SWEMB BIRT Wisonsin Dells and Isle Royal Day 4 and 5

 We stayed at the Dells until about 2:00 then took showers in the main indoor water park before getting in the car to drive to Grand Portage, Minnesota.  It was a long 6 hour drive that ended up taking longer because the boys had to use the bathroom every 100 miles.  We drove along the coast line of Lake Superior and it was absolutely gorgeous.  

We woke up early to catch our boat to Isle Royal National Park.  This is the least visited national park in all the continental United States.  I was unprepared for how cold the boat ride would be.  The boat tour was about an hour and a half and we FROZE all the way to the island.  Thankfully, when we arrived at the island it was nice and warm. 

I researched a few different hikes on Isle Royal and landed on an easy 3 1/2 mile hike up to an overlook.  We hiked up Grace Creek Overlook with ease.  There was a slight incline at the end of the trail leading to the overlook.  It was lush and green all around us.  Once we reached the overlook, we unpacked our lunches and ate.  We then hiked back to the visitor center and grabbed a snack while we waited for our boat to head back to Minnesota  

We got back around 4:00 and went to our airbnb for the rest of the night.  We played scattagories and did laundry.  We bought pizza to cook in the oven and just relaxed.  We needed a break in the week to just catch our breath.  The airbnb ran our of hot water while we were showering and it was a bit creepy with a basement.  Erik ended up waking up both nights scared and slept with me one night and Chelsea one night. 

SWEMB BIRT Wisconsin Dells Day 3

 Keegan made us a delicious breakfast before we hit the road.  I did a quick load of laundry so that we could all have clean bathing suits for the Wisconsin Dells!  My boys had been looking forward to the Dells for years!!  The Iverson's had told us about the Dells on SWEMB BIRT 1 so we knew we had to add it to our itinerary.  I am so glad we did!!  

On the way to the Dells we stopped in Madison, Wisconsin and toured the capitol building and ate at Craig and Blair's favorite restaurant, The Tipsy Cow!  We ordered fried alligator and it was tasty! The burgers were delicious according to Edward.  I had a breakfast sandwich with asparagus and an egg!  After lunch we headed to the Dells!

We spent the entire afternoon and evening swimming at nearly every single spot at the Dells.  They have 5 indoor water parks and 4 outdoor water parks.  The boys loved going from slide to slide and just playing in the wave pool.  This was a super fun stop on our trip.  

 

SWEMB BIRT Indiana Dunes Day 2

 Day two took us on a fun adventure to Indiana Dunes National Park.  I had never heard of this park until I started researching for this trip.  This park was a little out of the way but not too far.  We stayed in a wonderful hotel that fit all of us perfectly.  We slept in a bit then headed to hike the Three Dune Challenge.  This was a little harder than anticipated because it was quite hot and steep.  It was only a 1.5 mile loop but the steep incline made it difficult.  The boys hike quickly because they were all ready to get into Lake Michigan.  The lake was beautiful and seemed just like the ocean except it didn't have any waves.  The beach was soft sand and no bugs.  For a Monday in the summer, it was pretty empty.  The boys played and played for hours.  We had stopped and bought sandwich stuff for lunch to eat at the beach.  I am so glad we did because food on this trip was expensive.  

Chelsea and I sat in chairs and chatted away while the kids ate and played.  As soon as they were done, we took out door showers and jumped in the van to head to a candy factory.  This was a really cool stop where everyone got some yummy snacks.  

After the candy shop we drove over to budget rental car where the salesman REALLY helped us out.  He looked up my account and saw that I DID, in fact, pay for the toll pass and that the lady at Chicago midway charged me for gas!!  So he gave us a toll pass and took off the extra charges.  Spoiler, I was still charged $96 for who even knows what when I turned in the van!!

We then headed to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to stay with Melanie's friend Keegan.  She was so kind and her four boys gave up their beds for us!! I just can't believe it!  She also made us a delicious dinner with dessert!!  The boys were in heaven.  We sat up talk to them until 10:00 before we passed out in bed. It was a perfect day!