this past weekend, my cousin hae and i took our kids to lancaster county, PA to ride Thomas the Tank Engine at the strasburg railroad and to go to dutch wonderland while rob stayed home to oversee the new granite countertops get installed in our kitchen.
"A Day Out With Thomas" or as i call it "Joy and Pain, Sunshine and Rain"
we left early saturday morning and made it to strasburg without any delay (2.5 hours). but once we got there, it was nutty trying to find the overfill parking lot. i was trying to follow the white signs that read "to Thomas Event Parking" when i should have been following the little yellow arrows that said, "Thomas." after some circling around, we find the satellite parking which appeared to be a giant field in the middle of a farm, with random cows lazing about and several of them sauntering across the dirt path (absolutely amazing to see how many cars were already parked out there by 10 am!!!). there were big yellow school buses shuttling folks from the parking area to the railroad. occasionally a little black horse drawn buggy would pass by with an old amish couple riding inside and all of us in our minivan would start screaming in excitement at the horsey on the road...i had to wonder what the amish must think of us!
along the satellite parking area was the Red Caboose Motel, where guests lodgings are in individual train cars. i tried to get rooms there for the weekend, but they were booked solid. i guess if you want to stay there you have to book well before a month or two in advance, especially if it's during the weekend when Thomas is in town.
we get on the bus, which is very exciting for ozzy because he sees the school buses in our neighborhood all the time and he keeps saying he wants to ride one. well, he got his wish. of course there's no AC on the bus, and not even 10 minutes out of the cool air conditioned environment of my car, i sweated thru the back of my shirt.
we arrived at the railroad and see a little red train take off, and then a family of five struggling with a hand crank car, and another mini train loaded with kids chug off.
took a moment to take in our surroundings, then made our way to the toy store on the premises which is LOADED with all things Thomas. (there was a tent of Thomas stuff being sold as well, but we didnt have time to check it out) we get in the store and immediately the kids are drawn to all the toys. ozzy is in heaven. we finally settle on getting a motorized Spencer and a Take Along HECTOR (and everything else went back on the shelves). Mimi wanted a large ball, but i refused to buy anything that would not fit in my backpack because i knew i would be stuck holding it for the rest of the day. she settled for a flashlight instead. i tried to get out of the store, but when ozzy realized we were leaving he laid down on the floor flat on his back and said, no. i tried again later and he said, "i dont want to." so i picked him up and carried him out and he started crying because he didnt want to leave all that Thomas goodness behind. see what i mean? joy and pain. sunshine and rain.
i gave him a piece of fruit snack to buoy his blood sugar levels and promised him we'd see more trains if we kept moving. we get to a model train store. go inside and they have some model trains running. he is SO ecstatic about the trains, he's pointing out the characters, and the trains, etc. and he wanted to stay there. forever. every time i tried to walk away from the trains he would cry and demand to go back to see the trains. and the tears would immediately stop when the trains were back in sight. finally, i had enough of the place and dragged him out of there screaming and crying for the trains. joy and pain. sunshine and rain.
we still have some time to kill before they start boarding for the Thomas the Tank Engine ride, so we cross the street to the railroad museum. we only have ten minutes so we dont bother paying the museum admission price and instead go to the museum gift shop where they have a train table set up. ozzy immediately goes to play at the table and he's really enjoying himself. several minutes go by, and i dread having to pull him away from the train table but it time to go board our train. and AGAIN, he's crying for the train. i carry him out, his face press against my shoulder, sobbing, "train. traaaaaaiiiiiiin. traaaaaiiiiiinn." oh, the joy. oh, the pain.
we get some popsicles to eat while waiting in line in the hot sun to board. we finally get on (once the line started moving, boarding was very fast). it's hot on the train, of course, no AC, but the inside of the train car was pretty. the train started moving and eventually a 'conductor' came to collect the tickets. the kids loved looking out the window at the passing fields of corn and farmland. it was fascinating to be able to see so far out over the land when i'm so used to seeing building after building. just 10 minutes into the trip, ozzy, suddenly starts to lean forward and presses his little forehead to his knees. i straighten him back up and ask him if he's tired. he nods and then leans into me and says, "hold me." so i pick him up and immediately he's out. the rest of the train ride, he slept. which was okay because when it was time to exit the train it was done without a single peep of protest from ozzy.
he napped on my shoulder out of the train. napped as we made our way back out of the railroad station and onto the bus to shuttle us back to our car. napped on the bus. and only woke up when i tried to settle him back into his car seat, which jostled him awake. we drove to our hotel, which allowed us to check in a little earlier. by the time we arrived, it was jacob's turn to fall asleep.
we stayed at lancaster host resort and conference center, which was good because we got a huge room with a ton of floor space for the kids to run around and play without trampling on each other. and there was a very nice play area like the ones at the mall and two pools (indoor and outdoor) and it was very conveniently located across the street from dutch wonderland where we went on saturday evening and sunday morning.
