A Day out with Thomas

On June 13th we drove the hour and half north to Green Bay to the National Railroad Museum to see 'A Day out with Thomas'. Both Nicholas and Celia like to watch the Thomas the Train shows on PBS. We were running behind that morning (20 minutes from home we realized we forgot money) but we made it to the museum and quickly boarded the shuttle buses they had running back and forth to the museum. Right away we boarded the train ride. The trains were pulled by a life-size Thomas the train. The train only went 6 mph - very slow! It went 2 laps around the museum area. There were some open train cars and some closed cars - we ended up in a closed car. Aaron was hungry at that time too ... so now I can say I've nursed a newborn on a train. ha ha

Waiting for the train to go! Nicholas wasn't totally sure about the train ride at first.

Wanting to hold Aaron while we waited (note the look on aaron's face with Celia. Got to love those newborn crossed eyes ha ha)



After the train ride we went to the Thomas the train for pictures. The employees even told everyone it was fine to take our own pictures as well. We didn't buy professional photos, but the prices were really good!




After pictures we went into one of the buildings to see the model trains. Nicholas and Celia enjoyed seeing Percy (one of the Thomas' friends) chuffing down the tracks.




We had a break of kettle corn and went to sit under a tent to eat in the shade (it was very warm). We were really impressed with the prices for food. For example, only $1.50 for a hotdog and 75 cents for a soda. We talked with another family at the table (we were sharing). I also noticed with all the little kids, there was rarely a crying child. How were hundreds of little children all on their best behavior?? Still a mystery. ... Anyway...
We passed up the bounce houses since I didn't think Nicholas and Celia were old enough - nor would it be safe enough for them. We went into the large train shed. Oh my goodness! If you can ever make it to the National Train museum in Green Bay to see the old locomotives, you should! It was AMAZING. I can't believe how HUGE these trains were. Just the wheels were 75 inches tall. We took some pictures to try to show how huge they were - a little blurry, but its an idea.
Celia between the trains



We were able to walk thru all the train cars. The cars were not refurbished. It is as if they were parked after their last run. Sometimes it was a bit spooky, but it was certainly interesting. We saw the postal cars where there were cubbies of all the major cities. So the postmen on the train would sort the mail into the city's cubbies so that when the train stopped, they could pass on the mail for that city. We saw the kitchen area, meal cars, sleeper cars, and cars of different eras. We could also go into the engine car of the locomotive to see all the levers and where the coal would go. We definitely plan on returning. It was great.

And just today... all 3 watching Thomas. Aaron is 5 1/2 weeks old here - he is growing so fast!