Spending the Afternoon at Cabela's

I told you earlier this week that we were on vacation this week.  I also mentioned that in addition to my crazy to-do list we were going to make time for fun.

Earlier this year we had our mega vacation, taking the kids on a Caribbean cruise.  That vacation pretty much emptied our vacation budget so for this week of vacation we wanted to do fun things without spending a lot of money.  Today our frugal vacation fun included a road trip to Cabela's.

In the interest of full disclosure, I did end up spending more money than I meant to (I couldn't resist the candles!) but if you're looking for a great way to spend a few hours without it costing a lot of money (as long as you have more willpower than me!) then Cabela's is the way to go.

Here are some of the fun things to do at the store that doesn't cost any money (unless stated):

Explore the fish of the Great Lakes.  This is just a small portion of the aquarium.  The aquarium is on both sides of the walk way and wraps around the room.  The fish are amazing, even though the thought of those things swimming in the lake with us is a little creepy

Hunt the beasts of the Serengeti.   These are all real animals preserved and displayed.  I thought it would be fun to put Mike in an explorer hat with a hunting rifle but he wouldn't do it.  Maybe next time.

This is a wall of different types of sheep, bears, moose, etc.  The wall is two stories and contains a wide variety of different animals.  The light in the store was a bit bright so my picture of the full wall didn't turn out well.

Get attacked by a bear.  Don't worry - he was a toy bear so I wasn't in any real danger.

Learn all about the different species in your area.  Here's Mike posing by the deer display.  Who knew there were that many different species of deer! 

Having a contest in the shooting gallery.  For only $.50 a game you can spend quite a bit of time without spending a lot of money.  I can hold my own but of course Mike beat me at every game.  Since he practices for work I think he has an unfair advantage! 

Here's a picture of my big splurge.  This is a ginger peach candle that just smells divine!  I honestly didn't need another candle but I just couldn't pass this one up.

No visit to Cabela's is complete without stopping by the Cabela's Fudge Shop.  They are incredibly generous with their samples and have a wide array of fudges to choose from.  Plus, you want to talk about customer service?  The lady behind the counter told me that if I gave them 24 hour notice they would make up any of the fudge that was on their menu without any order minimum.  

Not pictured was our stop at their cafeteria where you can try wild game meat like elk & bison.  We always enjoy eating here except today was a little bit of a disappointment.  Cabela's - if you're listening you need to step up your game a little bit in the cafeteria department, it seems to have gone down hill a bit.

If you're really big into firearms there's also a gun library you can explore.  I thought the store officials might get a little hinky about me taking pictures of their guns!

So - if you're looking for something to do without spending a lot of money and you have a Cabela's fairly close by I would recommend a visit.  Oh yeah, the kids might enjoy it too :)

Wasn't Mike a great sport?  I have to say I'm pretty lucky to have a guy who is willing to pose for pictures in the middle of the store just so I can write a post.  I guess he's a keeper!