Part 178 Magical mystery tour (with moose)


Monday morning is a one of the string of days off, but I am sipping coffee and working on a presentation I have been asked to give immediately after returning to work (thanks a lot). The topic is “Personality Development 101”, a crash course that is to include developmental milestones, theorists, implications for education, areas of dysfunction, and remedial strategies (oh sure, I’ll just whip that out). And today we are leaving town to go on a mystery trip the destination of which only I know. It is cloudier today, and the forecast unfortunately is for rain. The prediction for the rest of the week, though, is for cold weather. I am pleased, because I love Christmas to be chilly. It just feels right that way. I need this holiday to be special, since the last two were anything but pleasant.

After I deliberately head off briefly in a different direction to fool my passengers, we head up interstate 45, veering off toward Crockett. Becah has fortunately drifted asleep, so she can’t see the turnoff (she has already suspected where we are going, but this would tip her off for sure). After driving over wooded tiny hills we arrive some time later in Palestine. The rain has not fallen yet. We check into a new Comfort Inn motel up on a hill at the edge of town. As we walk in Becah notices on the wall a big poster for the movie “Polar Express”, confirming what she already guessed. She keeps it a secret from the kids, though, who pay no attention to the poster. In the room, we all get dressed in our new pajamas (mine are dark green with moose on the pants) and drive to the nearby Pizza Hut Bistro (!). The waitress comes up and starts to give away the surprise, but I shush her in time. The kids are totally pumped, believing we drove miles away to another town just to have dinner in our PJs.! Remind me next time that is all I need to do on a trip to excite them! After dinner we drive over to the train depot.

As we walk through the strategically placed gift shop to the ticket booth the theme from “Polar Express” soars overhead. The kids are elated, now realizing this is the holiday train trip we once discussed taking. A light drizzle falls from the cool skies as we board the train, and minutes after the wheels roll several “cooks” walk down the aisle, clapping to music and passing out hot chocolate and cookies. The speaker overhead then projects the spoken story of the polar express as one of the cooks walks around displaying the book, page by page. As we near the North Pole, the inside train lights are turned off so everyone can seen the workshop outside. The train stops, then heads back. St. Nicholas enters to cheers, walking along and handing out a single bell to each child. He exits and the cooks return , dancing as Christmas songs play and everyone sings along.

After the trip we return to the motel, where the kids enjoy swimming in the heated pool. We go to bed shortly after returning to the room and sleep soundly, until…

At 6:30 a.m. someone upstairs is stomping (pounding?) on the floor. It sounds like a wrestling match. I get up and go for coffee, then stay for the Texas-shaped waffle, eggs, yoghurt, and juice. Becah and the kids wake later and eat. We check out and head for the nearby Davey Dogwood Park, which is surprisingly hilly with leaves filled with color on this clearer and brisk morning. After hiking around some, we head back through Crockett, stopping to eat at the Moosehead Café. Animal lover Bree is disturbed (and, admittedly, I am also) by all the moose and deer heads on the wall. Despite this misstep, we return home happy.