Thomas the Train

My father has been in town the past few days and we've had a grand time. We went to Tweetsie Railroad and Grandfather Mountain. We also managed to find a pretty decent bbq place for Chris, but apparently it isn't OK bbq, so it is sub-par.

At Tweetsie we got to ride with Thomas the Tank Engine. It was a special event and we got to see and have pictures made with the blue engine. It was really a very box like structure, but it was fun. A really likes trains in general and was calling them, "oooo ooooo" and pointing by the end of the day. It was super cute. The train ride was kind of cheesy and I felt a little simplistic, even for a family attraction. I also was not impressed by them dressing up people as "Indians" in the manner that they did. I know that in the time when the Tweetsie engine was running it was very cliche to think of Indians in that manner, it is quite insensitive to present them as such today. At Tweetsie we also got to ride a merry-go-round and pet some pygmy goats. Well, A wasn't so sure about the pygmy goats and they eventually parted ways without either one getting what they wanted.

Ready for a day at the park

A, my dad, and Thomas

A contemplating petting the baby goat

Friday we went to Grandfather Mountain. We hiked around on the "Woods Walk" and then had a picnic. After that we went up the mountain a little more and saw some deer and cougars. Then we finished by hiking up to the swinging bridge, which is a mile high. We crossed it, but then A decided that she wanted to walk around up there without being held, so we just went down the mountain. Overall it was a good day.

Exploring a waterfall area on the way up the mountain

playing peek-a-boo in a hollowed out tree

Notice the sign says nothing about teasing children or parents...

Each day we also managed to go swimming in the hotel pool where my dad was staying. A wasn't sure about it at first, but quickly decided that swimming was a lot of fun. I have a video that I will try and post provided my ISP works properly.