Last week we took a family vacation to Center Parcs Heilbachsee. We packed up the car, including the dog this time, and headed out on a great week of rest and relaxation. This was our second trip to a Center Parcs location, the first was in the Netherlands over the July 4th holiday last year. We had such a great time that we knew we would have to go to another one this year. The real benefit of these places is that they are for families. Meaning that kids are welcome and there is plenty for them to do. Also, everything is in a central location, so you can hang out and have fun in the morning, then go back to your cottage for lunch and a nap, then back out for more fun in the afternoon. All of this is without having to get in and out of the car.
We really had a great time hanging out and spending most of our time in the pool area. Our cottage was really nice other than the fact that the kids’ rooms were both upstairs (though they did have a pretty nice gate to keep Gavin up there). We also took a side trip on Wednesday to Wildpark Daun, just a short drive away. It is a wild animal park that you drive through and see animals running around. While it was not quite up to par when compared to all of the wild animal parks that we’ve heard of, the kids had a great time feeding the llamas and donkeys and just hanging out. They had quite a few pigs, llamas, and deer and that was pretty much the gist of it. Once we made it through the animals, we stopped for a bite to eat (and to hang out with the pesky bumble bees!).

On the way back out we stopped at the Sommerrodelbahn for a quick ride. Basically this is just a long chute going down hill; sort of like a bobsled run, but made out of metal. Tristan rode with Ginger and Gavin rode with me. We had a blast! We ended up going down the hill 2 times, though to be quite honest, I could have stayed there all day!

Well, that’s about it. I hope you enjoy the pictures!