Feel It

I love that Haley and her Dad have a shared hobby.  They both love trains.  They get to spend time together enjoying their hobby and it is special.

Haley's Dad enjoys some unique behaviors from Haley.  She acts differently when she is with him and away from me.  With me or with her Dad she is always herself, but she shows each of us a different side of herself.  

We like to compare notes.

She is very independent when she is with her Dad.  She will try things that she probably wouldn't try if I was around.  I was about to type that she is more serious with him, but I don't know if that is really true.  She can be very serious with me as well, but she also is very silly with me.

Over the years as Haley and her Dad have gone out on these excursions of theirs, watching trains, her Dad usually comes home and tells me all about it.  He tells me that she was scared of the big, loud engines.  This time he told me that she wasn't.  She got out of the truck - he has trained her to do that all on her own - and stood next to him as he took photos of the train.  There were times that he told her it was cold out and that she could stay in the truck, but she didn't.  She got out and stood stoically next to him.  

He also told me that once when they were about to get out of the truck he told her to take her hat off.  She didn't like that idea.  She was wearing her Daylight hat for a reason - she was representing.  She listened to her Dad and took it off.  When she stepped out of the truck a big gust of wind hit her and she instinctively reached for her hat, it wasn't on her head.  She looked at her Dad and he read the look to mean - hey, you were right.  

It's amazing when parents know what they are talking about you know.

Haley's Dad didn't take a lot of pictures this trip, probably because he had his daughter with him.  I think that limits him somewhat.  He is limited in where he can go to set up and how long he can wait.  I hope he doesn't mind, because I think it is a wonderful thing that they can share these experiences.  I want to share a picture that he did take though.

He tells me that he didn't want to waste that sky.  The train wasn't coming, but he wanted to take a picture of that sky so he took a picture with Haley in it.  He sent it to me on my phone.  It made me cry.  It makes me cry now. 

These are experiences that Haley and her Dad share.  Experiences that they will both remember.  That is special.

In case you are wondering what it was that they saw out there I thought I would share a video that my husband took of the Daylight going by.  The video is impressive, but make no mistake, to see it in person is so much more so.

As Haley will tell you they got to "See it.  Hear it.  Smell it."  and Feel it.

 

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

Excitement

I didn't get much sleep last night.  Haley got me up several times.  I guess her Big Sis even got up and put her back in bed once.  

She was really excited about her day.

About the time that I needed to get up she came in to my bedroom.  She needed wanted me to help her in the bathroom.  I told her that she should probably get dressed.  We got her ready and then came downstairs.  I asked her Dad if she had eaten breakfast.  He said that she had.  I noticed a bowl on the counter, she hadn't eaten much.  Her Dad had packed her lunch and quite a few snacks though so I think they are going to be OK.

He had to take her grandparents to the depot and wanted me to have her ready for him when he got back.  So she was dressed and had eaten.  All I had to do was brush her teeth and get her shoes on.  

I was reading the paper and having my morning coffee and she kept coming in to the kitchen to talk about her day.

She said "See it.  Hear it.  Daylight.  Black.  Red.  Orange."

She said a lot more than that, but that was about all that I understood.

After she got done with her litany I said "It's going to be fun!"

I got the dirtiest look.

Haley does not like it when I tell her something is going to be fun.  I get the same reaction every time.  

I always mean it.  

Whatever I say that about I truly think it is going to be fun, but she does not like me to say it.  I asked her what she wanted me to say.  Like I expected an answer.  

I didn't get one.

I didn't want to go down this path we had turned onto so I said "Yay!"

She said "Yay!" and we moved on.

She is off now with her Dad.  They are stopping along the route of the steam engine excursion finding good places to set up his camera and taking pictures.  They will be eating their lunch and their snacks.

It's going to be fun.

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

The Cat's Out of the Bag

Haley's Dad has been planning something fun for Haley for several months.

Tonight at dinner he turned to her and said "Haley, do you want to see the Daylight on Saturday?"

"Daylight?"

I said "You aren't going to pass that up are you."

She said "Saturday."

He said "Yeah, and Sunday too."

"Sunday?"

Then she started counting her fingers.  "What are you counting?"

She pointed to the refrigerator.  Then I got it.  She was pointing at the calendar.

I said "Tomorrow is Friday and then the next day is Saturday.  So, I guess you would count one day."

"One day?"

Her Dad asked her if she thought she could spend the whole day with him.  He told her that she would probably see the Daylight at least four times.

She said "Yeah."

Then she got up from the table and went to her laptop and started watching Daylight videos on YouTube.

He didn't tell her the other surprise.  

Her Grandma and Grandpa will be here tomorrow when she gets off of the bus.  I don't know if he plans to tell her that or not. 

