When you think of Pennsylvania Dutch country, it may well be horse-drawn buggies that first leap to mind rather than trains. But it is in fact a great place to visit if you’re a train buff. You can ride in a train pulled by a steam engine at the Strasburg Railroad, learn how that steam engine works (and climb inside one that’s stationary) at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and visit the National Toy Train Museum if the real ones don’t do it for you.

Tommy has always loved trains, and since these attractions are all less than an hour from where we live, we’ve taken various opportunities over the years to visit some of them. But one that we had overlooked until now was the Choo Choo Barn in Strasburg, Pennsylvania. And let me tell you, you don’t have to love trains to enjoy a visit there.

Why is it fun to see little tiny replicas of real things? Got me. But since my childhood obsession with dollhouses, I’ve always loved to look at life in miniature. And this 1700-square-foot display offers a huge number of different tableaux, many of them animated. Anyone who likes to see teeny versions of real-life stuff (and I’m pretty sure that’s everyone) will enjoy a visit here.

I knew it was going to be a hit with Tommy when we walked in and immediately saw a baseball game with tiny players running the bases and a ski mountain with a working lift.

And to please my animal lover, there is both a zoo (the hippo’s mouth opens and shuts and the giraffes nod their heads)

and a circus.

Travel-With-Kids-Tip: Some of the display is a bit high off the ground. Teddy spent a good part of the time on Matt’s shoulders so that he could see. We did notice that some people carried step stools with them, but they weren’t prominently advertised at the front desk, so you need to ask if you think you want one.

There’s also lots of fascinating “real-life” stuff like construction sites with moving bulldozers, a car accident, complete with backed-up traffic,

And a house on fire being busily tended to by a crew of firefighters (the picture doesn’t show it, but there are actual glowing flames).

And of course there are also trains chugging around continuously, passenger cars that you can see in, freight trains marked “Pennsylvania Railroad” and “B&O” and even some that are pulled by engines who will be familiar to all Thomas the Tank Engine fans.

Travel-With-Kids-Tip: To keep younger family members occupied while you look at the display, you might make up your own scavenger hunt or play “I Spy.” It can be hard for young children to pick out small details and this will help keep them focused.

Every five minutes or so, the room goes dark as day turns into night and the entire miniature landscape is illuminated. Lights come on in the houses, the baseball field is illuminated, and this fountain shimmers with rainbow hues:

The layout is definitely set in Pennsylvania and includes local landmarks like Dutch Wonderland, a famous Lancaster amusement park,

And the windmill-shaped Dutch Haven Restaurant.

Travel-With-Kids-Tip: We didn’t eat there this weekend, but on previous trips to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania have enjoyed lunch at Isaac’s, which is in the same shopping center as the Choo Choo Barn. They have a great kid’s menu (and whatever the New York Times says, I do like those sometimes) and I highly recommend any of their sandwiches served on pretzel rolls.

There are also several Amish farms, and the animation that may be my absolute favorite: A barn raising, complete with tiny hammers moving up and down.

Travel-With-Kids-Tip: To keep the display clean and in working order, the Barn closes for cleaning from the beginning of January to the beginning of March; plan accordingly.

But to my mind the absolutely best thing about this display is the down-home, roadside attraction feel. The original layout was started by George Groff, a returning World War II veteran who bought an electric train set to share with his son. It expanded over time and in the early 1960s, when George needed money to send his kids to college, he started charging admission to see it. It’s now owned and run by his youngest son, Tom Groff, who is dedicated to the layout, spending months every year sprucing it up and adding to it.

There’s nothing slick about the Choo Choo Barn. It’s amazing and intricate but doesn’t feel commercial. You can tell that the whole thing started because someone just really liked to play with trains. Lucky for us, he generously decided to share that delight with the rest of the world.

We were invited to visit the Choo Choo Barn and given free admission. But I’ve not doubt we’ll be back as paying customers to show it off to visiting friends and family. It’s pretty cool.

