31 Days of Flashbacks: Train Trip West: Day #4

The Nester has encouraged a bunch of bloggers to blog every day on one topic for the month of October. I just learned about it on Friday so I didn't have a lot of time to think of a topic.  I have been wanting to post about some fun things that we have done that I have never taken the chance to blog about. Therefore, I have decided to use October to be 31 Days of Flashbacks. I hope that you enjoy reading about our adventures.

I'll be starting off this month of flashbacks blogging about the train trip west that the kids and I took back in August of 2011 with Glenn's parents. I'm doing this partly for me and partly for my dear mother-in-love who was so excited that I was blogging about our trip before I quit after Day #3. I dedicate the first half of October to you - Debbie Maas - I love you! ;)

Click these links to read about Day #1, Day #2, and Day #3. Without further ado... Day #4! 

Sunday, August 7, 2011
In which we say good-bye to Fine relatives, visit a museum, see a blown up tree, and wait for a train.

We got up, packed up our stuff, and had a continental breakfast at the hotel. Then we headed over to the FFA building for brunch. We had a chance to hang out with our Fine Reunion relatives for a while and heard more stories. Then many of the other people left and we helped Norma clean up before saying good bye to Grandma & Grandpa Reynolds and Aunt Billie.

A quick picture with Grandma & Grandpa Reynolds and Aunt Billie before they headed back to Wyoming.

 By the time we were done it was almost 1 which is the time that the Nodaway Museum in the buildings right next door opened.

Abigail and Brody ringing the bells while waiting for the museum to open.

Since we had a few hours to kill before our train we decided to go and check it out. It was a really neat museum with historical stuff from local areas as well  as displays from various periods of history. At 2pm they had a special event about the 1918 Influenza outbreak. We went to that as well and all learned quite a bit and the kids learned a little ditty "There once was a bird, it's name was Enza, we opened up the window and in flew Enza." (We were sure the kids would drive all their fellow train mates crazy with that one!) My camera battery died so I didn't get many pictures inside.

We got to help wind the old clock.

Vintage medical equipment (picture taken for daddy who was home tending to patients at a hospital with more updated medical equipment)

After the presentation we had one of the museum volunteers take us to the outbuildings. Various buildings had been saved from local towns that had died and were moved there to be part of a little town. Most of the buildings were not finished being set up inside yet but there was a jail, a blacksmith shop, a barber/ dentist, a doctor's office, a train station, a general store and a school (where 4H started). It was fun to look around.

checking out the old jail cell (they're going to build a jail around it, I think.)

General Store

Need any gas?

Gramps explaining some tools

 Our cute students in the one room school house.

Uh oh. Someone got in trouble.

We left at about 4 when the museum closed and drove the hour back to Creston, IA. We stopped at a WalMart for Steph to buy Brody and herself water bottles and for us to buy a little bit of food for the trip. We then headed to a park we had been told about to have a picnic before going to the train station. Our train had originally been scheduled to leave at 8:41pm and we had heard from "Julie" that it was going to be late. (FYI Amtrak travelers - JULIE - the automated "tell you if your train is on time" person - LIES!!!)

Merry-go-rounds are fun places to get dirty before countless more hours on a train :)

Performing on a random park stage

While at the park we got to see a huge tree that had blown up in a storm the night before. People from all over the area had driven over to check out this sight near where we were picnicking so we needed to check it out too :)

Randomly blown up tree.

 After our picnic and playing at the park we decided to head to the train station to drop off the 12 passenger van we had rented and wait for our 8:41pm train. And wait. Aaaaand wait. (Did I mention that Julie lies??)

We watched a movie on Steph's laptop, counted freight train cars that went by, regularly called Julie and confirmed that she does indeed lie - the train did not  come at any of the times that she said it was going to, and finally let the kids all fall asleep on various chairs and the floor in the station. As August 7th ended we were sleeping or resting or pacing at the train station (I'm glad it was a bit more than a bench on the side of the tracks!) awaiting our very late train.