Trips Afield: Gold Coast Railroad Museum

Wednesday, like every April 22nd for the past ... well, that's up for debate, but read this story if you want to know more ... was Earth Day. We had big earthy, environmentalist plans, but those fell through. Fortunately, we had backup plans! We visited Miami's Gold Coast Railroad Museum, next do the Zoo, instead. Wow, did this trip come along with lots of history lessons!

Disclosure: We were given free passes to visit the Gold Coast Railroad Museum in exchange for this blog post. All opinions are, as always, 100% my own.

I kinda wanted to steal the "NO SNORING" sign from the museum's gift shop wall. Cute and funny!

We all had to test out the Morse Code telegraph machine. It was loud and, yes, obnoxious. God bless the twin girls working in the shop, because they must have to put up with that nonsense a lot.

And with that, we were outta the gate and into an immense, old railroad yard with all manner of antique and old-fashioned trains to explore. What fun! This was definitely right up Jack's alley.

I sort of have a fetish for antique suitcases. I love them. They bespeak so many adventures, I think. I would love to collect them, but I never find them, so...

Chloë thought this old wheelchair was pretty cool. I don't know whether it was kosher for her to sit on it, but she already was and there was no "keep off" sign, so I snapped the pic. I could say that about a lot of these pictures...

When Rob rang this bell, it was so loud and unexpected, I wanted to ring his bell!

Maybe you can tell from Jack's stance, but he was freaked out by the wax figure of a porter up there ahead, on the left. So I did what I do: laughed and took a photo.

Have a seat!

Sophe pretending to wash hands in the sink on the train... a rare sight, since I still have to tell her to do it for real now!

Very cool.

We were told that if the train was open, we could go ahead and go in and explore. We found lots of open trains to visit! This one... wasn't.

Proof that I was actually there, experiencing this, too. I gotta remember to take more pictures of me. Y'know, for posterity.

I guess they use the trains for after-school programs. Pretty cool place to go, if you ask me.

Silly Sophie, pretending to eat at the table. I love that she still has such fun imagining at ten.

This is Sophia trying to get up into the luggage cart. No, she didn't, but if I had looked away... she'd have been up there in a New York minute! ;)

Jack was pretty much in seventh heaven out here.

NASA, the early days

Rob checkin' out the innards

Hey, you gotta go, you gotta go. The train bathrooms remind me of the ones on the Piedmont airplanes back in the 80s.

Again, we weren't invited on one of the beds in the sleepers, but we weren't chastised or warned off them, either...

Sophia looking so cute with her little bandanna.... love it!

The kids loved the idea of transcontinental train travel. We vowed to do it sometime before they're grown.

This does not look even remotely comfortable!

Well, hello, Rufus.

Yeah, that might not be good.

At this point, I was having a total Stand By Me moment.

Rob, being a sweety... but I made him leave them there. Take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints, after all.

Why, hello up there!

Twinsies

This is the part where Sophie pretends to be a hobo, hopping on and off cargo trains and going joy-riding!

Girl versus the machine?

Switch operator, Chloë

Speaking of Stand By Me...

Chugga-chugga-woo-woo! Hey, we're tweens and teens, but a train is a train, man.

Because Thomas.

Sophie in her babushka

The trainy equivalent of Air Force One. Pretty cool.

Hilariously, Sophie was pretending to be interrogated and pleading for her freedom. She cracks me up.

Jack was giggling because men used fancy China and drank tea. Silly boy!

The girls were terribly excited to find this very old, dusty book amongst the artifacts on one train. The books, we like them.

Now this one, I coveted. Badly.

America's Playground, Florida's East Coast, you say? I must go to there.

Yeah. I can't remember what she was doing here. Basking in the glory?

Uh, not a good angle for him!

Tiniest President ever.

My fellow Americans...!

Yay!

Jack accidentally honked the horn, and it was LOUD. We all jumped. It was pretty hysterical. Eh, you had to be there.

What about wheelchairs?

We learned about blimps our first year of homeschooling, way back in 2010, so we kind of have an affinity for all things hydrofoil.

Dirigible

In honor of Daddy, the girls insisted I take their picture with the US Navy flag.

We totally confused the "We Can Do It" poster with "Rosie the Riveter" and talked all about the Normal Rockwell piece as if this was it. Uhhh.... ooops. Now we know better, though, and knowing is half the battle.

(RIP to the real "Rosie.)

True facts.

Yes, but do you know the way to San José?

We learned a lot of history on this field trip, and quite a lot about the history of race relations in this country. The kids all agreed by the end that racism pretty much sucks. Phew! I'm glad that was the attitude learned. 

Thanks to the GCRM for having us, and thank you for stopping by!

Fin.