October 31, 2008 10:37 AM
Mommy, Daniel and Jesse's marvelous fall adventure
At the last minute - Sunday - I realized it was the perfect time to do something I've wanted to do for a while: to take Daniel for a train ride.
There are several things Daniel loves in this world: Dinosaurs, the Mass, and Trains. And what a perfect time to take a train ride - when the trees are in full color.
So I quick googled - not a day goes by that I don't thank God for Google - train tours fall color. I came up with this site, where you can zero in on your region to find something.
What I found was that many tours ended the day i was googling - October 26. Others still were running, but only on weekends. Because I try to avoid going anywhere - even the grocery store - on the weekend, I kept looking until I found the Mountain Thunder - Western Maryland Railroad. I bought tickets for Daniel, Jesse and me for Thursday.
So that's where I was yesterday, with my hubby in charge of publishing comments here while I was gone. Thanks, Tripp.
The train leaves from Cumberland, MD, which is a couple hours away from us. Just driving there was a visual feast. What a gorgeous region - and what a perfect time to see it for the first time.
The train station in Cumberland is very old. Though they run diesel trains at times during the year, I made sure to get tickets for the steam engine. Here are J&D with the ticketmaster:
This is a wonderful trip for a family. You can flip the seats easily to make them face each other. There is a snack car which sells hot dogs and coffee and popcorn very cheap.
*Remember if you take your family on a train ride to ask the conductor which side to sit on for the best view.* And let your kids hold their own individual tickets so the conductor can punch each one.
The trip is an hour up hill and takes a couple hairpin turns and goes through a tunnel. You can hear the whistle blow, which made the large group of old-timers riding in our car and laughing like they hadn't a care in the world - break out a la Johnny Cash: I Hear That Train A'Comin.'
Good times!
The train ends in Forstburg, where amazingly, it had snowed the night before, leaving a blanket which had melted to traces on the grass and flowers.
There is a big turnstile and the engine turns around with much whistling and steaming and conductor waving at the crowd.
We spent an hour grabbing a bite to eat, basking in the sun and getting up close with the engine.
Finally we climbed back on the train and chugged back to Cumberland, where the boys bought presents to take to their teachers and posed for a final picture:
I know I did this for Daniel and Jesse, but I gotta say: This adventure really lifted my spirits! Don't forget to stop and smell the roses - or the steam engines or the icicles or whatever will build good family memories.
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Note to parents of kids with disabilities: I take tons of pictures of my kids because since they have trouble communicating, having the pictures to take with them to school helps them be able to share what is going on when they are away from school.
Comments
Oh, Barbara, I am so glad you were able to take a day off & enjoy your boys & God's beautiful creation! I have been thinking lately how very weary you must be right now!
Bless you ~ Tracy
Posted by: Tracy | October 31, 2008 11:43 AM
Oh Momma C, how a miss the Blue Ridge Mountains!
We live for two years in Martinsburg, WV, surounded by the awe inspiring mountains, especially in the fall, with all those beautiful colors mixed together. My baby was only six months old; so many times I felt alone, with my husband working 13 hour days, so I would get in the car and drive around, find a nice lookout spot, park the car and stare at the mountains, until the silence and the beauty ovecame my loneliness and filled my with awe at God's creation. I always went back home like a new person.
I miss that mountain.
I shall go back some day to see it again...and I'll stop by you house while I'm around :-)
Love you!
Hope you are doing well....and a speedy recovery for Mr. Curtis.
Posted by: LadyLovas | October 31, 2008 12:33 PM
What handsome young men!!!
Posted by: Sandra K | October 31, 2008 1:12 PM
What a fun adventure! Nothing like a fun train ride. Our family had some fun adventures as a result of our son's love of trains. One exciting trip was a ride on the Great Smoky RR in Dec. We took a trip to the Fontana Dam and had lunch in the dining car. We did not know it but Fontana Lake had been drained for an inspection of the dam. The ride over the trestle bridge was extra special!
What handsome fellows!
Think I will check out Mountain Thunder!
Posted by: Amelia | October 31, 2008 1:52 PM
That train trip put a smile on my face...all the way out here in Colorado.
I miss the trees in fall. Colorado certainly can't compete with Ohio or Ontario.
Glad the boys...and mom had such a nice day.
Glad to hear Trip is recovering too!
Won't it be nice to only have to think about home and hearth and Thanksgiving in a few days?
Posted by: Kelly | October 31, 2008 4:45 PM
What fun! Glad you had the opportunity. It can be so refreshing to just get out of the norm, and seeing through the eyes of kids always makes it more of an adventure. (My parents took my older boys on that train a few years ago, so the pictures of that grand old train look familiar.)
Speaking of weekend adventures, I actually thought of you and your theatrically/ musically talented kids last weekend. We were privileged to see a show at the Sight & Sound Millenium Theater in Lancaster,not too far a trip from where you live. Have you been there? If not, I most highly recommend it (The Milennium, not the smaller Living Waters venue, which I've not visited). It was the best, most amazing, moving show I have ever seen. Gorgeous, gigantic sets on a 2/3 wraparound stage, wonderful music and cast, which even included trained live animals -- just superbly done all the way through. We saw the show "In the Beginning", which portrayed creation
and early Genesis, ending with a flash forward to the cross,the new earth with all things new, and the marriage feast of the Lamb. Oh, so beautiful. That show's fall run is done, but it will return once more next fall, after a Christmas season show, and "Behold the Lamb" in the the spring. So worth it. ANYWAY, I just had to mention it, since I thought of you and guessed that you might love it. =)
Posted by: Marian | November 1, 2008 11:07 PM