the kids enjoyed the park which is perfectly suited for young kids. the kids rode on lots of rides, the boys favorites of course being the rides involving trains and trucks, and each time the rides were over, ozzy cried because he didnt want to get off of the vehicle. (sheesh!)
mimi got on a few rides by herself. one was a frog ride that hoisted them up to the top of a tower and then dropped a bit and bounced and then rose up a bit and dropped and bounced. and continued this way until it reached the bottom. mimi really liked it and laughed and laughed the whole ride long. when she got off, ozzy pointed to the ride and said, i want to try it. try it, mama! i had a feeling it was going to scare him, but he kept insisting so finally we got mimi to sit on it again, put ozzy next to her and jacob next to ozzy and let them ride it together. jacob was unfazed by the ride, neither committing to excitement, fear, nor boredom. just taking it all in. ozzy on the other hand looked like he was going to cry. so hae and i were down there, looking up at him and laughing and cheering him and jacob, and i could see he wanted to laugh but he also wanted to cry. it wasnt looking so good, so the ride was stopped and we got the kids off and ozzy didnt protest at all.
while walking the perimeter of the park we encountered several ducks and their ducklings. we bought some duck feed and the kids fed the birds. they really enjoyed it and it took a lot to get them to leave. (back at home, ozzy would walk around the house feeding imaginary ducks. he told me he was feeding them popsicles and sandwiches. lol.)
before we left the park, i allowed the kids to get one thing from the dutch wonderland gift shop. ozzy chose a train (shocker) and mimi left with a bag of rocks. yes, a bag of rocks.
we werent on the road for very long before all three kids fell fast asleep.
when we came home, the counter tops were finished and everything hooked back up in working order. of course our home was destroyed with a layer of granite dust on everything. after a tiring weekend of not much sleep, it was not easy to come back to all the cleaning that had to be done post installation, but we can now check the counters off our to do list, and that's a good thing. i think my favorite change is the deep, wide, single basin stainless sink and the pull down oil rubbed bronze faucet. i'm not loving the soap dispenser so much, though. this one dribbles out the soap and shoots some of it backwards. not sure if it can be tweaked to dispense more cleanly, but if not, it's not a biggie. i can live with it.
"A Day Out With Thomas" or as i call it "Joy and Pain, Sunshine and Rain"
we left early saturday morning and made it to strasburg without any delay (2.5 hours). but once we got there, it was nutty trying to find the overfill parking lot. i was trying to follow the white signs that read "to Thomas Event Parking" when i should have been following the little yellow arrows that said, "Thomas." after some circling around, we find the satellite parking which appeared to be a giant field in the middle of a farm, with random cows lazing about and several of them sauntering across the dirt path (absolutely amazing to see how many cars were already parked out there by 10 am!!!). there were big yellow school buses shuttling folks from the parking area to the railroad. occasionally a little black horse drawn buggy would pass by with an old amish couple riding inside and all of us in our minivan would start screaming in excitement at the horsey on the road...i had to wonder what the amish must think of us!
along the satellite parking area was the Red Caboose Motel, where guests lodgings are in individual train cars. i tried to get rooms there for the weekend, but they were booked solid. i guess if you want to stay there you have to book well before a month or two in advance, especially if it's during the weekend when Thomas is in town.
we finding a convenient parking space and as we get out of the car, the heat of the day and a good breeze blows the very organic smell of cow manure our way. mimi says, it smells like a donkey out here. my cousin hae, inhales deeply and says, "whew, did someone go poopy?" and starts snorting loudly around jacob's seat. i had to explain to her that i believed the smell to be lancaster county and not her son's diaper because she couldnt seem to tell the difference (this would continue several more times during our weekend stay there...every time we stepped out of the car, i'd hear, "whew! did someone poop?")
from the parking lot we got to see Thomas chuff on by several times. it was very exciting for the kids to see the train and they couldnt wait to ride the train. "Ride Thomas! Mama, i want to ride the train!" ozzy would crow at me. i assured him we would and that we were on our way to do so.
we get on the bus, which is very exciting for ozzy because he sees the school buses in our neighborhood all the time and he keeps saying he wants to ride one. well, he got his wish. of course there's no AC on the bus, and not even 10 minutes out of the cool air conditioned environment of my car, i sweated thru the back of my shirt.
we arrived at the railroad and see a little red train take off, and then a family of five struggling with a hand crank car, and another mini train loaded with kids chug off.
took a moment to take in our surroundings, then made our way to the toy store on the premises which is LOADED with all things Thomas. (there was a tent of Thomas stuff being sold as well, but we didnt have time to check it out) we get in the store and immediately the kids are drawn to all the toys. ozzy is in heaven. we finally settle on getting a motorized Spencer and a Take Along HECTOR (and everything else went back on the shelves). Mimi wanted a large ball, but i refused to buy anything that would not fit in my backpack because i knew i would be stuck holding it for the rest of the day. she settled for a flashlight instead. i tried to get out of the store, but when ozzy realized we were leaving he laid down on the floor flat on his back and said, no. i tried again later and he said, "i dont want to." so i picked him up and carried him out and he started crying because he didnt want to leave all that Thomas goodness behind. see what i mean? joy and pain. sunshine and rain.
