Day Out with Thomas - Baltimore

We headed up to Baltimore this afternoon. First we met Kat and Ross for lunch at Panera (at the Inner Harbor). Yummy food and great company. :)

Then we went to the B&O Railroad Museum for Day Out with Thomas. This is the third time Evelyn has seen Thomas. The previous two times were in Texas and Nebraska. Today's venue was bigger, and there were a few more activities for Evelyn to participate in.

After checking in at the admissions area, she went to the "Imagination Station" area inside the roundhouse. She colored for a little bit before deciding it was time to move on. Since we know our way around the museum, and we had an hour and a half before our train ride, we headed outside. Evelyn's first stop there was the bounce house. She spent nearly ten minutes jumping around in there. In the meantime, Troy and Julia waited in the breezy shade of the food pavillion.
Next, Evelyn got two tattoos - Thomas and Rosie. Then she made a spinning painting. We just had to get a picture with Sir Topham Hatt, so we went back inside the roundhouse. The line wasn't too long, and Evelyn was simply giddy with excitement to be standing next to the controller of the Island of Sodor.
Evelyn wanted to get a video of Thomas leaving the station, so we headed outside to watch the 2:30 train depart. Evelyn waved and blew on her wooden train whistle. In other words, she and Thomas talked to each other. By this time, the sun and heat of the day was catching up to Evelyn, so she settled down in front of some Thomas videos back inside the roundhouse (while sipping water).

It wasn't long before we heard the announcement for us to board our 3:15 train. As we walked along the raised passenger platform, I had a chance to get a great picture of Evelyn standing in front of Thomas. It's so fun to watch her excitement over being so close to one of her favorite engines. I was only able to buy two tickets (long computer story), so Troy stayed back with Julia while I rode the train with Evelyn. She noticed right away that we were on a MARC coach, which made the trip that much more special.
After our 25-minute train ride, we met up with Troy and Julia in the food pavillion. We snacked and then headed to the gift shop, our last stop of the day. It's a Day Out with Thomas tradition to get a souvenir car. She got a caboose in Texas (2007) and a tank car in Nebraska in (2008). She couldn't wait to see what kind of car she would get this year . . . It was a passenger car! Just perfect for tagging along behind Annie and Clarabel (Thomas' coaches).

Let's not forget about our little Sunshine. She deserves that nickname after today's excursion. Julia only had a 30-minute nap in the car during the drive up to Baltimore. Even though it was past 4:00 - her afternoon nap time - in the following picture, she was still all smiles.