All aboard the Santa Train!

The North Carolina Museum of Transportation in Spencer is one of our favorite places to go as a family.  I used to go there with Mom and Dad and now we get to take Brant.  If you've never been there, it's worth the jaunt.

This year, we got the email that announced the Santa Train!  So we bought tickets and yesterday was the big day!  Arriving early, we had the place to ourselves, literally, there was only one other car in the lot. So we headed down to the roundhouse to see some trains.  There, we had a great surprise, as they were pulling the engine out of the roundhouse and onto the turntable.  It was the engine that was going to pull our train!

Mommy was so excited, as she LOVES this Southern engine

Soon it was time to head back to Barber Junction station to catch the train.  Along the way, however, Brant had a colossal wipeout on the concrete, and took a chunk out of his tender little chin!

Look at the boo boo on his chin!  We had to put an "engineer" band-aid on it.
We thought it might have needed a stich, but it finally stopped bleeding.
So sad.

So we started with a few tears, then the mellowness that follows a boo boo, but he soon perked up!  Santa arrived by fire truck and the train became "THE Santa Train!"

We hopped on board and found our seat (picked especially by Brant) and settled in to enjoy the ride.  After a bit, the conductor came through and punched our tickets, then other "engineers" brought each child an orange and candy cane, the traditional treat railroaders gave to children long ago.

The O'Day family on the train!

Looking out at the shops as we pass by

Playing with his orange

Before long....it was the big man himself!  Refusing to sit by himself, we at least got a photo with Santa!

The jolly man entering the car

First official picture with Santa, squashed with Mommy in the train seat

So, the train ride was soon over, and as we walked through the museum, it started to snow!  What a great time for our family!

Hopping off the train with Daddy

The snow falls at Barber Junction