i gave him a piece of fruit snack to buoy his blood sugar levels and promised him we'd see more trains if we kept moving. we get to a model train store. go inside and they have some model trains running. he is SO ecstatic about the trains, he's pointing out the characters, and the trains, etc. and he wanted to stay there. forever. every time i tried to walk away from the trains he would cry and demand to go back to see the trains. and the tears would immediately stop when the trains were back in sight. finally, i had enough of the place and dragged him out of there screaming and crying for the trains. joy and pain. sunshine and rain.
we still have some time to kill before they start boarding for the Thomas the Tank Engine ride, so we cross the street to the railroad museum. we only have ten minutes so we dont bother paying the museum admission price and instead go to the museum gift shop where they have a train table set up. ozzy immediately goes to play at the table and he's really enjoying himself. several minutes go by, and i dread having to pull him away from the train table but it time to go board our train. and AGAIN, he's crying for the train. i carry him out, his face press against my shoulder, sobbing, "train. traaaaaaiiiiiiin. traaaaaiiiiiinn." oh, the joy. oh, the pain.
we get some popsicles to eat while waiting in line in the hot sun to board. we finally get on (once the line started moving, boarding was very fast). it's hot on the train, of course, no AC, but the inside of the train car was pretty. the train started moving and eventually a 'conductor' came to collect the tickets. the kids loved looking out the window at the passing fields of corn and farmland. it was fascinating to be able to see so far out over the land when i'm so used to seeing building after building. just 10 minutes into the trip, ozzy, suddenly starts to lean forward and presses his little forehead to his knees. i straighten him back up and ask him if he's tired. he nods and then leans into me and says, "hold me." so i pick him up and immediately he's out. the rest of the train ride, he slept. which was okay because when it was time to exit the train it was done without a single peep of protest from ozzy.
he napped on my shoulder out of the train. napped as we made our way back out of the railroad station and onto the bus to shuttle us back to our car. napped on the bus. and only woke up when i tried to settle him back into his car seat, which jostled him awake. we drove to our hotel, which allowed us to check in a little earlier. by the time we arrived, it was jacob's turn to fall asleep.
we stayed at lancaster host resort and conference center, which was good because we got a huge room with a ton of floor space for the kids to run around and play without trampling on each other. and there was a very nice play area like the ones at the mall and two pools (indoor and outdoor) and it was very conveniently located across the street from dutch wonderland where we went on saturday evening and sunday morning.
the kids enjoyed the park which is perfectly suited for young kids. the kids rode on lots of rides, the boys favorites of course being the rides involving trains and trucks, and each time the rides were over, ozzy cried because he didnt want to get off of the vehicle. (sheesh!)
mimi got on a few rides by herself. one was a frog ride that hoisted them up to the top of a tower and then dropped a bit and bounced and then rose up a bit and dropped and bounced. and continued this way until it reached the bottom. mimi really liked it and laughed and laughed the whole ride long. when she got off, ozzy pointed to the ride and said, i want to try it. try it, mama! i had a feeling it was going to scare him, but he kept insisting so finally we got mimi to sit on it again, put ozzy next to her and jacob next to ozzy and let them ride it together. jacob was unfazed by the ride, neither committing to excitement, fear, nor boredom. just taking it all in. ozzy on the other hand looked like he was going to cry. so hae and i were down there, looking up at him and laughing and cheering him and jacob, and i could see he wanted to laugh but he also wanted to cry. it wasnt looking so good, so the ride was stopped and we got the kids off and ozzy didnt protest at all.
while walking the perimeter of the park we encountered several ducks and their ducklings. we bought some duck feed and the kids fed the birds. they really enjoyed it and it took a lot to get them to leave. (back at home, ozzy would walk around the house feeding imaginary ducks. he told me he was feeding them popsicles and sandwiches. lol.)
before we left the park, i allowed the kids to get one thing from the dutch wonderland gift shop. ozzy chose a train (shocker) and mimi left with a bag of rocks. yes, a bag of rocks.
we werent on the road for very long before all three kids fell fast asleep.
when we came home, the counter tops were finished and everything hooked back up in working order. of course our home was destroyed with a layer of granite dust on everything. after a tiring weekend of not much sleep, it was not easy to come back to all the cleaning that had to be done post installation, but we can now check the counters off our to do list, and that's a good thing. i think my favorite change is the deep, wide, single basin stainless sink and the pull down oil rubbed bronze faucet. i'm not loving the soap dispenser so much, though. this one dribbles out the soap and shoots some of it backwards. not sure if it can be tweaked to dispense more cleanly, but if not, it's not a biggie. i can live with it.
wow, you sure are super mommy taking a big trip like that with both kiddos! sounds like everyone had a blast, and you have a GORGEOUS kitchen that we are all jealous of. do you have any more pics of the train or dutch wonderland? i have fond childhood memories of dutch wonderland (like the giant slides and driving the antique cars). :)
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