Oh man! I was ready for this trip. My best friend Landon and I were headed Austin to see Santa Clause on a train. Does it get any better than this? Oh, it does!
We headed to Landon’s house to meet up. Landon’s dad was driving, and so we had to load our stuff into their car. Landon and I got the middle row while we stuffed Ma and Pa in the trunk. Just kidding, they were in the third row! After getting some much-needed coffee for the parents, we hit the road.
Dinosaur Park
It was a 3-hour drive, so we decided to break up the trip. Our first stop on the journey to Austin was a Dinosaur Park. We took a nature trail around the park to see all of the different types of dinosaurs. My favorite was the long neck because of my good friend Little Foot. And because it was GIANT!
Texas Capitol
Next, we headed to the Texas Capitol to take a lap around the grounds. It is a spectacularly cool building with a dome on top that reminds me of some of the old buildings in Europe (#humblebrag). While making our way around the building, it almost felt like we were in some sort of zombie movie. There were hundreds of people walking around the building, all with their heads buried in their phones. It felt like we were the only ones there to see the capitol! It turned out everyone else was trying to catch something called a Pokemon.
The North Pole Flyer
Then, it was almost time for the feature event: The North Pole Flyer. We headed to North Austin to grab some food before our big adventure. You can’t hop on a train to go see Santa on an empty stomach.
When we got the train, the sun had already set. The train was lit up with Christmas lights. There were tons of kids, all around, just as excited as Landon and me. There were some elves outside that guided us to our train car. It was about to begin.
We hopped on the car and eagerly scurried through the people to find our seats. Landon and I settled into our seats by ourselves. Shortly after leaving, the train conductor made his way through the car to check our tickets. Then, some of Santa’s helpers came through with hot chocolate for all of us. I do love me a good hot chocolate.
Okay, so our ticket was punched and we had drunk hot chocolate. The car door opened and guess who walked in? You are right…it was Santa. You could feel the excitement fill the car. He walked through smiling at each kid and then found a spot in the middle of the car so he could spend time with every one of us.
Landon and I waited patiently for our turn. But when the Big Guy was ready for me, I froze. I lost my voice. I didn’t know what to do or what to say. All day long, my plan had been to ask for a “fire robot” but it never came out. He talked to me for what seemed forever. It was so cool to see Santa up close; I couldn’t stop smiling. Finally, by the end, Santa made a suggestion. He asked if I would like some HotWheels for Christmas. Of course, he knew I loved HotWheels. Even though I froze, it was still an awesome experience.
Landon got his turn with Santa. He was a bit braver than me. He jumped on Santa’s lap and those two chatted for a while. And you won’t believe what he asked for… a FIRE ROBOT!
Santa finished up with the other kids in our car and moved on to the next. What a night! Landon and I were both exhausted from a full day’s adventure. We curled with up with our parents and slept for the rest of the ride back into town. This was a perfect day to spend with Santa and my best friend!