It has hit me recently that I’m about to leave one important phase of my life and enter another. In two short weeks, Teddy will be finishing up his preschool year. Next fall he will be starting full-day kindergarten at the same school Tommy attends. That’s right: The two of them will get on the bus at the same time in the morning and will be gone until close to 4 p.m. five days a week. (Cue gleeful dance.)

Obviously having two school-age children is a game changer when it comes to family travel, especially on the daytrip side. From now on our outings will be confined to weekends and holidays. We won’t be able to take advantage of preschool programs at museums or the midweek lack of crowds. The spontaneity I’ve enjoyed for the last eight years will have to be replaced with some more careful planning. Despite my joy at the prospect of uninterrupted hours to do things like complete Teddy’s baby book and finally get all the photos on my blog updated, I’d be lying if I didn’t say this made me a little sad.

But before any of us start to mourn, there’s some happy news thanks to a three-week gap between the end of school and the start of any summer activities. I plan to take full advantage of those precious 21 days (some of which Tommy will have off too) to go on a daytrip frenzy. Beaches! Museums! Hikes! Farmers Markets! I’m hoping to have enough daytrip fun to carry us through that adjustment period in the fall when Teddy will have to put on a uniform and a backpack every day.

And since I don’t want to be the only one enjoying all this daytrip fun I want to share an awesome MidAtlantic contest that’s especially great for any and all of you with little ones (or big ones) who like trains. You may not be aware, but Strasburg, Pennsylvania is a great place to visit to get your train on – it’s the home of the Strasburg Railroad, the Choo Choo Barn, the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania, and the National Toy Train Museum. Between these four attractions, you can look at trains, ride trains, play with trains…you get the idea. And through May 31 you can win a chance to visit all four, simply by sharing why you’d like to visit. Strasburg is an easy drive from Delaware, Philadelphia, or Baltimore, and makes a great day trip.

So there you have it: Lots of MidAtlantic posts to look forward to, and a chance to win your own daytrip adventure. Bodacious dude!

(Oh, and please do tell me in the comments if there’s any place you’re especially interested in seeing a post about – I’m open to just about anything that’s a reasonable distance from northern Delaware.)

Speaking of free stuff, contests, and family travel, I wanted to let you know about a great sweepstakes that’s going on courtesy of the San Antonio Vacation Experience (SAVE). There are 12 chances to win weekend packages to stay in San Antonio and visit local attractions. I’ll be giving mine away next week (details to come soon!) but wanted to let you know that the two latest giveaways are hosted at NYCity Mama and TravelingMom. A list of all contest partners and offers can be found here.

Visiting the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art made me a fan of seeing original versions of pictures from famous books. Like meeting a movie star in person, there’s something thrilling about encountering a much-beloved picture out of its normal context, larger and more vibrant. Unnoticed details become apparent. Curated exhibits also offer the chance to see an artist’s process through sketches, notes, and examples that didn’t make it into the final version.

Dinotopia: The Fantastical Art of James Gurney now on exhibit at the Delaware Art Museum in Wilmington is a great chance not only to see some magical paintings, but to learn what goes into the making of this gorgeous collection of children’s books. The premise of the stories is that a Victorian explorer and his son are shipwrecked on an island where humans and dinosaurs live together as equals. The books are narrated by the explorer and include his illustrations and observations about the animals.

On display in this exhibit are numerous paintings from a variety of different books in the series as well as some of the models Gurney used in creating them – his process involves actually sculpting or building three-dimensional versions of the fantastical buildings he then paints for his books. He also takes photos of his friends and neighbors and uses them as models for the citizens of his magical land. The result is fascinating – a fully realized alternate reality where carts are pulled by pachycephalosauruses and where a boy’s best friend might be a triceratops.

Viewing these paintings wasn’t the only pleasure for our family; it was also in discovering an entirely new series of books. I can’t quite believe that these weren’t in our library before (trust me, we immediately rectified that situation in the museum’s gift shop).

Of course, this exhibit isn’t all there is to see here. I owe this gem of a museum a full post and promise to deliver later this spring. From the phenomenal collection of Pre-Raphaelite art with accompanying children’s activities to the Kids’ Corner where children can interact with art in a variety of ways (including touching it) there is something here for children of all ages.

