Great Wolf Lodge

A while back I figured out what I guess most parents realize. I'm not going to get a vacation until my kids leave home. Vacations are for the kids, and I'll get plenty of rest after I get back to work.

Well, that's changed a bit. A few weeks ago, we took the kids to Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg, VA, for the weekend. It's an indoor waterpark/resort, very kid-friendly, and tolerably priced for what you get. The best thing, though, was that I really enjoyed it, and actually came home more relaxed than when I left.

The waterpark part of the lodge was really great. Wave pool, 5 slides, a floating river, kiddie pool with 2 more small slides (for Daughter), a rock climbing wall, water basketball, and a huge play area in the middle with loads of water toys (and a bucket at the top that dumps thousands of gallons of water every 5 minutes or so).

There's an arcade, too, with the usual skeeball and other ticket-winning games. Son just loved going in there, although I thought it was a bit pricey. (I'm showing my age, I suppose; I remember getting 10 tokens for a dollar, and each game was one token. This was 4/1$, and many of the video games were 4 tokens.) But I did play DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) for the first time, and I'm hooked. Gonna hafta go get me the PS2 version!

But probably the most refreshing part of the whole place was how completely friendly the staff was. From the front desk folks to the waitresses in the restuarants to the maids that you pass in the halls, everyone was quite friendly and helpful at every turn.

Anyway, they say they'll be opening one in the Pocono's, which is closer to us, and we'll probably be going there this fall. I can see this being a family thing for us for the next few years.