Polar Xpress

This year we splurged and took the Mt Hood Railroad train out to the North Pole. The boys were super excited when they heard about the plan and could hardly wait to get going. They packed their overnight bags and begged to stay the night there. I told them I hadn't made reservations but would check on availability once we arrived in Hood River (trying to not squash their excitement here). We made it to the train station with 30 minutes to spare, phew! We had enough time to check in, get our tickets and board the train. Since we took an early train there were a few empty seats here and there which was nice. The conductor came through and punched all the children tickets with the letter P. It was quite exciting. Once the train started moving the hostess' offered us hot cocoa and cookies and then read us the book Polar Express. 25 minutes into the train ride, we came to the "North Pole".... aka, a white pole barn decorated with Christmas lights. Santa and his elves were on the side of the tracks waving hello. As a side note: Years ago, I did a "western" themed train ride and we got off and enjoyed walking around an old town for 20 min before boarding the train and heading home, so that's what I was expecting... only a North Pole theme. So I was a bit disappointed when we started heading back. Anyway, Santa joined us on the train and we headed back to town. Santa sat with each child for a few minutes, listened to their requests and gave them a Silver Bell. The boys really had a lot of fun with it, so I guess that made it all worth while. The boys were the perfect age for this adventure.