TRAINS

If you follow me on FB or on the blog, you know my son is EXTREMELY obsessed with trains.  I knew this was a common little boy obsession but wow, I didn't understand how bad it could get!  I guess I did have a My Little Pony obsession, but wow, this kid has it bad. The good thing is, it makes it really easy to buy clothes and gifts for holidays.  Santa has already mentioned that he is getting little red a train table and some thomas stuff for Christmas.  I woke up sunday ready to do something. It was SUPER windy, so a bike ride was not really an option.  I had to get out, be productive and enjoy the nice weather before it ends.  It was 80 yesterday which is really odd since it is the end of October.

I had decided that we needed to do something fun as a family rather than me head out to do something on my own fitness wise.  We loaded up and headed to Abilene KS, which is about an hour away, to ride the Smoky Valley railway.  The tickets were 15 bucks for adults and little red was free because of his age.

This was our second train riding adventure.  The first was down in Baldwin City KS.  This was much more fun because the train cars were open on the sides, and even though it was hot and windy, we were very comfortable riding.  The ride was a bit long and it was an out and back much like the other train ride, but this had some pretty scenery and wildlife at least to go with the ride.  We had also learned to bring our own food and drinks for the ride to keep little red busy and us all hydrated.  

We also got to witness a real wild west shoot out prior to boarding the train, but little red thought it was too loud and I agreed.  We spent our time at the train table instead prior to boarding.  

The depot had not only a train table, but many train oriented offerings including books and models.  We needed a conductor cap for Halloween, so we procured one very quickly from the gift shop.  

Andrew stayed pretty excited the whole way out and back.  Daddy had gotten some candy at the gift shop, which came in handy, as our snack was not cool enough.

The ride was pretty smooth, and it was nice to be able to sit or stand while the train was moving.  There was suppose to be narration, but after the first five or so minutes, the speaker in our car went out, probably due to the crazy wind whipping through.

We rode for about 45 minutes and then stopped at another small depot to get off and stretch our legs.  There were many places to take pictures and many families had dressed up and brought fancy cameras for this occasion.  One family was all in overalls and conductor's caps for their family pics. 

We also got to go up in the engine cab and look around.  Not as cool as a steamie but andrew seemed impressed.  I was not impressed with the height of the steps.  Little legs here!

After about 15 or 20 minutes, we loaded back up and headed back to the original depot.  Little red was a little more antsy going back and it was getting a bit hotter, but tootsie rolls made the ride back better. 

I think fun was had by all and we ended the day with a trip to sonic for slushes before the drive back.  Andrew was out before 10 last night, so I know it wore him out, which is a good thing since we had slept till almost 9 that morning.  I also got a 2.5 mile walk in after we got home and have had NO soreness today.  I went back to wearing my compression socks during the walk and iced as much as I could post walk.  I have two more PT sessions this week and am hoping to get in the pool as much as possible thanks to smaller experiments this week.

Have a great week and if you have a train you can ride near by, try it!