turtles. an indulgent pleasure.

Jeff and I took the kids to Wisconsin Dells for Spring Break this year. First trip to the Dells and second actual presence in the state of Wisconsin. I guess there is a first time for everything. The kids swam, went down all kinds of waterslides, chased each other around and pretty much wore themselves out for 2 days.

Clare lost a tooth in the rough waters of the wave pool.

And, I won't say what Eleanor did. (Just be thankful this is a food blog... no more details there.)

Ordered a pizza from a local eatery - and it was ginormous. It was called the big kahuna- a 20" circle of cheese and sausage and pepperoni and sauce. Weighed a ton and took two adults to carry it to the table (not really, but almost!) Created about 3 separate meals for 6 of us (and I'm not kidding.)

Stopped by an old fashioned candy store and loaded up on goods. I always wonder about the huge colored lollipops that every child just HAS to have, so we buy it, they take one lick and it gets tossed in the garbage. What a waste. The only thing the lollipops have going for them is their good looks.

Besides the lollipop Dane had to have, Eleanor was happy as a clam with her strawberry shortcake flavored dum dum sucker. Clare and Brendan found salt water taffy, suckers, gold chocolate coins, jolly ranchers, caramel apple suckers and every color m&m you can imagine.

Other candy in our bags... gummy raspberries, cinnamon gummy dollar coins, coconut and red apple jelly bellys, sour fruit balls and caramels.

I knew what I wanted from the minute I saw it. It was behind the glass case, and only accessible by the candy lady behind the counter. Mmmm... a turtle.

Chocolate, caramel and pecans... and all the variations - macadamia nut, cashew, peanut. I prefer the pecans - they even look like real turtle feet! Amazing. Quite certain it was the most exclusive pick, and at a price, so Jeff and I decided to share.

Well, my idea of sharing quickly evolved into a family of curious and eager tasters. Everyone wanted a slice of the pie, or in this case, the turtle. Regardless, I so enjoyed my sixth of the turtle. And, maybe next time, Dane will skip the lousy lollipop and go straight to the glass case.

I'd feel so proud.

I may just have to try my hand at a homemade turtle (Kanwischer style.) I think I'd top mine with sea salt. There's something about sea salt and caramel.

Would really need to decide where my glass case at home would be. And, I'd most definitely need a lock. We have lots of little mice around.