The Dinotopia exhibit runs through May 16, 2010. Visit the website for museum hours and also to see the workshops for kids and adults, including one with James Gurney himself.

Image of The Excursion, from Dinotopia: The World Beneath. James Gurney (born 1958). Oil on board mounted to plywood, 28 x 42 inches. Collection of the artist. © 1995 James Gurney. All rights reserved. Used with permission of The Delaware Art Museum.

I’ll admit that this Monday morning I’m singularly uninspired. I just returned from a week in Vermont where I was helping out my father after surgery. Teddy and Matt both have the stomach flu. And I’m supposed to bring soup for the teacher’s lunch at preschool (thankfully I’ve got it all made).

This is one of those moments when my imagination escapes me and although I’d love for my situation to be different, it’s hard for me to think about being anywhere else. But the weather is improving, the yard is visible after weeks of snow, and there are crocuses poking their heads above the ground in my front flower bed. All this has me dreaming of spring in the Brandywine Valley. I’ve got lots of plans for some lovely outings in northern Delaware and southeastern Pennsylvania the upcoming months, including one to Winterthur where the photo above was taken.

I hope your Monday is a little less full of illness than mine! Please feel free to share a link to your own inspiration below, making sure you link directly to your post, not your site’s homepage and that you link back to this post. Questions? See About Monday Dreaming.

People who live in Delaware tend to be a little sensitive about the size of their state. It’s understandable: it is small and not everyone realizes its significance – or even statehood for that matter (I’ve had people ask me if Delaware is a town in New Jersey). Things have improved a bit now that Joe Biden is working in the White House, but I have a feeling that many of us could still justify sporting our “Dela-where?” t-shirts. For a lot of people the word Delaware conjures up nothing more than 12 miles of I-95 with a toll at either end.

This post isn’t meant to extol Delaware’s virtues as a tourist destination generally (although it does have them and that might have to be a subject of a future post), but rather to let those of you who are cruising through on your way to other places that there happens to be a great urban nature preserve that’s just minutes from the bustling highway that you think is the state’s only reason for existing. It’s an ideal spot to stretch your legs, let your kids run around, and maybe see some foxes, hawks, or even a bald eagle.

The Russell W. Petersen Urban Wildlife Refuge is 212 acres of protected urban wetland along the Christina River just outside downtown Wilmington. It is named after an environmentalist and former governor of Delaware who helped realize the Coastal Zone Act of 1972, which protected Delaware’s inland bays and waterways by banning heavy industry along them. Last fall, the DuPont Environmental Education Center opened in the refuge. Owned by a private development corporation, it is staffed and run by the Delaware Nature Society, a premier environmental and educational organization in the state of which I am a proud member.

During the first week of February, I took advantage of a lull between storms that left a total of three feet of snow over much of Northern Delaware (and had the kids out of school for an entire week) to pay a visit.

The place is a fascinating intersection of the industrial and the natural. Freight trains thunder over a sculptural bridge that spans the river.

To the north, the banks and churches of Wilmington stretch skyward. Not too far in the distance traffic hums by, the murmur of cars and trucks punctuated by the cries of Canada geese landing in the marsh.

On the day we were there, fox footprints dotted the snow.

A small botanical garden, which is beautifully landscaped and in warmer weather has series of stone-line paths and waterfalls, is a delightful place to play. Tommy and Teddy made do in the snow, playing on the artful sculptures designed to look like fallen trees and overseen by a metal owl.

We also admired the statue of Governor Petersen, who presides over all holding his binoculars (as a former president of the National Audubon Society should) and wished we had shovels to clear the snow from the paths.

Inside the education center you can get information on what types of wildlife have been spotted recently.

There are also several interactive exhibits. One shows a map of the marsh. Push different buttons and you can see the various flora and fauna that inhabit the place and where they have been sighted. Another exhibit offers the chance to learn about the human history of the marsh, from the very first people who inhabited it through the present day. Particularly interesting were the photos from just a few years ago showing the veritable junkyard that lined the river. It’s always amazing how quickly nature can reclaim even the most blighted areas.

The snow kept off us off the boardwalk that normally serves as a viewing spot for all kinds of wildlife. But we did get to see it from the lovely third floor room, which has windows all around and a balcony. The building still smells of the Western Red Cedar used to build it and is so bright and open to the environs that it’s almost like being outdoors.

This is a four-season kind of place – small enough that it will be great to bring the boys back so that they can compare the snow-covered landscape with the pale greens of early spring and the tall grass of summer. We’ll want to come back with binoculars at a time when we can cover every inch of the boardwalk, peering into the water to spy tadpoles, frogs, dragonflies, and maybe even a snapping turtle.

The Petersen Wildlife Refuge and DuPont Environmental Education Center are worth a visit if you live in the area. But I also recommend them as a pit stop for anyone who is trekking up or down I-95 en route to Philadelphia or Washington D.C. The area would make a lovely spot for picnic or just a place to stretch your legs. A walking path links the center with the Wilmington riverfront, leading all the way over to the train station (the one that Joe Biden so famously traveled to Washington from every day while he was in the Senate). Should you choose to walk it there are a variety of restaurants and lots of interesting industrial remnants to admire like gantry trains painted in a variety of primary colors.

But my favorite part of the whole place may be the bridge that stretches up to the education center. It’s a great place to admire the view or run headlong into the river wind.

The Petersen Refuge is easily accessible from Interstate 95 (don’t take the 495 bypass around Wilmington). The outside area is open daily from dawn to dusk; building hours are available on the website. The Delaware Nature Society offers a variety of different educational programs at the center, including day programs and summer camps.

Living in northern Delaware, I’m very lucky to have my pick of wonderful museums all within an easy hour’s drive of my house. There is a wealth of art, history, and horticulture to be found – and that doesn’t even include all that Philadelphia has to offer. It’s hard for me to choose which one I love the best, but a long-time favorite has to be the Brandywine River Museum in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

Housed in a gorgeously restored grist mill, the museum showcases art by generations of the Wyeth family, who live and work in the area, as well as landscape art and American illustration. It’s a great art museum for kids because it is small and intimate and much of the work is accessible even for the very youngest children (Tommy was fascinated by the paintings there when he was four months old). The boys always enjoy the swashbuckling N.C. Wyeth paintings of pirates and patriots, which served as illustrations for editions of Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and other classic stories. And I love the more austere and contemplative work of his son Andrew, whose paintings showcase the fields, barns, and streams of the Pennsylvania countryside.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: The museum is run by a nature conservancy that works to preserve what remains of the open space around it, a rolling landscape that is one of the prettiest you’ll find anywhere in the United States. If your child tires of the art indoors, go outside for a stroll on one of the walking trails along the nearby river and meadows.

The museum is especially fun to visit at the holidays, when a huge model train exhibit takes over one entire room. Five trains run simultaneously on nearly 2000 feet of track, making for a large and intricate display that will fascinate even children who aren’t crazy for trains. Last year the layout included numerous towns and villages, waterfalls, a switching yard, Santa Claus, and a tiny drive-in movie, which was showing Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: The train display is popular and can get very crowded, especially during the week before Christmas. It’s best to arrive right when the museum opens at 9:30 a.m. Or, you might wait until after New Years – the trains will be on display until January 11. Kids under 6 can visit for free.

There’s so much to see in the train display that we usually spend close to an hour peering at it in the dim light. Eventually we manage to coax the boys away away to see the other big holiday attraction, the display of “critter” ornaments hung on Christmas trees of various sizes. I love these adorable creations made by volunteers using only natural materials and glue. Especially wonderful is the care and detail that goes into each of the thousands of little figures: Angels, owls, peacocks, reindeer, and even to our especial delight, little chicks. Every single one has its own personality, and each is made with materials harvested in a sustainable way – seeds shaken out and sowed in the ground where they are found, dried leaves carefully clipped, and any leftovers saved for later use.

