The weekend before Thanksgiving my parents, drove over for a quick visit to take the girls to The North Pole via The Polar Express.
Why so early in the holiday season? Because these were the last tickets available by the time that we'd decided to embark upon this holiday adventure. Apparently, The Polar Express is a big deal in this area and you have to grab up tix as soon as they go on sale.
The girls were thrilled. As big fans of both the book and the movie, the girls were excited to take their own trip on The Polar Express. We didn't tell them beforehand, so when Grandma Sally and Grandpa Bailey showed up at the door, they were very surprised.
A review:
The Polar Express was well done. The onboard elves did their darndest to keep the kids entertained and engaged. However, I think that they could have shortened the trip by about 1/2 hour in the interest of little ones out way past their bedtimes. As the train rolled back into the station after our trip to "The North Pole" several of the younger passengers were "DONE". We ended up going on an un-seasonably warm November night, yet we were dressed for November. The girls were in flannel pj's. That train was HOT! Sickeningly hot. As a matter of fact, after downing a full dinner, a bag of popcorn, hot chocolate, chocolate covered pretzels, and chocolate chip cookies...her full belly, the heat, and the back and forth sway of the train on it's tracks seemed to get to Ava. She turned an alarming color of white and laid her head in my lap en route to the North Pole. "Uh-oh", I thought. "We're going to spend this whole trip in that awful bathroom at the front of this car." Luckily, a little walk, some ginger ale, and some time spent standing in the cooler area between train cars "put her right" and she was feeling better as we rolled into the North Pole and greeted by dozens of happy elves. When Santa boarded the train, she was certainly ready to visit and obtain her complimentary sleigh bell. If we do this again, we'll definitely dress in lighter clothing (and possibly pack a barf bag).
Emily is still talking about her ride on the "TAIN" and Santa. Ava contends that it wasn't the "real" North Pole (it's a much longer trip, of course), and no amount of fast talking will convince her that it was a magical train and that time stood still once we climbed aboard.
Oh well. She still had fun and treasures her sleigh bell.
Here is a montage I put together with some pics and video from The Polar Express.
