Traverse City, Michigan

Great Wolf Lodge

February 1st through February 3rd, 2013

Friday, February 1st, 2013 - 18/10°, Light Snow

    Goin’ to the lodge. Goin’ to the lodge. Great Wolf Lodge!

    I got the privilege of being the car packer today, as I was forced to take the day off of work so that we could leave before midnight tonight. Another joy of being on second shift…

    I did manage to have almost everything ready before Tara got home from work around 1:00pm. She gathered up the last few items and we finished loading the Buick Enclave that I got through the Ambassador Program at work for this weekend. It was a tight fit with Drew’s hockey bag in the back, but we managed to fit everything in and still have room for the kids.

    Tara & I left the house a little before 2:00pm to go pick up Samantha, Drew, and Jayden a little early from school. With them in the car we were off to Tyler’s school to pick him up after his last class of the day. He came out to the car with some paperwork for summer basketball that needed to be turned in today, so I headed inside with him to find his coach and get the forms turned in. Once that task was completed, we piled into the car and headed home.

    After a quick stop at home to drop off the kids backpacks we were officially on our way. This was a little after 3:15pm, with a 3 ½ hour drive on the schedule ahead of us. We had an easy drive the entire way, with only two stops at McDonalds required – one in Bridgeport to eat and the other in Cadillac to use their restrooms. We must have had poor timing for each, as both restaurants were packed with high school kids. As we left Cadillac the roads became snowier, but it wasn’t too bad to drive in. Aside from some time spent following some slow moving vehicles we were able to drive at or near the speed limit the whole way.

    We arrived at the Great Wolf Lodge in Traverse City around 7:00pm. Tara headed inside to check in while I sat in the car with the kids. It didn’t take long for the bathroom requests to start piling up, so we headed into the lobby to seek out a restroom. While inside we took a moment to peek through the windows into the water park area, and the kids were already raring to get their suits on and go for a swim.

Great Wolf Lodge
	A look at the Great Wolf Lodge and the weather upon our arrival in Traverse City.
	A look up in the lobby of the lodge.
	On the third floor there is a display featuring a couple of bears, right next to the windows where...
	Samantha, Jayden, and Drew were busy peering out into the water park.
	A look at our room...
	...which included a fireplace!
	The view from our third floor room.
	A look back towards the door.
	There was even a kids "room" with three beds in it!
	On the left is a single bed while there was bunks on the right.
	A look at the bunk beds.
	The kitchenette area, including a microwave, refrigerator, and a sink.

    We had a few things to take care of first, like getting out luggage out of the car and into our room. Our room was a KidCabin Suite, which meant that there was a separate “room” in it with three beds – a single and a set of bunks. There was also a queen bed, a sleeper sofa, a dining room table, a full bathroom, and a kitchenette area with a sink, microwave, and mini-refrigerator. We also had a balcony that overlooked the water park, although it was much too cold outside to enjoy this feature! We quickly unpacked our bags, putting clothes in the drawers and drinks in the fridge before slipping into our swimsuits to head down to the water park.

    We had a lot of fun in the water park area of the hotel. We met up with our friends Jeff & Becky, and their kids Thomas and Andrew. All six of the kids had fun playing in the various pools together as well as riding on the assorted slides. We were on a time limit for the evening, as the park closed at 9:00pm. We managed to get out a little before that time, however, leaving at about 8:45pm.

Great Wolf Lodge Water Park
	Drew, Tyler, and Samantha making their way into the pool after arriving at the water park.
	Tyler exploring the climbing structure inside the water park.
	Drew going down a water slide with Rodney.
	A look at Drew thoroughly enjoying the slide.
	Tyler enjoyed playing a little water basketball!
	Tyler talking to Thomas.
	A look at the climbing structure from deep inside the water park.
	A look at one of the slides inside the park.
Please click here for page two of the photos