Scattered Thoughts . . .

Saturday morning, we went to breakfast at Cracker Barrel and then made our way over to the train show.  Breakfast was delicious!  If we had a Cracker Barrel nearby in Vermont, I'm sure I would gain twenty pounds due to all the 1950's-style breakfasts we would add to our life!  Naturally, I had to order the sampler plate for breakfast so I could get a taste of everything again.  It was delicious, as always...  especially those fried apples! We sneaked in to the show from the backside which allowed us to avoid virtually all of the traffic jams of cars trying to get into the show.  We found this route from the backside of town by accident one year (the one time getting lost turned out to be a positive thing) and it turned out to be a very happy accident. So now, every year we sneak in from the back side and by-pass the long line of cars waiting to get into the Big E.  We typically arrive before the doors open but we planned it well this year so there was no waiting out in the

Making our way to the door of the Big E for the train show... This past weekend we attended the Amherst Railway Society's 2016 Train Show... and, as always, it was a great weekend! I love model railroading but this weekend is about two things... Obviously, first and foremost, it's about model railroading but it is also a big social event. We've been attending this show long enough that we've established some 'tradition' for this busy weekend. We all arrive the day before the show begins, congregating in the hotel's lounge for dinner and drinks. We attend the show on Saturday the moment the gates open, spend the day perusing all the show has to offer and looking for good deals on trains, and then we all go to dinner at a German Festhaus. Relatively speaking, Sunday has become a rather peaceful day of meandering around the 8 acres of model railroading show. This year, Sheila and I arrived in Springfield Friday morning and spent the afternoon shopp