All Aboard the Love Train!

I make no secret of the fact that I am a train lover. My father was a railroad brakeman at the Enola yards, across the river from Harrisburg, for more than 40 years. He came home from work each night smelling of creosote and cold steel. So it appears I have come by my fascination with trains quite honestly. Railroading is in my blood; in my very heart and soul.

I have some travel plans coming up. Each summer, I schedule a bus trip or two with my oldest sister. We love to visit the beach and boardwalk in Atlantic City, and that is exactly what we will be doing next week. Last year, I took the bus from State College to Harrisburg, where my sister lives; from there, we catch a bus to the beach and back. We will be in Atlantic City all day Wednesday, June 28. The weather is supposed to be perfect!

This year, I am happy to report that I will be having an even grander adventure than usual. I will be riding the rails to Harrisburg and back! I have purchased a round-trip ticket on the Pennsylvanian, a train that travels from Pittsburgh to New York City each day.

Only, I am doing just a part of that trip: I will be riding along from Tyrone to Harrisburg, about a two-hour trip. I will leave Tuesday morning and come back Thursday afternoon. To say I am excited is an understatement! I can't wait! I plan to take lots of pictures, and when I am back, I promise to tell you all about it.

When the newest Dancing Girl heard about my coming adventure, she wanted to ride the trains too! Only, I wasn't sure she would still be available next week when my actual trip occurs. Her schedule gets quite booked: as you may have guessed, fuchsia blooms only last a few days, so there's lots of fun that must be packed into that small amount of time.

So we arranged a small railroad trip for her anyway. The Crittergators wanted to ride along too, so there they all are, on top of the train. And who's that white-haired old dude driving the engine there? Could that jolly old elf be Santa himself?

As the train rolled down the tracks and through the fields and forests and small towns of Crittertopia, all of the creatures came out to watch and wave and cheer. Down front, you may see two orange kangaroos, a penguin, an orange rabbit, a green alligator, a billy goat, a tiny blue and green dragon (yes, even a dragon!), and two giraffes. What a festive occasion! Hop on board and ride along!

The soundtrack to accompany this image is the O'Jays with Love Train. Everybody sing along now!

People all over the world (everybody)
Join hands (join)
Start a love train, love train
People all over the world (all the world, now)
Join hands (love ride)
Start a love train (love ride), love train