Trains

This past Christmas I had the opportunity to give my dad a gift that would tap into some of his kid-like emotions. Anytime trains have ever come up in conversation while my dad is around, I see him get this nostalgic look in his eye and he will say something very simple and sincere like, "I like trains." I like trains too. I don't fully know why my dad likes trains so much. I think it has to do with childhood though. As I recall, he had a train set when he was a kid. Maybe that's why I like trains too. I had two different train sets when I was a child. One of them was a GI Joe army train, and it came complete with lots of little GI Joe soldiers who were willing to fight with their lives and sacrifice their frail little plastic bodies to valiantly battle against the blue plastic guys who fought for the evil Cobra Commander. I had another train too. But they both pretty much went to the same destination. They just rode around in circles. I always wished I had more track. Lots and lots of track. Enough track to run the perimeter of every room in our little Texas house and duck under a few tunnels beneath beds and furniture too. But alas, I had to settle for the circle. The gift was worth it though. It was fun to see my dad get down on the floor and just watch that little train go around in circles. I mean, it was a pretty cool train. It even blows smoke and has a real whistle. Dad is pretty cool too. I'm glad he likes trains. And I'm glad he likes the train that I got him for Christmas.

I had the opportunity to go on a real life train this past week. Luckily our train didn't ride in circles. It almost did though. It actually rode in a straight line and then back again. But I enjoyed it. While my dad got his little Lionel train for Christmas, my girlfriend Emily got me a dinner reservation train ride on the RJ Corman dinner train in Bardstown, Kentucky. This train ride came complete with a white tablecloth dinner, great service, good company with other table guests, and an entertaining little murder mystery play. I've included a handful of pictures for your own enjoyment. If you ever feel the urge to take your toy train fascination and upgrade to the full-size deal, head over to Bardstown and enjoy a ride and a fabulous dinner. You can even buy yourself a matching toy train in the gift shop when you return!