Free LA: Santa Susanna Train Museum

I decided I'm going to do a little ongoing series about fun and free LA activities. LA is an expensive place to live but there are some great things to do that don't cost anything. I've already mentioned a few of them. (Mostly I'm looking at you, Science Center.) I'm not sure how frequently I'll do these, but we'll see how it goes.

One of our recent free finds is the Santa Susanna Train Museum and adjacent park. It's not technically in LA, I guess, but right next door in Simi Valley. Since we live about 3 freeway exits away, it's definitely close enough for us. It's an old railroad station that was moved and turned into a small train museum and model train display. The museum only has a couple of rooms but you can blow a train whistle, play with a telegraph and teletype machine and see old train-related paraphernalia. And get a sticker, which is a big hit with the 4 year old crowd.

The highlight for us is definitely the very large model railroad exhibit which has a very active group of railroad enthusiasts (very enthused enthusiasts!) who take the model railroad extremely seriously. Apparently they occasionally have get togethers where they run the trains on a schedule and move freight around. The railroad is fashioned after the California coast, which is also kind of neat.
The museum is located right next to a fairly active railroad line, so in addition to seeing model trains, you can also see the real thing.

Last time we were there they even had free popcorn.
After checking out the model trains and museum, you can walk over to the park. It's not a huge park but is probably my favorite in LA. There is lots of shade, a good playground, lots of picnic tables and grassy areas. Plus bathrooms and waterfountains. The highlights for me, though, are these huge boulders you can climb on and around.  The playground is also right next to the train track, so you may get to see even more trains going by. I wish I had more photos of the cool boulders, but this was basically all I could find.There are also live oak trees in the park, which I love because they remind me of living in Charleston. It's beautiful.

On the drive home, there are several curvy canyon roads you can drive down for some other nice views of the city. If you're lucky, your kids will be so worn out from the trains and climbing that they'll fall asleep.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Giveaway

Image
I've been watching in amazement for a few days as the links over here keep growing and growing with people who are hosting giveaways. The last time around I didn't participate, but now that things are slightly more settled in my somewhat crazy but wonderful job I thought I'd make an offering. The softies I make don't quite compare to amazing things you might see here or here , but I still think they are pretty cute. All those who leave comments will be entered to win the homemade softie of their choice, either an owl : (You can pick the colors you'd like, from a list of colors I have.) Or a penguin : Who will come with sunglasses, goggles, and a winter hat. (Because every good penguin should be prepared.) You can also pick (from a limited list) colors for the penguin's hat and glasses. I'll hold the drawing on Monday, since I'll be on call on Sunday, and the post the winner on Tuesday. Feel free to leave in your comment any favorite crafty blogs - ...
Read more

I am an awesome mom.

I won a new prize in the awesome mom category today. I have for some time been adding up points for all the ways that I am a good mom. Cut his tiny hand on his fourth day of life when I was cutting off the hospital band: check (He still has the scar!) Found rocks from our fireplace in his mouth: check Set down a knife on the table within his reach: check Turned around and found him holding said knife: double check Found leaves in his mouth: check, check and check Found him holding my razor, which I set down on the tub while he was in the bathroom: check Today, though, I set a new record. I locked Judah in the car. With all the windows up. See? Awesome mom, right here. It was a total fluke thing where I was tossing the keys onto the front seat as I was getting out and about to get Judah out. As I closed my door, the keys fell off the seat and into the shutting door, which closed on the lock button on our remote. And just like that, in a split second, Judah was locked in. ...
Read more

Final Picture Catch-up.

Image
First, about 8 weeks ago, we saw this.... Then this: A little bit later there was this: And this: And Last week it was this: I'm now 13 weeks along, due in late March. We feel incredibly blessed, and of course, are very, very excited. (Working at a doctor's office and knowing how to do ultrasounds definitely comes in handy when you want to see your baby... And yes, I have been doing my own ultrasounds. It's a bit awkward, but I'm getting better.)
Read more