I think we should let this one settle in.

~ Haley's Mom

I am participating in 31 for 21 Blog Challenge this month. The challenge I have accepted is to blog every day in October to raise awareness for Down Syndrome. Learn more about Down Syndrome at the National Association of Down Syndrome.

Yeah, fun day!

The Holiday Express is a train ride behind one of the two steam engines that are housed in Portland. The first weekend this year it was pulled by the SP&S 700 and the second weekend it was pulled by the SP 4449.

Haley's Dad took her to watch the 700 on the first weekend. They had a great time together. They spent the rest of the day looking at the pictures that he had taken of it. Haley loves talking about the steam and the smoke. She still says that it smells good.

I found out later in the day that Haley and her Dad actually took a spill on a slippery part of the trail. She hadn't told me about that. Her Dad said that she was surprised and it looked as if she was about to cry when he laughed it off and made some jokes. Then she laughed about it too and they went on.

She was really excited about seeing the 700 running and kept talking about taking a train ride. Her Dad had to admit that we had tickets for the following weekend.  She even made him show them to her.  That was all she would talk about all week long. "Tickets. Ride. One, two, three, four,"  because we had tickets for each on of us.  Once she saw them she was fine. She was excited, but she never got upset like she has in the past when something fun doesn't happen fast enough.

So the next Saturday we got in the Yukon and headed out.  We planned to go early this year so that Haley could get her shopping done before the ride.  Her Big Sis needed to be somewhere right after the ride.  Haley enjoyed walking around looking at all of the merchandise they had on display.  She pointed at things and talked about them, but she wasn't picking things up or acting like she wanted any one thing.  I needed to speed it along so I asked her if she wanted to buy anything.  She was off like a shot picking up videos, calendars and t-shirts.  I had to push past a few people just to keep up with her.  I know she understands money and buying things now, but she was in such an excited state I was afraid that she would just fill her arms and head out.

She chose a calender of the SP 4449, a video (the second part of a series we already started buying her) and a shirt with the SP&S 700 on it.  I think she would have taken one of everything, but I had to limit her a little bit.  She also wanted a hot chocolate, but her Big Sis thought that maybe what she really wanted was the free cookie that went with it.

We got in line and listened to the volunteer explain about the engine and the trip.  Then we got to get on the train.  We chose a seat with a table and sat down and Haley opened up her bag of goodies to check everything out.  She had also picked up a brochure about Amtrak that she (surprisingly) didn't already have, considering how much time we had been spending at the Amtrak station lately.  There were brochures on the table when we sat down and she was quick to grab them and stuff them into her bag as well.

As we rode down the track we talked about what we saw out the window.  Her Dad pointed out the places that they had stopped along the trail to take pictures the weekend before.  He even pointed out where they both fell down.  Haley pointed out the lights and the ornaments that decorated the inside of the car.  Soon we heard the jingle of bells and we knew what to expect.  Santa and his elves came in to our car and gave everyone candy canes.  He stopped to take pictures with the children.  I asked him if I could take a picture of him with Haley.  I don't think that he realized she was a kid - she is getting so big these days.

We had a great time on the trip this year.  Haley still talks about it.  She says "Yeah, fun day!"

The Happiest Place on Earth

I know what you are thinking, but it is not Disneyland.  Haley hasn't been to Disneyland.  Yet.

It takes several days to get to Montana.  Haley's Dad made a reservation at a place that he had been to, but never stayed at.  Haley had never been there.  We tried to tell her that she would like it.  All she knew was that we weren't going to be at Grandma's yet.

Haley really wanted to go to Grandma’s.

When we drove up I think she started to realize that maybe we were right.  She really would like it.

We stayed at the IzaakWalton Inn in Essex, Montana.   

 

The inn is built right next to the train tracks.  There is a caboose and an engine parked right next to the inn. You can actually spend the night in them.  Up on the hill there are cabooses in all colors that you can also stay the night in.  We didn’t do that because they require a two night stay, but I think we may have to try that someday.

Once inside the inn there is train memorabilia everywhere you looked.  And I mean everywhere.

 We couldn’t even get inside the doors before Haley had to stop and look and point and talk about what she saw.   

She was in heaven.

 

The inn is old.  It is quaint.  It is really cool.

Our room was nice.  It was basically two rooms.  We had a bed in the main room and the girls had bunk bed in theirs.  There was a sink in the main room and a bathroom with a toilet and shower off of that.  The weather was really nice so we opened our window.  We were in the middle of nowhere so there was no traffic noise, just the occasional train.  There was no TV and no phones.  We didn’t even have cell service.

We ate dinner on the deck and watched trains go by.  We went for a walk and watched trains go by.  We sat in the porch swings and watched trains go by.

