back to the grind

the wisconsin dells vacation was a success. it's an ungodly tourist trap, but we managed to have fun. ;) hannah planned our first day there, as her prize for winning monopoly (she totally hustled us). we got on the road around 6:30am thursday, and ran into some serious rain. we got in around 9am, and were able to check into our hotel right away.


then we headed over to the canyon creek riding stables, where bryan and hannah had a blast riding some horses while i sat and read my book. the ride ended up being a great deal; $20 for a one hour ride, and they had all sorts of stuff set up in the woods to look like parts of an old western town - plus we had coupons! hannah thought it was the neatest thing.

we then hit the indian trading post, a childhood favorite of mine. bryan got a cowboy hat, as he had been wanting one for some time and they were a good deal so i could hardly turn him down.


from there we stopped at the dells mining company, which is a giant rip off, but hannah loves panning for gemstones so there you go. she got some rocks, and that makes her happy. they charge you waaaaaay too much for the buckets and then they try to get you in the shop so they can tell you how you can spend more money to have them make jewelery from their rocks, but we managed to avoid that.

we went to danny's 90/94 diner for burgers, which weren't that fantastic, but like i said - this place is total tourist.

we went to the downtown dells to walk around some. after a few blocks, i let bryan and hannah know that it's all the same so there's no reason to do it all - t shirt shop, knick knacks, fudge, t shirt shop, candy shop, bar, t shirt shop... we ended up going to ripley's believe it or not, which was fun and weird.




we picked up some candy (including sour candy liquid shots which bryan and hannah did - hilarious video taken by me), including of course fudge and salt water taffy. after that we headed back to the hotel for a cooling dip in the pool before dinner.

we ate dinner at marley's jamaican, which was way overpriced for what it was, but it wasn't horrible. i had the jerk chicken and bryan had the jerk combo platter - pork, chicken, and red snapper. the meat was at least smoked, so it was very tender and flavorful. the place itself is kind of overdone, and they put umbrellas on everything (including water and the food) so we ended up with quite a pile by the end of dinner. we got a coupon for 50% off the mini golf place next door when we paid, so we headed over there and played 18 holes. hannah loves mini golf and she does pretty well so that was fun.

friday was waterpark day. we ate an early breakfast at mr. pancake then headed to mt. olyumpus. we hit the theme park first. bryan and hannah had a total blast on the roller coasters, and of course the go carts. i ended up sitting and reading by the wave pool, which nearly put me to sleep (i do love naps). we then hit some of the water attractions, though the weather wasn't cooperating much (overcast most of the day) so hannah didn't last too long wet. we ended up going back to the theme park for more of that fun. all in all, i wish we had had better weather for water fun, but we spent the day there and hannah is now officially a coaster chick.

for dinner, we went to the cheese factory, a gourmet vegetarian place i had read about online before the trip. it was fantastic! the food was great. they even had a real soda fountain, so bryan and i had handmade phosphates. we started with their "rattlesnake" tofu, (Seasoned charbroiled tofu served with our homemade BBQ sauce and black beans), which was tasty. i had the lasagna (A hearty serving layered high with spinach, mushrooms, veggie “meat” (gluten), and Mozzarella, Romano and Ricotta cheeses, on a bed of marinara sauce, with garlic bread). it weas very good. very cheesy, very flavorful. bryan had the delhi delicious (A unique blend of flavors & textures filled with the aromatic spices of East meets West: crisp fried eggplant, chickpea stew seasoned with fragrant Indian spice blend, served in a nest of organic brown rice. Garnished with cranberry chutney, deep-fried banana and sour cream), which he enjoyed very much. hannah had the kiddie grilled cheese, always a favorite. hannah was too full for dessert, but i had the glorious chocolate cake (Devil’s Food Cake layered with rich chocolate mousse filling and covered in chocolate ganache) and bryan had the hazelnut torte (Toasted hazelnut and pecan cake between layers of sweetened whipped cream. Covered in a smooth chocolate coffee frosting). both were giant pieces of cake which we didn't manage to finish, but leftover cake never sucks. ;) we bought the cookbook since we were in need of a really good vegetarian one, and the place was so great.

after dinner, we went to the tommy barlett exploratory, which is the height of 1972 cheese. i'm pretty sure the exhibit hasn't been updated since it opened. it has space, and science, and optical illusions and such and maaaaaaaaaaan is it outdated!! it was pretty amusing though, and hannah loved it (she got to ride the gyro) so all is well i guess.

