We admit to our age being in the early 60’s so we would probably not see the Wisconsin Dells the same way a young family would see it. It is something one must experience and then make your own judgment.

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This vacation was an RCI Bonus Vacation. It was a week for $229.99. The unit is listed as a one bedroom however there were really two bedrooms. One was a contained bedroom with twin beds. The other was a larger loft room with a queen bed, TV, closet, phone. There was a wall half way up the one side and the top half was open to the living room below. It was really a very nice arrangement leaving lots of light into the bedroom. There was a full bath with a Jacuzzi bathtub located off the upstairs hall. There were about 15 stairs from the first floor to the bedrooms. It could be a problem for someone who can’t do stairs. However the couch was a pull out bed so if stairs are a problem, one could sleep there.

Downstairs there was a completely furnished kitchen with a bar with chairs separating kitchen and dining/living area. Right inside the entry door was a nice size closet. Under the stairs there was another huge closet. Also on the first floor was another full size bathroom. We did not need to do a towel exchange as there were plenty of towels in the unit. It was also furnished with bath soap, facial tissues and toilet tissue. This unit is one of the few we have been in that had sufficient electric lighting using a nice size wattage bulb. We certainly appreciated that. We thought the furnishing looked very clean as did the whole unit. We had trouble with the TV and when called someone came immediately with a new one.

You should be aware about the phone system here. They DO NOT have a long distance carrier. The charge $25 for a long distance call unless you use your phone card or credit card. So be forewarned about this. It could get expensive.

This resort has one of the nicest activities buildings we have seen. There is a very large indoor pool and also an outdoor pool. It has indoor and outdoor tennis courts. There is a workout room as well as several racket ball courts. There is a large activity meeting room where they have popcorn available, a large screen TV and books.

Each day they planned activities. Some examples of what were going on when we were there is adult lap swim, Mary Kay Makeover Class, Class Etching, Junk Food Bingo, Bridge Players Club to name only a few.

• Unit Type: 2 Bedroom
• Activities: Excellent
• Amenities: Excellent
• Unit Satisfaction: Excellent
• Family Friendliness: Good
• Service: Excellent

There are 20 computer workstations. In the C@fe they have a scanner, digital camera, CD burner, color copier and all the latest in computer technology. The workstations are also the tables for dining. Please see the photo below that shows the prices of Internet access and also paper prices, etc.

One places your food order at the counter and when it is ready you return to the counter to pick it up. The tables all had as decorations a large clear glass vase with a beta fish and a plant growing out of the top. It was very neat and clean. The menu consisted of sandwiches on bagels, or croissants, ice cream and baked goods. There is an espresso bar. I had a roast beef croissant sandwich and it was delicious.

Their summer hours are stated as follows: open early til late seven days a week. Their winter hours are stated as follows: vary. There is a nice place for eating outdoors when the weather is nice. There is also a little gift inside the building.

This is a place I would highly recommend if you would like a light lunch. Master Card, Discover, Visa and American Express are all accepted.

The bill of fare is similar to all the other Denny’s. There are burgers, melts, fries, eggs, pancakes, full dinners and desserts. The food was good but the charm is in the atmosphere. The restrooms were extremely clean. I mentioned this to the staff and how much it is appreciated. If the restrooms are so clean, I would have to assume the kitchen is just as clean. This is a good feeling to have about a restaurant.

This is definitely a place to which I would return. It was not busy but, once again, you must remember we were not there are the height of the season.

There is also Dells Jet Boat Adventure. This is a 700 horse powered, 40 passenger ride. It races down the Wisconsin River at speeds up to 40 miles per hour. This boat ride was not running at the time we were there.

The Dells Boat Tours also offers a Sunset Cruise of the upper Dells. There is a dinner tour or a wine and cheese tour. Both are about two hour rides. For more information on the Dells Boat Tours see . The boarding place for the boats is right in the middle of all the amusements. One would have no trouble at all finding it.

As I stated in another part of this journal, we were totally taken by surprise at the commercialism of the area. The Dells themselves were less than we expected. If the weather had been better we may have taken the Upper Dells trip also and maybe liked it better. I do want to note that nearby there were two State parks, Mirror Lake State Park and Rocky Arbor State Park. Had the weather been nice we would have gone to these parks and done some hiking an exploring. We did go to the entrance of Mirror Lake State Park and were given a very nice newspaper of the park. It looks like something we would have enjoyed under other circumstances. We did not even drive through the park because there was a fee and the weather was miserable.

The trip from our home in a western suburb of Cleveland to Wisconsin Dells was very easy. The only difficult part was going through Chicago. Since we were going through on a Sunday on the way up we decided not to take the bypass thinking traffic would be light. We were wrong about that. There was a lot of traffic. Also if you go on I 90 as we did have plenty of change for the toll way. They were the places where you throw in coins.

In the town of Wisconsin Dells we found the local library, Kilbourne Library at 620 Elm Street. They had free Internet access so we could send and check email and search the web. You could sign up for an hour use. There was usually no wait. The library hours were Monday through Thursday 10-8, Friday 10-5, Saturday 10-2 and closed on Sunday.

If any of you were looking forward to a trip to the Dells with your families, don’t let this journal discourage you. Everyone has different tastes and this was one place that disappointed us. Someone else may have a ball there. Happy vacationing.