Day 74 of 365

Trains for Christmas

It wasn't so very long ago that my oldest kid professed a profound love for trains as we rode through the zoo with the "toot toot" whistle blowing. We've ridden trains all over the country, visited old wrecks and museum antiques. I think both of my kids at some point had piles of "choo choos" in the play room. In our home they were the definitive toy.

Today's adventure was a real step back in time for me. We went to watch the Christmas train roll in to Wisconsin. It was pretty wonderful and the only thing missing was that kid who loved trains the most.

We spent an hour in the car driving to the station. When we were about a half mile away the traffic was heavy. Apparently I wasn't the only person who saw the advertisement on facebook. There was a massive crowd of people walking through the darkness toward a railroad track that wasn't visible. I was surprised to see such a huge crowd. This was the first stop on the way to Milwaukee and I can only imagine how many people were waiting at that station in the city.

It didn't take long to hear that whistle blow and see all of the Christmas lights shining. If you've never seen it, watch my video. In the darkness it was pretty cool to see all the lights as the train pulled in. There were so many families waiting in the cold and I imagine some kids were wild with excitement. The weather really was perfect for this experience.

As adventures go day 74 was a great one.