Look at the view from right outside their house. The fogginess makes this place a little eerie. On the right side you can kind of make out a horse having his morning grass.
Liliana and I had breakfast at The Factory Restaurant with Daniel before he left for work. This was definitely too much food and I didn’t finish but I wanted to try everything. I’ve decided that although everything tasted fantastic, if I ever came back, I’d order the hashbrowns, eggs, and toast. Simple and delicious. Classic is always the best.
After breakfast, Liliana and I went to Wal-Mart to pick up some necessities and cash before heading to the Oil Creek & Titusville Railroad. Liliana had ordered First Class tickets for us which meant an air conditioned car.
Outside, there were some old cars that they used back in the day. It was so run down. Then they had a few cars that are hotels which I thought was a very cute idea.
We walked around the gift shop and got so much stuff! Their gift shop is mixed in with their museum. They had a scale that was over a hundred years old that still worked very well and tongs to move huge ice cubes to cool first class cars and little ice cubes for food.
We got to play on a 1926 Kirkman Piano made in Buffalo, New York. You play by peddling with your feet or take off that function and it works just like a regular piano. There were many songs to chose from. My favourite was Rhapsody in Blue – brings me back to high school when we played at Carnegie Hall.
A water for me that I chugged quickly and a Mountain Dew for Lily which she saved for the beginning of the ride. She entered in the Murder Mystery Raffle as well as a different Raffle that ends up having three winners.
Soon enough it was time to head onto the train. First class riders all received tickets for a free bottle of water and we were given books to look at old pictures and the history. The Drake well founded by Edwin L Drake was the the beginning of changing the whole world.
The train sold drinks, cheeseburgers, hamburgers, hot dogs, nachos, pretzels, and hot dogs as well as some gift shop items. We were too full so we didn’t end up getting anything to eat like we had planned to.
Once we were able to roam around the cars, we walked two cars down to the US Mail Railway Post Office where we wrote postcards to our loves and mailed them off. This was our favourite part of the whole ride and we had a lot of fun doing it.
This is the only railroad post office left in the United States and Mister McFeely from Mister Rogers used to travel to cancel mail for them. When I heard cancel, I was so confused until I researched and found out it meant that he made postal markings on the postage stamps to deface the stamps and prevent re-use before it was mailed out.
Soon enough we reached the halfway point where we would turn around. Our guide turned the chairs around so that we could face the right direction back. So much thought was put into this car. There was enough room to turn the chairs and even had foot rests where you could adjust the height. Also, if you wanted to face your friends if you’re in a group, you could do so by turning the chairs. This is such a sweet idea!
The halfway point was at Rynd Farm. We were excited because they said there would be ice cream there but Lily and I were a bit bummed it wasn’t the scoop kind back at the station. Instead it was just plain old packaged ice cream. Don’t be fooled!
There wasn’t much to look at here so we took pictures in front of our first class cabin. I showed a girl how I wanted the picture taken (top) and she cut off half the train. Oh well. Better than nothing!
John Heisman of the Heisman Trophy grew up in Titusville and you can still see his yellow childhood home from the ride which I thought was pretty neat!
During the ride there and back, we were able to get some cool shots at the back of the train and even saw some awesome scenic views. As I was making a hyperlaspe video, Lily tried to take a video as well and ended up getting tossed around from the bumpy trail. It was funny because I continued recording my video while reacting to what happened to her. We laughed non-stop but in all seriousness, I’m glad she’s okay.
The ride was very peaceful and calming. We seriously joked that next time she’d bring her sketch pad and I’d bring my Kindle. It was just that type of environment for that type of thing. Also, the weather was lovely and had a nice breeze even when the train wasn’t moving.
After two and a half hours later, we were back at the starting point. We bought some other things from the gift shop before we went and got scoopable ice cream. Mint Chocolate Chip for me and Moose Tracks for her.
As we ate, Lily called to see if there were any openings for reflexology. After walking back and forth non-stop on a moving train, our feet were tired.
They were able to get us in at Aella Salon and Spa. This place looks like a house. I’m certain it’s a house. It’s super cute and fancy looking and they do many different services. They took us to the second floor where we sat and waited for our turn. It was very peaceful up there and I sipped on cucumber water and nibbled on some lemon snaps as Lily went and got her massage.
When it was my turn I fell asleep. She put a heated neck pillow on me as well as a heated bed. If I didn’t take my pants off, I would have been very uncomfortable so I’m happy I did that. Although it was 30 minutes for $45, expensive, it was worth it. She told me she could feel the toughness in my feet which I asked what that meant. She said it meant I had back and shoulder pain. I walked out refreshed and she was totally right. My back and shoulder pain was mostly gone! This only means one thing, I need more reflexology massages.
We stopped by Tarot Bean Roasting for coffee and shared the quichlette. Everything was perfect. The lady was even baking feta cheese quichlettes while we were there so you know it’s fresh!
We walked and shopped a bit. They had deals everywhere and tomorrow Lily and I are coming back to Chateau Christine because she’s going to have up to 80% off in her store due to her expansion and needing to get old inventory out!
As we traveled back to the house, I fell in love with the road sign mural they had. This is just a small part of it. Although it was beautiful and everyone can see it, it’s not really in a good location where you can take pictures in front of it. This is very unique and I wish they sold some of their art in smaller pieces. I’d probably buy one for my future home depending on the design.
Back at the house, Daniel let the dogs out to greet us. Then he started on dinner. While he did that, we snacked on the appetizer and I shopped birthday presents on Amazon, worked a bit, and then started transferring pictures to edit for the blog.
He paired three different wines for each course. Everything married together wonderfully. I don’t think I’ve had such a good home cooked meal in a long time. I asked for the recipe for the lamb and his answer was “I just threw stuff together.” Who are you? Ugh. I volunteered to cook tomorrow, but it won’t be anything fancy as this.
We started Netflix’s Red Sea Diving Resort as I blogged and worked but a third into the movie, they decided to go to bed which left me watching Orange is the New Black while working and blogging. I didn’t mind since it meant laying in bed with the pups. It’s been a successful first day of sightseeing and I’m thankful that Liliana is taking the time out to do these things with me. Cannot wait for the rest of the trip!
