Let's do the time warp again

It had been many years since I'd visited Greenfield Village, a historical re-creation of a nebulous mixture of 19th and early-to-mid 20th century life, with authentic (transported) buildings alongside more 'modern' replicas (most replicas were built by Henry Ford in the 1930s and 1940s) illustrating home life, crafts, industry, business, and of course early automobiles of the times. I'd last been there more than a decade ago, when our family had attended a Detroit Symphony Fourth of July outdoor concert, and the last time I'd actually walked through the village itself was probably a decade before that.

The cynic in me perceives historically recreated places as falling somewhere between M. Night Shyamalan's sinister "The Village" and fictional dystopic accounts of egomaniacal tycoons trying to recreate whitewashed visions of their youths. Thankfully the real thing is much more innocent (and kid-friendly) than either of these, though I still think it's a bit strange to see Henry Ford's parents' house and his elementary school transported brick-by-brick to their current locations, alongside an early 1800s hearse shed, the actual Wright Brothers' bicycle shop, and the original Heinz factory, apparently known more for horseradish than ketchup?

Our first destination upon entering the village was lunch, as everyone was pretty hungry. We selected the Eagle Tavern, a cute transported 1831 stagecoach stop, serving from an authentic circa 1850s period menu (well, minus the prices), and all using locally grown ingredients. Each of us got an 'asparagus pie' (a tasty quiche), and Meh and I tried their vegetable soup. The inn 'proprietors' were cute and friendly in their period costumes without being crazy over-the-top, and were impressed to have visitors from 'the western territories' (dork that I am, I had to check my history afterwards to confirm that Washington was correctly identified as a US territory at that time). The food was decent, though I think our favorite part was actually the pickled eggs that were served while we waited for the food.

After that, we strolled around the village, visiting the working farm (Zachary enjoyed the sheep), some of the arts shops (Meh and grandma watched a printing press in operation), a millinery (women's hat shop), a carousel newly added since my last visit, and noticing the sheer number of knowledgeable staff (period-dressed people singing, petitioning for suffrage, just out for a stroll, and working in each of the buildings, including two people hand-cleaning the tiny gears and mechanics of the Edison factory). Zachary's favorite part was the train that whistled its way around the circumference of the village; we caught sight of it several times to much 'mmm'-ing and hand-waving.

Speaking of 'mmm', Zachary's newest trick is to imitate our appreciate of food by saying 'mmm' whenever we're eating and/or offering him food. It doesn't mean he's going to actually sample a dish, but hey, at least he's appreciative. Here he was at that 1850s tavern, talking mommy into eating a bit of period bread she'd given him: