Blog on the Run

I'm writing from the road.  From mile marker 127 on IH-35, to be exact.  QT's got us listening to the Timex Social Club on his XM radio, and I'm finding it difficult to string 2 thoughts together.  (make that mile marker 128)
 
We left Beautiful Grandma's house about 2 hours ago and are en route to New Braunfels.  Originally, our plans called for us to spend the night in Dallas, but we left Mom's so late that we decided against attempting that drive tonight.  Instead, we'll bunk at my cousin's (or somewhere in the Austin area) tonight then head to Dallas tomorrow to visit the Wiggles Play Center
 
We had booked a nonrefundable rate at the Westin in Frisco, but because we're Starpoints Gold Members, they were able to change our reservations to tomorrow.  Whew!  It would've been unfortunate if we'd lost our deposit.  Anyway, my laptop battery's petering out so I must sign off now.  As the Governator would say, "I'll be bock." 

Changes at Hermann Park (Houston Chronicle story)

Dec. 18, 2007, 9:09AM
CHANGES AT HERMANN PARK
All the bells and whistles

A ritzy station, bigger seats, more stops. Wave goodbye until a new, improved train emerges in March.


By ALLAN TURNER
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

The little Hermann Park train that chugged and tooted its way into children's hearts for half a century will come to the end of the line Jan. 1 as workers make final preparations for the March opening of an expanded multi-purpose miniature railroad.

The new rail line comes with a host of new bells and whistles — wider carriages capable of seating two adults, cars equipped to accommodate handicapped riders and three mini-stations to service museums and link to Metro's light rail system.

"Its primary role will be entertainment. That's still the number one reason for people getting on," said Doreen Stoller, executive director of Hermann Park Conservancy, which will operate the concession. But in its new incarnation, she said, the train can take riders to the museum district, and, through light rail connections, the Texas Medical Center and other destinations.

About 500,000 people ride the train annually, Stoller said.

Included in $15 million of improvements to the railroad and the plaza from which it departs are almost two miles of new or improved track. A redesigned Lake Plaza will feature a new train station, a restaurant, restrooms and extensive landscape redesigns.

The miniature train will depart from a temporary station near the Miller Outdoor Theatre parking lot until Lake Plaza opens in spring 2009, Stoller said.

The improvements are part of the second phase of the 93-year-old park's upgrades, expected to cost in excess of $45 million.

Phase two also will include new trails in a previously hard-to-reach 80-acre forested section of the park, improvements to the Houston Garden Center and Japanese Gardens, the addition of a dog park and extensive landscaping between Main Street's Mecom Fountain and the park entrance.

The first phase included the expansion of McGovern Lake, a redesign of the park's reflection pool and renovations of the plaza at Miller Outdoor Theatre.

Conservancy chairman Don Short said he believes the improvements, which will include gardens featuring plants reflecting diverse cultural groups in the city, will enhance Houston's image as a "green" city.

Hermann Park, at 455 acres, about half the size of New York's Central Park, could be an "icon to a greener Houston," he said. Many outsiders, he said, now perceive Houston as "a concrete jungle," in part because of its role as an international petroleum center.

Hermann Park's miniature gasoline-powered train has operated as a privately owned concession since 1957. The park conservancy, which oversees park management in conjunction with the city, assumed operation of the railroad in June.

Stoller estimated the railroad will earn $250,000 in profit annually. That sum, she said, will be reinvested into the park.

Train tickets will increase 25 cents to $2.50. Short said naming rights for the railroad's new rolling stock will be sold to raise additional revenue. Naming rights to locomotives will cost $250,000; for carriages, $150,000.

My Review of Go Anywhere Table and Footrest

Originally submitted at One Step Ahead

Make your child's booster feel like an easy chair! Car seats and boosters leave little legs dangling...that can cause poor circulation and uncomfortable numbness. Finally there's a solution: this revolutionary footrest/table combo—there's nothing else like it! The ingenious footrest relieves ...


Fantastic Product!