Last year a choir from one of the local schools began to sing while Teddy and I looked at the ornaments on the trees in the main lobby. Someone played the piano, “Hark the Herald Angels” filled the sunny space, and the air glowed with anticipation and good will. It was a perfect holiday moment.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: If you’re looking for last-minute holiday gifts, the shop here is surprisingly big given the museum’s relatively small size. They have a particularly good selection of books about art for kids. You can also buy “critter” ornaments.

We are planning to brave the crowd and visit the museum next week on the morning of December 23^rd. It’s sure to be a wonderful beginning to our winter holiday. New to us will be the exhibit of illustrations from various editions of Alice in Wonderland as well as the display of antique dolls. Charming as these may be, I expect most of our time will be spent watching the trains whoosh magically past.

The Brandywine River Museum is located on Route 1 in Chadds Ford, PA and is open every day but Christmas at 9:30 a.m. Normally they close at 4:30, but from December 26 to 30th, they will be open until 6 p.m.

There was a time in my life when trains, specifically Thomas trains, were more than just a mode of transportation. They were members of our family. We told stories about them, built tracks and houses for them, watched the videos and sang the songs they contained (the first song Tommy knew by heart was a little ditty called “Down by the Docks” from a story about Cranky the Crane – I could only hope when he sang it in public that people didn’t think we actually hung out dockside).

So it was with great anticipation in 2004 that Matt and I brought Tommy to the Strasburg Raiload near Lancaster, Pennsylvania for Day Out With Thomas, a traveling event that gives children the chance to see a “real live” Thomas and to ride a train pulled by him. I’m not sure who was most thrilled when Thomas pulled into the station, steam blowing into the blue September sky.

Of course, once you’re on the train, you don’t see Thomas anymore. You do get to sit on velvet seats in a gorgeously restored car and ride for about ten minutes out into the middle of a corn field that (if you’re lucky) is being plowed by an Amish farmer and his pair of brown horses. The experience is probably fairly authentic to the stories except that Thomas doesn’t run into a ditch and require Terence the Tractor or one of the other characters to rescue him.

Was it crowded the day we saw Thomas? I think it’s possible that every toddler from New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania may have been in attendance. But the Strasburg Railroad does a good job. They time the rides so you know when you’ll be getting on. And they offer activities other than the train ride; we were never bored or overwhelmed. There’s a minature steam train to ride on, art and craft activities, and model trains to play with and watch. Oh, and you’ll have the opportunity to buy one or two piece of merchandise of course. Just try resisting. I double-dog dare ya.

Thomas is going to be back in Strasburg from June 12 to 20, 2010 (visit the Strasburg Railroad website for information about purchasing tickets).

Although Tommy is really too big for Thomas and Teddy really isn’t that interested in him, I bet if I suggested that we go to Day Out With Thomas they would jump at the opportunity and actually, so would I. Because there’s just something magical about trains. Today, for example, they’ve taken me on a ride through time back to when Tommy had chick-fuzz hair and chubby legs.

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. Please visit there to see many other terrific travel photos.

When you travel with a toddler for 13 months as I did, you come to rely heavily on independent toy stores. Why? Well, the exigencies of a long road trip mean that your toy and book selection are limited. And sometimes it rains – for days. A great toy store offers a fun and stimulating refuge, new things to look at and sample, and, God willing, a train table. Plus you have the chance to pick up a few portable items (who could resist those blocks in their own adorable carrying case?) offering a half-hour of peace that is well worth shipping yet another box on your way to the next destination. By the time we’d been traveling for a few months, I’d become an expert at sniffing out the best toy stores in a 15-mile radius and would often locate them before I figured out where to buy groceries.

All this is just to illustrate that I know from toy stores and so it is with some authority, just in time for the holidays, that I declare the world’s best toy store to be Toy Magic in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Magic is an apt word to describe this store. Although the space it inhabits is small, I’ve never seen such a large and varied stock, all of it carefully curated. There are of course all the old favorites, the Legos, the Thomas trains, the make-your-own jewelry kits, the dolls, the board games. And they offer every single toy made by Playmobil – and I mean it, every single one. (I could offer an entire discourse on why these toys are wonderful for parents and kids who like to travel; I won’t but will point out that if you’re planning on visiting Rome any time soon, you can prepare your child with a kid-size replica of the Coliseum complete with gladiators and lions.)