We bought a deck of cards and went to our room to play cards on our bed.

The only thing I would have changed about our stay would have been to request a trackside room.  Haley could hear the trains, but she had to go out of our room and walk to the end of the hall to see them.

Our breakfast the next day was just as delicious as the dinner had been the night before.  We got to watch rail equipment go by all through our meal.

We will go back, and this time I imagine that Haley will look forward to it.   

She kept saying it was a “fun time.”

National Train Day 2011

Saturday was National Train Day for 2011. NTD is an event organized by Amtrak to get people out and see what they have to offer. In Portland Amtrak assembled a nice array of their Superliners and Talgos. Of course they had some wonderful historic equipment most importantly including Haley's favorite, the Daylight.

This year Haley's Mom was unable to attend because of another appointment. That meant Haley and I could have a daddy/daughter adventure! Instead of surprising her like we did last year I explained the plan to her first thing in the morning. I told her we'd ride Max to Portland Union Station and we would see her Daylight, BNSF, a caboose and some other railroad equipment. I think having her understand the complete plan worked well. She was right in step with me through every part of the day.

At the station Haley and I walked around and looked at everything. Last year Haley was very nervous around the Daylight. I think it was because they were constantly blowing the whistle and startling her. This year they chose to blow the whistle at the top and bottom of every hour. This was perfect! I could easily warn Haley and get her prepared. The result was this year she was much calmer around the Daylight. I imagine many of the other kids were happier too.

I think her favorite thing was a BNSF locomotive. We spent quite a bit of time wandering around it, touching, and listening to its noises. In fact I ended up capturing the image in this post at the rear steps. Haley really likes the photo too. She stood by me the whole time I was editing it talking about her day.

Today she's still basking in the fun she had. She still reviews all the things she picked up yesterday and has been watching the video she bought pretty much non-stop.

National Train Day is good!

The Trains Magazine

Haley's Dad here again. As a railfan I'm a subscriber to a couple of different railroad magazines. Haley really likes these because they are littered with pictures of trains. She opens each one and makes a first pass looking for the Daylight. If there is an image of the Daylight in the magazine, no matter how small or stylized, she will find it. She has a passion for that locomotive.

Her next pass is to identify other locomotives and which railroad they belong to. For the most part she can pick out locomotives from BNSF, UP, Amtrak, Sante Fe, BN, CN, and CP with little help. Some times prior paint schemes from these railroads confuse her a little. This is where Haley's Mom and I come in. We have to identify the railroad for her on any images where she doesn't recognize the paint job. This is OK, but after reviewing the same magazine with her dozens of times it gets kinda old.

Thursday the latest issue of Trains arrived in the mailbox. When I hopped into the car with it Haley had already noticed that I was carrying a new magazine. She asked to see it in her own gibberish. I handed it to her. That was a big mistake.

She has essentially claimed the new issue as hers. During the day it sits on our bar table so she can refer to it at any time. Every meal it sits between us and we have to flip pages while I identify railroads (and there are an abundance of unusual railroads this month!). At night it goes to her magazine cache in her room where it rests until she gets up. Needless to say I've had little opportunity to read it myself.

Why is this issue so compelling for her? The best I can figure is she loves the full page vertical image of SP4458, a sister Daylight locomotive to the SP 4449, pulling a freight train. Of course she doesn't know it is not the locomotive down in Portland, it's a Daylight locomotive and that is all that matters!

I'm very happy she has a passion for something. I want to read my magazine though.

Ticket to Ride

On Sunday we went for a ride on the Holiday Express.  This years train was pulled by the 4449 Daylight, one of Haley's favorite steam engines.  The day was very rainy, but not cold. 

Haley loved the ride as evidenced by her brightly colored cheeks.

She loved that she could hear the Daylight's whistle from her seat in the plush festively decorated car.

She got very excited when Santa Claus came through the car with jingle bells ringing saying "Ho Ho Ho," but she was most excited to go shopping.

The Oregon Rail Heritage Foundation set up a tent so that people can wait in line for the train out of the elements and also so that they can peruse the items that they are selling to support the building of the new roundhouse that will some day house the SP 4449 Daylight, the SP&S 700 and the OR&N 197.  Haley gleefully took every written piece of information about her favorite engines which included the Newsletter that updated us on the state of the new roundhouse.  The newsletter is well done and it makes us really excited to see construction begin.

Haley loves shopping.  She kept talking about shopping for clothes, which she did, but shopping for anything with the Daylight, it's logo or the 700 and it's logo on it is her favorite kind of shopping.  Haley bought two t-shirts and a new jacket.  The first picture on this blog is one of the t-shirts she got.

