A Presidential Train Ride

To celebrate Presidents' Day we took the kids on a train ride that visited the place where Jimmy Carter grew up. They had never been on a train before, and were looking forward to it very much. Every day working up to it Erika would ask, "Are we really going on a train?" almost in disbelief.

We had to make a couple hour drive to get to the place where we would board the train, the SAM Shortline Excursion Train. We put Scott in the baby bjorn, grabbed our sack lunches for the day, picked up our tickets, and boarded the train. The kids were so excited to be in seats that faced each other and ones where they didn't have to wear seatbelts. There were big windows on both sides that provided a great view for all to see the countryside. There was a lady who played the accordian for us, a man dressed in overalls and a train hat, and a conductor who came through and punched our tickets. The kids were hoping for someone to break out in song and start bringing in the hot chocolate just like Polar Express, but no luck this trip.

As we started ou,t the kids kept hoping it would go faster and faster. I think they had visions of this fast racing roller coaster type ride instead of a stroll through the backwoods of Georgia. They had a concession car with snacks and a little shop. Brooke and Erika used some of their money and bought paper fans for the ride. The kids enjoyed a little excitment when they noticed that the cars next in line would shake and move from side to side a lot. After that they all wanted to take walks from one car to the next and try to keep their balance and not fall. Abby wasn't interested much in that game, she just enjoyed her spot by the window and let me take pictures of her. What a good sport!



Abby was so excited everytime she heard the train blow it's whistle. She would stop, look at me, and say with wide eyes, "Did, you hear that? It's a train!" Scott at two and a half months was the youngest rider of the day, and spent most of his trip asleep snuggled in the carrier on Aaron's chest.

We road the train to Plains Georgia where we heard Jimmy Carter speak at Plains high school which is now a museum/tourist place to visit. The kids were a bit bored, so we ventured outside to play in the sun. We had cake and punch to celebrate, stopped at the peanut store for some treats, and reboarded the train for our trip home.

As we rode back the "accordian lady" made animals/shapes out of balloons for the kids, and they got free popcorn that was left over from the trip there. It was a great day visiting some historic sites right in our own backyard.