The Strasburg Railroad

After meeting Joshua's teacher, we went back to the house and got ready for the Strasburg Railroad. Shawn agreed to take the rest of the day off so we could have a family day doing fun activities. I've wanted to try the Strasburg Railroad to the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm for a long time, but we had never found a good time or opportunity to go. Until that day!

The boys had each earned a free ticket through the summer reading program, so I just had to pay for my adult ticket to ride. We also had an adult ticket already for Daddy, so we parked at the railroad, got our tickets and waited to board the next train. Caleb sat down with me, facing forward.

Joshua sat with Ryan, who was TERRIFIED! He  immediately started to cry, so Shawn & I agreed that maybe he wasn't ready for the train yet. Instead, Shawn offered to drive to Cherry Crest and meet us there with the Schnook. That worked out well because then we had a vehicle if we wanted to leave at a time other than the hour when the trains were going. We had purchased tickets at the Strasburg Railroad for Cherry Crest because you could save a dollar per ticket. I gave those to Shawn awhile.

He took one last picture of me and the two older boys who were staying with me.

Then he tried to get a picture or two of us from the outside of the train. I love the one of Joshua below.

Here's the three of us - I shouldn't have had my arm out the window!

I took the camera back and we waived to Ryan and Daddy! My little man was now all smiles to be off the train and with his beloved Daddy!

We took a picture of us before the train took off.

Here's Joshua ready to ride!

We were off into the country! It was a beautiful day! We saw the rest of the railroad and the nearby farms. We admired the inside of the train and we listened to the same talk we've heard every time we've gone on the railroad.

The conductor came and took our tickets. I informed him that we were getting off at Cherry Crest, and the father of two kids next to me told me that we get off on the way back through. They'd stop and he was also getting off with his kids there. He seemed very nice, and his daughter and son were about my boys' ages.

Well, the train ride lasted a while. The kids had already heard the talk before. And they were starting to get anxious for the next part of our day. So, Caleb asked if I would take a picture of him. Right before I'd snap it, he'd make a silly face! I couldn't get him to smile. But, I was cracking up as the pictures went on. He was being so silly!

My favorite of the day is below - that's the smile I wanted!

But, this one is classic! This is a look we get often. Haaa!!!

There's the smile again - he was laughing at me laughing at his silly faces.

More faces and smiles:

But doesn't this one look sweet with those big blue eyes?

He asked me to make a silly face so he could get a picture. Why not?

Joshua wanted in on the action. So, here are some of his silly faces:

The train stopped! We got to our first destination and were told we could turn our seats around. The locomotive moved from the front of the train to the back to pull us back toward the start. We clapped and waved.

I like to face front, so I moved to the seat across where Joshua had been sitting. Joshua decided to join Caleb instead.

We continued with the silly faces theme (passing time on the train).

I love these boys! They are SO fun! I love how well they get along and play together.

They also pick on each other, of course:

But, they remain close!

Normally a train ride would be a huge hit! But, Joshua said it wasn't his favorite part of the day since we had more adventures coming...

We got off the train when they stopped at the Cherry Crest picnic area.

It was quite the walk down to the adventure farm. Thankfully we followed the dad and kids who were in front of us. Otherwise, I may not have found it!

I called Shawn and met him at the front entrance whereas we were off to the side. More on Cherry Crest and our adventures there to come!