This is the shirt that shows all three engines.

Here is her Daylight jacket.

I have been eyeing the jacket for awhile, I just really wanted to try it on her so this was the perfect opportunity.  Haley also got a DVD about the Holiday Express.

We would love to support the building of the new roundhouse even more if we could.  The only times that we can experience these engines is when they are out on excursions, the rest of the time they are locked up tight inside a building that is too dangerous to visit.  We look forward to the day that we can go to OMSI and buy a ticket and visit these big beautiful engines whenever we want to, but until that day comes we will continue to do our part to support the work of the ORHF by letting Haley shop.

She Saw the Daylight

In our area we are blessed to have a steam locomotive that is operational and is run on special occasions.  One such occasion is the Christmas season.  Every year we like to take Haley for a ride on the Holiday Express that is pulled by either the 4449 Daylight or the SP&S 700. 

We wanted to go this weekend, but Haley's Big Sis is not feeling well so we are planning to go next weekend.  We bought our tickets this morning.

My husband always takes Haley train watching on Sundays and he really wanted to take her down to see the Daylight pulling the train today.  He was concerned that she would be upset if she got to see the train without getting to ride it. 

I didn't know what to tell him, but I said that maybe she would understand if he just told her the truth.  He decided to take her.

When they got home Haley came in the kitchen and started telling me all about it.  She told me that she saw the Daylight and that she walked and that she heard the engine's whistle.  She told me that she could smell the steam and smoke and that it smelled good.  Her Dad came in a few minutes later and prompted her to tell me more.  He told me that she wasn't scared.  At all.  He said that she walked right along side the engine and never asked to go back to the Yukon. 

He said that he really enjoyed the whole trip because she really enjoyed it.

I asked him if she was upset that she didn't get to ride it.  He said that she wasn't.  She talked about riding the cars and he told her that we had tickets for next Sunday.  She said "tickets" and that was it.  She was fine with it.

A few hours later. after she had spent the afternoon looking at pictures of the Daylight and the Holiday Express online she came downstairs and found me again.  She started telling  me how she had waved at the engineer of the Daylight, his name is Doyle.  She told me that she walked and that she had fun.

Well, I will let her tell you herself.

Haley's Hobby

Haley's hobby, of watching trains, that she shares with her Dad means something else to her Dad.  He likes to watch them go by, just as much as Haley does, but he also likes to take pictures of them.  He is not the only one.  There is a whole society of people that like to take pictures of trains going by.  Not only do they like to take these pictures but they like to share them with each other.

My husband belongs to several groups that post pictures of the trains that they take online.   They also like to get together occasionally and look at each others pictures.  A couple of years ago my husband got together with some friends and set their pictures to music and they made a night of it watching their shows, having dinner and drinks and just enjoying their mutual hobby.

My husband became the video guru.  People send their photo montages (set to music) to him and he makes sure that they will run smoothly.  Then at the appointed time he runs all of the shows for the group from his computer on a big screen.

The advantage to this is that Haley is left with a plethora of train pictures set to music.  She gets immense joy from watching these shows.  The people that make these shows know that they will be enjoyed by their friends for an evening.  I bet they have no idea how much joy they give to one little girl forevermore.

The weekend is coming up where everyone will get together and share their shows and so my husband has been previewing a lot of shows, making sure that they will be presented without a problem.  Haley has been enjoying them.  She also had gotten into looking at the shows that we still have from several years past.

The fun thing for me is that in general the music is good, so when Haley wants to watch the shows I enjoy the music.  This weekend Haley watched the shows over and over again.  She sang at the top of her lungs along with some of the songs.  She had a great time.

She was so in to it on Sunday evening that I could hear her from downstairs.  She had the show on pretty loud and she was going from the computer room to our bedroom and back singing along. 

Pretty soon I couldn't hear her singing anymore. 

I went upstairs to put her to bed and I found her sitting at the computer with her legs crossed on the table, her hand on the mouse and her head on the back of the chair.  She was nodding off, just about asleep.  I gently got her up and turned off her show and put her in bed. 

She was so happy to watch those shows and she really got in to the music.  I think she had worn herself out. 

No Holes

A couple of weeks ago Haley was looking at one of her train websites and she saw some earrings that she liked.  She didn't know that they were earrings, they were railroad heralds and she thought they were cool.  I told her what they were for and showed her my ears and told her that she didn't have holes in her ears so she didn't really have a use for earrings. 

It wasn't really a big deal because the next item was a necklace with the same herald.  I told here that a necklace would be much better for her anyway.

This morning Haley came to me during breakfast pointing to her ears and jabbering about her ears.  I didn't know what she was talking about so I followed her.  She had a catalog open to a certain page and she pointed to the earrings at the top of the page.  They were tiny railroad crossing signs.  They were adorable.

