One of our newest Christmas traditions is riding the Polar Express in Palestine. Last year was our first year to go, and the boys loved it so much that we went back again this year! We changed things up a bit this year, and it was an even better experience.
Our December is always so busy leading up to Christmas that we don't actually ride the Polar Express until a few days after Christmas, but it works out beautifully for our family. This year, we headed up 59 on December 27th and stopped in Diboll to eat our picnic lunch. We discovered a new-to-us park, Old Orchard Park, which is only about 2 blocks off the freeway and just the perfect picnic spot.
We found a picnic table next to a pond. Check out this blue heron streaking across the water!
And as soon as we got to the park, we were greeted by a gaggle of geese. They were convinced we had some bread crumbs for them!
We ate our picnic lunch, saving bread crumbs in a baggy.
Henry played with his Cubebot.
By the time lunch was packed up, the geese were gone but there were plenty of mallards ready to munch our leftover bread crumbs!
Next time, we'll bring more bread!
After lunch, we went to the Diboll History Center to check out their train. We went last year and the boys loved it! You can climb in all the cars and blow the whistle and ring the bell. It is the perfect thing to do before riding the Polar Express!
We loaded back in the car to head to Palestine. We took curvy little back roads and saw so many state historical markers. We decided to pull off to read one and ended up heading up a road to the Providence Church and Cemetery, dating to 1858.
It was a quiet little place, with beautiful views of the countryside.
The little one story church was open.
This is the little back road leading to the cemetery. East Texas really is beautiful.
We finally made it to Palestine around 3:30, checked into the hotel and then headed out to ride the Polar Express! This year, we got tickets for the 5:15 ride, which was absolutely perfect. We arrived at the Texas State Railroad well before dark, but the sun set while we were riding the train.
All set in his jammies!
We even got a picture with the train's engineer!
All ready to board!
Last year, we had dinner before the train ride and barely made it on in time. This year, we boarded a good 30 minutes early and had great seats.
We spent the extra time reading The Polar Express.
We love riding the Polar Express. They start us off with cookies and hot chocolate, then read the book, and finally the conductor punches the kids' tickets before arriving at the North Pole.
Santa boards the train at the North Pole and passes out bells to each child, and then everyone sings along to Christmas carols on the way back.
It truly is a magical journey, and one we look forward to each December.
After the train ride, we ate dinner at Bishop's Brisket House, where we enjoyed delicious barbeque and live music before collapsing in our cozy beds. It was a busy day!
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