Vacation - Day 4

Monday we had hoped to visit the waterpark before heading home, but once again it was raining...so we packed up and headed back to IN! It was a long drive and although I'm sad to see vacation come to an end, it is also nice to be back home. Toby missed us quite a bit (our friend, Debbie, came out to check on him everyday) and went NUTS when we got home! ha It took us awhle to settle him down last night so we could go to bed.

Here's the last few pictures from our journey home...

Pettit Nat'l Ice Center is the Olympic Training Center. We almost stopped at the WI State Fair! And Jenna wished an Indy Car race was going on at the speedway. haha

Miller Park!

Milwaukee skyline

Lunch at the Pizza Shuttle in Milwaukee...very good!

Chicago skyline on our way back home

Woohoo! Back in the state!

We really just wanted to be done driving....Indy seemed a long ways away!

seeing a rainbow was a nice end to all the rain we experienced on the way home :)

Vacation - Day 3

Sunday morning we woke up to RAIN....and the threat of storms all day long! :( It was supposed to be our waterpark day, but since it was only supposed to be in the 70's and rainy all day, we decided we should pick some other activities to do. (seriously disappointed since the Dells is the Waterpark Capital of the World...and that's the only reason I agreed to come here!) We started looking at maps online, but there really wasn't much in the area we hadn't already seen...so I looked up how far it would be to Minneapolis since none of us have ever been to the great state of Minnesota...

Yep, you guessed it! In the car...on the road...about 3 hours later we made it to the Twin Cities. Here's the journey...

This plate is pretty good...ha

Hello Minnesota! (felt like it took FOREVER)

Minneapolis skyline...through the rain (it didn't sprinkle at all until we pulled into town! but it stopped right after this)

Another Big Ten stop...University of Minnesota!


Mary Tyler Moore statue downtown...we really wanted to get out and take a picture with her, but there was MASSIVE amounts of construction and absolutely no parking, we had to loop around a few times to get the pics we could!

Stopped illegally (shhhh...don't tell! ha) and took pictures of First Ave.


What's a stop to MN without a trip to Mall of America!?! I TRIED to find some good stuff to buy, but none of the stores had anything I really wanted, so I settled on a new pair of earrings from Icing (one of my fave spots).

The Lego display inside the mall...

...a view overlooking the "rides/amusement" area of the mall

We made it back to the Dells in time for dinner at Applebee's and enjoyed a few glasses of Spotted Cow on tap! ;)

Vacation - Day 2

Saturday was a fun-filled day in the Dells! Enjoy the pictures (aka the timeline) of our day! :)

We rode the Army Ducks...so much fun! This is one they had "staged" by the road. You'd be surprised at how fast they go on land...and how SLOW they go in the water.















Jen and I before riding the Duck...it was our best picture of the day (kinda :p)

While riding the Duck, we were able to take some great pictures! Sandstone lines the lakes and river.



















Next we took a ride on the Wild Thing Jetboat...as you can see, it is not a DRY ride! haha

Wet Joan? haha It was soooooooo much fun though!

After we dried off back at the hotel, Jen and I decided to hit the local outlet mall for some shopping. Unfortunately neither of us found anything...well not true, I found a Coach purse I LOVE...may have to go back and get it before we leave!! (as Geisler would say, that is an INVESTMENT you have to make! ha)

We also went to the Wisconsin Deer Park, where they have over 100 tame deer, it was pretty cool to feed them and have them come right up to you...even the bucks!


Jen has some pretty good pics of me with this buck, we tried to get some of her with him too, but he lowered his head a little after this and you should have seen her jump! ha

This little one thought he needed some more food...so mom fed him and then he kept trying to get into the feeder!

The 3 of us after a fun time at the park...

Next up, 18 holes of putt-putt at Shipwreck Lagoon. Jen and I each had a hole-in-one, but sadly I lost! :p

Time for dinner...Mexicali Rose! Yummy Mexican food.

...mmmm....that was a GOOD Raspberry Margarita! ;)

Vacation - Day 1

Friday was my first official day on vacation! :) It was a BUSY day of driving...a LONG day with the hour time difference...and last night we crashed early! haha Okay, so here's a recap of our day...

We left Indy a little before 6am...even by the time we got to Lafayette...sun was just starting to peek over the horizon.

Mom slept on and off during the drive. Luckily, Jenna stayed awake with me while I drove. ;)

The Chicago skyline...we are getting closer to WI!!

We made a stop in Gurnee, IL because of all weeks, this was the week that her work gave her an actual paycheck instead of direct deposit! ha (she needed to stop at a 5/3 bank once opening time came around)

Jenna kind of missed the "Welcome to Wisconsin" sign...ha

Our first official stop of the trip - Kenosha, WI - Mars Cheese Castle! (and yes, we brought a cooler for some purchases)

The roads in Wisconsin are mostly named with letters...you sure wouldn't want to be dyslexic! :p K, W, EW, PB, etc...crazy stuff

PRINGLE DOWN! We ended up crunching or losing more pringles that we ate...haha

What's a trip to WI without stopping in Madison at the University of Wisconsin?!? Camp Randall Stadium....we love Big Ten football! :)

New Glarus Brewing Company - home of the Spotted Cow beer! Definitely a fun stop and something to try if you make it to WI! (you can only buy New Glarus beers in WI! and yes, there are 3 cases of it in my vehicle, will probably be more before we leave the state)

We backtracked a little to Watertown, WI to visit Berres Brothers Coffee (a place mom saw on the Food Network)...they have amazing flavored coffees!

..........FINALLY...........Wisconsin Dells!!!! :)

Dinner at Moosejaw Pizza & Brewing Company...yum!

The restaurant has a a PT Cruiser & a VW Beatle with a moose on top...talk about great, fun advertisement! ha

Jenna and I at dinner :) Tried some decent microbrews and enjoyed some delicious food!

After dinner, we came back to the hotel and figured out what we were going to do Saturday. All 3 of us were quite tired after not sleeping much the night before at Jen's place, getting up early, driving all day, tacking an extra hour on due to time change....so, we fell asleep around 10pm (WI time).

On to another day of vacation fun! :D