Splash Universe! (this is a long one)

What a weekend! We decided to travel to the beautiful state of Michigan and meet the Culler family - Ben, Erin and Jack - at Splash Universe for the day Saturday and overnight until Sunday. For those of you who aren't familiar with Splash Universe, it is an indoor water park attached to a Holiday Inn Express in Dundee, Michigan (right next to Cabella's). Click the following link to book your weekend getaway today! Splash Universe! The price was excellent ~$150 per night (water park and awesome continental breakfast included) as compared to similar larger-scale indoor water parks like Kalahari or Great Wolf Lodge, both in Sandusky, Ohio ~$300+ per night. Our room featured 2 sets of bunk beds in their own little cubby with a T.V. and then a queen bed near the window with another T.V. We also had a microwave, mini-fridge and sink outside of the full bathroom. After dropping Banky off at Matt and Brittany's in Perrysburg (thank you soooo much for watching our poochie), we met the Culler's in the lobby at noon and our rooms were already prepared for us!!! We unloaded the cars and went straight to the Pub and Grub for some lunch. Lexi feasted on chicken strips and waffle fries while Jack had grilled cheese. After lunch, we suited up and discovered the water park. Lexi was a bit overwhelmed at first, but it didn't take her long to break free from mommy and daddy and explore everything! She must have went down the kiddie slide 100 times!! I do believe that was her favorite thing to do. She also took turns with mommy and daddy cruising along the lazy river and also decided to try the bigger slide that sprayed water on you from the top. Towards the end of our 2-hour stay at the pools, she just couldn't decide what to do, so she was running around from one thing to the other and experiencing it all! We did try to take her up in the jungle gym that led to the larger slides, but she was perfectly content to keep her feet closer to the ground - which was fine with mommy and daddy. When the adults were tuckered out, we ventured to the small family pool for the main hotel, which was in a completely different place than the water park. It was much less crowded and more relaxing. Then it was nap time! Yay! Lexi went right to sleep in her bottom bunk and slept for nearly 2 hours. We then decided to eat some supper at Bob Evans and then went to check out Cabella's. Matt and I had never been there. Wow! What a place. There were TONS of stuffed - once real - animals and Lexi had a great time telling us what they all were. Her favorites were brown bear, the big bad wolf, and the real fish that were swimming in the indoor stream. By now, it is 9 pm and time for bed. We decided to hit the breakfast buffet early and try to get in one more hour of swimming before 11 am check-out. We ate around 7:30 and were back in the water by 9 am! Only the promise of a snack and getting to watch Dora the Explorer for a bit got Lexi out of the pools. She loved it! We showered, packed and were out by 10:50. Whew! What an adventure. I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a cheaper/smaller scale water park. We made it back to Matt and Brittany's house and Banky was so glad to see us. After meeting Nola and Gary at Carraba's Italian Restaurant for lunch, we visited and let the girls play for a while and then headed home. Hope you enjoy the pictures.
P.S. I decided to put all the pictures at the end this time instead of scattering them through the text.



























We didn't know anyone in this last picture on the right, but I thought you could see the jungle gym that dumped 500 gallons of water on us every 10 minutes or so.