The Baltimore & Ohio Railroad Museum... America'a Railroad Museum

We visited the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City about a month ago and decided then to explore "America's Railroad Museum" in Baltimore, the larger B&O Railroad Museum. The 40-acre historic site is home to beautiful buildings with unrivaled collections of railroad cars, engines, and memorabilia. It is within these 40 acres that railroading first started in America with the building of the first passenger station and laying the first commercial long-distance track. Our five-year old grandson, Nick, is visiting this week and wanted to see the "Iron Horses" so off we went!

Nick likes trains... and was excited to see so many old trains up close and personal!  

Baltimore, a thriving port city in the 18th and early 19th century, faced economic decline if it didn't open routes to the western states (Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, etc.) like New York did with the Erie Canal in 1820. Recognizing that the Erie Canal was very slow, twenty-five bankers and merchants from Baltimore developed a plan to build a railroad that would speed goods westward... and the B&O (Baltimore & Ohio) Railroad was born. Charles Carroll of Carrollton, the last living signer of the Declaration of Independence, a US Senator from Maryland and perhaps the wealthiest man in America at the time, was tremendously involved in creating the railroad.

The bust of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, through the magic of animatronics, spoke to us about his part in laying the first stone of the B&O Railroad on July 4, 1828, an event he said was second only to signing the Declaration of Independence. The stone he laid (on right) is now on display.

The roundhouse was originally constructed as a passenger car shop and at the time, was the largest circular industrial building in the world. It covered more than an acre of ground and rose 125 feet into the air! It later became the main building of the railroad museum complete with a turntable for turning engines around, as well as bays to store them. 

The Roundhouse is a beautiful piece of architecture- inside and outside! The picture on the right is the inside of the dome (you can see the very top windows in the corners). Unfortunately, the picture gives no perception of the height... it's TALL!!

In February, 2003, a record-breaking snowfall caused half of the massive roof of the roundhouse to collapse resulting in TONS of snow, wood, slate and cast iron falling on the exhibits. The building was restored (so the roof you see is not the original... but restored to look like it) and so far all but two of the engines have been restored. The museum reopened in November, 2004.

While only the bottom part of the doors were open when we were there, the top portion also opens to allow the engines and train cars to be pulled onto the turntable, which is then turned to position the cars in one of 22 bays.  (The engines behind the glass partition are the ones that have not yet been restored after the roof cave-in.)

One of the best things about this museum is that you can touch the engines, get close enough to see the workings... and even crawl around some of them. It's a very hand-on kind of museum.

The wheels of some of the locomotives are enormous... about twice the height of Nick! He enjoyed exploring the trains, seeing the gears and mechanics.

Boys of all ages like model trains. This outdoor model train display is huge... and Richard and Nick watched the trains go round and round.

We had a great afternoon... and learned a lot about the history of the railroad and its importance to America's history. 

Camp Grandma: Christopher's Visit

Grandchildren are most assuredly a blessing from God. They allow you to see your own child as a parent which is often amusing as you hear words come from their mouth that they promised they would never tell their children. Grandchildren are the chance to do what we could not do as a parent- spoil them a little bit. They are the future.

Our oldest grandchild, Christopher (not Chris, but Christopher!), came to visit us for a week. He just turned seven and is starting second grade this year. He likes Spiderman and playing Super Mario Brothers, has quite a sweet tooth, is generous and thoughtful, and loves pizza. I thought I knew him pretty well. But there are things you can learn about someone only by spending time alone with them.

Christopher was at "Camp Grandma" from July 24th to July 31st. What an awesome time we had!

We spent the week doing some planned/organized activities as well as some every-day things. I think Christopher was surprised to learn that I go grocery shopping, stop at the gas station, do laundry and clean just like his mom. I discovered he loves fruit and cole slaw and macaroni & cheese with hotdogs, he can sort and pair sox faster than I can, and he didn't know his mom had chores when she was his age. In fact, he liked hearing stories about his mom when she was "a kid." 

We made a Spiderman blanket and played "Imaginary Go Fish" (without cards!) while we were stuck in stop & go traffic. Did I mention he loves Super Mario Brothers? He played it with Grandpa most of the time because "Grandma isn't very good at it!" but he did try to teach me how to play. I discovered that he is a very patient teacher and can explain things fairly well.

