Hey there friends! We spent 4 fabulous days in the Wisconsin Dells! Today I am going to be talking about day one. Be sure to check out days two, three, and four!
Driving from our house to the Dells is about 5.5 hours. We knew we'd be stopping at a dairy free ice cream shop and grabbing lunch & gas in between there as well. We set our alarm for 7 AM and planned to leave sometime between 8-9 AM.
We picked up the rental car the night before. This could have easily been a place to save a ton of money, but after driving our van to Disney twice (15 hours one way), our 11-year-old vehicle was feeling it. We keep it in good shape, but it seems like after each trip, it would need something replaced every few months, sometimes large repairs. We figured we'd get something a little smaller, that got better gas mileage & save some wear and tear on our car. Paying some extra money now, we felt, could save us some large repairs in the future. We decided anytime we have to drive for more than 4 hours one way, we will just rent a car.
Kyle & I had done most of our packing the night before while the kids slept. We just needed to pack up some last minute items: chargers, toothbrushes, blankets, etc. We took our time. We had a general idea that check in time was 3pm and we wanted to do some things when we got there, but we weren't sticking to a strict schedule.
We had planned on stopping at a grocery store once we got to the Dells, but we couldn't find Nolan's sippy cup. We only have one (that might be for another post), so I ran to Walmart to grab a new one. While I was there, I just decided to grab some of the things we needed for the week, instead of stopping again later. I got some Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, grapes, carrots, gum, cheerios, paper plates, bowls, & utensils. We had gotten diapers, bread, peanut butter, chips, pretzels, & vegan cheese its at the grocery that week. Luckily, the milk was boxed so we didn't need to refrigerate it until we opened it. Our room had a fridge & microwave. We also brought a small knife and cutting board.
For the car ride, I packed very minimally. We normally would have our DVD player. While I don't like the kids watching it the entire time, we normally bring a handful of shows or movies for the ride. That on top of other things, like books, games, etc tends to overflow & overwhelm very quickly. Knowing this was a compact car, I packed Liam's backpack with some things for him and my backpack for some things for me. For the kids, I packed two board books for Nolan, Curious George Treasury Book for Liam, both of their cups & blankets, a candy spinner (similar to this, it was an Easter gift that comes with candy, and can be spun and played with after), a small Mickey toy, a pack of playing cards, and an unopened Lightning McQueen. In my bag, I packed a book for me, a crosswords puzzle book, 3 audiobooks, and 4 kid CDs. We listened to all of the CDs in probably an hour or so, and got through 1 audio book on the way there. I also finished my book.
We ended up hitting traffic about an hour and a half into our trip, long before we even got to Chicago. There was some sort of accident, mixed with construction. We were in that, barely moving, for about an hour. After that, we all had to go to the bathroom, so we had our first stop.
A little later, it was getting close to lunch time. We grabbed some Taco Bell. We got a few things and ate alongside our snacks we had brought with us.
One thing I regret, is going the route we did. It was the shorter route, but with the traffic jam, and the excessive tolls, we were probably an hour and a half later and $10 poorer. The other way we considered going said it has tolls as well, so we just went the shorter way. Never again!
We made it to Madison and went to the Chocolate Ice Cream Shoppe. It was affordable & vegan, so we were very happy! We loved driving through downtown Madison. It is a college town, so it is very hip. We saw lots of consignment stores, neat parks, etc. We would have loved to have spent more time there. Maybe next time!
Going there, we were still about an hour away from the Dells, so we got back on the road. Since they are an hour behind us, we got to our hotel at about 3:30, so it all actually worked out perfectly! We stayed at the All Star Inn & Suites. I will probably do a full review and link it here later, but we were very pleased!
After we got all unpacked and settled, we changed clothes and hit the strip! We were down the street from the Downtown Dells or Riverfront area, and not too far from where all the action of the strip was. With our stay, we got two different coupon books. We decided to eat at Sprecher's Restaurant and Pub. We had a free appetizer with two entrees. Kyle got one of their craft sodas (which is mostly why we went). The boys shared an order of pretzels, I got the Southwest Salad with no cheese or chicken, & Kyle got a Roasted Cauliflower & Quinoa Burger with no cheese. Now, we might be the worst vegans ever, but we don't ask a lot of questions on vacation. We know animal products are not good for our bodies, so we avoid them as much as possible. However, it's hard enough eating out, let alone several times a week, like we do on trips. So we preview the menu before hand, use our best judgement, and try not to fret over it too much.
After we finished, we decided to go to Knuckleheads. We went to the Trampoline Park there. We have one similar at home, but haven't been for a couple of years. We brought our socks, so were able to save that way. Somehow, they charged us for 3 people, instead of 4. It was $48 just for 3 of us! So we decided, Kyle would just watch. Honestly, I wish I hadn't paid for myself either. I love trampolines and had tons of fun, but after 30 minutes, I was pretty much done. The boys had an absolute blast though.
After that, it was about 8 o clock their time, which meant 9 our time! Our kids usually go to bed about 7-8. Our hotel had a playground and swing set. The kids still had tons of energy, so we hit that when we got back. After that, we did baths and bed. We were ready for day 2!
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