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| Joe and Liam at the resturant |
I am WAY behind in my fieldtrip posts!
Last December, we took Liam on a ride to the North Pole on the Polar Express. It was one of the best fieldtrips we have taken (I think it was the best)! Because our family is on a bit of budget, and the Polar Express is a tad spendy, we had to plan way in advanced for this little trip. We bought our tickets in September, and put a little money away for it for the four months leading up to it. On the day of the trip, getting to Hood River was a bit of a chore. We decided to go on the evening of my last day of work before winter break as a kick-off to our fun-filled holiday. We had to rush to get on the road for the hour and a half drive, but once we were there, it was wonderful.
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| Liam and the chef |
Hood River is an adorable little town on the way to Mt. Hood. It is filled with cute shops and many yummy places to eat. Once we entered the town, we scoped out the train station, walked to the town's Christman tree, then found a little cafe in the heart of the town to get a quick bite before leaving on the train. The Trillium was the perfect place to eat. It had great food, low prices, and had a stockpile of toys and games to keep the kiddos occupied while waiting for their food.
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| Liam and Mommy waiting to head out |
After we finished our meal, we made the short trek back to the train station, where we took a quick bathroom break, checked-in, and looked around the station house. Within minutes, the station house was filled with excited kids in their jammies, waiting to board the train. When we finally climbed onto our train car, Liam had finally decided that he wanted to put on his pjs too. We found our seats, settled in, and got him changed and comfy.
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| Cookie and Cocoa time! |
We were very excited when we learned that, completely by chance, my mom, step-dad, and two of my sisters had gotten seats just feet away from ours (they reserved seats a month or so after us, and we didn't think we would get to sit together). As we waited to head up to the North Pole to pick up Santa, we were entertained by the chefs sang and danced for us. Once we started moving down the tracks, the cookies and hot chocolate was served and the chef read us the story.
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| The conductor |
About a half an hour into the ride, the conductor came by with his hole punch, which was one of Liam's favorite parts of the trip. Throughout the ride, the hobo wandered in and out of the train car, asking for bites of cookies, and teasing the little ones. For me, this was the best part. The man who played the hobo part was fantastic! He acted and sounded just like the character in the movie!
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| Watching the world go by |
Around an hour into the trip, we pulled into the North Pole train station, where we were able to see Santa's house, the toy shop, and the reindeer barn. Soon, Santa was in our car taking time to meet with each and every child on the train. He was also fantastic! He asked Liam what he wanted for Christmas, asked if he had been a good boy, and gave him a beautiful bell to take home. Liam still asks to play with the bell (which we have packed away with our Christmas stuff).
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| Liam, Santa, and his bell |
The whole way back to Hood River, Liam was all smiles. He was so pumped afterwards, that he stayed awake the whole way home, even though it was an hour and a half drive, in the dark, hours after his normal bed time. He enjoyed each and every part of the evening. I'm so glad that we took the time, and made the effort to make these memories. Because it is something we have to budget for at this point in our lives, we probably won't make the trip every year, but it will be something we do as often as we can!