It wouldn't be a camp experience without swimming... and we went several times. Although Christopher doesn't know how to swim (yet), he did make a lot of progress this week. It rained one day and we walked in it with umbrellas... and maybe splashed in a puddle or two. Our apartment building is next door to the public library and we went twice. I was astonished at how well Christopher can read. We got six books and he read them all... several times.

Christopher did a craft activity at the library. They made sand casts of fish and then read a story about a sea creature. He listened attentively to the directions and took his time as he made his cast... a "smiling fish!"

One day was "Christopher Day"- where he got to make all the decisions about what we did. We rode the metro into Washington, D.C. where he said he wanted to go to the National Air & Space Museum (Smithsonian) but when we arrived he changed his mind and we went to the Museum of Natural History (also known as "the dinosaur museum!") instead. We met Auntie Janne and Uncle Adam for lunch at Cosi (Christopher chose the place and what he had) and then we headed to the National Archives to see the "Decoration" of Independence that was in the movie National Treasure that we watched. But he changed his mind again and we went to the National Air & Space Museum leaving the National Archives for another time. I learned that he has definite opinions about what he wants to do and he enjoys being in charge! Who doesn't?

Christopher Day was fun!!

Christopher wanted to buy me these flowers- but took a picture of them instead since he didn't have any money. What a thoughtful and sweet kid! I told him the picture was even better because I could keep it forever.

All too soon the week was over and it was time for Christopher to go home. He and I took the train (Amtrak) from Baltimore's Penn Station to the train station in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It was a first for both of us... and a  lot of fun. We (and the rest of the car!) laughed at the man across from us who snored... really loudly, he watched a movie on my laptop, ate lunch in the lounge car, and made a video of his "vacation."

I think we both had a fun week.

All Kinds of Fun!

Merriam-Webster defines fun as "what provides amusement or enjoyment" and gives the following synonyms: jest, sport, game and play. I would add "family" to that list. I spent the last week in North Carolina with Jenne and the grandkids- Richard, Janne and Adam joined us for Memorial Day weekend. We worked together, played together, laughed together and had fun together. What a blessing that God not only gives us joy, but also fun... and family.

Beach Fun: Wrightsville Beach is about a two hour drive from Ft. Bragg and we decided to go for the day. It was supposed to be overcast and rainy but we were greeted with beautiful weather as we arrived at the beach. Since it was supposed to be rainy, we didn't bring swim suits but decided to play in the water anyway. Note to self: clothes get heavy in the water!

The boys could NOT wait to get in the water! Christopher (age 6) helped Ben (age 3) jump the waves while Nick (age 5) tried to keep his shorts up- which grew heavier as they got soaked and filled with sand. (And yes, the adults without cameras were nearby ready to jump in the water!)

Lexie (age 2), on the other hand, wanted NO part of the water- and was quite content to dig for sea shells and scoop sand. 

We enjoy spending time with our children- Adam, Janne, Jenne and Jacob (who is currently in Iraq so Lexie filled in for him!)

Everyone, kids and adults, had a fun day. I was surprised at how sandy (not rocky) the beach was, how warm and clear the water was (and no seaweed!) and how many sea shells were on the beach. We will definitely be back soon- and next time we'll bring swim suits!

Memorial Day Fun: Fayetteville, NC hosts Glory Days on Memorial Day and we went to check it out. Richard, Janne and Adam left to go back to Maryland after the pancake breakfast but Jenne, the kids and I stayed to enjoy the festivities. There were booths with balloons (that Lexie thought was great fun to let go in the sky!), pins, pinwheels, flags... all red, white and blue. We listened to patriotic music and watched American flags wave in the breeze. And before we left, we went on a wagon ride around the parking lot- which the kids thought was "so much fun!"

The boys went in a wagon by themselves and thought they were so grown up. They also liked the mule pulling our wagon- who almost gave them each a big wet kiss!

Everyday Fun: I think one of the best things about being a grandparent is that you can play all day- and someone else (like the mom!) figures out what's for dinner, when it's bath time, etc. We played about a jillion games of Connect 4, War, Go Fish, and Rummikub. Nick tried to teach me how to play a Didj (educational video game) game but I wasn't very good at it. I read, and was read, tons of books. We had tea parties and slumber parties. Every day was a new adventure... and lots of fun!

Ben wanted me to play with his new doggy. And Lexie was surprised at a plot twist in "Go Dog, Go!"

Nick loves playing Didj and has learned to spell quite a few words and do simple math. He beat me every time! Christopher and I worked on a couple of jigsaw puzzles.