Train Festival 2009

We went to church on Saturday, so that we could get up and go to the train festival first thing Sunday morning. It was in Owosso, which is about an hour and 45 minutes from here. It was fun, but I'm not sure it was worth the drive plus the money...but the kids enjoyed seeing the trains, thought we might share.

As Bryan and I are packing a lunch, I see this out the window...

let me give you a better view...
Yep, it was just like I feared. My kids we ON my van.
Let me tell you, they jumped pretty high when I said their names.
Makes you wonder what they were doing...
besides climbing on the car.
I wonder if this has anything to do with that funny smell...

The first thing we did was take the free train ride. (The other, on the REAL train, would have cost us $70. But this was fun for the kids. It was a real, working steam engine.

And you got to sit on these benches. Fun stuff, let me tell you!

Then we watched them load coal into the engine.

It was JUST like the movies. Guy in overalls scooped coal with a shovel and dumped it in the ... uh...coal burner?

(I apologize. I can usually hold my own with the planes, but trains are just not my thing. I'm a bit out of my depth, and have to ask the boys to explain things to me. Good thing this was for them!)

This is the train that the Polar Express was designed from. Very cool. But the wait to get on was over an hour. So we admired the coolness from the outside.

And here's the front, with some random people.

Jonah, standing by the wheels of the "Polar Express" waiting on Noah, who is investigating something on his arm.

Seriously, Noah? Get back here!

Mom's not going to let us move on until we take a picture!

Here, let me help you.

No, you can't touch the wheels, smile at the camera!

Here, let me help you some more...

Now smile, or I will tighten my hold. There are other things to see here!!!

Like the Southern Pacific #6133!
(As I said, I know nothing. You can click on the picture and read about it if you so desire.)

Well, it LOOKED like a short line...

Did I mention that it was quite cold? 70 degrees with 20 mph winds and scattered thunderstorms? Yes. So here is poor Selah, wearing a sweater over her long sleeve shirt, and wrapped in a blanket. The rest of us just froze.

July in Michigan. Not very impressive...

Still waiting, pretty bored...but a bit of sunshine warms it up a little!

I'm a boy. I can only go so long without getting dirty!!!

There it is...

Well, we waited about 45 minutes for , well, pretty much nothing. Wasn't much to see or do. Should have waited for the Polar Express. But after this, they were done with lines!

The other famous train. The SP Daylight4446 (I think). HUGE train. The biggest steam engine ever (I think). Again, over an hour wait, so we just looked around the outside.

Weren't quite ready for that, Dad.

But you can see just how big the wheels are. I'm 5' 4", and I felt dwarfed. Kind of scary, actually. (and yes, I am almost 5 foot wide, too. Only 21 weeks to go! Might hit 10 feet wide by then!)

Jonah, showing how big the wheels are. And yes, his dad is the one who gave him Gatorade.

Standing on the front of the Daylight. Noah was TERRIFIED! (Mind you, it was running, just not moving.)

Last stop, Lego city. Took them 4 years to build. The city is Chicago.

The farm, cliffs and tanks.

Pepsi building and little Lego guys on ladders.

I didn't get the pictures to do it justice, but it was amazing. And of course, there was a train going around the whole thing. The boys couldn't stop talking about all of the things they saw.

There was also a 3000 foot model railroad, which was pretty cool. But not as fun to Lego lovers as this.