Okay, everyone. Gather round to learn some useless
Thomas The Tank Engine trivia, and get comfy in your chair 'cause this epic post is almost as long as McCain's lying nose...
Well, we just couldn't resist treating our train-lovin' kid! Yesterday we drove a couple of hours to Strasburg, Pennsylvania to attend the
Day Out With Thomas event in beautiful Dutch country. We ate
whoopie pies and consumed more sugar in two days than we have all year, gawked shamefully at Amish folk, petted sheep and goats, waded in the baby pool, and...
Saw the "real" Thomas!
The first encounter:
Here's Lucas in the store that puked all things Thomas. You're seeing maybe 1/5 of the Thomas merchandise. If you've thought of it, they have it. If you haven't thought of it, they have it anyway. We found out later that this is the
permanent Thomas merchandise store at the Strasburg Railroad. The traveling store that came with the event was under a huge tent and came with the exact merchandise we saw here plus endless aisles of clothing. Those people are genius, I tell ya'.
These electric train tracks were Lucas's favorites and even telling him that we had to hurry to board the Real Thomas did not easily convince him to want to leave. The town itself is loaded with train museums and gift shops (but don't tell that to Lucas).
Here's the Station Agent stopping by our window to chat while other passengers boarded the train. Can you tell that Lucas is ready to hand him the ticket? (The ticket taker passed through our car a bit later.)
Lucas would make a fine actor someday. His nature is generally serious and intense, but more importantly he's incredibly empathetic and sensitive, and his face is so expressive. Here we caught his reactions after he heard the "poop poop" from Thomas's whistle, then the "All aboard!" from the intercom, then the "chugga-chug" of the wheels turning. Priceless, don't you think?
Waving goodbye and enjoying the views:
Babies are such natural-born yogis, even while nursing! For the last couple of months Jesse has been in the habit of placing his top leg on my shoulder or doing all kinds of pilate-style movements while nursing. Check him out wearing the cute
leg warmers that were gifted to him:
In the television series, Thomas generally pulls two cars named Annie and Clarabel. Annie is first and Clarabel is last. When boarding, Lucas steered us towards the car that would be Annie but she was full, so we moved on to the second car. Lucas was so proud to ride inside Clarabel ("Bara-bell").
After de-boarding the train, you're fed into another line where you can visit a person dressed up as Sir Topham Hatt, otherwise known in the early pre-politically correct days of Thomas as
'The Fat Controller.' Then you're fed into yet another line where you can pose with Thomas for a picture. Lucas was not happy about this; he wondered who the heck finally gets this close to Thomas and chooses to look
away.
At the water tower where Thomas goes when he's thirsty, says Lucas:
In the end, a train is a train, whether or not it has a face on it or a name. Lucas is just happy to watch them go by. We did this for a long time.
The event provided several tents hosting all kinds of entertainment - music, tattoos, puzzles, mini rides, food, legos, and tracks for both playing and watching:
The End. When we arrived at home later that evening, I overheard Lucas say, "Papi, it was so hard to say good-bye to Thomas."
(A few more pictures at the column to the right.)
