Homeschool Discoveries

I have been eagerly anticipating our outing to ride the Como-Harriet Streetcar for months.  I’ve wanted to do this for years, really, but I kept forgetting about it during the right time of year.   Back in January I read the book, “Twin Cities by Trolley: The Streetcar Era in Minneapolis and St. Paul.”  I loved reading about this bygone era in transportation in our city, and firmly planted in my mind the desire to go ride this historic streetcar.

We all enjoyed this fun and inexpensive family outing.  It was the perfect “after dinner” fun outing since it is less than 15 minutes from our house, and the ride is a short one (only about 15 minutes).  But the ride and the time looking around the platform and small gift shop were perfect for short attention spans.  🙂

I’m fascinated by this form of transportation that once criss-crossed our city and was completely torn out in the 1950s.  Buses were all the rage then and much less expensive to operate and maintain.  Now fast-forward fifty years and a different type of passenger rail service is making a comeback — a second “light rail” line is being installed in the Twin Cities to join the already-popular Hiawatha Line that made it’s debut several years ago.   I can’t help but wonder how transportation in our city might have looked different today if the streetcars had been improved instead of torn out…wishful thinking, I’m sure!

Visit Blogging through the Alphabet @ Ben and Me to see what other bloggers are writing about for the S (link coming on Thursday).