Day out With Thomas 2012!

Last weekend, Mom and Dad and I all went out to Baltimore to take part in the Day out with Thomas! In case you don't know, I am a huge fan of Thomas the Tank Engine...Dad found this event where you get to do a whole lot of fun activities, and you actually got to ride on a train that was pulled along by a full-sized Thomas engine! How COOL is that!?

We travelled up to Baltimore, and even though I should have taken a nap, I was simply too excited to do so! I was exhausted, but very much looking forward to the day!

When you first arrived at the train museum, it was a bit overwhelming. We were in a huge roundhouse that housed the full-sized trains that were on display.

Dad and I checked out some of the trains that ringed the building, and it was really neat! They had mannequins set up to show what the conductors looked like, and even though they were a little creepy, it was cool.

They even had some tables set up with Thomas trains on them so that we kids could play with them. They even had a motorized one. I figured out quickly that you could activate a braking system on the tracks to stop and start the trains. Very fun!

We walked around to the different places, and got to see a lot of fun stuff, and play with a lot of different toys.

The building was set up nicely so that even though there were a lot of people, it never really felt that crowded.

As you can see, there were a lot of old trains here. Some of them you could even go inside and look around!

I got to look through the floor to see the mechanical parts that resided under the floor of the wheelhouse. They spun the floor around so that you could move the trains out of the building to the correct tracks without anyone bumping into each other. You can see the track I am standing on...

Then came the moment of truth. Our ride on the Thomas train! He was RIGHT...THERE! His eyes moved around, and his horn tooted just like in the show. (He also blew steam in my face...not cool, Thomas) I was so excited, and kept asking if Thomas talked. Though I was disappointed to find out that he would not be having any conversations with us that day, he was still amazing to look at.

Mom snapped a picture of the conductor who looked just like the ones on the show!

I picked a spot on the train, and got cozy with Mom and Dad...

After a few minutes of waiting, we were off! I had a decent (but not amazing) spot to look out the window. I, of course, only have myself to blame. I picked the seat, after all. Dad was nice and helped me get to a spot where I could see out the window.

Though Baltimore is not exactly the most...how do I put this delicately...scenic place to take a train ride, it was a little dull, but I still enjoyed knowing that it was Thomas that was pulling us along.

So really...how could you NOT have fun doing that? One of the men on the train walked around and handed out Junior Conductor certificates. I was excited to be part of such an elite group!

This was the closest to a decent picture that I would allow of Mom and I with Thomas. You can see all the people...it was definitely getting busier as the day moved on!

And at last a couple more shots of Thomas to round out the series...it seriously looks JUST...LIKE...HIM. I have seen plenty of the shows, and have lots of the toys...I know what I'm talking about, people!

When we went back inside, I really wanted to take a picture with Sir Topham Hatt, the gentlemen who is in charge of the trains in Sodor...I was so excited and talked about it a lot, however, I don't think I quite understood just how creepy Mr. Hatt was, and how tired and worn out I was....as much as Mom tried (We tried a hand-off to Dad too, but no dice) I was too scared and tired to pull it off....

I'll skip the picture of me crying...poor Mom didn't even realize I was crying, because I was doing so silently...once she realized, she cut me loose, and we skipped the rest of the picture...

Dad was nice enough to let me wave to Mr. Hatt, and he sort of waved back...I mean, come on....that dude looks creepy. You know you think so, too!

In the gift shop later, I saw a train ride that you pump a quarter into for a ride (and by "ride" I mean it rocked you back and forth, eliciting the above expression of sadness and annoyance) Luckily, we went to the train store, and got to purchase the extra set of Thomas tracks that I needed to make the full track at home!

And yes...as you can see, I passed out pretty much right away after the day out...I was exhausted and even though there were a few bumps in the road (I'm looking at you, Sir Topham Hatt) in general, it was a great day, and I was happy that we all got to go out together as a family to enjoy the day! Hopefully we can do it again next year, and check out the stuff that we missed!