Train Rides and Coffee: A Few of My Favorite Things

When I was kid, I lived in New York and we would take the train a lot. There is just something so mysterious about trains. The history they hold is so interesting to me. The places they have been, the passengers they have carried, and the way they changed our country for the better continues to fascinate me. I love to picture myself in a big, beautiful 1860's gown, boarding the train for New York City to meet my beau for an afternoon stroll through the lush central park. Doesn't that just sound dreamy?? Or am I the only one who has these thoughts? Needless to say, I love trains so when my mom came to me with the idea to take my kids for a train ride, I didn't hesitate! 

Our morning started off at Denny's for the much needed pumpkin pancakes. You can't go through Fall without the mandatory plate of scrumptious pumpkin pancakes, you just can't! My kids LOVE any food in the breakfast category; yogurt, pancakes, french toast, eggs, sausage, English muffins, cream of wheat, etc. So we all very much enjoyed our big Denny's breakfast!

Cate is very much into coloring right now, I love it! Okay so after our stomachs were screaming, "ENOUGH", we packed up headed to the train station. Caleb's reaction to the train approaching was so awesome! He couldn't stop squealing and smiling! I sometimes wish I still got that excited over the little things in life!! Cate was very quiet during the ride as she watched the trees go by through her big window. Riding the train as a kid was an exciting experience for me, but I got to say, watching my own child's excitement was much more thrilling. 

After we got off the train, we walked around downtown. I found the cutest little shop that sold knick knacks that I will definitely be returning to in the near future. I love finding odd, tiny shops that hold such an eclectic inventory. Our first stop was our favorite coffee shop, of course. Bean There, get it?? Of course you get it :) I think it is just the most darling coffee house around here. They have the best drinks and the atmosphere is most desirable for the college student cramming for midterms or the blogger with writer's block. They offer so many different drinks but I tend to always order the same boring thing, an iced vanilla latte! My sister ordered a chai latte that was delicious but my mother's snickerdoodle coffee (caramel, mocha, and toffee nut) was exquisite!!!

By the way, this extremely adorable coffee cozie you see above is handmade by my friend who owns her own Etsy shop! She has tons of patterns to choose from and they are seriously so precious! My personal favorite is obviously this gold chevron. I get so many compliments when I use it out in public. They are earth friendly and only $5 bucks!! Y'all need to go check out her site right now, especially with Christmas coming up. These make great stocking stuffers or teacher appreciation gifts. 

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ThrLtleDragonflies?ref=pr_shop_more

After enjoying our coffee, we continued to walk around and let the kids let out some energy before we had to catch the train to head back home. The kids had a blast just getting to run around and check out the sites. 

Well that sums up our little trip downtown on the train. This is totally something we will do again and again. I love that my kids enjoyed the train just as I did as a kid. What made this experience even more special was that I got to share it with my mom just like old times.