But what I really loved about the store was Brian Fais, who with his wife has run Toy Magic in Bethlehem for the past 11 years. For one thing, he referred to Tommy as a “lad,” a word I’ve never heard anyone use outside a book. And he knew ever piece of stock in that very full store and was able to talk knowledgeably about all of it. While the boys explored and played he spent a half an hour showing us numerous building toys that are perfect for Tommy. He talked about the educational and developmental benefits of each and also seemed to know just which toys had the most play value – the ones that kids would return to over and over again.

Since Matt and I like to support local businesses when we travel, and since we’d gotten such expert advice, we made the decision on the spot to do the bulk of our Christmas shopping for the boys there even though it was only the beginning of October. I’m still not sure exactly how we managed to shove all those toys into the trunk of the car around our suitcase without the kids noticing but such is the (one) advantage of driving a sedan. And of having relatively young kids.

We stayed for two days in Bethlehem, and I am hoping to get back soon, since we didn’t actually spend that much time in the charming downtown area. There are lots of things I’d like to explore including the Colonial Industrial Quarter, the Moravian Museum, and the Delaware & Lehigh Trail. And since it is the “Christmas City,” there are numerous holiday events including holiday walking tours led by costumed guides, a live Advent Calendar, Luminaria Night, and a First Night celebration. Matt’s birthday is December 30^th, and I’m thinking that we may celebrate by attending Peeps® Fest. I’d really like to see what kind of art can be created using marshmallow candy.

If you’re considering a visit to the Lehigh Valley, you might want to read my post about the National Canal Museum, which is an easy drive from Bethlehem. And for more information on holiday events, see ChristmasCity.org. And if you do visit, Toy Magic is located at 565 Main Street, right next door to the Bethlehem Brew Works where you can buy a delicious and affordable meal. Or shop at their online store.

I started a new feature last week called MidAtlantic Wednesdays, where I will share new or updated posts about things to do and see with kids in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey. If there’s an activity or museum that you’d like to see featured, please don’t hesitate to drop me a line and let me know!

This post was formerly published in June, 2009; I offer here an expanded and updated version with photos from a recent visit.

Winterthur, in Wilmington, Delaware, is the former estate of Henry Francis du Pont, collector extraordinaire. The house contains one of the biggest assemblages of American decorative arts in the world (they currently have over 85,000 objects). And the gardens are considered by many people to be the best example of a naturalistic garden in the United States.

Of course, many people with kids might look at this and say to themselves “clearly not for us!” But let me assure you – I’ve been going to Winterthur with my children since they were very small, and we’ve always had a wonderful time. As such, I consider it a bit of a hidden gem for families.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: You can pay for just admission to the gardens or to see the gardens and the house. Plan to spend at least a few hours, even if you only explore the garden.

There are a number of things you can do at Winterthur with young kids. If your kids are like mine, no matter what time of year you visit, you’ll head first for the Enchanted Garden, where you will find, among many other delights:

A serpentine path – with an actual serpent embedded in the brick, and a labyrinth to follow until you are dizzy;

Magical bridges (we had to check under all of them to make sure there weren’t trolls there), a little fairy village with several houses – including one shaped like a mushroom;

nooks and crannies designed as perfect places to sip a cup of magic tea;

fountains of various varieties and a working pump to explore;

a huge bird’s nest complete with giant eggs;

and a fairy ring.

One thing I especially love about the Enchanted Garden is the care and thought that go into its decoration. In spring, the Maypole wears a garland of flowers. During the fall, pumpkins and gourds (even of the smallest variety) decorate the houses and hearths.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: You’ll find bathrooms on the far side of the Enchanted Garden as well as by the Reflecting Pool. But you might also want to have your children go at the Visitor Center when you arrive and purchase you tickets.

