All aboard
Posted: November 2, 2009 Filed under: 365 Life in the Bogs Challenge, Adventures in art, Autumn, Earth, Emma, family, grandparenthood, Madison, NaBloPoMo, Photography, travel, weather | Tags: Ash Cave, Hocking Valley Scenic Railway, Robbins Crossing 10 Comments
(163: All aboard!)
Home again, home again. I had a most enjoyable weekend with my granddaughters and their parents, but it’s still good to be home.
(Nelsonville Train Depot)
On Saturday we met Emma, Maddy, and their parents at the depot of the Hocking Valley Scenic Railway to take a ride on their noon train to Haydenville. Emma likes trains so we thought it would be a fun ride for her. It was perfect for a 4-year-old in that it wasn’t a long ride and we were able to get off and spend a little time at Robbins Crossing, an 1840’s era Ohio village staffed with volunteers who dress in period costumes and take on some of the jobs of that era (such as blacksmithing).
(Inside one of the train cars.)
The weather wasn’t terribly cooperative. The three-hour drive from our home to Nelsonville was through some pretty heavy rain. Fortunately, it had mostly stopped by the time we arrived in Nelsonville. It stayed cloudy, with the occasional sprinkle, for most of the day, but the sun did make an appearance later in the afternoon, when we took a short hike to Ash Cave to see the cave and the waterfall. In the case of the waterfall, the rain was a good thing. I’ll be posting some photos of the waterfall and cave in future posts.
It was a fun day. Emma certainly seemed to enjoy it. I’m making plans to go back to the Hocking Hills area again in the spring. We’ll rent a cabin and invite Emma, Maddy, and their parents to spend the weekend with us. It has been a while since we hiked around that area and I’m looking forward to exploring it some more as well as spending more time with our family.
Life in the Bogs 
How nice. I love photos and the story. Old trains are full of history and when travelling onboard of them, one cannot be in hurry.
Thank you for stopping by and commenting, Sartenada. 🙂
I agree. One cannot be in a hurry when traveling by train. It’s one of my favorite ways to travel.
That sounds like so much fun! I don’t think I’ve ever been on an old train, but I’ve been on a lot of other trains. Maybe over Christmas Emma would be interested in riding the Polar Express (http://www.cvsr.com/polarexpress.aspx). The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad does it every year, and my mom said it’s really fantastic. Have a good day 🙂
Hi Meredith 🙂
I’ll check it out. We’ve talked about riding the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway but it’s one of those things we keep putting off. The Polar Express sounds like fun.
The only train I’ve ridden was in the North Carolina mountains and that was great, but not neat and spiffy as a Disney conveyance. We are a bit spoiled. In the Spring my sister and I plan to take the Amtrak to Savannah and stay in a B&B. I’ve heard it is a fun trip.
Anhinga: Most trains are not as neat and spiffy as a Disney conveyance but there is something wonderful about train travel. I prefer trains over airplanes or automobiles, but it’s not always the best choice. We can drive from here to NJ where my family lives in about 7 hours. The train trip is about 15 hours.
I hope you enjoy your trip to Savannah on the train. It sounds like fun. I’ve always wanted to visit Savannah.
Train rides are fun, fun, fun! I love the sepia photo. Looks out of this world!
Thanks, Scriber’s Web. And yep, the sure are fun. 🙂
Sounds like everyone loves trains. These are great photos, Robin, and so nice you get to visit with your family on a train trip. One of my (many) dream trips is to take a train ride through the Canadian Rockies. It’s supposed to be a gorgeous trip, with overnight stops at the old RR hotels along the way.
Thanks, Bo. A train ride through the Canadian Rockies is on my list of dream trips, too.