Great Wolf Lodge

The phone rang wildly.
"Hey, my family is planning on going to Great Wolf Lodge. Wanna go together?" Arissa asked.
"Great Wolf Lodge? ... "

" ... "

Google ... great wolf lodge ... Virtual Tour. An animation popped up and showed ginormous water slides twisting in every direction with crystal pools under them. One slide blasts down a long drop, then spins round and round a colourful bowl before dropping into another dark, black hole. A swirling water roller coaster pulls slowly up, then suddenly plunges downwards at an unbelievable speed. The massive building has the water park connected with the suites like a castle channeling out to the chambers. An overnight stay is required. Wolf Den, KidKamp, KidCabin, 2 floored suites, hot tub suites, anything that can be dreamt up is there. With an arcade, a stuffing station, and a spa, what is missing?

A decision was finally made. The two families would go together, but this time, the children will do all the planning. The parents only had to pay. Arissa was in charge of what to bring, my sister was in charge of the activities, and I was in charge of finding a suite. What should Arissa's little brother, Felix, do? He's only 3. Maybe he can arrange the diapers?



Finding a suite seemed like a simple task. All there was to do is to pick a nice suite that we all preferred. Though soon enough, there was a lot of thinking work to do. Since 2 families were going, should we share a suite or buy 2 separate ones? If we bought 2 different suites, it would be almost double the price, but if we shared one, it'll be a single cost and it would be more fun. Why pay more if there's a chance to pay less? Furthermore, if we shared a suite, it will be easier than to meet up someplace. Be that as it may, if 2 families shared a suite, we'd lose our privacy. Out of all the different suites on the advertisement, there must be some with more walls to divide the beds. Then, there was school. It probably was more expensive on the weekends when everyone is available to go and therefore making weekdays cheaper. But we didn't want to miss school. Long weekends and holidays didn't help either. Yes, it was more convenient, but the prices went up. With all this in mind, it didn't seem so easy anymore.

Everyday after school, I'd be on the computer staring intently at the screen and hoping that something will show up. During those days, one can almost always hear:
"Shirley! Diner is ready"
 "Can you get off the computer? I need to check something"
"Computer again???"
" ... "
It would usually take me 5 minutes to respond. During dinner, it would always be the topic I'd talk about, and after dinner, the internet would be on again.

One day, there was a call. It was Arissa. After we hung up, I was sweating and there were butterflies in my stomach. She had already finished her checklist and was e-mailing it to me at that instant. I had only started my task! Arissa had offered to help, but I wanted to do it all by myself.

Rien, rien, rien! Nothing showed up, and a few weeks later, my sister had almost finished planning the activities. Hope was just a thin strand of string, threatening to snap at any moment. Then, I remembered. The suite with 2 floors! My family can sleep on one floor and Arissa's on the other. Parfait! With another hurdle passed, everything seemed easier. Finding a date wasn't so bad. The following 2 weeks had a cheap weekend price and my heart pounded. I waited impatiently for my mom to come home to pay. Finally she came and was rushed to the computer. ...

When I refreshed the screen, the date was unavailable. Someone already bought it! Sighing, I continued to flip through their virtual calendar. There was another date 2 months later, but it wasn't as cheap and it seemed like such a long wait. Yet my mom still bought it, seeing how there was no other choice.

...
...
Finally we arrived at Great Wolf Lodge. After checking in, my sister, Arissa and I dashed into the change rooms while our parents continued to chat. We quickly changed into our swimsuits and dived into the pool.
My dad finally caught up to us while we were waiting in line for a slide.
"Lunchtime guys. Aren't you hungry?"
But we weren't.
Hours later of play, we went to our suite. It looked very grand, better than the image on their website. We fell into bed at 10:30, dreaming of tomorrow.