Pumpkin Junction

waiting for the train to come
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

A month or so ago we went to the nearby "old style" train yard as (little dude calls it,) train station and train ride then did a little outlet shopping after (that's where the station is).

train to the pumpkin patch
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

taking his ticket serious
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

The trains are from the early 1900's and are originals.

railroad car
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

It takes you for a half hour ride

view from the train ride...
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

and then drops you off at a pumpkin patch and train shaped maze. My kid LOVES trains. Always has. He's a bit fanatical really. Obsessed. Other things are starting to take over like legos and playmobil but trains are still number one in his book. He had a blast and loved seeing the conductors dressed up "old style" and yelling all aboard. We dressed a little too warmly for the maze but it was such a fun day.

corn train maize
Originally uploaded by wayfarer

I love the bounce in that last picture. I was so hormonal that day that i actually cried when seeing how happy he was on that train. Such pure innocent boy joy. I love his little heart. He's so sentimental and pensive for such a wee one.

This is what i love about New Jersey. These things are available for kids. There is not a time we go out where we don't pass by a station, train or railroad crossing, a farm, etc. The trade off is that nothing is close by (drive thru is 25 minutes, bank drive thru 20 minutes, walmart or target 25 minutes, etc). And like this weekend, our garage door broke and there's no one to fix it until Monday or even call us back. We are trapped inside. Things are inconvenient here but there's so many wonderful things to see on daily drives. I love that even if we move from here in the next few years that little dude would have experienced this side of life. I grew up with 50 cows in my backyard and i always look back on that time in a special way. I love that he knows where food comes from, "cows give us milk, chickens give us eggs, pigs don't give us anything!" He says that and by no direction of my own - he naturally believes that pigs are no good for food because he's smelled them. I'll never forget the day that we went to a farm to pick strawberry's and he saw some pigs and went hightailing it over to them only to stop short, cover his face, run back to us burying his face into my stomach saying how bad it stinks. I'm just happy he gets to see this side of life in these impressionable years. A Thomas train ride is one thing (and we will do one soon) but there's something magical about a train ride that is on a real train used in early times that only passes through farms and small towns. Something about the smokestack smoking, the train whistles whistling and a man who quite likely has worked in the yard his entire life giving little ones these magical moments. He reenacted the day for many days after filling his hot wheel cars with marbles/pumpkins while his trains chugged around.