On a particularly warm day last week, I picked up Finley from Beth's and asked her where the best place nearby for I-C-E C-R-E-A-M might be and she said there was a neat shop attached to the commuter rail station just a short drive from her house where you can watch trains come through. Wow! Ice cream AND trains?? Finley might implode from excitement, so we headed right over.
Finley wasn't so sure about what we were up to when we pulled up, but when I asked him if he wanted ice cream, he was psyched and basically pulled me across the parking lot. Turns out their speciality was soft serve, which worked just wonderfully. I handed Finley his swirled vanilla cone and he said, "lick?" and I said, "yes!" He saw the painted wooden sign for the train and asked, "choo-choo?" and I said, "Let's go sit on the bench and wait for a choo-choo." He obliged and walked over while taking short breaks to stop and lick/bite his ice cream, which gave him a lovely, white goatee by the time we sat down.
As Finley licked away, pointing at the tracks and looking around, it occurred to me that I probably should have looked at the commuter train's schedule because at 4pm on a weekday, we could have been waiting a long time to see a train. Oops.
Thankfully, after about ten minutes, we heard the train's whistle and soon the train was coming right to us! Thank you God of the Railway :) Not long after hearing the whistle, Finley caught a glimpse of the commuter train and if you look closely, you can look at his cheeks to tell how big he's smiling.
Finley loved watching the train pull in, but thankfully did not completely neglect his melting ice cream. He even discovered the deliciousness of eating the cone this time.
He yells out "people!" when he saw them getting on and off the train and then I think he thought we might be getting on, so he scooted closer to me. I heard from another person at the station that you can hop on the train and get off at the next stop and back on the next train for a return trip all for free ... I think we've found a great after daycare activity when it's hot out or when one of us is in need of ice cream and choo-choos after a hard day.
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