Look! A train!
Kids love trains. It’s no secret that mine do — whether it’s a Day out with Thomas the Tank Engine, catching a train ride at an amusement park, or admiring a painted sign (above), they’ve never met a train they didn’t want to ride. So when I saw that the Southern Michigan Railroad Society was having a free “Trains, Trucks and More!” day in Tecumseh, Mich., I knew we had to attend.
We decided to make it a day trip to Tecumseh — which is just under an hour’s drive from Ann Arbor. We first drove to the charming downtown area, where we found several of the Art Trail Tecumseh exhibits peppered along the main street.
Horsing around with a bird. (Not the real title.)
Must have been a wrong number.
Several pieces were located in this annex.
Nothing fishy about this art exhibit.
Walking around looking at the sculptures worked up an appetite in us all, so we were happy to find the Dog House. I counted 30 different hot dogs on the menu, plus the restaurant had sandwiches, paninis, wraps and salads.
This is one dog house you’ll want to be inside.
My husband went for the Popper Dog, with cream cheese, jalapenos and bacon; I went with a more traditional Reuben.
The Popper Dog at the Dog House.
My son had the Big Kahuna with pineapple and bacon; my daughter, on the other hand, broke ranks and chose the grilled peanut butter and jelly.
Grilled PB&J.
With our bellies full, it was time to make our way to the Trains, Trucks and More!” event.
This pretty tractor was part of the “and more!”
I enjoyed seeing the old farm equipment, but my kids’ sights were set on the trains. First we rode in the engine of this diesel engine…
We rode the rails in this diesel engine.
Then we hopped aboard this car.
Maintenance car rides.
After the ride, we were able to go in and explore some of the old engines and coaches that were parked along the railroad tracks.
Exploring the coaches.
Under a tent, the society had put together displays of historical photos and videos, and even had a volunteer demonstrating model railroading.
One of the model train displays.
My kids both enthusiastically took part in placing down the grass and bushes, with the help of the most patient man in the world, the volunteer who let rugrats like mine “help.”
Building a model train set.
The event took place from noon til 6 pm, and we spent a good two hours exploring all that there was to do. The kids learned a lot from the many volunteers on site who patiently explained the history behind the train coaches or how the diesel engines worked.
