Birthday Parties Aren’t Just for Kids

Celebrating my Mom’s birthday in Strasburg, Pennsylvania

For my Mom’s birthday this year, we decided to do something a little different. To be honest, I really just wanted to do something and go somewhere since it’s been awhile. So I half-selfishly suggested we go somewhere this year that didn’t involve us just sitting around in my parents’ living room.

The criteria was tough. I had to figure out how to cater to the attention span of an age range between 3-68. Something that wasn’t too far (because driving more than an hour with kids can be brutal), something we had never done before, and something that was budget friendly. I’ve lived and been around the DMV area multiple times and my family has lived here for over 20 years so this was a tough ask.

Then, I recalled a conversation that I had with my Mom a few weeks ago. She had mentioned that a friend of hers spoke of a fancy dinner on a train nearby. We didn’t need a fancy dinner. That might be something that my parents could do on their own as a date. But I wondered if maybe there was something that offered a casual dining experience with a train ride. Because who doesn’t love trains.

Lo and behold, I was able to find on my Google search, Strasburg Railroad. Only an hour away from us in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, Strasburg Railroad serves as the oldest, continuously run railroad in the United States and is an authentic and historic steam engine railroad. AND they had lots of train ride experiences to choose from, including a 45 minutes dining experience during lunchtime. Perfect.

Though we had to pay separately for the price of the ticket and the meal, with limited choices (they offered four different meal options for adults including soft chicken tacos, meatball sub, roast beef sandwich, and a hummus platter), this seemed like the perfect solution to a “fun outing for the whole family.” I quickly wrote on the comments “Celebrating my Mom’s birthday with the whole family. Requesting we’re all able to sit together.” JUST in case the train was full, I wanted to make sure we’d at a minimum be able to sit next to each other.

Of course it was cold and rainy that day but everyone seemed to be in good spirits. We got there WAY too early. Our train was at noon, but the email had mentioned we should check in at 11:30 and that we’d start boarding around 11:45. So in true military fashion, we were there at 11:00. Luckily there was a gift shop, toy store, and little cafe to explore.

After taking some family pictures in front of the dining car we were about to ride on, we boarded our dining car the “Lee E. Brenner” at 11:45. Two lines of tables lined the car with seats of 4 each. We quickly picked out 3 tables next to each other and immediately took off all of our layers as the heat from the steam engine quickly warmed us up.

Out of nowhere, one of the train conductors comes up to our table with a handful of balloons asking who we’re here to celebrate today. My Mom, completely embarrassed but smiling from ear to ear happily accepted her balloons as I tried to teach the conductor the pronunciation of her name. “Yon. Cha. But the Cha sounds more like a Ja.” He wrote it down and disappeared, just in time to wave goodbye to us all as the train started its journey.

I will say, it wasn’t much of a journey. I think we only rode about 15 minutes one way. We looked at farm animals and empty grass fields in the Amish country, passed by Cherry Crest Farms, where we had just spent a day at a few months ago for Pumpkin Patch season, and then we came to a complete stop. Waiting about 10 minutes for them to switch out the main car to the opposite side of the train, we awkwardly sat there and listened to all the birthday parties on the train sing “Happy Birthday” to their guest of honor in each car, individually, over the loud speaker. My Mom was no exception.

As she plugged her ears as the whole car loudly sang “Happy Birthday” to her, she was all smiles. Awkward, yes. But did she love it? You bet she did.

Watching her that day was truly a joy. And it reminded me that birthday parties shouldn’t just be for kids. Everyone should have a special event or a lasting memory for their birthdays. Because at the end of the day, every birthday is truly a gift from God. We should cherish it. Be grateful for it. And enjoy it with the people we love.

A special thank you to Strasburg Railroad for making my Mom’s birthday SO special and allowing my two children, who have severe food allergies, to bring their own food on the train to enjoy their experience safely with the whole family.

P.S. Don’t miss out on the Railroad museum across the street after your train ride. Such a cool museum with tons of trains from all over to look at. There were crafts for kids, special book readings that day, and a room full of interactive LEGO and train models for the kids to play with.

***Military tip: If you’re active duty military, they will allow you and 3 guests to enter the museum free!***