Doty Island Family Fun Day

Danielle saw that the Caboose in Menasha was going to be open for tours. I saw that there were going to be wagon rides at Doty Cabin. I wanted to do both. They were both part of the Doty Island Family Fun Day going on in Doty Park.

Since I really didn't have much going on except baking at baseball, I decided to take part of the family fun day at drag Danielle and Gavin along.

Doty Island Family Fun Days were from 1-4. I wanted to get there as close to 1 as possible to so we didn't have to wait for a wagon ride. We actually got there a few minutes before one and looked around the cabin. We did not do the tour of Doty Cabin as I did it many years ago and Gavin really wasn't into it. I did learn that turnips dye things green not purple or red and the one couch in the cabin is not period appropriate as it is dyed fire engine red -- as nothing in nature will give you that color.

We got our tickets for the wagon ride. I was expecting just a little ride around the block. It was actually a 10-15 minutes ride around the island where our guide pointed out historical homes such as the Gibson House, one of the paper barons of Neenah. We got many surprised looks from the neighbors who did not expect a horse drawn wagon full of people traveling through the streets of Neenah.

After our wagon ride, we headed over to the pavilion for some crafts. Gavin was more interested in playing on the playground. Danielle and I did some marble painting. Other adults found marble painting more exciting than the kids.Who doesn't want to roll marbles around in a box to swirl around the paint globs??

Since Gavin really wanted to hit the pool, we left Doty Park and made our way to Smith Park to see the Caboose. I promised him the stop won't take more than 15 minutes and it took 11 minutes.

The Caboose is rarely open so it was a treat to tour. Our tour guide was phenomenal and gave us a history behind cabooses and what life on a caboose entailed. I actually learned a lot. Cabooses not only meant the end of the train but it was where the train engineer and conductor ate and slept. They also used it to look for which rail car was sparking. The hubby was jealous of me that I got to go in the caboose. He didn't realize it was renovated in 2014.

It was a fun afternoon learning the history of Neenah, Doty Island, and the caboose. If we had more time, I'd love to check out the cabin again as well as the Menasha Historical Society Museum.

Check out the Doty Cabin and Caboose when you have a chance.