The first stop this year was the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay. After getting distracted for awhile by the possibility of spending their allowance money in the gift shop, everyone was finally excited to see the actual trains.
One of the special trains located at this museum was an authentic Big Boy. (Boy, was it big!)
Some of the trains had the cabs or cars open for exploration. Matt, Kate and Ethan, explored the cab of the Big Boy while Anna and I checked out a Pullman Car.
This boy loved all of the gears, levers, and wheels.
Part of our admission included a train ride around the grounds.
It was a beautiful day for this kind of an open car train ride.
These kids would have preferred to stay and play with the model train set-up for much longer, but we tried our best to balance the activities designed for kids with the exhibits tailored towards adults.
The outdoor shed of exhibits was also exciting, but by that point the kids were slowing down.
Matt, the biggest train lover in the family, stayed to explore a little more while I took the kids over to the train themed play area.
The museum really did a nice job of providing plenty of kid-friendly activities throughout the grounds.
From the railroad museum, we traveled the last 40 minutes or so to our rented house. We have learned over the last few years that finding a home to rent through airbnb or vrbo works really, really well for our family. We're not at a point where camping for vacations makes sense, and the cost of a hotel is pretty similar to the cost of the rentals we find. The space of a whole home, the convenience of a kitchen, and being able to put people in their own rooms to sleep makes for a happier family :)
The home we found this year was about half way between Green Bay and Sturgeon Bay, right on the water.
There was a playset in the yard, a big deck, and a beautiful view of the sunset every night.
The house was a great find for us!
Kate, more than the other kids, loved the water. She could be found standing at the top of the stairs, sitting at the bottom of the 40+ steps down to the water alone or with family, or walking along the shoreline.
More pictures of our adventures at the home will be sprinkled throughout the next few posts, but to end the first night, we discovered a copy of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory in the supply of DVDs at the house! Watching the movie was a perfect way to end the day, especially since we had just finished reading the book the previous weekend.
Monday was a great day, but more memories were to be made on Tuesday!
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