By Pine from Colorado on 12/15/2007

 

5out of 5

Pros: Durable, Portable, Comfortable, Strong Construction

Cons: Difficult to Setup, Bulky

Best Uses: Travel, Daily Use, Toddlers

Describe Yourself: First Time Parent

We just returned from a loooong roadtrip with our 2 y/o son, and we are so thankful that we found this product. Although setup's a bit tricky at first, we felt it was totally worth the price we paid. It not only kept our son's legs from going numb during the trip, the attachable tray also provided him with a place to rest his games, books, snacks, and sippy cup. I highly recommend this product!

(legalese)

Pumpkin's Wish List

As Mom can attest, Pumpkin will sit and go through an entire Thomas Wooden Railway catalog and tell us exactly what he has and what he doesn't have (i.e. what he wants). He's not even 3 yet, and he's already talked many a Grandparent into getting him these expensive little toys, hehe.

Since his birthday falls so close to the holidays, I thought it'd be helpful for all of you out there who wish to get him a little something to know exactly what it is he's requesting...from us, from Santa Claus, from his Beautiful Grandma, from anyone who'll listen, really. Hint: it isn't clothes!!

Drumroll please!

Available now and for the first time ever on Pina Colada, here's Pumpkin's Wish List for 2007!! (the link is to the right under my profile)

The Polar Express

Now that you know the story of how we got there, here's a short picture tour of our adventure.

It begins at home with the introduction of the G Gauge Polar Express Train by Lionel.







The train is assembled by QT then Pumpkin takes over operations.














Yeya the cat stalks the train as it "rumbles" by while the Train Engineer takes a much needed break.







Below, you can see our very own PolEx in action at home under the Christmas tree!



Below this are some pictures of the "real life" Polar Express and passenger cars riding into the station at Durango CO. (actually, it's the D&SNGR train)










The Polar Express arrives amid blowing snow, soaring music, and the delighted shrieks of children (and adults, who are we kidding?). We board our train, Pumpkin hands the Conductor his ticket, and the ride begins with some hot chocolate and a reading of the Polar Express.















We drive past beautiful Christmas light displays then Santa Claus climbs aboard to present each child with a bell from his sleigh (he has many extras, you see ;). On the way back to the station, we all merrily sing Christmas carols.












Pumpkin proudly shows off his sleigh bell and his replica of the D&SNGR Passenger Train (aka the Polar Express).

And, everyone lives happily ever after!


If you missed the story of our exciting (and not in a good way) road trip, click here to read it (or simply scroll down to the previous post (aka "older post").

Adventure on the High Seas

High seas, high roads, whatever.

Our trip to Durango CO this weekend possibly was the most harrowing road trip I've ever taken. To start with, even though we left home before 5pm on Friday and even though we had a prepaid room waiting for us in Durango, we only got as far as Alamosa before we had to concede defeat to the sleet and traffic and find a room in Alamosa for the night. And, man, it was COLD that night!

The next morning, we were up bright and early to resume our trip, but we only made it as far as Southfork (??). We'd seen the snow and ice-covered traffic coming from the other side of Wolf Creek Pass (US 160) all morning, but an avalanche closed the Pass just before we got there, and we were forced to turn back. We pulled over in Del Norte at the first decent convenience store we could find in order to peruse a map and figure out Plan B.

While at the store, I went to change Pumpkin's diaper only to find that it had gotten so soaked that his pants and socks had also gotten wet (ditto my sleeve from where I was holding him). I tried rinsing and drying using the hand dryer in the ladies room, but it was no good so we had to dig out the pants he'd worn the day before. My sweater, unfortunately, was down for the count for the rest of the weekend.

We were taking Pumpkin to Durango to ride the Polar Express, and our reservations were for 5pm that evening. Plan B had us detouring via New Mexico, and we worried that we'd end up missing our train so we opted to have our lunch on-the-go....because even though we'd set out bright and early that morning, it was lunchtime by then, and both Pumpkin and I were feeling a bit sick from hunger. So, we bought ourselves some "gas station sandwiches" and Hot Stuff Pizza and set off again.
We ended up taking Highway 17 from Antonito to Chama before turning onto Highway 84 to Pagosa Springs. Highway 17 is a beautiful and treacherous road that includes two 10k mountain passes (La Manga and Cumbres). Unfortunately for us, it had started snowing again, and fog was setting in. It was so freaking cold that the snow was freezing where it landed on our windshield making visibility that much worse for us. At one point, as we were approaching the second pass, it got so bad that the only thing we could see were those handy little reflector sticks along the edge of the road. I don't know exactly what "white-out" conditions are, but if it means that you can't distinguish earth from sky and all you see is pure white from every window in your vehicle, then I guess we experienced white-out conditions. Even Pumpkin cried out that he was scared. Poor baby.

