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Warning, if you don’t like trains, you won’t like this post.

If, however, you’re the kind of person who’s been collecting model trains since toddlerhood and/or you have an actual toddler at home who’s really into them, then read on.

I’m keeping it light on text this week so that I can share some photos from a visit to the NYC Transit Museum in Brooklyn.

We took a trip to the museum over the winter and I’ve been meaning to share these pictures but a few things got in the way – winter storms, a Caribbean getaway, a triumphant return to the lake house and other report worthy events that had me donning my CNN news anchor hat.

That being said, the transport museum is a hidden gem. It takes a little more effort to get there if you’re in Manhattan, but the upside that you get the place to yourself. On the day we visited, we only bumped into two other groups of visitors.

I will admit that I was a teensy bit worried that we’d run into Jack the Ripper in the museum catacombs and have nobody to rescue us. But the ability to relax in empty Mad Men-era subway cars was well worth it.

To get into the museum, you enter just as you would any old subway station.

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After a fascinating walk through a section that shares the subway’s history – photographs, tools, and plans, you end up by a set of old turnstiles. 

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Sam thought that getting to sit in the driver’s seat in a few of the old buses was better than Christmas.

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Other sights included a tiny streetcar replica.

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But the old subway cars were the main attraction.

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LaurenWonTheLottery!

Last week the kids had a half day at school, so we spent the afternoon checking out the MOMA. It’s always such a treat to visit because whenever I ask them where they’d like to go, the response is always “dinosaurs”. Sometimes I have to put my foot down.

But after our visit to the MOMA, we all agreed that it’s a pretty cool place. Even without the dinosaurs.

Here’s a quick snapshot of our day, starting with Lauren’s big win: $130 million! Thankfully that’ll cover her college tuition and part of Sam’s.

When we got to the MOMA, the kids wanted to check out the sculpture garden. Because it’s full of bums and bums are funny.

Bum

There were some other pretty amazing sculptures, including this 2-headed beastie. The kids screamed when they saw it, but quickly made friends with it. 

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Once inside, Lauren was on a mission to find a Modigliani. “You know Mom, the ones with the long necks.” We did find one of his paintings, but it wasn’t anything like the one she’d seen in school, which meant that it wasn’t interesting at all.

So I quickly diverted her attention to another piece. She wasn’t impressed.

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I tried one more. This one worked.

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