Our $40 Vacation

Yep, that's right.

For $40 dollars we spent two nights and three days at Grizzly Jack's Grand Bear Resort in Utica, IL next to Starved Rock State Park.

"How is this possible," you may ask?

TIMESHARE PROMOTION.

"Oh no! You didn't fall to prey to those blood thirsty sales reps pushing over-priced, useless condos and "amenities" that you'll never use?"

No, we didn't :)

This past January we went to the annual Kids Expo in our town where we signed up for this promotion: 2-nights at Grand Bear Resort and their indoor waterpark. The only caveat? Sit through a 90 minute presentation to learn about vacation opportunities through Silverleaf Resorts. We couldn't pass up the opportunity, considering hotel rooms at this resort average about $150/night depending on room and season. So we took our chances. I don't think we would do this again, since our 90 minute off-site presentation ended up being a 4 hour excursion! But we were able to enjoy the waterpark and some hiking at Starved Rock. Here are the pics!

On our way home we stopped for lunch at a local drive-in. David was surprised to find that I had never been to a drive-in before. The waitress didn't come out in roller skates, but everything else was definitely old school!