Stratsburg Pennsylvania

Happy first day of June! Unofficial start of summer! And Grandma's birthday. Happy Birthday, Grandma!

June is also the last few weeks of school and therefore the biggest crush of random and critical events converging at the same time. If you can't already tell by this late week post, I'm behind the ball!

A billion birthdays this month, Father's Day, end of school performances, Fun Day, Fun Run fundraiser, end of the year class party, excessive meetings at work, soccer practice, soccer games, swim lessons, PT appointments, don't forget teacher gifts, dentist appointments, AND preparing for our family beach vacation at the end of the month. Woof!

But all that later, right now, I'm recapping our extra long Memorial Day weekend and our long awaited mini trip to Stratsburg Pennsylvania. 

Stratsburg is a railroad town with railroad museums and train rides. We had this trip planned last summer but canceled it due to my Mom's passing. We decided that although Kip's interest in trains is starting to fade, it was still something we wanted to experience and I'm glad we went through with it. We left Saturday after Kip's soccer game and drove about an hour to the King of Prussia Mall for lunch. Then about another hour car ride and we landed in the beautiful rolling hills of Lancaster County in the heart of Amish farmland. This was a really pleasant surprise for me, the landscape was shockingly beautiful.

Our first stop was the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The kids loved running around exploring the exhibits and HUGE trains on display. They had some fun interactive things as well.

We stopped in the gift shop on the way out and then headed to the Choo Choo Barn which was a large layout with lights and animated features. Kip blasted through it because he was fixated on the gift shop at the end but us adults really enjoyed it. I loved that the lights dimmed to simulate night time and everything lit up.

Then we went to check-in a the hotel which thrilled the kids. I loved our view from the room overlooking the landscape. We faced an Amish farm and saw several horse and buggy carts headed down the road.

We went to Cracker Barrel for dinner which was a LONG wait and past bedtime but the kids managed it all fairly well. They liked ordering off the menu and Ivy enjoyed a huge bowl of Fruity Pebbles for dinner.

It wasn't a great night's sleep. The kids didn't go to bed until around 10 pm. I shared a bed with Kip and Mandy shared a bed with Ivy. We both got kicked all night. Dan slept on the pull-out and woke up with a sore back. And then Kip woke us up at 6:30 ready for the day. Eesh. Breakfast in the hotel room was exciting for the kids as was cable TV and then we all got ready for the day, packed the car, and headed to The Amish Village.

We hadn't planned on going here since we didn't even know it existed but we drove by it on the way to dinner the night before and it was open early so we stopped there before our train ride.

We got roped into the house tour which was interesting for the adults and the kids behaved really well for the 30 minute tour. Then we got to explore the farm.

Then we headed to the railroad for the main event, a ride on the Statsburg train. 

We grabbed snacks before boarding to keep the hanger down. Soft pretzels and popcorn!

It was a lovely day, beautiful weather, and a nice 45 minute train ride through the countryside with open windows. The train conductor narrated the ride and we stopped him during a break to say hi and so Kip could give him the drawing he made. The conductor was SO nice and talked to us for a bit, asked Kip to sign his drawing, and welcomed a picture.

The ride was so peaceful. We all enjoyed it.

After the train ride we explored the other activities. The kids LOVED the hand cars and there was a playground and small train to ride too.

We got lunch in town before heading back on the road. Both kids slept in the car on the way home and we were back in time for bath and bedtime. Overall, it was a wonderful little adventure. We left with good memories and a lot of junk toys and souvenir shop tish.

On Memorial Day our next door neighbors hosted a barbecue in the afternoon. Good food and good company. We all felt theoretically refreshed for the week ahead.