Today we went to Union, IL, home of the Illinois Railway Museum. Once a year, they have a day dedicated to Thomas the Train and you can take a rid on a train pulled by Thomas.
On this particular adventure, we were joined by Aric, Michelle, Austin, and Clark Roush as well as Bob and Carson Martin and Tammy's father.
Our train ride was scheduled for 10am and we were told to come an hour early. In the end, we arrived in Union (which is somewhere between Elgin and Iowa) around 9:15. As we pulled in the parking lot, the first rain drops started falling. We waited briefly and then decided to brave it. A short walk and brief wait in line later put us under an kids activity tent with the Roushes. Within minutes, the it got dark outside and the skies opened with a full downpour and a small amount of lightening and thunder. It rained so hard that water started pooling and running into the tent. By the time we left it at 9:45 the majority of the ground had 1/4" to 1" of water on it. Needless to say Sydney wasn't too thrilled. She was also cold because it was windy and we didn't think to bring a jacket in August.
We then huddled under an umbrella waiting for them to let us on the train. Apparently the inside got wet in the monsoon so they had to dry it out first. Fast forward 10 minutes and we were stilling on the train with the Roushes in front of us and the Martins behind us. As train rides go, this one really wasn't terribly exciting but Sydney seemed to enjoy it and didn't want to get off when the ride was over.
After the train ride, it was raining again so we ducked into a long barn that had a bunch of old trains in it. We walked up and down looking at them briefly. Sydney didn't seem too interested. Meghan took her in another barn a little later which had fewer people in it, and she seemed more interested.
Shortly after that, we noticed an orange haired clown walking around. Austin seemed to like the clown. Sydney preferred to keep her distance. At that point I was carrying her on my shoulders. (Meghan and I carried her pretty much all day because she didn't want to walk and the ground was flooded in many places.)
A bit after that, we decided to get lunch. As we started going through the line, the skies opened again which made getting a table inside difficult. We really lucked out there. Sydney had chicken nuggets, french fries, a rice crispie treat, and part of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch.
After lunch we took a quick picture in front of Thomas, headed to the gift shop, and headed home. Sydney and Carson both picked out Thomas and friends bath toys. To my surprise she played with and talked to her toy trains the whole way home in the car.
Overall, Sydney seemed to have enjoyed today. Much of that may have just had to do with her train obsession and spending time with us doing something new. I think the day would have been a lot better had the weather cooperated.
A day with Thomas the Train
Re: A day with Thomas the Train
Honestly, I didn't think Sydney would give a crap about Thomas the Train. I didn't think she even knew who he was. We were only going along because of her train obsession. But when we got there and she saw some Thomas stuff, she immediately said, "Mommy! It's Thomas!" How the freak do you know what Thomas is, I wondered. Suddenly Sydney became as Thomas-obsessed as all the little boys running around in their Thomas T-shirts. Who knew.
It really would have been a much better day if it hadn't rained. Everything was outside and they were not set up to deal with the weather. I think she would really enjoy going back to the Railway Museum on a non-Thomas day, when it's not as crowded and the weather is better.
It really would have been a much better day if it hadn't rained. Everything was outside and they were not set up to deal with the weather. I think she would really enjoy going back to the Railway Museum on a non-Thomas day, when it's not as crowded and the weather is better.