Day Trips

Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine was the site of 4-year-old Trey's first sleepover away from his parents. Pop and Nana were a little concerned about how it would go, but they needn't have worried. The only problem came when it was time to go home.

The adventure began as soon as we got to our room. Besides the queen bed, there was a private space decorated like a cabin in the woods. Trey proudly announced that this was his room and he was going to sleep in the top berth of the bunk beds.

The hotel also has two-bedroom suites, suites with sleeping lofts, and a standard room that would appeal to business travelers. Yes, they do attract business travelers and conferences. Among the adult attractions are a spa and excellent dining facilities.

After a visit to the combination ice cream shop/bakery/pizzeria, Trey was ready to hit the four-story indoor water park with hardly a glance into the arcade. He was just barely tall enough to get a pass for all but the largest of the seven water slides.

We slowly eased into the cool water, wading into the pool until we were splashing in the waves. Although the majority of the water is only 4 feet deep, there were lifeguards everywhere keeping an eye on the young swimmers. After we were thoroughly soaked, it was time to try the kiddie pool's slides. Trey quickly outgrew the yellow slide and then couldn't get enough of the blue slide.

The Great Wolf Lodge chain of 12 resorts began in the Wisconsin Dells. Most are in colder climates. The Grapevine hotel is one of the few with an outdoor pool. It's more of a wading pool that progressively drops to waist-deep.

Wearing a hotel-provided life jacket, Trey quickly became as comfortable in the water as a tadpole. His parents and little brother soon joined in the fun. Only friends of hotel guests can purchase a water park pass without staying at the hotel. We played in the water so late that we missed the nightly storytime and the scavenger hunt.

On our last morning, Trey wanted to go swimming one more time. Our passes were good until 9pm that day, but he didn't need to know that. We rode tubes on the circular river, splashed in the wave pool, and he slid down the blue slide. When it was time to go, Trey begged to ride the blue slide only 100 times more. We settled on five. The fun was over much too soon for all three of us.

Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine is like a year-round summer camp for the whole family. The resort caters to families with 2- to 12-year-olds, but there is plenty to do for all ages. For more information, call 800/943-1127 or go to www.greatwolf.com.

1,000th in a series. Collect them all. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips" 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.