When people have their first child, they often go on a babymoon vacation. A short trip that will be the last one as a couple without kids. Having a second child, I found it just as important to go on one last family of three getaway! This vacation is to celebrate the change that is about to come and is the last trip where you can really focus on your firstborn.

Preparing for a baby can be very stressful and kids pick up on that stress. Getting away from the house and your to-do list will be a welcome break for everyone. It will allow you all to relax and enjoy being a family of three for that last weekend trip!

Doing something your first child will love will help with the purpose of distracting them from the craziness at home. For my son, at 2 years old, this was trains! So we planned a trip to Strasburg, PA to ride an old steam train at the Strasburg Rail Road and explore the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania.

Our Weekend Getaway

We drove down to Pennsylvania on a Friday and checked into our hotel. The hotel we stayed in was actually in Lancaster. There are a lot more hotels there than in Strasburg and it’s only about a 20-minute drive to the trains. Once we had settled into our room, we piled back into the car and drove over to the Strasburg Railroad.

The Strasburg Rail Road

Wing Night!

Our tickets to ride the train was for their special wing night! This meant that we rode in the dining car. For dinner, we each were allowed up to 24 wings with four different flavors. That’s a lot of wings! Nobody was actually able to eat that many, but they were very good. We also had celery sticks and french fries as part of our meal. For those 21 and over, there were even 2 beers included. Of course, since I was pregnant, I had to miss out on the beer. My son got a big cookie for dessert so he was in heaven!

The Train Ride

While we ate, we went on a 45-minute ride through Amish country. The little man absolutely loved the ride. It’s not like the modern trains he has ridden in NY. It’s the oldest running steam locomotive that still carries passengers, so it’s bumpy and you sway back and forth. That’s a lot of fun for a 2-year-old! Plus, going through farmland, the view was pretty amazing.

For us, riding the train for dinner was the perfect way to start our train themed weekend. The train does run throughout the day and you don’t have to eat on it. You can sit in various closed cars (including some with air conditioning) or cars that are open to the air!

After the train, we went back to the hotel exhausted. It was a long day, but totally worth it.

The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania

The next day, it was time for the museum! This was really the highlight of the trip. We showed up right at opening and could have stayed all day (if little man hadn’t gotten so tired). As soon as we entered, we were impressed by the beautifully restored trains and the sheer size of the place!

They have more than 100 trains inside what looks like a giant warehouse. There are trains from all different eras as well. It’s so cool to walk around and look at them all, seeing how trains have changed throughout time.

Interactive Learning

Several of the trains you can actually go inside! Little man could sit in the driver’s seat and play with all the controls. Each train that we could go inside had a very knowledgeable attendant working there that was able to answer any questions we had about the train. This made it fascinating for my husband and myself as well. While our son played and explored, we got to learn.

Viewing from Different Angles

There was one area we could climb down under a train and look up at the bottom. It’s a whole different perspective.

Then you could climb up and walk over a walkway above all the trains for yet another view!

Attention to Detail

It’s amazing to see what passenger trains used to look like. There was such amazing craftsmanship. They were gorgeous! It makes the modern trains back in New York looks so plain.

There were train related displays showing every detail. They highlighted the different jobs that people did both on the trains and the tracks. There was also a great display of old lanterns used.

The Rail yard

In nice weather, there is a rail yard open outside. This was little man’s favorite part! Walking along (and on) the tracks, he had the biggest smile!

The trains outside weren’t restored but were really cool to look at. There was also an old train junction, something that none of us had seen before and reminded me of something straight out of Thomas the Tank Engine! While our son plays, we looked at all the train cars out there.

Before heading back inside, we had to ring the bell!

Kid Zone

Once back inside, we found their kid zone. There were train-themed activities for kids of any age, including a Lego table and three train tables with toys! Kids can spend a lot of time playing in this room. It is a perfect distraction for a little one that might get restless walking around.

Model Train Days

We were there during their model train days. This was an added bonus! There were a bunch of amazing model train displays set up throughout the museum. These were really cool to look at and there was a huge variety.

One of the displays had a carnival scene set up and was interactive! Our son could hit different buttons to trigger different actions, like starting up the rides at the carnival. This was a big hit!

A Great Weekend

Overall, this was the perfect train-themed family getaway. It was enjoyable both for our son and for us.

For more train fun in Strasburg you can also check out:

There is the National Toy Train Museum.

There is even a hotel called the Red Caboose where you can stay inside of a converted train car! We planned our trip too late to stray there, as it was all booked.

We’d Do it Again!

This trip was perfect as our last family of three vacation. We plan to go back one day as a family of 4 since we enjoyed it so much. Maybe then, we’ll make a whole week out of it! Then we would we’d also have time to go to the amusement park Dutch Wonderland in Lancaster and explore the farms around Amish country.

Going on a trip like this before the baby’s arrival was really good for all of us. We got away from the giant to-do list and could just enjoy being a family of three one last time!

 

Don’t forget to read the rest of my A Growing Family series!

• Part 1: Baby #2 To-Do List
• Part 2: Supplies for Baby #2
• Part 3: Preparing Your Dog
• Part 3: Preparing an Older Sibling

 

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