Uff Da!

This weekend, disc0, J, A, and I went to the Wisconsin Dells for a little vacay before bar studying gets really rough (i.e. July 5). It was, as expected, wonderful.



Last 4th of July, disc0 and I wanted to take a cheesy weekend trip, and decided on the Dells, the Waterpark Capital of the World; our impression was that if Disney World is Vegas for kids, The Wisconsin Dells is Branson, Missouri for kids. We were right in alot of ways, but along the way, we also discovered the Thunder Valley Inn, and have been talking about it ever since. You see, before it was the Water Park Capital of the World, the Wisconsin Dells was famous for beautiful rock formations along the Wisconsin River (those are the actual "Dells"), so there are some attractions aside from the water parks.
We knew last year that we had to make Thunder Valley and the Dells a family tradition so we went back, and this time brought some friends along.

The best thing about the Thunder Valley Inn is the food; and the best thing about the Thunder Valley Inn is the people who run it; and the best thing about the Thunder Valley Inn is the atmosphere, which is a combination of the two. The Thunder Valley Inn is...the best.

It's run by the Nelson family, and they are, in a word, incredible. They are some of the sweetest and most earnest people I've ever met in my life--about farming, about food, about hospitality, and about being Norwegian. In fact they identify with Scandinavian-ness in general, including Swedes, so again I felt among my chosen people. At the Saturday "threshing dinner" show, they feed you the best freaking pot roast (grass-fed, no hormones, no antibiotics, from a local friend's farm), mashed potatoes, carrots, onions and peas (from their garden) and bread (the matriarch bakes 40 loaves every day, and makes fresh strawberry-rhubarb jam to go with. OMFG, I at a loaf this weekend). And THEN they get on the piano and the violin and play and sing some Norwegian ballads, with slight yodeling, and then they make eVERYone in the dining room stand up, and hold hands, and sing Good Night Irene. Oh and there's a man named Sven who bursts in during all of this to play the accordion and tell some "Ole and Lena" jokes (a few of which, at the end of his act, were a bit ribald for my taste! Uff da!)

It would take up too much of your time to read about the awesomeness of the breakfast, but let me just say that their fresh eggs and handmade cinnamon rolls are out of this world. I think Chicago is the big city with the best food, and the Thunder Valley Inn is the farm with the best food. disc0 and I stayed in Swedish House portion of the B&B, specifically the Carl Larsson Room, named after Scandinavia's most famous painter, while J & A were in the "Wee Hus" (which is just as precious as it sounds). There are also sheep, goats, a peacock, bunnies, and a KITTY HOUSE, which houses adoptable foster kittens with whom guests are invited to play. The vibe is wholesome, Lutheran, environmentalist, liberal, Feingoldian, Wellstone-ian deliciousness. We want to go there as much as possible.

The rest of the trip, aside from where we ate and slept, was also a blast. Saturday was spent at Noah's Ark, the country's largest water park. A and I left the boys a little early and got massages at a nearby monstrosity/resort called the "Kalahari," which I believe houses the country's largest INDOOR water park. It also houses a very nice spa were the massages were fab. On our way out of the lobby, A and I noticed that there was a group of 10 or so people around a glass enclosure the size of a small gazebo, so we thought it might be a neat snake or something. No, it was two BABY LION CUBS snoozin' away. WHAT?! I was really nervous that this was some sort of fancy, Vegas/Branson looking backyard zoo situation, but then some trainers came to transport the little tykes out of the glass cage and presumably somewhere else more habitable. Though they didn't seem to mind being looked at too much, I was glad that it wasn't their permanent home (or even one they seem to stay in for more than a couple of hours). So we were allowed to be excited that we got to see baby lions up close!!!!!!




Today, after checking out of Thunder Valley, we took an amphibious Original Wisconsin Duck Tour, which took us first through some beautiful forest that contained creepily awesome gargoyles and bas-relief thingies from the old Chicago Board of Trade building (when it was demolished, a woman bought them to decorate the grounds of her estate and now they are by the Duck Boat Road).

Then we went into and down the Wisconsin River with minimal splashage.



There was a moment of excitement when we came across another Duck Boat being evacuated because it got stuck trying to get out of the river back on land--but our driver made it (phew! Uff da!). Then it was through some more pretty forest, and finally more amphibiousness onto Lake Delton before the tour ended. We get to see some of the actual dells (rock formations), which are quite beautiful.

We also had an extremely earnest college student tour guide who made some pretty exciting puns along the way, winning us over completely.
It's actually a really gorgeous tour and we were very glad to see some nature and feel wholesome after Noah's Ark and before coming back to the city. And then the guys did Go-Kart on our way out of town. What can ya do?! Good times are good times.