I told her again that she didn't have holes in her ears.  She said "No holes."  I told her there was a lot more to earrings than just finding a cute pair.  I know she doesn't understand, but I am not about to put holes in her ears.

Daylight DVD

Haley finally earned enough Daylight Dollars to get her Daylight DVD.  The last five dollars were a long time coming.  She just didn't seem convinced that she needed to do the work to earn them.  After much coaxing she did.

She had to wait a few days for the DVD to arrive.  I was surprised that she didn't drive me crazy about it.  She knew she had earned enough and she knew she had to wait.  She was very patient.

The DVD arrived yesterday, but we didn't get the mail until today.

She brought me the package and we opened it together.  She was very excited to finally have it.  Her Big Sis was watching a program on TV so I told her to go upstairs and ask her Dad to put it on the laptop.

I was distracted and had kind of forgotten about her.  Pretty soon I heard constant chatter coming from upstairs.  "Daylight. DVD. Loud. Hot." and a lot of grunting (I don't know what else to call it) she is talking, I am sure, but it is not words that we can understand.  She is very excited.  I even hear a "whistle blowing" from time to time.

I imagine that this will be the DVD of choice for quite a while.

Dad. Haley. 844.

Last night my husband surprised Haley and took her to see a visiting steam engine, the Union Pacific 844. 

He didn't tell her what they were doing.  She usually likes to "go" it doesn't really matter where.  When they got to where the steam engine was parked they could just see the top of it.  He asked her what she saw and she said "844."

They got to go right up to it.  It is in town this week as part of the "Portland Rose" tour.  The engine was parked next to a parking lot and they even had the gift shop open.

When she got home she came running in to the living room to find me.  She said "844!"  She showed me the paper that she got with information about the engine and the business card she got with the Union Pacific logo on it.  She was so excited, her cheeks were bright red.

She could not calm down.  Her Dad showed us these pictures on this camera and then when upstairs to upload all of the pictures that he had taken.  Haley would go upstairs and see what he was doing and then come back down and tell me more about her adventure.  This went on all night long, up and down and back up again.

This morning she woke up and immediately got her paper and started telling me all over again.

"Dad. Haley. 844.  Steam.  Smoke.  Hot.  Smells good.  Big.  Big wheels."

She wanted to put her paper in her backpack.  I told her that she could share it with her friends at school.  She focused on the word "share." 

She used to get to take something to school every Friday that she could share.  They had sharing time where each kid was the center of attention.  They could bring out whatever they had brought and talk about it, then the other kids would raise their hands and ask questions or make a comment.  Haley loved sharing time.  She was ready every Friday with something to share.  That was in grade school.  She hasn't had sharing time in middle school .  I told her that she could share the paper with her one-on-one helper and with Miss D, but that she wouldn't have a real sharing time.

I don't know if she understood me and I don't know what will happen when she gets to school, but I hope she gets to share that paper with someone or I think she just might burst!

It's Not Fair

Grandma C is jealous of my husband's Dad, Grandpa C.  Haley gets really excited when he is coming to see her.  My Mom has witnessed the excitement first hand. 

Once she was at our house and had been there a couple of days when Grandma and Grandpa arrived.  Haley ran to the door and gave Grandpa a hug.  You know by now, if you have been reading this blog that Haley's hugs are not consistent, but Grandma did see that hug.

Grandma C knows that Grandpa C has the tractor that Haley likes to ride.  She thinks that the tractor makes the difference.  I don't know if that is true.  It doesn't bother me, I know she loves all of her Grandparents very much.

What Grandpa doesn't have though that my Mom and Don do is a train track right outside his window. 

Haley loves to come to Montana and stay at Grandma and Don's house because of the trains.  We can usually hear the train coming and we all yell, "Haley get to the window, a train is coming!"  Haley yells "WooHoo!" and giggles.  Sometimes several trains go by in one day.  Yesterday the same train went back and forth switching cars.  There was also a crew loading Herzog Cartopper backhoes onto some cars that were hauling new ties.  I think Haley was especially interested in this train because there was a caboose on the end.

Haley and her Dad sat in the back of the Yukon in the garage and watched the action for almost two hours.  It was really hot yesterday.  I think the high was ninety three.  It was a little cooler in the shade, but they were dedicated.  Haley was in heaven.

Haley loves that trains go right by Grandma's house.  It would seem that Grandma and Don have an unfair advantage.  So I really don't think Grandma needs to worry about Grandpa C's tractor.

Haley really liked the fact that the train she had watched all day parked right there and stayed all night long.  Whenever she looked out the window it was still sitting there.  She actually seemed a little concerned that it wasn't leaving.  She waved at it and said "Bye."  and then she would walk by later and it would still be sitting there and she would say "Bye." again.

