This time last year we had only one boy enrolled for our two domestic trips. Fast forward a year and we're up to the 85% full point...and that is exciting. We still have room, but only limited space on the Wyoming & Montana trip (maybe two openings). At this moment we have plenty of space on the West Virginia-Tennessee adventure.

I'm in the process of sending our printed material to folks on the mailing list and hope to get our fall online newsletter out within the next two weeks. But being a one-person shop (during this time of year), it's a slow process. But you don't have to wait. 

Click to see the printed flyer that's going out.

And click this clink to see just some of the reasons why you might love a trip with MTA.

Of course, you don't have to read anything to sign up. Well, other than the application. Click here to access the online application to get a head start on your 2016 summer adventures.

It was another long day today....they all will be this way and it's the way we like them. Right now everyone's asleep except for me. 

Click to see the photos from the trip starting with the most recently posted batch.

Our day started with a ride up a scenic two-lane road about 90 minutes to Cass, West Virginia. Along the way we saw lots of deer, a snapping turtle, and a fox. Or at least some of us saw all of those. Our resident bird experts Nick Browne and Doug Williams also pointed out several birds along the way.

We boarded the train at Cass and took the ride up to Whittaker station where the boys were able to get off and explore the train stop for about 45 minutes. The fireman for the train (actually a lady) invited boys to climb up into the cab of the 90 year-old-steam locomotive so she could explain her job and how the train worked.

There were great views of the mountains and the forests as the train went up and down the mountain. Back at the Cass Railroad station the boys shopped for souvenirs and then we ended with lunch at the Last Stop Diner at the station.

We returned to our base motel in Lewisburg and most boys went swimming. Dinner was at Ruby Tuesday's which is within walking distance of our motel. We had planned to go bowling tonight but found out the bowling alley closes early on Sunday so we'll try again later in the week.

We ended the evening with a couple of team-building games in a local park. The boys were able to solve the "problems" after a lot of trial and error. 

I'm happy to report that some boys know the names of all the boys on the trip and others are getting close.

Click to see our photos from the trip.

A short video of our train rounding the curve before reaching the Whittaker Station.

This time tomorrow we'll be settled into our rooms in Lewisburg, West Virginia with a bunch of excited campers.  And for the next several days we'll be hiking, biking, tubing, geocaching, gemstone mining, taking a train ride, and  a whole lot more.




We hope you'll return to this page often to follow us so you can read about some of our happenings and see the photos. 

It has been a busy few weeks as the pieces start falling into place for our two upcoming summer trips. 

It's been over a decade since we last visited West Virginia and I had no clue if I would find enough boys to make this trip certain. All of our recent trips have been to relatively far-away places so didn't know if kids would want to do some exploring closer to home. Happy to report we have a packed trip with 20 boys and five adults all raring to go. I've been making reservations for some really great activities like the Cass Scenic Railroad, Lost World Caverns, a bike ride on the Greenbrier River Trail, and more. I'm especially excited about getting a chance to tour "the Bunker" at The Greenbrier Resort. This was a Cold War era "secret" for over 30 years until it was exposed by a reporter and had to be declassified. This bunker was built to house hundreds of top-level government employees like the president and congress in case of war. 

And even though our Europe trip is mostly a "plan it as we travel" experience with boys deciding where to go, what to see, how long to stay...I have made reservations for our first two nights hotel stay in Bruges, Belgium and our last three nights hotel stay in Munich, Germany. The rest of the trip is completely up to the boys. Bruges is about a 75 minutes train ride from Brussels and is a UNESCO World Heritage Cultural City and I'm really looking forward to starting our trip there.

Stay tuned to this blog this summer for photos and reports about both trips.

We're getting super pumped for our one-week trip to the West Virginia mountains this June. One of our activities will be riding the historic tracks of the Cass Scenic Railroad. Check out this short video. Click to read more about our 2013 adventures.