"Train, train...

take me on out of this town." This is just one of the many train songs that went through my head as we were waiting at the station to depart for Harrisburg and our urban adventure. The boys had not ridden a train before with the exception of the amusement park variety and Thomas (Actually, Kyler rode Thomas, but Tristan didn't). So, I decided that we would go on a trip to the capital.

There is an allure to trains, which I impressed upon the boys by showing them a map of all the routes Amtrak travels. They immediately made the connection that one could walk down the street, board a train and pretty much go anywhere in the United States. I prefer to travel by train, because of this accessibility and it's relaxing nature. Flying to me has become a hassle, and It only appeals to me for very long distances, or when time is of the essence. I wish I could take advantage of train travel as part of my daily commute.

We left Mount Joy at 11:12 and were in Harrisburg at 11:40. We had lunch in Strawberry Square then went over to the capitol building. We strolled around the outside then toured the inside. After the capitol building, we went to the state museum. There, the kids were most fascinated by the rocks, dinosaurs, hall of mammals and of course the skeletons in the archaeology exhibit. We concluded our trip there by making a tile to add to the rainbow mural.

After the museum, it was time to head back to Mount Joy, so we headed back to the train station. We boarded at 3:20 and we were back in Mount Joy by 3:50. The kids loved the trip, and now want to go to Philadelphia and New York.