Month: November 2012

We have had a gift certificate for the Grapevine Vintage Railroad since the spring and finally got around to using it earlier this month. After talking to the woman at the depot we decided to upgrade to first class so that we could have padded seats and be in the enclosed area. This area ended up being way less crowded and we had room to spread out.

Nadia’s favorite part of the train was the bathroom in the train-car. It was really tiny and had a pump toilet. She got the biggest kick out of pumping the handle and watching the blue water swirl around and down. She told me that would be so fun if we had one at home, but I let her know that would get old REALLY fast and she just laughed.

This guy was such a character! He was a wealth of movie trivia questions.

The ride from Grapevine to the Stockyards takes about 90 minutes since the train goes about 16-18 MPH. Once arriving there we entered “tourist mode.” We wandered around taking photos, had lunch and bought some delicious salt water taffy.

We spent about 2 hours at the Stockyards having a great time and the weather was perfect! We returned to the train at the required time and once on the train we found out that the engine had broken down. They tried to fix it, but had to get another engine from the train lot. So we ended up waiting on the train for another hour before leaving the Stockyards. Because of the wait, the attendants came around with free water and sodas for everyone. Once we finally got moving again Amelie was at her breaking point since she ended up skipping her nap – whew she was exhausted and ignoring almost everything we said. The train went a little way down the track and then we had to stop to let an Amtrak train pass at a crossing. It was then that we learned the order of priority for train crossings – military, Amtrak, freight, and leisure.

After our lesson on trains, it was fun that the attendants came by again with free snacks and candy for everyone. By the time we got back to Grapevine is was dark and close to bedtime and we were feeling that it was worth every penny to upgrade to first class – those padded seats paid off.

This was a really fun family day and I highly recommend it to all the locals who live around here, it’s just another thing that makes the Fort Worth area great!

We started the night by visiting Mike’s mom at the rehab center and we were quite a sensation for the people there. I have to tell you I cracked up laughing at the older women whipping out their iPhones asking us to pose for photos. They loaded the girls up with candy and we were on our way. We decided to once again go trick or treating at Hometown because that neighborhood is so cool!! I love how the people who live there really get into the event.

Once in the neighborhood kids started yelling, “Santa! Santa! Santa!” Mike was ready with Christmas Erasers, mini candy canes and peppermints. We posed for a lot of photos and saw plenty of people just taking photos without asking.

We were glad for a quick photo op with the Welches. Elliott was a Cowboy, Jude a horse and their baby brother was in a Sheriff onesie that Tricia’s mom made which was so cute! And Tricia was a Native American. We really should have taken a photo with adults too, but it was pretty busy out there.

This was in the middle of the neighborhood in their park area.

Amelie was fascinated by this giant Hulk, but wasn’t having ANY part of the photo op. Nadia jumped right in of course.

The Wizard of Oz house was done up again and the girls loved seeing it. We collected candy (and handed out our own) until Amelie declared she had to go to the restroom and was “so tired”. Then we ended the night in our usual fashion: a stop at Grammie’s house and a 2nd stop at Roger and Paula’s. We had so much fun!