H and I hit the road this week for three nights in Lancaster county. We did this two years ago, and then again that same summer with my mom, and it was great. Last year we were in Las Vegas for spring break, but this year we didn’t have any plans. And H is a little older, we don’t need the stroller. She was much more into it this trip. We did a lot of fabric shopping for Mommy, but we also saw tons of trains and animals for her.

We left on Tuesday straight from PT, and stopped at Hinkletown Sewing Machine Shop to drop off my Bernina for servicing. This was my mom’s tip, and it was a good one. The machine was ready Thursday morning, and it only cost $40!

We also made a quick stop on Tuesday at Lancaster Central Market before they closed at 4, and I got more of the goat cheese mozzarella and chive chevre that I fell in love with on our last trip. And this time, I brought a cooler on the trip.

We weren’t in our room at the Best Western Plus Revere for 2 minutes before H kicked off her shoes and jacket and climbed under some covers. She is such a Reeve.

I really want an Amish wooden playset for the backyard. I kept seeing versions of this ship all over the county, and I’m still thinking about it. But it was a little impractical on this trip.

H’s first trip to Waffle House! This was how we started out Wednesday morning.

She didn’t eat much, but she also didn’t want to leave. And she asked to come back again as we were getting in the car. I have not had WaHo since we evacuated for Hurricane Irene, which was when I was still in my first trimester of pregnancy with this one. Texas toast is as amazing as I remembered. Curse NJ and its lack of WaHos!

Our first quilt shop stop was Log Cabin Quilt Shop & Fabrics. I’ve been here before, I love this shop. This beautiful bargello was hanging out front.

I got tons of fabric here, but the best purchase was this tool apron for H. It was $25, and she desperately wanted it, and she ended up wearing it to every fabric store we went to. It kept her busy while I looked at stuff, and she had a ball with it. It’s still a big hit now that we’re home.

Then we went to Lil’ Country Store and Horse Farm, and she fell in love with the farm’s little dog.

The miniature horses weren’t too shabby, either. It’s pretty neat to see a horse you can look in the eye. Although she was a little sad they didn’t have any “big horses” like she rides in PT. She had a blast, though.

And I loaded up on their homemade root beer and helped myself to a root beer float. She had some yummy chocolate ice cream.

Then we went to Intercourse Village, shopped for more fabric at The Old Country Store and got some yarn from Lancaster Yarn Shop, and then we walked across the street to the Kitchen Kettle Village playground and petting zoo. Where we spent a good chunk of the afternoon playing and feeding animals.

Pro mom move: I loaded up on quarters before we left on this trip. I’m learning that anywhere there are kid activities, quarters are necessary. Here they operated the feeding stations so she could give pellets to all the animals. 

There were sheep and a miniature horse, but really this kid loves a good goat. Goats are her absolute favorite to feed. 

This girl.

On Thursday we woke up, had breakfast on the go, and headed straight to the Railroad Museum of PA. This is where we spent most of Wednesday, we were here and across the street at the Strasburg Railroad for a good chunk of the morning and afternoon.

She found an old crew car, laid down on a bed, and asked me to put a blankie on her. Again, she is such a Reeve.

The railroad china display was my kind of display.

This was very cool. A section of a train over an open area where you could go stand under it. Very cool to see what a train looks like from underneath!

Stewart Junction, the children’s educational area, was awesome. We spent a ton of time in here playing with various train toys and building Lego trains.

The Lego train display was amazing.

I loved the sense of humor here. The Ecto 1, the Delorean, the batmobile. And all the characters hanging out in this one area (Doc and Marty McFly are by that blue building just out of the frame).

More trains outside.

The Strasburg Railroad is right across the street. We walked over there for lunch at the cafe, but we didn’t ride the gorgeous train. It was too loud for H’s liking, and a 45-minute ride felt like a commitment for my sensory kid. 

The toy store was a Thomas heaven, though.

Then we went to another fabric store, Family Farm Quilts, on our way to the next stop. They had a bin of great batiks for $5.95/yd. I’m not really a big batik fan, but I just worked with some in my latest quilt and was surprised how much I enjoyed them. So I stocked up on a few. 

Our last stop for the afternoon was Outback Toys in Lititz, PA. It was about a half hour drive from our hotel, but it’s a toy store dedicated to farm/construction toys. She was beside herself. It was actually a little overwhelming, she had trouble making decisions when faced with so many choices. But we got some small farm animals and a little John Deere tractor set for her to play with.

And then it was an evening at the pool with this sassy creature. We actually switched to the La Quinta down the road because we were having such a blast I decided to stay another night. But our first hotel was booked. This one turned out to be a little nicer, and we swam and ate and hung out.

This was about the time I started texting Adam that we should buy a vacation home out here, and he started texting back with real estate listings. I knew I married a keeper.

Friday, our last morning. A stop at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and a new toy–a pretty sweet cash register.

A sorority friend of mine recommended the Strasburg Country Store and its creamery for great homemade ice cream. H had chocolate, I had the whoopie pie delight. It was, indeed, delightful!Candy candy candy candy. We brought some multicolor Swedish fish home to Adam, he’s only ever had the red ones. And of course I got some chocolates.

Then our last stop before heading home was Burkholder Fabrics, another big fabric store. She rode in a cart with her treasured tool apron, and I roamed the aisles and got more fabric.

So, 4 fabric stores, 2 train spots, a couple of toy stores, 2 visits to see animals, lots of good breakfast, a serviced sewing machine, tons of pool time, and decent weather. Plus this pile of new fabrics and yarn to play with. Not a bad half week getaway for some mommy/daughter time. Not bad at all!