Cuyahoga: Saturday - Riding the Train

Saturday we woke up to pouring down rain. Loads of fun considering that we had to pack up and leave the campground that morning, and even worse it meant running in the rain to get to the bathrooms. The kids were happy though, as it meant that for breakfast we got to go to the only McDonald's I have been to that had chandeliers over the tables. The rain was very cooperative. It stopped right after I had finished loading all of our stuff into the van.

Because of the delays, we arrived at the park at 11:00. We then got the first train trip of our lives. The Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad runs the length of the park. And provides a great view of the park. We rode from the Peninsula Station to the Canal Visitor Center. The conductor warned us that it was closed and there would be nothing to do there. But armed with different information, we went anyway. It was a good thing we did, because there were three park rangers at the Visitor's Center waiting patiently for the train to drop of tourists like us so they could give a guided tour. They gave a demonstration on how the canal locks work with a restored lock. The Visitor Center itself was closed for remodeling, but the basement section was open for tours with a working model of the canal lock and 19th century clothes for the kids to dress up in. We had a great time at the Canal Visitor Center for what was probably the most educational part of the park.

We had 45 minutes before the train returned. Near the end of the tour, I looked at my watch and realized we had to hurry back to catch the train. We thanked the rangers for the great time and ran back to the station. The train ride was neat. We got to talk to the conductor who encouraged us to come back in December when the train transforms into the Polar Express for Christmas.

Back at Peninsula Station, we had lunch and watched the parade for Python Days. We had no idea that it was a special day for them, so we hadn't planned it into our activities. Because of that, we were totally clueless as to why the town celebrates a python. But the kids had fun making a snake out of an old necktie.

Then for our last activity of our National Park vacation, we went to Hale Farm & Village. This was the perfect activity. The Hale Farm & Village holds over 30 buildings from the 1800s. It has somebody in almost every building to tell you about what went on there. They had many demonstrations, including weaving, candle-making, and pottery. They had small one-room houses, middle class houses, and rich houses. They had a Baptist Church, that looked like they were about to set up for a wedding. They had American milking Shorthorn cows and sheep that we were able to pet. We only had 2 hours at the farm, we really could have spent 4 hours there, so we had to skip a lot of the buildings. While strolling around we kept running into one family. While we had given up on seeing all the buildings and were selectively choosing which ones we wanted, they were desperately trying to see them all. We went into the Church at the same time, and I asked for the denomination. As soon as the guide answered that it was Baptist, they ran out to the next building. I teased them later that they must be Methodist. The man rather nervously replied that they were Catholic. We also got to stop in the Benjamin Franklin Wade Law Office. Mr. Wade was a prominent person in the impeachment of Andrew Johnson, and came within one vote of being the 18th President of the United States. The man at the Law Office was one of the most talkative people at the village and extremely informative.

After the Village closed, we went out to eat at Charm Thai and then drove the short trip to Stacy's grandparents. While the National Park probably won't win awards for its spectacular vistas. It was a fun and educational camping trip. Both historically, and learning how to survive in a cabin without running water.