Thursday, June 30, 2016

Altoona Pennsylvania Railroaders Museum

I recently took a trip to Pennsylvania to speak at Penn State Mac Admins conference.  On the way back to the airport, I took a brief stop at Altoona Pa to visit the Altoona Railroaders Museum. I had heard of this place before.  It was a testing grounds for steam locomotives in the heyday of steam power.  The railway in the area was also an important conduit for freight.





Many of the displays had pre-recorded characters that played within the exhibit.  In this one, there were folks sitting at a bar telling stories of their life.  You could sit on the barstool and listen to them.


The boy selling papers would tell you about life in the area.


This was supposed to be the railroad chief.  A recording would play of him telling you about his job when you walked into his office.

Recognize these guys?


There was lots of old equipment on display.


 Also a model of the town as it was when things were booming.


I wish I had more time to study this one.  There was a breakdown of every control in the cabin and how it works.  I've always been curious as to why so many dials and knobs are needed to operate a steam engine.

This display showed life inside a typical workers house at the time.




There were many displays on how the trains were made and the different occupations on the railroad.




There was also a display of old trains and equipment in various states of repair.


 If you ever find yourself in Pennsylvania, the Altoona railroaders museum is worth the visit!



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Saturday, June 4, 2016

Sarah Graduates High School

Sarah Graduated from Adademy Of The Canyons as part of the 2016 High School Senior Class.





 Lots of family were present.

 








Saturday, April 30, 2016

Happy 11th Birthday Brandon

We had a birthday party for Brandon's 11th Birthday.  We rented a large water slide for the back yard.






Sarah made a Pikachu cake for him




Cake had three different kinds of layers.


Brandon loves the TV show "Cupcake Wars" so he had a cupcake bake off at the party.  Kids made different kids of cupcakes and then they had a contest to see which cupcakes were best.






Sunday, April 24, 2016

Living History Event At Ft. Tejon

Brandon's 6th grade class spent the night at Ft. Tejon for a Living History event.  It was a lot of fun and I recommend it to anyone who has the chance.  The folks at Ft. Tejon are absolutely top notch!

The kids started out by doing 19th century marching drills.





Everyone then picked a uniform to wear for the weekend.




Doing our drills with the uniforms on!

The kids all got to experience Adobe Brick making.





Blacksmith shop demonstrations.  Now I want a forge at home!




 Carpentry. Each kid made their own toolbox to take home.






Soap and candle making.

 The 19th century style kitchen was absolutely awesome and amazing food was made there.



Everyone was fed everyone very, very well!



After each meal, everyone had to help clean.




 It was great to see wildlife as well.