Riding the Rails

Last year it was airplanes that most intrigued our Little Guy. This year his interest has solidly shifted to trains. We read books about trains, play with toy trains and watch movies about trains. We draw pictures of trains, build trains out of building blocks and even play-doh.

When Hubby recently suggested we take Little Guy on his first real train ride – I quickly agreed. So this weekend we drove to a town that boasted a scenic train ride. The weather was perfect: warm with a mild breeze.

We got to the station a half hour early, as directed. Little Guy was wearing his “All Aboard Outfit” and right away people were pointing at him and smiling. He took the extra attention in stride, waving and smiling back. We picked up our tickets and headed out to the platform. There we met the Conductor. He was very kind, and took quite a liking to our “Junior Engineer”.

The Conductor asked if we’d like to meet a real Engineer. We said of course. He lead us to the engine of the train and had Hubby climb into the engine, then he handed Little Guy up to him. They talked to the Engineer and looked at the buttons and out the window. I snapped a few pictures, and then it was time to go.


look closely, and you can see Little Guy peeking out the window of the engine.

By the time we got back, the train was boarding. We found our seats and settled in. After a few jerky moments, we were on our way. We were immediately taken with the scenery that slid past. Even though they have begun to fade, the colors of this Autumn afternoon were simply beautiful. The windows were open in our car so a nice breeze wafted through. Other families sat around us – all chattering amongst themselves. Occasionally our guide would wake from his nap at the front of our car to tell us something about the scenery or the history of the railroad.

About half way through our journey, Little Guy began to sing a little song. It went like this:

Ride, ride, ride, ride, ride the TRAIN…
Ride, ride, ride, ride, ride the TRAIN…

The clickety-clack of the rails, the Whoo Whoo of the whistle, the chatter of our fellow passengers, the soft breeze and beautiful views – it all made for a truly perfect afternoon.



This is the life!