Snoqualmie Choo Choo Days

Sometimes having a dad as a pilot means that mom has to step in and cultivate a boy's interest even if it means she might be the odd man (or woman) out.

This weekend was Snoqualmie Railroad Days and Steve was working.  So Owen and I drove up to check out some major choo-choo action. 

Snoqualmie is a cute little mountain town east of Seattle.  There is an old train that runs from Snoqualmie to North Bend.  Owen (as we know) is in a major choo-choo phase.  My thought was that at this event, there would be lots of trains for Owen to look at.  Turns out, there is only one train and that train was taking trips back and forth to North Bend all day.  So if you wanted to see the choo-choo, you really need to be riding it.

Owen and I bought tickets and waited for the next ride.  While we waited, we got to experience another first for Owen - a parade!  He thought it was pretty interesting (especially the little cheerleaders) until a fire truck came by with a bunch of pirates riding it setting off a cannon every 2 minutes that was EXTREMELY LOUD.  Owen was not a fan and I had a hard time explaining what the heck pirates had to do with fire trucks. 

After the parade, it was our turn for the train ride.  I was a little concerned that Owen would get bored 2 minutes after we departed (it's a 45 minute ride) but he loved every second of it.  He was stoked he got to sit in his own chair.  He was glued to the window on the lookout for "ding dings" (railroad crossing signals which are his favorite part about trains.)  When there was a lull in the action, he met a little girl who was sitting in front of him and they had fun playing peek-a-boo over the seat.

After the train ride, we headed home.  Owen made it to Issaquah before he crashed (about 5 minutes away.)  Even though I was the only "single" mom there - I'm so glad we went.  He loved it and he continues to talk about it even weeks later.  "Ride choo-choo with Mama?"