I didn't appreciate it much however.  The crew walked away from the train around four o'clock in the afternoon and left it running.  It ran for a couple of hours and then shut down.  We had about an hour rest before it started back up again.  That went on all night long.  I ended up wearing earplugs to block some of the sound, but Haley didn't.  I was amazed that she could sleep through it. 

This morning about nine forty five the crew came back and the train finally left.  Haley and I went out the front door and waved goodbye.  Haley said "Bye.  Miss You." 

I didn't.

Montana Train Watching

When we come to Montana Haley's Dad likes to drive around and take pictures of the beautiful scenery and the occasional train.  I could tell that he was getting ready to go yesterday and I suggested that he take Haley.  She loves watching trains and she hadn't been train watching in a while.  She was excited to go.

They were gone for a while.  When they got back Haley was really happy.  She kept telling me that she had a "fun time."  I asked her Dad if he got any good pictures while they were out.  He said he got one.

"Train Ride...Yeah"

One of the highlights of our recent trip to Grandma and Grandpa's house was the way that Haley got there.  My husband took her on Amtrak and her Big Sis and I met them in Tacoma and then we drove the rest of the way.  This is his account in his words:

"Train Ride...Yeah"

For several years I've had the idea that on a trip to Grandpa's Haley and I should ride Amtrak up to Tacoma while Haley's Mom and Big Sis drive up and meet us.  Haley's ridden several excursion trains but has never set foot on the Amtrak trains she sees and loves to watch. I decided last weekend's trip to Grandpa's would be a good opportunity to make this trip since we were treating Big Sis to a Mariners game.

All Aboard

Haley's Mom spent some time explaining to Haley that she and Dad would be riding the train for part of the trip to Grandpa's.  She really didn't seem to understand the concept but did go along with it.  We arrived at the Vancouver depot about 25 minutes before train time and again explained to Haley that we'd be riding Amtrak to Grandpa's and finally I think it started to sink in.  When we stepped onto the platform a few minutes before the train arrived she seemed ready to go but very unsure of what was going on.  In typical Haley fashion she was a bit apprehensive about actually boarding the train but went right along with it.

Highball Vancouver!

Once on board we found our seats and started our journey.  Haley of course got the window seat so she could see everything easily.  I pointed out several of our favorite train watching haunts as we whizzed through Vancouver's western suburbs.  Haley was very quiet and seemed to just be soaking in the whole atmosphere of rolling down the track at 79 mph.  North of Woodland we passed one of the railroad's automated hot box detectors that inspects the train for hot axles/wheels and dragging equipment.  These detectors give a status to the train crew over the radio and Haley has always enjoyed the last part of the radio message which is "detector out."  I let her listen on the radio to the message from the detector and that seemed to tickle her.

The Whistle

On board Amtrak Cascades cars the ride is smooth and quiet except for the occasional clickety-clack when passing over the frogs of switches.  Haley's favorite noise though was the whistle.  Despite being about 5 cars behind the engine the wail of the air horn was easily heard and several times Haley commented on hearing it.  "Whistle" she'd say and point to the front of the train.

Other Trains

The cars ride quite low so when meeting or passing other trains about all you see out the window is wheels and the bottom portion of the freight cars.  We saw around a dozen trains along the way but it wasn't until we about to dive into Tacoma's Nelson Bennett tunnel when we passed a Union Pacific stack train that Haley became excited about seeing a train out her window.  "Pacific", "cars", "blue", "train ride....yea" she was really into our ride now.  In fact when we passed the head end of the UP train she actually identified the yellow engines as belonging to the Union Pacific.

Tacoma in 5 minutes

As we passed through Ruston meeting two southbound BNSF freights Haley was on a roll identifying engines and logos on cars out the window.  She was really enjoying herself.  I had to explain to her that in a few minutes we were going to be getting off the train and meeting Mom and Big Sis so we could head to Grandpa's.  That didn't seem to bother her as it seem like she was really ready to tell someone about her experience. 

Off To Grandpa's

We got off the train and met up with Mom who got a few more pictures of us in front of the train.  As a last thrill for the night we all stood on the platform and watched as our train pulled away from the Tacoma station.  Haley always enjoys the cadence of locomotive exhaust noise and with the train accelerating out of the station the exhaust rumbling off the ceiling of the platform cover was thrilling.  Spontaneously she said "bye a train" and gave a great big wave.

Train Watching

Haley did go train watching with her Dad on Father's Day and he took some pictures of her while they were there.  She got to go to her new favorite train watching spot.  She calls it Tunnel.  They go under the tracks and go up a land bridge and watch the trains at eye level.  She likes it because she can be close, but not too close, and the engineers don't honk at her.

