Surprise Vacation
Matt surprised Kate and me with a vacation last weekend. After weeks of mysterious clues we finally hopped in the car and arrived in Elkader. We have been talking about visiting Elkader for over a year now. Elkader is a very pretty community with lots of quaint shops. Plus they have an Algerian restaurant, Shera's, that we have been aching to visit. After a little shopping and lots of eating, Matt hands me a paper with the address to our hotel. I then learn we are not staying in Elkader but rather traveling to Grand Harbor Resort in Dubuque.
As soon as we arrive I take Kate inside to see the water park. Kate was under the impression we were going to a pool, but Grand Harbor is much more than a pool. It has several pools, three water slides, lots of squirting water features and a giant bucket that dumps water on you every 8 minutes. Kate eyed that water park, jumped from my arms and ran full speed to the first pool in sight. "Me go in pool NOW!" Sadly I had to stop her because she was still fully dressed. So when I took her in the locker room to change she proved that she is capable of good behavior. In fact, she has never behaved so well in her whole life. She would have done anything I asked if it meant the ultimate prize was a trip to that water park.
Kate was fearless at the water park. She rode all of the slides (on Matt's lap) with a big smile on her face the whole way. In fact, Matt said she sang "Wheeeeee" the whole way down. Matt and I also really enjoyed ourselves but much of our time at the water park was spent chasing Kate. She was having so much fun she couldn't decide what to play on so she jumped from water feature to water feature with about 3 minutes spent at each.
The next morning we toured Dubuque a bit and rode their famous cable car. As we were approaching the car, a black cat darted in front of us. We questioned whether it was a good idea to proceed or not, especially considering the cable car would drive us up a very, very steep incline in which we had zero control over our fate. We went ahead and rode the car anyway and it was great. Kate was mesmerized by the car and wanted to ride it again and again.
Kate and I want to thank Matt for such a great mini-vacation. He really put a lot of thought and effort into the trip. And he did a great job keeping it a surprise.
Thanks Matt! - Sarah
Thanks Dad! - Kate
Our first Elkader stop was to the local bakery for a hippo cupcake.
As soon as we arrive I take Kate inside to see the water park. Kate was under the impression we were going to a pool, but Grand Harbor is much more than a pool. It has several pools, three water slides, lots of squirting water features and a giant bucket that dumps water on you every 8 minutes. Kate eyed that water park, jumped from my arms and ran full speed to the first pool in sight. "Me go in pool NOW!" Sadly I had to stop her because she was still fully dressed. So when I took her in the locker room to change she proved that she is capable of good behavior. In fact, she has never behaved so well in her whole life. She would have done anything I asked if it meant the ultimate prize was a trip to that water park.
Kate was fearless at the water park. She rode all of the slides (on Matt's lap) with a big smile on her face the whole way. In fact, Matt said she sang "Wheeeeee" the whole way down. Matt and I also really enjoyed ourselves but much of our time at the water park was spent chasing Kate. She was having so much fun she couldn't decide what to play on so she jumped from water feature to water feature with about 3 minutes spent at each.
The next morning we toured Dubuque a bit and rode their famous cable car. As we were approaching the car, a black cat darted in front of us. We questioned whether it was a good idea to proceed or not, especially considering the cable car would drive us up a very, very steep incline in which we had zero control over our fate. We went ahead and rode the car anyway and it was great. Kate was mesmerized by the car and wanted to ride it again and again.
Kate and I want to thank Matt for such a great mini-vacation. He really put a lot of thought and effort into the trip. And he did a great job keeping it a surprise.
Thanks Matt! - Sarah
Thanks Dad! - Kate
Our first Elkader stop was to the local bakery for a hippo cupcake.
We did a lot of eating in Elkader. This first pic is us at a coffee shop. The second is a view from Shera's, a very delicious Algerian restaurant.
Cable car ride 
View from the top
Our sweet suite and a view from the room window
Kate LOVED the water slides
Cable car ride
View from the top
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