My parents are always finding great little outings and luckily they invite us along to many of them. They found out Abilene, KS has a Symphony at Sunset annually to commemorate D-Day on the Eisenhower Museum lawn, wanted to go and asked the kids and me to meet them there for the afternoon festivities on the museum grounds. They had a lot happening but most seemed for older kids and adults so we decided it was best with the kids to just meander around the grounds to see the static displays. I loved the old military jeeps driving around waving the red, white and blue in the breeze honking a hello at all the folks walking around.
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| Not sure who was getting a ride but it looked like fun! |
The static displays were great. I wish my husband had been there but he was at drill. He would have loved it. Wyatt really enjoyed the re-enactors dressed in the military uniforms and carrying weapons of WWII. They did a great presentation about the uniforms and weapons and even fired some rounds so you could hear how they sound. Afterwards, they invited all the kids to look for spent shells on the ground. Wyatt found one, had it cleared by one of the volunteers and he brought it home to show dad. Lorelai wasn't too happy with the loud noises so Grandma took her on a walk to get a cookie :) We spent a lot of time visiting with those volunteers who were extremely knowledgeable. I believe they said they were out of El Dorado, KS and had been to events in all 50 states. Wyatt and Grandpa also took a turn at throwing mock grenades from WWII. They were both pretty good at hitting their targets!
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| Some dressed as American soldiers, others as German soldiers |
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| This gun was VERY HEAVY. I have no idea how they were able to use them. |
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| Trying to figure out who gets to sit in the side car. |
Our next adventure was to ride the train! Abilene has a non-profit, check them out at
www.asvrr.org, that is committed to giving you the experience of how our ancestors used to travel. Now, my daughter has avoided our back yard now for probably three months due to some fear she thinks she has of the train that passes right behind our house. I was a bit unsure of how I was going to get her on the thing when we got there but after a little bit of resistance, I got her on and she had a great time!
We rode behind their diesel engine in the dinner car going out. It was beautiful countryside scenery and I could have totally taken a nap with the motion of the train car. We just visited and took in the view. The kids loved the steel bridge you cross over the Smoky Hill River and I found a barn that I loved (I have a love of old barns and this one I would love to have out back one day!).
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| Love this little barn! |
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| On our journey |
On the way back to Abilene we rode in the gondola car. Its more out in the open and has some picnic tables to sit at and you can move about more but my favorite ride was the dinner car. We pulled into the 1887 Rock Island Depot and headed out back for a good ol' gun fight. Well, most of us. Lorelai wasn't too interested in the guns going off again so I stayed with her in the depot playing with the toy trains they had set up. We did watch the very beginning and it was the first time I had ever heard the re-enactors lesson the kids in the audience about gun safety. Great idea and I wondered why more don't do it.
I'm so glad we went as it was a great experience for all of us. D-Day is such an important day in history and I would encourage anyone to visit Abilene at their annual event. We headed home after the train ride but my parents stayed the night for the symphony and they said it was fantastic. As a side note, the train ride did NOT cure my daughter of any train related fears and she still won't go in our back yard! A big thanks to my folks for treating us for the day!
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