 

Haley brought along her horse Chip to help her watch the trains.

Happy Father's Day

We don't have anything planned for Father's Day.  Well, not that I know of anyway.  Haley's Dad always seems to have a plan.  He will probably do the one thing he always does on Sunday.  He takes Haley with him to "Train Watch."

I put that in quotes because it is something that is understood at our house, but when I explain it to outsiders they often give me a blank stare.  It is not something that everyone does, but there are those that do.  Haley and her Dad being two of them.

For the uninitiated Train Watching is exactly what is sounds like.  You go somewhere near tracks, you stop and you watch.  A train goes by.  You wait.  Another train goes by.  That's it.  Oh.  And Yes, I do mean freight trains.  The kind you see running along next to you on the highway.  Oh, and Amtrak. 

I wish I could see your face right now.

We also "Watch" steam engines, but that is another story.  That is fun and there are always hundreds of people waiting to see them go by.  It is kind of novel to see one of those bad boys barreling down the tracks blasting smoke and steam.  That is a spectacle.

This is just sitting by the tracks and waiting.  I don't get it, but I know my husband does.  He has friends that do.  Haley does.

Every Sunday morning I get up like it is a regular day, but after that everything changes.  On Sunday, I go to church.  I get up and get myself ready.  That right there is saying something.  I don't get Haley ready on Sunday.  This was never an agreement between myself and my husband, it has just developed organically.  I usually have to be at church early because I volunteer at my church.  I have many roles.  I also have a really difficult time saying no when it comes to my church.  I love them and they love me.  So I usually don't have time to get Haley ready, but also Haley is on Dad's schedule.

He usually doesn't have to get her up.  She has a very good internal clock and she is usually up and rarin' to go on Sunday.  She eats breakfast with Dad.  He gets her dressed, which usually means a train shirt and jeans.  He brushes her teeth and fixes her hair.  Then they leave.  We don't see them again until lunch time.

They don't always go to the same place, but apparently they have the same routine.  They stop somewhere and then Haley undoes her seat belt and climbs in back of the Yukon and sets up whatever toys she has brought and they wait. 

My husband has been doing this since he was young.  He has a scanner so that he knows where the trains are.  He knows which one to expect at what time.  He knows if they have an issue on route and will be late.  He can listen to the conversations between the engineers and the dispatchers.  He even can listen to the crews that are doing maintenance on the tracks.

I have tried to go Train Watching with him.  When we were dating it was fun.  It was a unique experience and I just wanted to spend time with him.  The same was true after we were married.  I saw it as a way to spend time together.  It didn't take long for the appeal to wear off for me.  My husband doesn't just go to the depot where the average person would expect to find a train, he goes out in the boonies.  He goes to places that will make for a good backdrop, because he also likes to take pictures of trains going by.  Those places are usually far from civilization, and when I say civilization I mean restrooms.  A couple of times of that was enough for me.

We did Train Watch as a family after Haley's Big Sis was born, but she seemed to have the same reaction to it that I did.  Then we had Haley.  Little did we know that she would get the fever. 

My daughter is a Rail Fan. 

She loves trains in any form that she can get them.  When she is with her Dad she loves to watch those big trains go by.  As long as she can stay in the back of the Yukon.

So, Honey I have the Yukon all ready to go, I took it to the car wash for you today.  Happy Father's Day.

Hamburger!

My weekend was better.  Big Sis had some medicine that finally put an end to the dizzy/headache and the sun was shining.  Haley and I and her Dad decided to go for a walk on Sunday.

We walked down by the river, which coincidentally is also by the railroad tracks, much to Haley's delight.  It was a beautiful day and there were a lot of other people that had the very same idea.  Haley got to see many dogs on our walk as well as boats and airplanes and trains.  She kept up with us very well too.

We walked past several restaurants on our walk.  Delicious smells were in the air.  Haley announced that she could smell a hamburger.  She decided she wanted a hamburger.  She tried to go in to the restaurant.  We told that we were on a walk, and that we would not be eating.  That didn't seem to deter her.  She tried to go into the next restaurant.

I told her that I was planning to make salmon burgers for dinner and that seemed to satisfy her for a while.

After our walk we stopped by the grocery store to get a few things.  She wanted to get a hamburger there.  I again explained to her that I would be cooking dinner tonight at home and that we would be having salmon burgers.

