Last Stop...Traverse City!

The last leg of our vacation was to visit Traverse City. This was a combo of business and pleasure since first Dan had a conference to attend, followed by a hockey tournament to play in. Our first night we stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. After being at Boyne Mt. a few weeks earlier, I wasn't prepared to be overly impressed, but WOW! They really took the cabin theme to another level. Not only was the lobby was so full of cool things to see and experience, but each restaurant was themed to go along with the outdoors/camping/wilderness idea. Very cool. Our hotel room had an area just for the kids called the "Wolf Den" where they had their own cave like place to sleep and their own TV! The indoor water park was slightly smaller than Avalanche Bay, but a little quieter, which I liked. The arcade was just as big and they had a putt-putt golf course, too. The kids had non-stop fun! There was also a cool game that you could play through out the hotel called Magi Quest. The boys each got wands and a book of riddles they had to solve by seeking out objects and waving their wands at them to collect them all. In the end, they both became Maste Magi.

After hanging out for one night and most of the second day, we headed over to The Beach Haus, where we were staying 2 more nights. We discovered "The Haus" a few years ago when Dan played in his first hockey tourney in TC. It's a swiss chalet looking motel that sits right on the bay and has a gorgeous beach area to play in. Plus, on Saturday nights they have a big bbq for the guests complete with water balloon toss and pinata for the kids. What's not to love?

Dan and Gret took part in the water balloon toss and tied for 1st place! Both boys got into the pinata and walked away with lots of prizes and candy.

At the last minute Dan's team backed out of the hockey tournament, which was a little disappointing. But as a man who won't sit back and take no hockey for an answer, Dan went up to the rink anyway and skated twice. With our schedule freed up a little, we got to go into downtown TC for a few hours and check out the sites and shops. The shopping there was really great! Tons of boutiques and restaurants. Plus we walked right into a one day art fair!

Back at the hotel, Gret couldn't get enough of playing volleyball and Reece became a little sand castle architect. After the craziness and stimulation of The Great Wolf Lodge, it was awesome to see them play for hours in the sunshine and sand!