Spam and Wisconsin Dells

Trying to beat the clock while in the Spam production line

Ben riding across a tightrope at the Tommy Bartlett
Exploratory at the Wisconsin Dells

Look, no hands!!

Ben in a spacesuit as we got to go inside the actual Mir Space Station

As we drove through the Northern Plains States, it became a little more challenging to find places to stop. We visited the Information Center in Minnesota and they recommended the Spam Museum in the town of Austin. As they had a picture of Big Foot holding a can of Spam on the flyer, the boys decided they had to see it. While we did not find Big Foot, we did have a great experience at a totally interactive museum. Adam even tried the turkey Spam that was being served and said it was pretty good. The boys got to see how many cans of spam they could pack and cook and also found out what goes into making some of their favorite foods like bacon. There was even an exhibit where famous chefs showed how to make their favorite Spam recipes. To take a further step back in time, we stopped at a drive-in A & W that hooks the tray on the car window. We even got to meet the 90+ year old owner who came to chat after seeing our California license plate.

In Wisconsin, we spent the night in the Wisconsin Dells. I had always heard of the Dells but never knew what it was about. It is actually cliffs and rock formations that are cut out by the Wisconsin River. That being said, the true claim to fame is Noah's Ark the largest water park in the world coupled with 20+ other water parks and a million kid activities. I found out the best way to torture your kids is to take them to a place like the Dells and show them all the places you can't take them by yourself. There was no way I could take the boys to these huge water parks alone. We did, however, find a great hands on exploratory that even had one of the two original Mir Space Shuttles. The boys now want to visit Egypt, Australia, Hawaii and the Wisconsin Dells (with another adult!)