Riding Thomas the Tank Engine

Riding Thomas the Tank Engine: This week we went to the B&O Railroad Museum for a Day Out with Thomas. Thomas the Tank engine is full-sized and really rides the rails. The kids didn’t notice the diesel engine on the other end of the train that was doing the real work, but all the better for the magic of the day, and to them it was a magical day! Included in the price of admission were several festival-type activities like a moon bounce, face painting, a mini-train ride, temporary tattoos and a clown who tied balloons into a butterfly for Chloe and a sword for Alex. Chloe threw up the night before so I didn’t know if she was even going to make it to the event, but she kept her breakfast and lunch down and seemed to have plenty of energy, so I couldn’t see making her stay home. At home, when Chloe and Alex debate which movie to watch, Chloe doesn’t often agree to watch Thomas the Tank Engine movies, so weeks before the event we’d considered only getting tickets for Alex and Daddy, but Chloe said she wanted to go. I figured it was just because she couldn’t stand the idea of Alex getting something that she didn’t, but she got really into the event. As we were waiting in line for our scheduled train ride Alex said “I LOVE riding Thomas the Tank Engine!” While on the train the conductor walked down the aisle in a formal conductor outfit and greeted each child and game them an “Junior Engineer” certificate. When the train reached the point where it stopped to back up back to the station, the theme song from the Thomas the Tank Engine show began playing over the loud speaker. At that point Chloe threw herself at her father in an ecstatic hug, and Alex too looked like he would burst from joy. They really believed that they were experiencing something they’d only imagined as they watched the shows. I think with our looming Disney vacation we are in for some trouble determining what is real and what is make-believe. In the movie called Toy Story the other toys inform Buzz Lightyear that he is only a toy and not a real super-hero, so Chloe’s been telling Alex that Buzz Lightyear isn’t real, but then she insists that the Disney princesses (Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, etc) are real because she got to meet them last year. They both understand that Winnie the Pooh and other animals at the park are just people wearing costumes, but they are hoping that their favorite characters are real. I’m hoping they’ll sort it out themselves because I cringe when I have to tell fibs to preserve the fantasy, but at the same time they do so enjoy the magic. Here are the pictures: http://picasaweb.google.com/constance.phelps/ThomasTheTankEnine2008