The last weekend in September we took a trip to Boone in central Iowa, for the annual Day Out With Thomas at the Boone & Scenic Valley Railroad. This event travels around the country and we'd heard about it from friends who had gone in previous years. Our boys are both fans of Thomas the Tank Engine and of trains in general, so we decided this would be the year for our excursion. 
Everything I read said you had to reserve tickets in advance or risk not getting a seat on the train, even though it ran hourly Fri-Sun for two weekends in a row. We didn't tell them a thing about it until the morning we were leaving, and even then, we made a grave error in telling them about an hour before we were due to leave. That was a LONG hour. We had an early lunch at home Saturday and then loaded up hoping the kids would sleep for the 2.5 hour drive. 
We are lucky they are both good car sleepers. Daniel woke a bit early, but ended up entertaining himself with books and crackers for about an hour.We arrived to a full scale Thomas extravaganza.
There was a tent full of train tables with plenty of trains for the hoards of kids there. There was a Thomas story time on an old train car. There were inflatables to crawl and bounce in. There was a huge gift shop/tent, which we managed to steer clear of. But most of all, there was Thomas. Edward's breathless reaction upon seeing the train pull into the station: "I didn't know there was a REAL LIVE Thomas!!!"
We completely lucked into being in the right spot for pictures at the exact moment the train pulled up. We got the train shots with no trouble at all, but then discovered that the other photo-op--with Sir Topham Hatt, who "runs the railroad"--would not be as easy. We tried to show Edward how long the line was
and discourage the visit, but he would not be deterred. It turned out to be much quicker than we expected and the kids were enthralled with the larger than life character.We boarded the train and waited for the ride to begin. Short-attention-span Daniel, called out "All done Thomas" just as we were pulling out of the station for the 25-minute trip.
Luckily he was distracted with the scenery and other trains rolling by outside the window. It was a very slow-moving train that just went away from the station for about 10-12 minutes, stopped and then went back along the same track. It sounds bad to say that the train ride itself was the least exciting part of the adventure, but they still had fun.We played trains for a bit longer and then left for an overnight in Des Moines (about 45 minutes away.) We got to have dinner with our good friends and let the kids play together, which was great. We wish it were easier to arrange get togethers like that!
Our hotel in Des Moines was a bit of a disappointment. I'd selected it (at a premium price) because it was an all suites hotel (Spring Hill Suites by Marriott) but we discovered upon arrival, that the suite did not include any separation between the living room and bedroom. We'd been planning to put the kids to sleep, close the door and then enjoy some adult time, including the big game between Iowa and Penn State. The hotel management could do nothing to help us, as the only truly separate suite in the hotel was the Presidential Suite (to which they did not offer to upgrade us!)
Note to self: double check the definition of "suite" when booking hotels online. Also, steer clear of Spring Hill Suites due to unsuitable accommodations and unhelpful staff! With some effort we got the kids to sleep and then watched the (exciting!!) game on about volume 2. Victory was no less sweet in silence!In the morning, we took a swim in the hotel pool and then headed out to Des Moines' Blank Park Zoo. It's a nice, small zoo where the animals come close enough for the kids to actually see them. Even so, it's hard to get zoo pictures with kids because the animals are so big and they are so little.
Newly interested in swimming due to taking his first lessons this fall, Edward was quite intrigued by these speedy penguins. The zoo also had a children's area with petting holes in the fences. Daniel walked right up with his hand out, but recoiled at the moment of nose-to-hand contact and wouldn't have anything to do with animals after that. He was quite happy to play on the playground. Edward saw the goats using this bridge to get from one enclosure to another and plopped himself down underneath to shout, "Who's that tramping on my bridge!" Our little troll.
Exhaustion set in for the drive home. Both boys slept the entire 2 hour trip. I drove for about an hour, but then had to wake John to drive the rest of the way. It was a fun weekend, but what you might call restful or rejuvenating!
Tune in next time when we catch up with stories of magical visitors from the Northwest, a "hair-raising" incident, and black and gold glory days.
