Wisconsin Dells!

Last week, we decided to take a somewhat last minute trip to the Dells for the weekend.  We make sure to take a trip up there at least once a year since it's so close and there's so much to do!  We had a great time, as usual, and made sure to pack in as many activities as we could.

Chad and I left straight from work on Friday night so we could get our mini-cation started as soon as possible.  We checked into the Monaco Motel before starting our night.  The Monaco is located on Wisconsin Dells Parkway right next to Noah's Ark, America's largest waterpark.  If you've never been to the Dells, you probably don't know that they pride themselves on having the largest, longest, fastest, first ______ (insert anything here).  We normally stay at the Black Hawk Motel, but they were booked that weekend so we settled on Monaco.  It was very outdated but this is to be expected from any motel in the Dells.  If you want to avoid this, you can stay at one of their many (expensive) resorts with indoor and outdoor waterparks.  By staying at the Monaco, we got free waterpark passes and oodles of discounts at restaurants and attractions.

We started our weekend by eating at Famous Dave's on Broadway (downtown Dells).  The food was delicious and I just love this location as it is right in the middle of all the "cheesy" Wisconsin Dells action.  Afterwards, we decided to walk up and down Broadway and stop in any place that interested us.  We stopped a Nig's bar, took a stroll on the Riverwalk, and went to the Showboat Saloon.  Downtown Wisconsin Dells is really hopping on summer nights.  Everyone is on vacation and just wants to have a good time.  We had a great time bar hopping!

On the Riverwalk

Saturday we got up early and made sure to get to Noah's Ark right as it opened.  This is key, as it tends to get very packed after the first couple hours.  We got on all the awesome rides we wanted to and even did several of them more than once.  It was a slightly cloudy day so it worked out perfectly because we didn't have to wait in long lines to get on the rides.  Some of our favorite rides include the Sting Ray, Black Anaconda (America's longest water coaster) and our favorite waterslides, Black Thunder. :)

www.noahsarkwaterpark.com

After tiring ourselves out at Noah's Ark, we headed back to the motel and got ready to go eat some lunch.  We had lunch at the High Rock Cafe, which has a great location above "the strip" downtown.  I love this place as their food is awesome and I love people-watching while we eat.  The service left a lot to be desired at this visit, though. 

High Rock Cafe

Later that afternoon, we decided to try out zip lining.  I wasn't sure it was going to be worth the cost, but I'm so glad we did this now!  If you ever get the chance, make sure you check out Bigfoot Zip Lining in Wisconsin Dells.  This was my first time ever zip lining, so it was a bit nerve-wracking, but turned out to be an amazing experience.  We did 6 zip lines and walked over 500 stairs (all after walking 1000+ stairs at Noah's Ark).  The final zip line was definitely the scariest, as it took us above the tree tops and over Sasquatch Lake. This one was also the longest at 1397 feet.  The guides were great and they even taught us tricks, which I was too chicken to try, but Chad did them all!  He even zip lined upside down (crazy if you ask me)!

Getting ready to go zip lining!

The 1397 foot zip line

We did it!

After an action packed day, we relaxed with drinks and supper at Moosejaw Pizza & Dells Brewing Company.  This place is really neat and really huge! They have 3 floors, 3 bars, and their own brewery on site.  We tried out some of their microbrews and my favorite was definitely the Rustic Red.  We also ordered a pizza and I was surprised to see that their taco pizza is made with Doritos! If you've never had taco pizza with Doritos, you're missing out.  My favorite pizza place ever makes their taco pizza with Doritos and I haven't found any other place that does, until now! 

Ahh...Rustic Red after a long day

Just being goofy

The Dorito-covered taco pizza :)

After filling our stomachs, we headed back downtown and walked through some of the shops.  The great thing about the shops in Wisconsin Dells is that many of them stay open really late.  They have tons of candy shops, fudge shops, ice cream parlors, and souvenir stores.  I had to stop and get some of the delicious chocolate as a dessert.  I chose a chocolate and M&M covered pretzel from Swiss Maid Fudge.  We ended the night by hanging out at the beautiful, relaxing Riverwalk Pub.  This place has a great set up as it is set back from the strip area, so it's away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, but still easily accessible by foot.  They have a great beer garden area where you can enjoy drinks overlooking the river.  We tried to convince ourselves to stay out all night, but after doing so much that day, we decided to call it a night.

Sunday morning, we had breakfast at Denny's and then took advantage of our free waterpark passes at Chula Vista resort.  This was the first time we had been to Chula Vista, and were so happy we had the chance to check it out!  It's absolutely gigantic and has both an indoor and outdoor waterpark.  Sunday was a little chilly, so we didn't get to try the outdoor waterpark, but the indoor one was fantastic!  We had so much fun on their waterslides.  They have some great tube slides that Chad & I went on over and over again together.  They also have great racing slides, and another that really gets you going fast!  Chula Vista's indoor waterpark also has the world's fastest and longest indoor water coaster (see, I wasn't lying about that), but we found this ride to be quite boring compared to the slides.  If you ever get the chance to go to Chula Vista, make sure you don't miss out!

www.chulavistaresort.com

After a fun-filled weekend, we finally decided to head back home.  I don't think I've gotten that much exercise in one weekend since I was a kid, but it was totally worth every minute!  If you haven't been to Wisconsin Dells, it's definitely one of those things you have to put on your bucket list.  How could you miss seeing America's largest waterpark, the longest indoor leisure river in the U.S., or the first U.S. indoor waterpark?  You can see all of that and more in "The Waterpark Capital of the World" (largest concentration of waterparks in one area) with 18 indoor waterparks and 3 outdoor waterparks within 18 square miles, including more than 200 waterslides and 16 million gallons of water. :)