We Go On Vacation

We rented a car and drove toward Wisconsin Dells. Pocket of Bolts drove. He missed a toll because of confusing signage (i.e., accidentally went through the IPass lane), and cursed a lot. Later we discovered that you can pay missed tolls online, which is merciful.

At a travel plaza, he won me a spiny orange gel creature in one of those grabber games. It was silly, but despite myself I was proud and impressed. My boyfriend can win a grabber game, and in only two tries! He is magnificent.





I'm not sure what we were expecting from Wisconsin Dells--neither of us had ever been there--but I'm not sure that this was it.



It was the most astonishing collection of tourist activities I had ever seen, and why? Why there? It seemed to generate its own momentum. Waterparks, theme parks, carnivalesque attractions, a whole miniature golf industry. We had sort of intended to escape the city and be in nature, you know, do some hiking and such. But fortunately, we are flexible and have a sense of humor. Our hotel (billed as romantic) had seen better days. But actually it did make a bona fide effort to be romantic, with champagne and an in-room jacuzzi, Asian-themed decor that made me giggle--giant fans. Full points for effort. Here it is in a state of romantic disarray.



And after all, when you're in love and intoxicated with the joys of reunion, it's not hard to feel romantic--despite the view of the parking lot, the unfortunate giant dolphin slide in the pool, the lack of an ice machine, the grubby stretch of lake which was the beach. We threw ourselves into the spirit of things and had a romantic time thoroughly leavened by hilarity.