Summer 2021: Transportation Week

 Week 6 of 8: Transportation Week

National Museum of Transportation

Planes, trains, and automobiles! We had a hot, adventurous week with this theme. I can't say that any of my kids has ever had much of an interest in trains or cars or trucks or whatever. I know there are tons of kids who get really into it, but it just never happened for us. Which is fine, because it's not much of an interest of mine either. Haha. That said, the kids had a blast this week and so did I.

Destinations

The big event of the week and maybe even of the whole summer was a trip to Six Flags. It might not seem like an immediately obvious choice but it was so perfect. The young kids' area rides are all transportation themed which means the kids got to ride a train, planes, hot air balloons, a rocket ship, a and a boat! As far as I can remember, this was the kids' first trip but it won't be the last. They were whining and complaining the entire time we were leaving and asking how soon we could come back. Unfortunately I ended up dropping $180 on the day so it's not something we will be repeating soon... BUT I think we are now in the market for season passes when a good deal comes up.

The other big destination this week was the National Museum of Transportation. I've heard so many of my fellow parents talk about this place and it's not very far from our house at all, but somehow we had never been before. I don't know what I expected but this place was better than I imagined. It was super affordable for entry to the museum and unlimited mini train rides. There were tons of trains to explore, plus a boat, a plane, an awesome model train display (the trains wind through scenery filled with tiny figures of superheroes, tv show characters, and more), and my favorite part was an awesome pollinator garden filled with native flowers.

Special Treats

We went to the lake at the end of the week which means I needed some planning/packing time AND our week was cut short, so most of our free time was filled with our destination adventures. I did find time to make some homemade alfredo sauce and wagon wheel pasta though! One of my only ideas I could come up with for Transportation Week. It turned out great but unfortunately my picky kids wouldn't really eat it... so I added sautéed mushrooms, spinach, and chicken and used it for several lunches.

Entertainment

We watched Pixar's "Cars" in our car, on the road to the lake house! I can't say it was a hit with my two younger kids but my oldest was somewhat entertained.