Glass Blowing at Jackson County Green Energy Park
We had so much fun taking a class at the Jackson County Green Energy Park that we decided to do it again. We gathered up some friends and made arrangements with Cole Johnson to have him teach us to make glass blown pumpkins. Each pumpkin took a little over twenty minutes to make. We picked our colors and away we went.
A Night at the Red Caboose Motel
We were looking for someplace to stay during our trip to the Strasburg Rail Road and decided on staying once again at the Red Caboose Motel. I miss the days when all the cabooses were actually red. Now, they are painted to the actual railroad colors from which they came. The caboose we stayed in, unit 30, was in pretty bad shape. The steps were rotted, the doors paper thin, rust on the bathroom metal surfaces, the caboose had an extreme lean, and just a general run down appearance. We did get an "apology" flyer at check-in stating that the motel was in the process of being renovated and it did appear as some of the cabooses had been freshly painted. At least our room was clean.
Strasburg Rail Road - N&W Reunion of Steam
We signed up with Lerro Productions to do a photo shoot on the Strasburg Rail Road during the Norfolk and Western Railway Reunion of Steam. This event brought the N&W J Class 611 (4-8-4) and N&W M Class #475 (4-8-0) together for the first time since the 1950's. This Saturday afternoon shoot was very difficult as the Strasburg Rail Road was running their regular train, Great Western #90, and the tracks had to be cleared every 30 minutes as it passed. The area was also packed with site-seers and railfans as well. Lerro didn't do a great job on this outing organizing. However, we did enjoy ourselves and that's what really counts.
Killing Time at the Choo Choo Barn
On our recent road trip to Strasburg, Pennsylvania, we had some time to kill. So, we stopped at the Choo Choo Barn. The "Barn" is a delightful little display of O-gauge model railroads. The animations are well done and there is plenty of detail in all the scenes. However after traveling to many different layouts around the country, it seems a bit on the small size. Several of the animations weren't functioning the day we visited which further tempered our enjoyment of the attraction. We still enjoyed our short visit.
