Mini Vacation (Gurnee, IL)

We just got back last night from our mini vacation to Gurnee, Il. We had a lot of fun. It was the four of us, my mom and dad, and my brother, Caleb, his wife, Valerie, and their three kids; Luke, Gia and baby Caleb. We left Sunday at noon. We stopped at Portillo's for a late lunch in Plainfield and then finished the last one and a half hours of driving. We got to our resort (Key Lime Cove Water resort) late afternoon. The resort was so neat. It has only been open since February so everything still seems new. The rooms are nice and colorful. When you walk into the resort it feels as if you are in Florida by the beach. The neat thing about this resort is that there is an indoor water park. It was a nice size. There was a lot for older kids, adults and little ones to do. There was a wave pool, lazy river, a lot of different water slides, a kids area with three different water slides and a huge water/play area with a huge pineapple that fills with water and then dumps on everyone below (Hayden did not like that at all. It scared him to death). The resort also has an ice cream shop, a kids arts/craft area, three other food places, and a couple of other shops. They have a shuttle that can take you across the street to Great America Six Flags (which we did use). The kids had so much fun playing in the water park. We did that Sunday night. Then Monday we were supposed to go to Great America but it decided to thunderstorm ALL DAY LONG! So, we all went out to breakfast to IHOP and then my mom had been reading in a travel magazine about places to visit. She found the Jelly Belly Warehouse tour. It was only 20 minutes away so we decided to do this. As we were driving I started to read more about this tour. We thought we were going to a factory to see them making the candy, it was only a Warehouse tour and we would be stopping at various points to watch a video on how they make the candy. My poor mom, we were making fun of this the whole way there. We thought we would get there and get right in, because after all who wants to see a bunch of boxes laying around. We were wrong again, there was actually a line. We were cracking up. We waited a good 45 minutes before we got our special hats and got on our little tram/train ride. We literally took a ride around the boxes in the warehouse. WE stopped every 100 feet to watch a video and listen to our guide's annoying voice. We tried not to laugh during the whole thing. My brother said, "Well, there goes that half hour that I will never get back." My dad told my mom that when she reads something else in that magazine that looks interesting to keep it to herself. Hilarious! It was a really bad tour. Even the kids were bored. The best part was getting a free sample bag of Jelley Belleys (I don't have any pictures from this "wonderful" experience because I forgot my camera). When we got back to our hotel, the boys took the kids to the water park and the women went to the Gurnee Mills Outlet Mall. It was such a great outlet that Brian and I will go back in a few weeks to get the kids their fall clothes. When we got back we all went to eat at The Rainforest Cafe. Hayden and Ava loved going to the same restaurant again. We got done eating late so when we got back to the hotel we let the kids play at the hotel's arcade/gaming area. It was huge. Then they got to choose their "free" prizes. They each got a plastic dolphin and plastic whale. They are still playing with those things. Go Figure! Tuesday morning it had finally cleared up so we went to Great America for the day. WE had a lot of fun as you will see in the pictures. We were there from 10am until 5pm. That was long enough because it was really hot. There were three areas for little ones so Hayden and Ava had plenty of rides to go on and we took them on some big adult rides, too. Their favorite was the kiddy roller coaster. It actually went pretty fast. Ava ended up getting heat exhaustion atleast that is what I think. She threw up when we turned our stroller in about 6 times, then after dinner which Hayden and Ava slept through and then thank goodness we had gotten a bucket that their lunch had come in because we used it on the way home for when she threw up again. She is fine today. WE got home about 10pm last night. We had a super great time and would recommend the water resort to everybody!! Enjoy our pictures!

The water park in the resort. YOu can't see the little kids area to the left.

The waterfall when you walk into the resort

Just part of the resort

Hayden and Luke playing at the water park

Being goofy before ordering our meal

Eating ice cream at the resort's ice cream shop

Riding the carousel at the arcade/gaming area in the resort

Playing games

More games

At the front of the park

The cousins except for baby Caleb

Getting ready to ride the roller coaster

There was a Wiggle World and this was the Wiggle show.

Ava was telling me NO MORE PICTURES!

OK this was hilarious, Brian had to take our niece, Gia, on this ride and he looked like a giant!

Waiting to see a movie at the park about the shallow seas