Greenfield Village

We went to Greenfield Village on Saturday.  It closes for the season today and since it wasn't raining and not too too cold we took Kyper for one last train ride.  The biggest reason though was that Joel had the day off--that has not happened a lot in October.  For those of you who don't live in the Detroit area, which I think is most of you here is what Greenfield Village is about from the their website:

"Entering Greenfield Village is like stepping into an 80-acre time machine. It takes you back to the sights, sounds and sensations of America’s past. There are 83 authentic, historic structures, from Noah Webster’s home, where he wrote the first American dictionary, to Thomas Edison’s Menlo Park laboratory, to the courthouse where Abraham Lincoln practiced law. The buildings and the things to see are only the beginning. There’s the fun stuff, too. In Greenfield Village, you can ride in a genuine Model T or “pull” glass with world-class artisans; you can watch 1867 baseball or ride a train with a 19th-century steam engine. It’s a place where you can choose your lunch from an 1850s menu or spend a quiet moment pondering the home and workshop where the Wright brothers invented the airplane. Greenfield Village is a celebration of people — people whose unbridled optimism came to define modern-day America."


We live about 5 minutes away.  When Aren and Leah visited us in early October, we took them there and had a great time walking around.  Joel had never been there and it only took one visit and he was hooked.  We ended up getting a annual membership plus ride pass.  The ride pass means you can ride the train, the carousel and other fun things at the village without paying extra each trip.  The nice thing is the annual membership also gets you into the Henry Ford Musuem, which is right next door to the village and the museum is open year round.   Here are pictures from that visit:

Tia Leah and Kyper by the round house

Glass blowing

Earning "grandparent points"

Turkey

Aren and Leah

Joel and I

The train

A horse-drawn carriage

Kyper loves the train.  When we went earlier in October, we didn't want to pay for the extra ride passes, so we didn't take the train.  (Side note, but related note: Kyper and I have gone with a friend numerous times this summer and they get us in for free plus have a ride pass, so he knows the train is there.)  The whole time we were there with his aunt and uncle, he kept saying "ride the train momma?"  So, I decided we needed to go one last time before it closes for the season and take the train.  Here are pictures from that visit:

The baby calf (18 weeks old.)  Kyper loves to visit the calf.

Baby lambs

Happy to be on the train

Saw a deer and buck while on the train. (Although you can't see both in this pic)

The train letting out steam--making sure its engine stays clean.

Pretty fall foliage

They have special events during Halloween and Christmas.  We didn't go to the Halloween event, because it just didn't work.  But, we hope to go to Christmas at the Village this year and see all the lights and festivities.