7156. Ride in a caboose

 Last year when we were at the Illinois Railroad Museum, I wanted to ride in the caboose. We just ran out of time. I saw that the Minnesota Transportation Museum had a caboose ride. It was a very short caboose ride. I wanted something more.

When we were at the Monticello Railroad Museum, we got out to check out the depot in downtown Monticello. As we were walking back to board the train, I noticed it had a caboose. I told the hubby we could ride in the caboose and we decided to ride in the caboose for the rest of the train ride.

There were a few other people in the caboose, a dad with a couple of kids and an older gentleman. We initially just sat and enjoyed the ride. 

When the dad sat down, I got up and took a few pictures. He mentioned we could actually stand in the doorway and enjoy the view.

What an experience. We were actually going backwards at the time so we were the first ones to see everything. I few times I had to steady my balance and eventually I held on to the ladder.

Even the engineers didn't really bother us. They were just chilling as well.

Eventually we sat back down to enjoy the ride back to the station.

I was able to, without dropping the phone, take some great shots as we were coming in the the station from the end of the train.

Now that I crossed riding in a caboose off the bucket list, I need to work up the guts to ride in the cupula of the caboose. Those are the seats at the top of the caboose accessed by tiny little ladders on either side of the seats. It might be difficult as kids usually clamor for these seats.

If you ever have a desire to ride in a caboose, I would recommend either the Monticello Railroad Museum or the Illinois Railroad Museum for your caboose ride. Both are great train museums. 

Train Adventures: Monticello Railway Museum

 The hubby recently woke his buried love for train and trains rides. He really wanted to go to Boone County Iowa for their train museum but schedule conflicts forced us to pivot our vacation plans. With Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky on the docket, I had went in search of a train museum for the hubby. My original plan was to go to Whitewater Valley Railroad in Connersville, IN but another schedule conflicted forced me pivot again.  Monticello Railway Museum fit in the plans and was on the way home.

Monticello Railway Museum is located in Monticello, IL about 30 minutes southwest of Champaign. It is open on weekends May-October 10:30-3:30 plus it offers a Polar Express ride in November and early December. There is also a bunny train around Easter. Admission is $15/adults and $8/children. 

You can pick the train at the museum at the Nelson Crossing Depot or the Wabash Depot in downtown Monticello. We picked it up at Nelson Depot. We initially board the train in a passenger car. 

The train stops at the Wabash Depot. We got off and looked around the small museum at the depot. If we chose, we could have walked around downtown Monticello. Due to time constraints, we didn't but it also didn't look much around downtown to keep us occupied for a good hour. 

We saw there was a caboose at the end of the train. I wanted to ride in the caboose. We had a very enjoyable ride to the end of the line before headed back to the depot. From Wabash Station to the end of the line, the train went backwards so looking out of the back of the caboose we actually felt as we were going forward.

Once we got back to the Nelson Depot, the hubby wanted to go up in the Stair Tower. The stair tower is a replica of a railroad interlocking tower that was found a railroad junction to control the signals and lights along the line. The docent was very informative and I learned a vital part of the railroad. The hubby even got to pull the levers that controlled the lights and signals. They were heavy.

We hurried our way through the train barn. It had many of the same trains as other train museum

A Mail Car

A Sleeper car that seemed not a very comfortable way to travel. I'll stick to cars and hotels.

There was a display on Railroad Express Agency that not only carried mail and packages but also in the time of war, bodies of soldiers. This is something we never think of but had to be done.

I wish we had more time to explore the train yard but we had to get on the road. 

The Monticello Railroad Museum is definitely worth the stop. The train ride was enjoyable. The museum was well done. 

I wonder where our next train adventure will take us. Stay tuned. 

Pizza Snob Adventures: Bearno's

 One of things I wanted to try to do was get pizza in Louisville so I could color pizza in Kentucky on my map. I tried to do a search but didn't really find any close to the Slugger Museum or Slugger Field. I did one but we weren't overly keen on it. As we were leaving the Slugger Museum after getting my stamp, I stopped and asked the information desk people where to get pizza. Initially they suggested Luigi's (the place I looked at) but they were only open until 4. They suggested Bearno's which was just over a mile away. We opted to drive and try to find parking. 

Bearno's is a local chain with 14 locations around Louisville and Southern Indiana. It has been around for almost 50 years. The downtown location on Market Street is open 11-9 daily and until 10 on weekends. 

They are known for their Louisville style thin crust pizza and stromboli steak sandwiches. Since it was so warm out, we opted for a 14 inch cheese pizza and a couple of waters. 

The pizza was fine. It was nothing to write home about. The crust was nice and chewy. It did have a little too much sauce on it for me. I would have liked some meat on it but the hubby just waned cheese. It kind of remembered me of Luigi's here in Wisconsin. 

We are definitely pizza snobs. It takes a lot to wow us. The hubby says we have the best pizza here in the valley so it makes it hard to find great pizza when we travel. Orsi's in Omaha, Sal's in Cooperstown, Arris in Jefferson City, and Luna Rossa Winery and Pizzeria in Las Cruces are probably our favorites we found so far. 

If you are in Louisville and craving pizza, Bearno's is a good choice. It is good pizza and offer a variety of choices. We are just that picky. 

4234. Go to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton

 When finalizing our trip this summer, I realized we had several hours in Dayton. I wanted to go to the National Museum of the United States Air Force which Stacy recommended to me. The hubby easily agreed especially because they had a bomber he wanted to see.

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is located on Wright-Paterson Air Force Base. Even though it's on the base, you don't need to go through clearance to visit. It is open 9-5 daily and is free to visit. Of course you can add on photos and flight simulators but the actual museum is free. Donations are always accepted.

The museum consists of 5 airplane hangers full of airplanes, engines, missiles, and history displays of the Air Force. Each hanger covers a specific period in flight history starting with Wright Brothers and spanning into the Space era and current air craft. 

Both the hubby and I wanted to see specific air craft but we did go through each gallery. I have to admit the hubby did kind of race through the Early Years but to be fair we just came from the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park where we learned about the early days of flight. This just expands on that. I do love see all the old planes though.

One of the exhibits featured Billy Mitchell. He was an early military pilot. I finally learned the history of the man that General Mitchell International Airport is name for.

One of my favorite galleries was the World War Two Gallery. I loved seeing all the brightly colored warbirds as well as the artwork on some of these planes.

I did learn a few things about Richard Bong who apparently Bong Recreation Area in southern Wisconsin is named after. 

I also got to see the plane I was wanting to see. The Memphis Belle and learned more of her story.

Another of the highlights of the day was taking my picture in a real space suit.

As we moved through Korea and Southeast Asia War exhibits, there were more plans you could climb and see the insides of especially cargo carriers. 

The hubby was able to see Strategic Air Command Plane and more importantly the B2 Bomber. 

The Space Age Exhibit was no different than being at Kennedy Space Center except that the Space Shuttle was only a trainer not one that flew in space. 

After going through all those galleries, then you hit the Presidential Gallery where you can climb aboard several Air Force Ones. One from the Eisenhower Era and one from the Reagan Era. It was fascinating to see how technology improved over the years.

We saw a lot of aircraft. We saw everything we came to see. Most people spend all day there, we did the entire museum in about 2 hours. So if don't think you have enough time, you do. Go in with a game plan and focus on what interests you. But if you have all day to spend there and enjoy reading exhibits (which we really do not), you definite should. Either way, if you are in Dayton the National Museum of the United States Air Force is a must see.