Field Day of the Past-- Nathaniel Style!

My husband Sean and I took our 3 1/2 year old Nathaniel to Field Day yesterday. Our 8 year old, Zachary was in school so he couldn't go. Nathaniel is a "Vehicle" nut. He is crazy for cars, trucks, machinery and tractors. He doesn't just like the idea of a car....he wants to see the Engine! His idea of a fun day is to go to work with Sean at the Napa Machine Shop and turn the wheel on the crank grinder for a couple of hours.

Field Day of the Past was made for Nathaniel! We were driving down the road and all of a sudden you could see the Ferris Wheel and the cars, fire trucks and antique trucks lined up and Nathaniel said "I want to Go THERE!"

He was over the moon to see Richard Petty's orginial race car, antique Mack Trucks, Farmall Tractors. We spent the first hour walking through the car show with Nathaniel saying "I want one of those" at every vehicle. Sean agreed with him that he too, wanted one of each vehicle. I can see that I am in for it when Nathaniel gets a little older. The two of them are going to be dragging home old cars and trucks until our yard looks like a used car dealership. How lucky am I that they love the same stuff?!

We spend some time in the animal area, visiting with the horses, goats, mules, chickens, pigs and Llamas. We watched a pig race Nathaniel and Sean's favorite part of the day was in the very back of the fair grounds through the covered bridge. There is a huge pile of dirt and the antique earth movers spend the entire weekend moving dirt from one pile to another. Sean says he love gratuitus displays of power. Nathaniel was inspired by all of the Power and spent an hour or more with his toy tractors, reinacting the events happening in front of him. We had to pull him away for lunch. He loved the roasted corn and snow cones. We bought a huge lemonade and all needed it. It was a hot day, but the breeze felt amazing and kept us comfortable.

After lunch, my guys headed back for another hour or two of watching dirt get moved and I headed to the flea market for a little girl time. I love my guys, but I can only watch dirt go from one side of the field to another for just so long!

There are a ton of other things to see and do. There is an old engine grinding grain, a steam sawmill, a rock grinder when you can throw in your own rock and see it get crushed, lving history exhibits, pony rides and a huge carnival with rides and don't forget the amazing food! We partied at Field Day until Nathaniel couldn't keep his head up any longer. Sean took us back to our van and then he and his dad met up for an evening of Truck pulls. Sean was there for over 13 hours and went back first thing this morning.

If you haven't been to Field Day of the Past in Goochland, it is an amazing experience. It is a great way to show your kids the rural history of our area and to have a blast with them. I hope we see you there!

Check out the video below that shows the highlights of our day!