Here's a picture of the road we were traveling on taken as the fog was setting in, just before we lost visibility. I took it from my seat so what you see is what we we saw.  Though it looks like we we'd gone off-roading, in fact, we were driving on a regular old state highway...just covered with snow. It was the last picture we took until we got to Durango because once the fog really settled in, we were too busy clutching the truck's "oh-shit" bars to bother with the camera, haha.

We finally made it back to level ground and pulled over in Pagosa Springs to gas up and grab a cheeseburger for Pumpkin, who hadn't eaten his pizza. We also took the opportunity to locate our tickets and call the Durango-Silverton office to beg them to push back our reservations, which they happily did once we explained the reason for our delay. We rolled info Durango just after 5pm, checked in, changed, and rushed back outside to the train station.














At the station, we waited outside on the platform for the train to pick us up, and we saw the steam and heard the whistle long before we ever saw the train. The snow was blowing, and tunes from The Polar Express movie were blasting through the loudspeakers while kids and their parents excitedly rushed on board. The whole experience was, for lack of a better word, MAGICAL, and seeing the look on Pumpkin's face as he beheld the real, live Polar Express just about made it all worthwhile for both QT and I.

I say "just about" because, as fate would have it, our troubles weren't quite over yet. As we prepared to board the train, we realized that the tickets we were holding, which were the tickets for the earlier ride, had assigned coaches and seat numbers printed on them so we had to run back inside and get our new assignments from the staff at the ticket booth. Because of that delay, we were among the last to board the train, and by the time we found our assigned seats, another couple had already stolen them! When I asked them for our seats, the dude had the nerve to get all bent out of shape as if we were the ones trying to steal their seats. We kept insisting that they get out of our seats, and finally, the couple made as if to move, but then another lady, who appeared to be traveling with them, offered to exchange her seats with ours so that the 3 of us could at least sit across from each other, and the damned fools wouldn't have to get their thieving butts out of our seats. I could see in QT's face that the exchange nearly soured the trip for him, and I felt the same, but we both determined not to let it ruin our fun. For the return trip, QT, Pumpkin, and I crammed ourselves onto one bench anyway so we could sing Christmas carols together.  Here's a picture of us riding the Polar Express.


After our ride, we were so tired from our long and exciting day that we opted to grab take-out and head back to the hotel rather than dine at a restaurant. Alas, when we returned to the hotel, we were unable to get into our room because (get this) the safety latch had apparently FLIPPED ITSELF when we shut the door on our on our way out earlier! The hotel staff jumped to our immediate assistance, but in the end, the maintenance guy had to saw through the flipped latch and install a new one because he just couldn't get the flipped latch to un-flip. Faced with the choice of waiting in the truck or in the hotel lobby during this operation, we decided to just go out to dinner after all. {le sigh}

Christmas Traditions

QT and I started our own little Christmas tradition the year we got married. For reasons I won't get into now (but that many of you may remember anyway), we were displaced from our house our first Christmas together as a married couple. Since we were "living" in an extended-stay hotel at the time, we had limited space to decorate that Christmas so we bought ONE ornament to symbolize something special to us about that year. That year, we bought a cute, little angel ornament.

The year we moved to Denver, we bought an ornament of a snow family (below) because it was cold when we arrived, and it was Christmas Eve.
This year, we took Pumpkin to the Parade of Lights in downtown Denver. We love parades, and it was really cool to see the bands and floats and everything else blazing with Christmas lights. Unfortunately for us, it was cold that night, and we were mostly standing still during the parade so we were freezing our butts off out there!



A nice passerby snapped this photo of us during the parade. It was so like our 2005 Christmas ornament that I just had to laugh. It's funny how life sometimes imitates art, isn't it?