kangaroo. What the girl had touched was the kangaroo's foot. When kangaroo's sleep in their mom's pouches, they lie upside down. So I guess I learned something. Asia started to get antsy, so John took her out of the show and went on a train ride. I made Zach sit with me and watch it. He was interested, but got really thirsty and I didn't have anything with me at the time. Basically the place was fun for the kids, but as an adult, you see how rundown the place is for the money you're spending. The place needed to be cleaned - dust, cobwebs - and it really looked like it was falling apart.
So all in all it was a lot of fun. The kids got to watch Nickelodeon on cable at the hotel, and swim a lot. They got to play with animals, ride trains, eat good food, take walks, and spend lots of fun time with their parents.