The rest of the garden feels a little enchanted as well. There are numerous paths and hidey-holes, just the kind that childhood dreams are made of. On an early spring day there are flowering trees and fragrance everywhere. In the fall the soft pinks and whites become oranges and reds and the Quarry Garden is a delicious place to climb rocks and crunch leaves.

On a lovely autumn day, we especially enjoyed the gorgeous vista at the edge of the garden, which apparently was also a favorite with Mr. du Pont himself.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: The tram, which stops at various points around the garden, can be fun to hop on or off if your child gets tired. But some of the guides tend to ramble on about the flora and fauna so you may find that it’s easier (and quicker) just to hoof it.

The garden is also famous for azaleas, magnolias, and peonies in the spring; check out the Garden Blog to see what’s in bloom when and plan your trip accordingly.

Closer to the house you can explore the area around the reflecting pool where there is a lovely little glade with a pond where we’ve seen frogs and snakes warming themselves in the sun. There are also gold, orange, silver, and yellow koi; Teddy spent almost a half an hour looking and trying to choose his favorite.

Travel-With-Kids Tip: There is a cafeteria at Winterthur, and you’ll probably find things there that your child likes. But if you prefer to bring your lunch, you can eat it indoors or out at the Picnic House. Or, if you want to go off the estate for lunch, skip the nearby restaurants (which are either not that great, pricey, not appropriate for kids, or all three) and head up Route 52 to Janssen’s Market, a local institution. This supermarket sells a great selection of prepared foods (from hot dogs to sushi), has a fantastic salad bar, and has the best cheese counter around. They also have a seating area, so you can buy and eat lunch right there.

Make your way from the pool into the lobby at the edge of the house and you will find a small snack bar (good for a cookie but not much else) and a gallery space with  that has much to offer young visitors. Through the end of January, 2010, “Faces of  New Nation” shows a fascinating series of portraits, many of children,  from the late 18th and early 19th century. My children loved seeing how kids dressed “in the old days” and Tommy was thrilled to see the paintings of George Washington.

But by far the most attractive exhibit to my children was “K is for Kids” an alphabet-themed display of objects from Winterthur’s collection with an explanation of how they were used by children during the  past. The objects themselves are beautiful and appealing, and each is accompanied by a charming rhyme.

The activity book that accompanies the exhibit has an alphabetical scavenger hunt that the boys did together (along the lines of the I Spy books only better of course, since the kids get to see real objects).

It also encourages the kids to “Be the Curator” and draw their own pictures. Tommy completed a lovely pen-and-ink portrait of Teddy, who posed very obligingly.

All that’s really left to see is the house itself. Tours are themed and take about an hour; you see portions of the collection in small groups with a guide. They are detailed and focus on the history of the objects; most young kids probably would lose interest fairly quickly. So if you can, take multiple grownups and tag-team. Because believe me, the collection is worth a visit.

If you really want the kids to see the collection, there is a themed tour of the house that’s just for families called “Once Upon a Family.” And if you happen to be around between the third week of November and the first week of January, you might actually brave a tour of the house with your child. It is decorated in high style and Christmas trees abound.

You could easily make a day trip to Winterthur if you are staying anywhere in the Philadelphia area. Nearby, and not to be missed either, are the Hagley Museum and Longwood Gardens. Remember that Winterthur is closed most Mondays (although not during the holiday season). Please note that the museum and gardens will also be closed during February and part of March 2010.

One the more magical places to visit at any time of the year is the garden at Winterthur in Wilmington, Delaware. I thought I’d share a few pictures of a new attraction in the Enchanted Garden.

This may look to the casual observer like a stripped tree trunk, perhaps a piece of garden sculpture, but step a little closer and you’ll find magic in the nooks and crannies. Open one door, and you’ll see yourself staring back.

Or peer in a window to see a cozy fairy den, all laid out for some tea on a chilly autumn afternoon. The little striped pumpkin is the perfect finishing touch, don’t you think?

For Photo Friday at Delicious Baby. Please visit there to see many other terrific travel photos.