As school bus drove down Broadway with its precious cargo, everybody sighed with relief. God, it’s a pain to get them out of the house in time for school. One parent noted that there were only two more full days of school. We all paused, silently contemplated that information, and went home. Maybe I was the only one that smiled, because it’s road trip time, baby!
This weekend we’re going to Pennsylvania for a “Day Out With Thomas”. The kids are going to ride a real Thomas train with hundreds of other five year old boys through scenic Strasburg, while clutching hundreds of dollars of new Thomas products in their sweaty little palms. There’s sure to be long discussions about which train would be most likely to kick Diesel 10’s ass. Sweet.
The kids are totally stoked. Jonah, who’s seven now, hasn’t told his friends about it at school, because they might laugh. But he’s excited. After the train ride, there a huge train museum to keep him occupied.
The following weekend we’re driving down to North Carolina and the outer banks. If I can keep Steve out of the “gotta make good time” mindset, the drive should be fun, too. I love exploring the little fishing villages along the coast of DelMarVa.
For the next few weeks, there’s going to be a lot of eating pancakes in hotel beds like Roman lords.
Apt. 11d 
My nephew went on that very Thomas tour when he was four, and yes, it is a source of much excitement and much spending. He’s kind of grown out of Thomas, but I well remember the long discussions we used to have about the activities of Percy, James, and of course the infamous Diesel 10. Have fun!
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If you want to start teaching your son political science concepts, my recollection is that that train museum is big time pork. Train enthusiasts don’t even think the trains are that good; but it brought money to the district. Glad to know it will also bring joy to your son’s life.
On your other question: maybe the perfect vacation is visiting that Alaskan Bridge to Nowhere!
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I took my kids to take a ride on Thomas a couple times. It is pretty fun.
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Yes! Thomas, trains, and pork. An excellent vacation. I’m liking your theme, RC. 50 states/50 pork projects. I’m going to blow an hour googling other ideas and giggling to myself. Thanks.
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My dad is a MAJOR train nut (as in, travels to model train conventions, takes photographs and digital video of real live freight trains, and has thousands of dollars in tiny little engines and box cars in his basement). My parents went to the museum in Strasburg a few years ago (then they went to Amish quilt stores for my mom), and my dad thought it was pretty neat. At least, he talked about it for weeks afterward. So, I hope your little train lovers will be as enthused.
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R.C.: It might be useful to keep the preservation projects straight as part of the analysis of pork. The Steamtown site in Scranton, Penn., is part of the National Park Service, and that project has been criticized as a pork project for an area that has been in decline since the anthracite seams played out. There is a Commonwealth of Pennsylvania project across the street from the Strasburg Rail Road called the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania that may or may not be a pork project, depending on how tightly you want to equate The Pennsylvania Railroad (+) with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The Strasburg Rail Road is a chartered railroad corporation that relies on book sales and events such as Thomas to fill the coffers. If the three-to-seven set of the Northeast is as enthusiastic about Thomas as their Chicagoland counterparts are, this weekend will bring in a large share of the railroad’s summer riderships. There are stroller jams all over the grounds at the Illinois Railway Museum the two weekends in August that Thomas puts in an appearance.
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We’re signing up for our fourth Thomas trip this fall, and the kids are as excited as ever.
It’s always been our experience that there are as many girls as boys as these events. Maybe it’s the sibling factor, maybe trains just excite everyone.
Have a great time on all your adventures!
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Stephen: Thanks for the clarification. I’m sure it was the one across the street that I heard about. And let me be clear: I love kids, and I love trains. And hey, all we got recently for pork in Rhode Island is an animal shelter in Westerly. I guess that’s what happens when your Republican senator doesn’t vote for the President. 🙂
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My brother had his pre-wedding dinner for the out of town guests at the train museum and in Strasburg and it was pretty great. Since I used to work in a museum, I paid pretty close attention to stuff like funding and what not and I don’t remember a whole of federal money being aknowledged. Fair amount of state money though. I think RC is confused. Of course, he has been married for five years now so things could have changed.
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