christmas, part 2: having adventures

We've done plenty of Christmas-y things this month.... here is a recap:

I.

The hottest act around here this time of year is the Santa Train. There is this old train line near the mountains, and you hop the train (aptly decorated for Christmas) at this one depot and ride 3 miles to another depot, where you get out, wait in line for Santa, mosey around the gift shop, get hot cocoa and cookies, and then take the train back. It really is quite an adventure. We knew Wesley would love it.




The day before and that morning we kept telling him, "we're going on a train!" and he'd repeat that over and over. Shane remarked though, and I agree, that it seemed like the train was being held together with duct tape. Kinda rickety, But whatever, it was fun to ride on a train.

The Santa was quality. The wait was taxing, but we got to go in a little room with just us and Santa and a nice big tree, and the elves gave Wesley a toy train afterwards.

(model trains in exhibits, displayed in the area where we were in line for Santa)

The hot cocoa and cookies are in a kitchen train car parked on a dormant track, and there were benches inside the car -- AND there was also a train set to play with. The. Best. Part. Yeah, Wesley cried when we left. We told him we wanted to look at the big trains outside, but it was painfully obvious he liked the little wooden trains inside better. I suppose you can all guess what Santa is bringing the Gottula home this year.

(food car -- US Army! Cool!)

(our train as it comes into the depot)

We had a nice time! I had been warned the train wasn't heated and it would be cold, so we were all bundled up. It started raining just as we returned to our car. It was a perfect afternoon!

II.

As if the Santa Train wasn't enough festivity for one year, I decided to take an adventure and see the Christmas sights in downtown Seattle. I was without a car, for reasons yet to be disclosed, but I didn't let that dissuade me! We'd take the bus! I'm a commuting professional; planning a bus ride for me and my toddler shouldn't be that tough, right?



Because of where we lived, we had to catch two buses. The first took us to the park and ride, and the second took us downtown. It was busy in this morning; lots of commuters at 8:30 am. Go figure. We got off at Fifth & Seneca and my first stop was the Teddy Bear Suite at the Fairmont. And it wasn't open until 10 am. Sigh.

Our second first stop was the Gingerbread Village at the Sheraton. Wesley didn't really care, but he did point out a couple stars he liked, and a Santa or something. I love checking out the gingerbread houses. My parents would take me to a huge gingerbread house show when I was a kid, and I loved it. I remember a room with just tons of smallish gingerbread houses, all so interesting. This Village in Seattle only has six houses or so, but they are big.



We ran a couple errands (bank and post office), and finally it was 10 am so we hit the teddy bears. Wesley liked it better this year than last year. He hugged some of the bears and pointed out the cool lights. I was better prepared and left my jacket outside (it is HOT in that suite), so I enjoyed myself too. Very cozy.




We stopped by my office to see some co-workers and have a snack. Yay MKA. Wesley's new thing is "big building" and he had to point out all the big buildings in the pictures on the walls and outside, and say "big building" over and over and over again. Maybe he'll become an engineer, who knows?



Next, we hit the corner display at the Macy's, which has a cool model train exhibit in it. A couple of the trains run continuously, but two of the trains don't. Kids (or anyone) can make them go by putting their hands on a certain spot on the glass. Very cool. The display was crowded, but Wesley did get a chance to make the train go.


The display was actually really great because it was tiered, so little kids could see all sorts of stuff even though they are short. Wesley didn't want to leave! But we had a monorail to catch...


We took the monorail over to the Seattle Center to check out the model train village there. The monorail was cool. The ride is only like 3 minutes long. Wesley enjoyed being on yet another train.

The model train village at Seattle Center, I think, is less cool than the one at Macy's because it's all on one level. I could see all of it because I was tall enough, but a little guy like Wesley has such a limited view. He only saw trains when they buzzed by right in front of him.




We waited in a long line for a chance to operate one of the trains in the village. A sweet old man, the "Operator," tells all the boys and girls how to move the train, and one by one they can do it. I don't know if Wesley understood the cause and effect of turning the knob so the train would go. He actually liked to turn it so the train would stop. Soooo yeah, maybe next year the long line will be worth it.


We got some overpriced food and hopped the monorail back to downtown. Because I knew I needed to catch a connecting bus at the park and ride to get home, there was a certain bus I needed to catch from downtown up north -- and if I missed it, we'd be stuck in Seattle for another hour. As we left the monorail and headed to the bus stop, I saw it! I ran! And the bus waited for me! My lucky day! I arrived out of breath, with a toddler in a stroller. I picked up the whole dang stroller and went up the bus stairs. A nice woman moved to give me her spot. Our bus commute a success!

Overall, it was so nice to experience some Christmas spirit with Wesley. We didn't get to ride the carousel at Westlake Center (umm did you see that line?), and we didn't go see a snowfall in Pacific Place, but maybe next year. It was good to get out of the house and do something different. I love adventures with my son!