Train Trip - Birthday Present!

In the middle of November, I finally got to "redeem" my birthday present.  I know, I know...it makes hubby seem horrible (my birthday is in April).   It was always on the roster for "things to do", but we waited because the summer version of the adventure was shorter and not as exciting.  And likely to be more crowded, and I sort of hate being around a ton of people.  So November it was!  What did we do?

First, you have to know that over the past two years, I have come to really love trains.  Real trains.  Sure, Thomas is cool, but I like the real trains.  I'm always interested in what's in them, who is driving, where they're going.  And plus, they just look really darn cool.  They don't even bother me when they block traffic, or blow their horn at 5 in the morning.  All together, I find them a bit majestic. 

When I found out there was a train in Austin that took you on a trip, I knew we had to go!  It picks you up way up north and takes you to a historic town called Burnet.  There, you have time to go eat lunch, watch the reenacted gun-fight in town, and explore the other cars of the train and the town itself.

We got tickets in a coach car, and I was so excited to take off!  The employees are dressed in old fashioned railroad outfits and they even come to stamp your tickets.  I was a total kid.  When we started off, the rail yard had tons of neat machinery and gadgets to look at.  The ride was pretty slow, but the windows were large, so there was always something to look at.  You could walk between the cars, and they even had a concession car with a little gift shop, it was so cute!  Mike was tempted to get a conductor hat...we resisted.

Once in Burnet, we hopped on a shuttle to go to a southern food buffet called The Highlander.  The chicken fried steak was delish!  Back in the city center, we were able to catch the last few minutes of the farmer's market and buy some goat milk soap.  We hope to have goats one day, so we wanted to patronize the wonderful lady selling there.  It smells fab!

So Excited!

We saw the first part of the gun fight, which was so cute.  They made all of the little kids deputies, taught them a bit of gun safety, and then proceeded to act out the rest of the fight.  It was really cool, but we decided to check out the rest of the train.  I just HAD to see the rest of the cars. 

We walked the whole length of the train and I was mesmerized by the unique details in each separate car.  One thing I loved was the built in Dixie cup dispensers built right in to the walls!  The doors, handles, compartments, were all so neat.  I was pretty much like a little kid checking everything out, pushing all the buttons, etc.  We eventually went all the way to the front and got to hear the loud horn which meant it was time to load up and head out. 

Neat Handles

Taps at the bar

We cozied back in to our seats and ended up taking a little nap on the way home.  It was such a fun little trip, and I absolutely loved being on an old restored train.  Mark that one off the bucket list!  Thanks for a memorable and unique birthday present! 

The only thing I could complain about is that I wanted to learn more of the history of the whole adventure.  Who built each car, where did they come from, what is shipped on these tracks?  I expected there to be audio playing while we were riding so that we could learn more about the train itself.  Other than that, the trip was fantastic.

When we returned back to the car, I was still giddy.  I had an amazing time!  We treated ourselves to some Dunkin' Donuts and eventually made it back home.  It was a different kind of Saturday and one I will always treasure.  Thanks to the husband for a fun trip!