Today, the kids experienced their first UK-version of "Day out with Thomas", and we all had a grand time! Thomas didn't pull the passenger coaches, but instead pulled a break van once Duck had pulled out of the station with passengers in tow; on another line, Daisy pulled another set of passenger cars.
Lucky for us, this event was much less crowded than the one we attend annually in Union, IL at the Illinois Railway Museum, and less structured - the kids could ride any and all of the trains as much and as often as they wanted! It was a relaxing day (or as much as it can be with Boo in attendance, as anxious as he is to get from activity to activity.)
Here they are, all smiles, in front of Thomas. (Toot toot!)
What a treat to see so many different engines at one time!
They had countless rides on the carousel (or the "round-and-round", as the operator called out "wait for the round-and-round to stop completely boys and girls, before standing up. Well done! Well done! Don't rush now!")
Pea asked to get her face painted! (For the very first time, neat and particular girl that she is, face paints are a bit messy. Of course, 10 minutes later she was asking for it to be washed off, but still, its progress...)
All smiles, our Princess Pea. What a great day this was!
(And a surprise - I didn't tell them until 20 minutes into the ride - partly intentional, partially circumstancial - I was focusing far too much on the road!)
They said "Daddy will be jealous that he didn't get to see Thomas! I'm sure he will be.
As for me, I'm knackered. They really should offer the parent(s) a pint, shot, or Valium as they leave the place, wallet empty and credit card smoking, with overtired kids in tow.
As its been a bit of drag, the past few days for the kids, and we either haven't gotten out enough (sitting all day in the house, waiting for a refrigerator that never comes) or everyone has been grouchy, I decided that I was going to venture out and take the kids to someplace special. Searching through my tourism pamphlets last night, I discovered that "A Day out with Thomas" was happening today.
I packed up the kids and didn't tell them where we were going until about halfway through the trip. I couldn't. I didn't dare take my eyes off the road.
Let me preface this by saying that the countryside around Hay-on-Wye is some of the most stunning I have ever seen, especially on a gorgeous sunny day like today. Or, I should say, some of the most stunning I would have liked to have seen. Because , again, I didn't take my eyes off of the road.
The driving on the left bit hasn't fazed me a bit. The sat nav, on the other hand (thats the GPS to my American friends) drove me insane. It would direct me to "make a left, then a sharp right". Sadly, the "left" it was advising of was actually a curve in the road before a stop sign, so I didn't actually need to turn - if I didn't follow the road, after all, I would have ended up square in the middle of the hedgerow! That said, the GPS is a Godsend - the trip had so many turns to follow the road, I would have been lost in no time, so I'm glad I have it - especially now that I know to keep a close eye on the direction of the arrow despite the direction it instructs me to go.
So, back to the white knuckle part. Most of the trip to Lydney consisted of quiet roads. There was not a lot of traffic, which was lovely, and when I'm more familiar with the roads around here, they will be a heck of a lot of fun to drive on - hilly, twisty, turny - the whole shebang. However, a lot of the trip constituted the driving of narrow roads with tall hedgerows lining the way, no shoulder. Some bits were only wide enough for one car. And then you look down, and realize you are going 50 MPH. On a narrow, twisty road.
In some parts (the most nervewracking when cars barrelled past the other direction) reminded me of Star Wars Death Star battle scene where Luke was flying through the trenches:
Yeah, like that. Well, like that, without the shooting.
So, thanks to the sat nav, we arrived at our destination only 10 minutes later than initially estimated - not bad. We were in one piece, the car was in one piece, no one was traumatized.
When it came time for the return trip, I was feeling pretty confident (silly me). I programmed the sat nav for home, and it played a trick on me - it didn't take me back the same way. Instead, it took me on a mountain road, with many, many parts that were one lane wide. With tall, tall hedgerows (two stories tall). Or one lane bridges.
White knuckles, people.
But now, with the kids in bed, sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea and a biscuit, I'm sitting back, fingers unclenched, proud of my adventure today. Yes, Thomas was wonderful, and I had a wonderful time with my kids, and they had a great time (I'll post pictures), but I'm most proud of the excursion itself.
What a treat to see so many different engines at one time!
They had countless rides on the carousel (or the "round-and-round", as the operator called out "wait for the round-and-round to stop completely boys and girls, before standing up. Well done! Well done! Don't rush now!")
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