National Train Day is May 8, 2010 and I, for one, had no idea!  Who knew there was a National Train Day?  I LOVE the idea!

From Coast to Coast, cities along the Amtrak rails will be holding National Train Day with activities, demonstrations and more.  You can see the full list of details at www.4kidsinpa.com or click here for the direct link.

In other Train News. . Thomas the Tank Engine will be making his first appearance of 2010 at the Strasburg Rail Road station in Ronks, Lancaster County.  We went to this last year and it is SUPER fun, well organized and remarkable clean for the huge number of people.

Ride a train pulled by Thomas and meet Sir Topham Hatt™. Visit the Strasburg Railroad Museum and Take ride on the Strasburg Railroad.Day Out With Thomas tickets may be purchased at TicketWeb or by calling toll-free 866-468-7630. In both cases, tickets are being sold through a national ticket sales operation. Be sure to choose "Strasburg Rail Road" as your event location.

Here are some photos...

What is a Shad anyway?

Ah, the elusive Shad. Oft talked about, seldom seen.

A Shad is a fish. The American Shad is the largest fish in the herring family. Every spring, shad migrate from salt water to fresh water to reproduce. Fishermen call this the "annual spring shad run.”

What better place to have a festival, than Fishtown, a historic district in Philadelphia. Music, food, artwork, historic walks, a scavenger hunt and free kayaking are among the super cool things you can do Saturday, April 24th at the Fishtown Shad Festival.  Check it out at www.fishtownshadfest.org.

But Fishtown is not the only place holding a Shad Festival.

Lambertville, New Jersey is holding it's 29th annual Shad Fest Saturday and Sunday, April 24th & 25th. Music, Art, food, kids rides and more. Be sure to check out the Shad hauling demonstrations Saturday & Sunday at 1pm on Lewis Island at the end of Lambert Lane. The Lewis family has been fishing these waters since 1888, and holds the only remaining commercial license to catch shad with nets. Very cool thing to see.   www.shadfest.com


A-Day.

Delaware Valley College in Doylestown holds the annual A-Day each spring and this is a safe bet for a good time, but it will cost ya.  We went today for three hours and I was in for a pretty good chunk of change.

Pig Races are hands down the family favorite. Pig Way Races hold pig, goat and duck races every couple of hours and they are PURE entertainment. From the young man "calling" the race, to the crowd roaring in laughter, it is definitely fun.

Lots of animals to pet, sheering and milking demonstrations, pony rides and more.

Rides for every age . . . from the Dizzy Dragon to the inflatable obstacle course and slide to the rock climbing wall and bungee jump. Plenty of fun, but this is also where the $$ comes in. Plan ahead.  

Personally, we liked the "train ride" throughout the campus.  Kiddos get in a "car" which looks like a brightly colored metal barrel turned on it's side, with a steering wheel and seat belt of course as a college student driving a lawn mower pulls the kiddos about. It looks like a bumpy ride, but from all the smiles, it was a big hit. Good bang for your buck too. I wish we did this more than once. . so did Emily. 

oh, one more thing. A-day. .  .Agricultural Day.

For more info check out http://delval.edu/aday/