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December 20, 2007 Trip |
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to Cumberland, Maryland |
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We finally did it.
We were able to get outside and enjoy a nice sunny winter day as a
family, with the exception of my 16 year old; who had a prior
engagement at a dance with his girlfriend this evening. Its
been a little while since we have been able to get out and do
things as a family on weekends now for a couple of months for
various reasons (weather, schedules, and just the holidays in
general). Well, like I said, we finally did it and it was
great.
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Its still winter time and we are finally
seeing some "real" winter weather for a change (or at least
with the temperatures) so we decided to take a drive to
Cumberland, Maryland. We chose Cumberland because we
could check out the Western Maryland Rail Road Station, which
also houses a C&O Canal Museum downstairs. While driving
on I-68 you also pass
Sidling Hill. |
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So many people pass by the
Sideling Hill visitor center with out ever stopping by.
What a shame. If you have any interest at all in Maryland
Geology and Maryland wildlife this place is an interesting place
to stop. They have 2 floors dedicated to both geological and
wildlife displays. Whether you have the kids or not its an
easy place to kill one hour, two hours, or maybe even more just
looking at the exhibits and doing a little reading and its well
worth it.
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We finally made
it to the
Western Maryland Railway Station about 1:30 in the
afternoon after our stop at Sideling Hill. This
railroad station is literally at the end of the 184.5 mile
long C&O canal originating in the
Georgetown section of Washington, DC. One of these
days I would love to take a canal boat ride down in
Georgetown, but that is a discussion for another day.
Again, another trip for another time is the Western Maryland
Railway offers several different
railway excursions. I keep telling myself, "One of
these days...". Well, we'll see. Again, this still
wasn't the purpose of our trip today. Today, our
intentions are just to spend time as a family and do a small
amount of poking around the RR station and the C&O museum
located beneath the RR station.
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Hey there was
no one around to advise us that "hands-on" wasn't allowed, so
the kids had a blast climbing on the train engine and the
caboose that were parked behind the station at the passenger
loading section. I think they will all this next week to
have a few stories to tell their classmates at school. I
am not sure if these pieces of equipment are still in use or
not since I am not a train expert, but they look to be in
pretty good shape! |
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Wow... Did I
mention the
C&O Canal Visitor Center below the Western Maryland Railroad
Station? Its my favorite visitor center dedicated to the
C&O. There are exhibits on a wide variety of topics related
to the C&O canal, from canal boat construction, the Allegheny coal
industry, the people who worked the canal, and how they lived.
If your into the canal or Maryland history at all this place is a
must see! All the exhibits are very kid interactive as well.
So while your reading and listening to interesting facts, the
little ones will have plenty to keep themselves occupied as well.
Someone really planned this out well! |
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Well the day
did have to come to a close some point in time. So we
wrapped up our trip with a short walk on the end of the C&O
Canal (mile 184.5). The picture to the left is from
standing on a bridge looking over the canal where it ends just
before I-68. Like I said at the top of this page, we are
now experiencing winter temperatures finally. So we
needed a little something to warm up. We found
Queen City Creamery not far away so we could get our
bellies warmed back up with some nice hot chocolate and
coffee... |
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I am really fond of
the C&O canal, the Potomac River (which goes through Cumberland),
and a little bit of the railroad history in Maryland.
However, there are many more things to do in Cumberland, and I am
looking forward to exploring this town in the future! |
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