Tag: Huckleberry Railroad

Halloween Pain Train

Aunt Margaret called us this week and invited us to join her and her family at Crossroads Village and the Huckleberry Railroad. The Ghosts and Goodies Halloween theme has been going on all month and it is such fun. They do up the whole town in spookiness and the family gets to trick or treat from building to building.

It was such a treat to see so many kids dressed up in their costumes. Costumes are optional, and my kids didn’t dress up. We rode the train first. They have all kinds of wonderful things along the train route for the kids to see. Pumpkin rock bands, Skeletonville, aliens, and so much more.

The steam engine that pulled the train was build in 1920. All of the train cars have all been restored and some date back to the late 1800’s. We had the windows up and the kids were looking outside. Because of the age of the train and the cars, the windows don’t always stay up. Sam and I each held up the window where the kids sat. For one brief second, Sam let go of the window and it came down on Ella’s arm. It had to really hurt! I was worried she might have broke it, but thankfully, she just has one wicked bruise!

After the train ride, we grabbed our bags and began trick or treating. Each of the buildings was done up in Halloween themes. We were there during the day, and I am sure it has to look even cooler at night.

Midway through trick or treating, we passed the carousel. This is the fastest carousel in Michigan. It is FAST. You have to really hold on. I’ve taken a spin on it a few times, so when Margaret informed us that we were all riding it, me and Uncle Walt found a bench to sit on!

When we got done with the carousel, and the dizziness subsided, we went outside and there was a kiddie ride. Ella called it a roller coaster, but it was just a mini merry-go-round with horses and buggies.

Ella did fine, but Andrew was hanging on for dear life!

After we finished trick or treating, we got to go to the cafeteria where everyone got donuts and cider. Ella loves frosted donuts, so she wasn’t sure about the cinnamon sugar ones. Once she tried it, however, she loved it. She also stole a piece of Aunt Margaret’s pizza!

It was a perfect day to be there. It was a tad chilly, but sunny. We probably would have stayed a bit longer, but Sam had to go to work that night. Memories were made and there was a lot of smiles and laughter. Thank you Aunt Margaret for sharing such an amazing day with us!

They will be doing a Christmas train this winter, and we hope to be back for that, too!

A Very Happy Father’s Day

As Father’s Day approached this year, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. My oldest son works so much, and when he isn’t working, he’s usually hanging out with his friends. My youngest son hasn’t been here in a couple months, and when I have gone to pick him up, I end up coming home without him. So, if I am being 100% honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d see them this weekend (despite the fact that it was Father’s Day).

So last week, my oldest called and said he wanted to get together. I suggested we go to breakfast or that I could make breakfast for them. He liked the idea and called me again on Saturday. There was a classic car show at one of the county parks, and he suggested we go there. I loved the idea.

So Sunday morning, I ran up to the store to grab some bacon and sausage. By 9:30, when they arrived, I had the meat all fried up, toast in the toaster, and eggs ready to go. We sat and enjoyed breakfast together and we were on the road by 10:30. I had packed the stroller in the car the night before, so all I needed to worry about was packing a diaper bag.

It was a lot hotter than I thought it was going to be Sunday, but we stayed in the shade as much as we could. We walked around and got to see some amazing cars. There was a 1902 Oldsmobile that was taking people for rides throughout the park. One of the funniest things was when my son asked me about this big rubber bulb on one of the cars. He had no idea that it was the horn!

He laughed when I told him! Then we started to notice them on all the older cars. We saw Ford Model A’s, Ford Model T’s, some classic old Buicks and so much more. My oldest loves old cars and it was amazing to hear him spout off the year, make and model as we approached them. There were also a variety of old police cars, army jeeps, and some really unique vehicles there.

There was a car that my son had seen at a car show a couple years ago and he got all excited. “Dad! That’s an upside down van … and it drives like that!” It was actually cool to look at, but even cooler to see driving around!

I wish I had gotten a picture of the inside of that!

It’s always cool to see cars done up to look like famous cars. The General Lee wasn’t there, but Ella got to meet Herbie the Love Bug!

There’s a paddle boat (The Genesee Belle) that usually runs during the summer. It is not running this year yet, because it has to undergo a bunch of inspections. The gal inside the boat told us that because of Covid, and the boat not running, it needed some extra looking over. We were, however, able to go up on the boat and look over the lake.

It was almost noon when we stopped by the boat, and I could see that despite drinking lots of water, Ella was starting to get hot. We had already bought tickets to ride the train at noon, so we decided that we’d do the train ride and head back home. The steam engine wasn’t running this weekend, so a diesel engine pulled all the passengers.

The train cars are all about 100 years old. They have all been refurbished and are quite comfortable. They all have the old wooden framed windows that can occasionally fall down for no reason. We had hoped to ride in an open air car, but they were all full by the time we got to the train. We sat in the car with the windows open.

The train goes about 10 miles an hour and the cars kinda rock back and forth. Since we were close to Ella’s nap time, it was no surprise that she fell asleep on me during the ride. Not even the loud whistle of the train woke her up. It is always fun to hear the engineer tell stories of the train while you are riding. The railroad got it’s name (Huckleberry Railroad) because the story goes that the people riding the train could jump off one of the front cars, pick some huckleberries to snack on, and still be able to jump back on one of the end cars of the train.

When we got back to the depot, we stopped for a few more photo opportunities and left to grab lunch and head home.

When we got back home, Ella was still tired and went down for a nap. I spent some time talking to my sons about the classes my oldest is going to take in college and the golf lessons that my youngest is taking. It was nice to have some quality time and conversation with them. Ella woke up just before the boys had to head to dinner with their mom. Sam woke up for work before they left and made sure that I got pictures of me and the boys and me and all of the kids.

When Sam left for work, it was just me and Ella. We may have over did it a bit as she was running a little fever. So I snuggled up with her on the couch and we watched cartoons together. Before putting her to bed, I grabbed the new book that I got from her for Father’s Day and read it to her…

I absolutely love this book. So simple, yet so meaningful. “My dad love me!” Yes, sweetheart. He does. Very much!

The last book I read to her is another favorite.

I feel like I have been reading her this book forever! It never gets old. As a matter of fact, it means more every time I read it. This is such a short story, but it expresses the love of a parent for their child so perfectly. Here is the entire book without pictures:

I’m sure my sons would think I’m nuts if I read this to them today! I mean they are both cool teenagers now, right?! But this book really sums up how I feel about all of my children, the three who are here and the one that is one the way!

What a truly amazing Father’s Day. I thank God for blessing me with these wonderful children and I pray every day that I can be the Dad that they need me to be. I love them all “as big as the world!”