It was spring break last week for most of the kids around Chicagoland, and like many other families we wanted to use this time to get out of town. Spring never gets to this part of the country fast enough for my liking.
We only had a few days to escape and we didn’t have much money, with the effects of the recession and all. I scoured the internet looking for spring break options that would fit my requirements of being close to Chicago, being fun, and not being too expensive. Visiting the Wisconsin Dells was in the running as was Galena and even Gurnee. All these locations had resorts that had seemed to have nice pools and indoor water slides. I thought the indoor water slide would be a good “imitation” summer experience. I had a plan so I sat at my computer for hours, drank a lot of rum and searched the internet for the perfect family spring break destination.
I finally settled on a destination, Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Blue Harbor Resort is owned by Great Wolf Resorts and it seemed to have everything I was looking for. Confident in my decision, I made reservations, packed up the family, and finally hit the road.
The Resort was about a three hour drive from Chicago which was the perfect distance to feel like we were actually going somewhere but not being so far that it ate up a lot of our time. Once we escaped the traffic and construction around Chicago, we actually made great time and the journey to Sheboygan clocked in at about three and a half hours. This time by the way included a half hour stop for lunch at McDonald’s to hit the Dollar Menu, again effects of the recession.
The Blue Harbor Resort sits on the shores of Lake Michigan. Designed to emulate the grand resorts of the past, Blue Harbor was designed foremost to be a family fun center. I usually prefer authentic buildings over newer buildings emulating old styles but at Blue Harbor it all seemed to work well. The rooms were also smartly designed for family convenience. We happened to reserve a loft which was a little roomier and allowed for my older son’s buddy to make the trip with us. With him staying in the upper loft area we never felt cramped. The kid friendly Kidaquarium Suites and Boathouse Suites would be great for immersing young kids in the total “lake-themed” experience. My younger son mentioned several times that he would have liked to have one of those types of rooms.
But ultimately the room type didn’t matter all that much, we were there for the water park. The indoor water park was fun and about the right size for this trip. I had been in larger water parks that are definitely more impressive in the Dells but this park seemed perfect for my 9 year old son. He quickly felt confident and secure on the slides and tube rides and he had a blast. As for me, I also enjoyed riding the slides with him at strategic intervals between what seemed like an endless stream of local beer and rum drinks. The trip was exactly what we had hoped for. Blue Harbor turned out to be close to Chicago, fun, and not too expensive.
For more information: http://www.blueharborresort.com/, http://http://corp.greatwolfresorts.com/
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