We got home and because I was not going to start cooking, even though she wanted me to (it was only 3:00) she decided to go upstairs and play on the computer.  After a while she wanted help with her computer game.  She was playing a Spirit Stallion of the Cimmaron game which is strategy game, you have to save a horse to move on to the next level.  Haley has played this game many times and her favorite part is toward the end of the game.  There are railroad tracks and a steam engine.  She likes to get to that point, but it takes time and skill and I usually have to help her get to there.  I told her that I didn't want to play her game and that I needed to get started on dinner.  She clapped her hands and said "Yay!  Hamburger!"

I went downstairs and started making my salmon burgers.  Pretty soon Haley came in to the kitchen and went to the refrigerator.  She got out the catsup, the mustard and the pickle relish and put them on the table.  I thought about explaining the difference between salmon burgers and hamburgers, but I didn't.  After she had done what she thought needed to be done she went back upstairs.

When dinner was ready I called her down.  The salmon burgers I make are delicious, and she liked them the last time I served them.  Sunday night Haley did want my salmon burgers.  I got quite a look when she sat down and took a look at her plate.  Haley doesn't like to pick up her food.   She is happier using a fork or a spoon, so I usually help her eat sandwiches and tacos and burgers.  I held up the burger so she could take a bite.  I got another look.  Then she said "Hamburger!" 

She was not happy with me.

National Train Day

In honor of National Train Day we took Haley to see her favorite steam engine, the Southern Pacific 4449 Daylight.  We did not however tell her that we were going.  Haley and her Dad usually go "train watching" on Sunday mornings, but this weekend we have other plans on Sunday so when we told her we were going to see trains on a Saturday she assumed it would be business as usual.  Grandma C is in town so we thought she would enjoy this experience too.

We arrived at the depot and started walking toward it and Haley started pointing to all of the people wearing SP&S 700 and Daylight hats and shirts and I realized that I failed when I got her dressed.  She should have been representing.

At the entrance we were greeted by clowns that gave Haley a sticker(which she loved.)  Then once inside we got a bag of swag.  She immediately started collecting things to put into it.  Haley loved all of the booths that were set up.  She looked at everything and took everything that they were offering.

Haley saw this as a perfect opportunity to increase the size of her railroad t-shirt collection.  She is growing out of some of her favorites.  She chose two new t-shirts; a Daylight shirt and a black 700 shirt that glows in the dark.  She would have taken more of course, but I had to draw the line somewhere.  She also got a new 700 pin, the kind that guys like to pin on their hats, but we pinned it to her purse.

We stopped at every booth and then walked through the depot and we decided it was time to show her what we had really come for.  We had heard the whistle from inside the depot and I had asked what she could hear.  I think she was already overwhelmed by the crowd because she didn't answer me.  Haley can usually tell you what kind of train is coming by the sound of the whistle.  She knows the difference between the Amtrak whistle and a freight train whistle, she can identify the 700, the Daylight, and the 10 by the sound of their whistles.

I started to head toward the door and I could tell that Haley knew what was going on because she started to back up.  Haley loves the engines.  She loves to watch them on the TV screen.  She loves to watch them go by from the comfort and safety of our vehicles.   She does not like to be close to them.  As I gently pushed her through the door I could feel her start to shake.  She was scared.

This  is something that we have dealt with for a while now.  Her father loves trains too.  She got her love of trains from him.  He likes to be close to them and he knows she loves them so he really wants her to be comfortable enough to join him.  I think that is why he made sure I came with them today.  He is the one that gets her excited, I am the one that can calm her down.

The closer we got to the engine the more she held on to me.  She was pushing me back.  I was calmly telling her that I wouldn't let her get too close.  I wouldn't let her get hurt.  I don't really know what she is scared of.  The thing is big and it is loud.  If she got very close it would be hot, but we would never make her get too close.  They had a platform built so that people could easily get up to the cab level and look in, they could even talk with the engineer.  There was a long line for it.  I knew that we would not be going there.

The engine was steaming and puffing.  Without warning the whistle would sound.  That thing is really loud when you are that close.  Whoever was pulling the chord was being gentle though because it could be a lot louder.  Haley jumped every time.  I don't blame her though, so did I and everyone else that was there.

We passed the engine and went up on the overpass that looked down on the yard so that she could get a birds eye view.  I hoped that she would feel more comfortable further away.  I think it did help.  From that vantage point she could see the other cars they had on display and she saw the caboose. 

I saw that there was a line to get into the caboose and asked her if she would stand in line to go into the caboose.  She said "Yeah."  She did really well in that line (it went quickly.) 

Haley really enjoyed going through the caboose and the pullman car.

When we got back down on the sidewalk from the pullman car she turned to me and said "Yukon."  That was it.  That was all the "fun" she could take for one day.  As we left she kept telling us about her experience.  "Caboose.  Fun.  Daylight.  Yeah.  Caboose.  Fun.  Daylight." and on and on.