Alot has been happening for Jeffery these days. You'll see just how much in my next post. But Jakob is in this in-between time of being a baby and starting his own activities. So....his big birthday present this year was extra special. When you turn 3 years old in our house, you get to take a ride on the Amtrak from Richmond to Williamsburg.....with daddy....and no one else. :) Jeffery did this 2 years ago and now it was Jakob's turn. Jeffery and I were to drive the "pace car" down to the Burg, where we would pick up the train travelers and then, as a family, head over to the Colonial Section to enjoy some time down there.
Jakob had been looking forward to this trip for months. MONTHS, I tell you!!!!! This was a big deal! Jeffery was morose as he knew that he would not be going on the train but his spirits rallied for his brother in the end. So....Jakob, in his train outfit and with Jeb Bear, boarded the Amtrak with daddy and headed east. :)
Dave made sure that he and Jakob sat in the dining car, just as he had done with Jeffery. The dining car is really the best place for little kids. There's a table that they can play on and they're not confined to a seat. According to Dave, Jakob completely charmed everyone on the train that day.
Jeffery and I arrived in Williamsburg ahead of the train and were there waiting for Dave and Jakob when they arrived. Jakob was just beaming. :) Sadly, we were in the middle of an extreme heat wave....in the middle of September. We got to the Colonial Section of Williamsburg and parked behind the church offices but, for anyone who knows the area, we only were able to walk down to the Palace Lawn because it was SOOO hot. Heat index of 105....real temp of 98. YUCK! The boys wilted very quickly.....as did I. So, we retreated to our favorite French restaurant down there and enjoyed a fabulous lunch and then came home. Even though we didn't get to spend too much time down in the colonial area, it was still a great day!
Three weeks later.....
Three weeks later, we had a week of drenching rain. The ground was absolutely saturated and many of my friends had had standing ponds in their yards for days on end. The amount of rain was amazing! However, with the ground being so saturated, it meant that Jeffery's scheduled soccer game for that weekend was canceled. Nobody could play on the fields for fear of injury to the players and damage to the fields. We knew he would be absolutely crestfallen. So....Dave devised an activity to help distract him: a trip on the Amtrak train down to Williamsburg.....for all the boys. Jeffery hadn't been on Amtrak since his 3rd birthday so you can imagine how excited he was! And Jakob was thrilled that he didn't have to wait 2 whole years to go again! ;) I was thrilled because I got to drive the pace car down to the Burg....all by myself. It isn't often these days that I have an hour of complete peace and quiet in the car. :)
It was a much nicer day when we all arrived down in Williamsburg. This time, we were able to walk the whole stretch of the colonial section. We had a great lunch at the Cheese Shop in Merchant Square (a favorite of ours) and then walked the whole stretch back to our parking lot. We saw ox and horses and sheep and tons of dogs and got to stand in on a fife and drum practice. Jeffery really liked the drums. :)
I think that is the quota of Amtrak trips for awhile....at least down to the Burg. Dave keeps talking about taking Jeffery up to DC on the train. But the boys still talk about their trips down there. It was the highlight of September! :)
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