Chugga Chugga Choo Choooo

Megan's family invited us on a fun morning excursion today. The place Jeremy works for reserved a train ride for the company to enjoy. This was not just any ride, it was aboard the SP&S 700, the third largest operating steam locomotive in North America! The ride took about 45 minutes and we boarded at Oaks Amusement Park in Portland. We got to see the beautiful Willamette River, lovely views of the big city, as well as some nice forested and marshy areas. We even saw a couple of cranes coming in for a landing. The little boys, Joseph and Cousin Nathan were so excited! We all love trains, but a steam engine is a very exciting! We boarded shortly before 10am and got a seat in the open air car. Luckily it was covered as it was already hot and sunny out. The great thing about this was that all 6 of us went, a true family event. And it was so nice to get to spend time with Megan and her family and meet her Belgian friend Wendy who is spending the summer with them.

We went on a similar train ride a couple of years ago at Christmastime. It was on the 4449 and Joseph was just a baby at the time. We went to the Omnimax theater and saw Polar Express with the three older kids, then we rode the Christmas train. It was evening and was cold and dark out, but we got to ride in a lovely refurbished passenger car. Joseph slept in my arms the entire trip and Annalina was especially excited when Santa came through the car with candy canes.

We love to support these runs since they people who sponsor these events are all volunteers and they use the proceeds to continue restoration of these magnificent trains!

SP&P 700

Annalina & Cousin Leila

Megan and Wendy

Adrienne & Jake

Silly Joseph

Silly Joseph and Daddy