The kids had a blast on our 3-day weekend trip to Lancaster. No particular reason why we picked Lancaster, but I felt like every time we went on vacation, it was always more for big sister K. I wanted to do something that baby M would really enjoy, so knowing how much he loves Thomas the train, much research went into the works. I purchased the Day Out With Thomas tickets months ago and pretty much planned everything around it (worked out well that it also happened to be right after our wedding anniversary… nine years baby!).
Our excursion started off Friday morning at Herr’s Snack Factory. I had made tour reservations for 10:30am, and we got there with five minutes to spare. We made good time considering the pit stop we were forced to take for baby M (avoided an accident in the car, phew!). No surprise that the kids’ favorite part of the tour was eating the warm potato chips that just got pulled out of the production line.
In case you were wondering, yes the big white bag next to us is loaded with chips!
After Herr’s, we went to the Turkey Hill Experience, an indoor attraction where kids can play, learn how ice cream is made, and even make their own ice cream flavor. This place is fairly new; it didn’t exist the last time M and I were in Lancaster (though that was probably more than a decade ago). We spent the entire afternoon there and the kids had a great time. Big sister K used the computer to create her own ice cream flavor, designed the packaging, and even made her own commercial to market the product. Baby M went into their ball pit and refused to come out (he could’ve easily spent all day there). Best part (or worst, depending on your perspective) is the unlimited ice cream sampling. Add to that the pint of ice cream we were each given to create our own ice cream flavor with, and I have had enough ice cream to last me the entire summer!
At the start of the Turkey Hill Experience...
My whole family is nuts!
Did somebody say BALL PIT!?
Woohoo! We even get matching hats!
By the time we checked in at the Lancaster Marriott, it was close to dinner time. The hotel was located downtown near a bunch of shops and restaurants. We took a nice stroll around the neighborhood, but after all the ice cream we had, none of us were in the mood for anything heavy, so we just got some wraps and brought it back to the hotel to eat. The kids slept soundly that night, as did us.
Saturday marked the official start of summer and was also the longest day of the year. Baby M has been looking forward to Saturday for quite some time now because he knew that was when he would be seeing Thomas (we’ve been threatening not to take him to see Thomas whenever he misbehaved… now we need to find a new leverage). I had gotten tickets for the 10:45am train. The ride was only 22 minutes long and didn’t really go anywhere, but just knowing that you were on Thomas the train was what made it special. They also had a lot of other activities at the Strasburg Railroad for the kids to do. They got to meet and take a picture with Sir Topham Hatt, go on different mini-train rides, get a temporary tattoo, etc… we didn't expect to spend the whole day there but by the time we got done, it was well into the afternoon.
All aboard Thomas!
Photo op with Sir Topham Hatt.
Enjoying other activities at the Strasburg Railroad.
After the outlet, we went to Overlook Falls Mini-Golf. We tried to teach the kids how to hold the club and hit the ball, but they refused to listen, so we eventually gave up and let them do their own thing. Every time M missed a hole (which was pretty often), baby M would go grab the golf ball and hand it back to M (instead of letting him take another shot). It was quite endearing. I told M baby M would come in very handy if we ever went to play tennis… we’d have our own little ball boy!
The only way we got such a big smile out of baby M was when M shouted "M&Ms!"
Surprisingly enough, baby M actually posed for this picture. He loved climbing on all the rocks and sitting on them. And there's big sister K in the background, ready to take a swing.
Most places were closed on Sundays, and much to my chagrin, that included the Intercourse Pretzel Factory. I googled all of the pretzel places in the entire Lancaster County, but couldn’t find one that opened for tours on a Sunday. I broke the news to big sister K when she woke up Sunday morning, but she took it with stride and simply said, “that’s okay, mommy.” (Oh how I love her!) Instead, we went back to the outlet and did some more damage to our credit cards (though it felt like I spent more time running in and out of restrooms with the kids than anything else!).
Overall, it was a good weekend. Now to plan for our next trip!
