I took my first train ride in December. I rode on the eastern flyer train which had been temporarily transformed into the Polar Express. I purchased tickets months before immediately after seeing the announcement. I couldn’t pass up a chance to ride on the polar express. I bought two tickets one for me and one for a kid; even though I didn’t have a kid of my own to take. Well, I mean I have a kid but I didn’t think at eighteen she would be all that excited about going with me. Anyway I wanted to avoid any awkwardness that would occur if I was a lone adult without a kid. Besides a kid would share in my excitement making the trip more fun. My friend Stefanie graciously lent me her daughter for the trip and as I hoped she was as excited as I was about the train ride. We arrived at the train station decked out in our favorite pajamas. Yes, I am wearing bat girl pj’s.
My bubbly sidekick and I boarded the train and climbed the stairs to our seats. We were seated in a booth across from a mother and her daughter. There were cookies wrapped in white paper and polar express themed mugs set on the table before us. Anya wanted to eat her cookie right away. I pointed out that we did not have anything to drink yet and asked if she wanted to wait until we had our hot chocolate. She said she would be ok without a drink. That worked for me so I told her to go for it. She hastily unwrapped the sugar cookie and took a big bite. A huge smile spread across her face. As the train pulled slowly away from the station hot chocolate was served by two girls dressed in chef hats and coats. It was served in white Styrofoam cups that slipped nice into our mugs. Anya immediately tasted hers and declared it was just the right temperature for drinking. The rest of us joined her for our first tastes.
It was some of the best hot chocolate I have ever had. I then unwrapped my sugar cookie and gave half to Anya as all that remained of hers was crumbs. As we enjoyed are treats the polar express story played on the speakers. The conductor made his way down the car with his star shaped hole punch. He was punching the golden tickets, the children had received upon arrival, with either there name or the word believe. Anya chose her name. The conductor rapidly punched the ticket sending a flurry of golden stars towards the table. Soon golden confetti blanketed the table and was scooped up by both girls at the table as prized souvenirs. All the while the train chugged along to the Oklahoma North Pole, as I called it. We arrived at the North Pole in short order and Santa and the elves enthusiastically greeted us. The train came to a stop and Santa and the elves boarded the train. Santa passed out little silver bells to the kids. As the train began to roll back toward the station the song jingle bells came on the train speakers. The children began to shake their bells along with the song.
Soon we arrived back at the depot. All smiles we exited the train and headed towards the gift shop to grab a couple of souvenirs. Those purchased we made our way to the town square to say a quick hello to Mrs. Clause and grab some kettle corn for the drive home. It was a thoroughly enjoyable outing that I would recommend. Although I would suggest going at night as the daylight made it a little difficult to embrace the reality of the North Pole. I also really enjoyed the train ride itself and I will definitely be taking another one in the future!