saturday we began with breakfast at denny's classic diner (not that denny's!). it was a lot of fun! lots of old school kitsch decorating the place; the little rascals played in black in white on the tv while the wurlitzer offered old classics. definitely old school diner. the food was good - classic diner food for sure. i had a giant omlette with hash browns and it totally hit the spot.

next, we headed on to the original wisconsin ducks for a tour of the lower dells. hannah got to sit in front and be co-pilot. :) it was a lot of fun. our tour guide reminded me a lot of my sister katie - totally snarky. she was a lot of fun.

we went to the downtown dells to try out the wizard quest, which bryan had found good reviews for online. the idea is that you have to free 4 wizards in these different realms. you explore the realms and find clues to answers for a list of questions they give you in the beginning, which you then input into a computer (at the "dragon depot") to earn "glimmers" in order to free the wizards. depending on how many wizards you free in what amount of time you win!.... a discount in the gift shop. the place was dark, and some of the clues confusing, and there were kids running all over yelling. hannah thought it was SO COOL but bryan and i have been more impressed. ;)


we grabbed a quick and late lunch at moosejaw pizza. we ordered the taco pizza, which would have been fine except they used marinara sauce (and they serve it with a side of taco sauce so why don't they just use that??) and by "tortilla chips" they meant "doritos", which was kind of disappointing. they do brew their own soda and beer though, which is kind of neat.

we stopped by an antique shop to pass some time, where i actually found something i wanted to buy - but they had lost the keys to the case it was in so i was out of luck. go figure.

we had a reservation to see the 4pm show at the broadway dinner theater, which was disney's high school the musical. for those of you not familiar, high school the musical is an absolute phenomenom with the 6 - 13 yr old set. it's grease in 2006 for the 'tweens. hannah was pretty pumped and enjoyed the show a lot, even if it wasn't exactly like the movie. ;) during the closing number, i realized one of the dancers looked like a girl i went to high school with, which i confirmed after the show. small world! hannah bought a poster and got signatures from the main stars. she got to meet the girl who played sharpei, and about fainted she was so excited.

we had a small dinner at the cheese factory. i had the grilled cheese (A grilled double decker of Wisconsin sharp cheddar and Swiss cheeses with Roma tomatoes on sourdough bread), which i had been eyeing. it was huge and delicious. the salad that came with it had a raspberry dressing that was so good! bryan had the reuben (Veggie pastrami (gluten), Bavarian sauerkraut, smoky mustard sauce, and Swiss cheese on home made dark caraway rye bread). in his past kitchen travails, he had attempted to make a veggie reuben but was never successful. so he was happy to be able to try a good one - and we have the recipe in the cookbook so i expect to be eating one soon! :) we were too full for dessert this time, unfortunately. we headed back to the hotel and sat by the pool for a bit while hannah swam before bed.

sunday, we checked out of the hotel early and began the day with another breakfast at mr. pancake, at hannah's request. then we drove over to the wisconsin deer park. hannah thought it was soooooooo coooooooool that you could pet the deer - no fences! bryan was impressed by all the animals with horns. shocker, right?

we headed back to the indian trading post so hannah could spend the rest of her money. i let bryan talk me into buying a cowboy hat (i have no idea where i'll wear it), and we sat around while hannah chose a selection of rocks. she got one huuuuge crystal that she's pretty excited about.

our last stop was the market square cheese shop, which is a tradition. i'm just mad i forgot to get a picture of us with mr. mouse! :( i picked up an 8 yr old cheddar (makes the BEST grilled cheeses), and a nice parm reg, and bryan found a swiss spread. we ended up using the parm in a salad we had for dinner last night, and it was very tasty.

after that, we jumped on the highway for the trip home. we stopped near madison to visit with dirk some, and had some tasty lunch at a new-ish old school diner in the area. my hamburger was super messy and quite good. after that, we were back on the road, where hannah and i had a little post lunch nap. we made it home by 3 or so, to some very happy doggies. i was happy to be home and see them!

tonight is national night out. shannon is coming over, since hannah has been dying to have a sleep over with her. we're going to hit up this night out thing and hopefully have some fun.

tomorrow night is the lucinda williams concert at the pabst, which we're pretty pumped about.

wednesday hannah leaves. :( then it's back to house work - painting, getting ready for the baby, and the other stuff on the giant list i've made for bryan.