Arrived in the West Suburbs of Chicago to stay with a dear friend and her family. We are very thankful they offered to put us up for two nights. We were able to hang out, relax and catch up over pizza and beer. We have five kids between us and they all got along very well.

We ventured into the city (minus my friend and her kids) via the Metra. A real value at only $17 roundtrip for the four of us--the kids were free. The kids enjoyed the train which was clean and well air conditioned. Thank goodness as the heat index was near 100!! The loved seeing the skyscrapers get closer and closer.

Chicago has the free trolley system running through the summer months. There are three routes you can take to get you to the main attractions of the city without having to walk. Most of the trolleys were quite full and waiting for 30+ minutes for one was not uncommon. Some though you could get right on without waiting. Timing is everything! The routes are very well marked and really make getting around the city a breeze, even if you aren't familiar with Chicago.

We snapped a few pictures of Buckinham Fountain and Lake Michigan then headed up to Millenium Park. We were all very toasty by this point so we splashed around in the water in the big fountain just in front of Millenium Park. Caught a trolley heading north to the Hancock building--didn't have to wait at all--timing is everything.

Went right up to the top of the Hancock which we all enjoyed. The observatory has pictures and points out landmarks in every direction so you know exactly what you're looking at.

We didn't eat anywhere special--Mickey Ds--and our stay in the city was very short. Mostly because of the blazing heat and humidity. Not a pleasurable weather day by any means. But we were all satisfied with what we were able to do. Next time we'll hit a museum or two. Chicago really is a world class city.

On to the Dells. We arrived at the Kalahari on Friday around 3:00. Our room was ready and I didn't have to wait in line at all to check in, timing is everything. We were pleased with the size of the room, a little bigger than your standard hotel room. The room was clean and the resort was beautiful.

Lots and lots to do here. Pottery decorating, hair braiding, cookie decorating, pictures with baby tigers, multiple restaurants, spa, etc.. A true resort. But very pricey for all that extra stuff which we did not partake in. We took food with us and prepared what we could in the room which had and ample sized fridge and microwave.

The kids loved the waterparks! We spent the bulk of our time outdoors as the weather was very warm and sunny. The time we spent indoors was minimal, mostly due to the very strong chlorine odor. Not much anyone can do about that one I realze, we are thankful we didn't have to spend much time indoors.

I thought the slides could have been marked better for height/age requirements. The lifeguards were not that attentive either.

A couple of things to happened that will make me thinkk twice before I stay here again. On our 2nd full day there, our card key to our room wouldn't work. I called the front desk and she invited me to go to the registration desk to get my cards redone. Yeah right, the line was backed out the door. I called her back and she suggested I wait in the express line, again out the door. She gave me a couple of lame excuses like the card came too close to a cell phone, a credit card or was initially keyed wrong. Did nothing to resolve my issue. It was only after I suggested that someone come to the house phone, get my cards, reswipe them and return them to me did anything happen. That took 30 minutes.

The following day we checked out. We received our statement and had a balance of $20. Couldn't do express check out as I had to go the desk to get that removed. At 7:15, I explained that was not our charge and could it be removed. They explained they needed to check with accounting first, they would get on it and call us back as we wanted to leave by 8:00.

After we (my husband) loaded up the car, still no word about our bill. I called the front desk at 7:50, and talked to someone completely different who explained she would remove the charge as accounting doesn't open until 8:00. I was stewing. She again offered a lame excuse as to how the charge was idadvertenly placed on our room. I asked how that could possibly be as we declined to have any charges put onto our room. She said that someone just transposed the numbers of their room and it ended up on my room. Again, how is that possible if we declined our room to be charged?? And exactly $20?? Come on. I think this is a racket and want others to be aware. Check your bills!

Whew, sorry to be so hot about the subject but not the way you want to end your trip.

We did putt-putt and go karts in the Dells as well. We didn't go on the river and Lake Delton is dry because of a breach in the dam. We ate at the Moosejaw one night for dinner. It's a great atmosphere but the food wasn't too terrific. Maybe go there if you like trying beers as they have a brewery on site. Also ate at Mr. Pancake. The charge $2.50 to share a plate which I highly recommend. The pancakes/portions are huge and it's cheaper than buying everyone thier own plate, waste lots less food that way too.

The waterpark was our focus on this trip so we really didn't do too many other excursions. With gas prices and Disney in October, need I say more?