a new way of travel

It's a jubilee everytime the kids get out of the house - by car for a long roadtrip, by plane for vacation - and now, by trains for even just getting around town....

Today - we felt like taking a road trip. Without our car. And without a road. Instead, we hit the tracks. Not only a first for the kids - but for Aaron and I as well. Figuring out our routes was complicated at first, until I found a very helpful phone number, where the woman on the other line actually plotted my route for me. A tourist in our own city, the kids, Aaron and I rode the DART all the way to Union Station, before jumping on the Trinity Railway Express for an hour long ride to Ft. Worth.










When we arrived into our new city, we needed to take a bus to head over to the arts district. Waiting didn't take very long - one Premium pass for $5 paid for both the train and bus rides all day. There were a lot of interesting faces and conversations around us. I wondered how much of it the kids absorbed - And am crossing my fingers-hopeful not much - as one passenger spouted off obscenities before getting off. The kids are so amazing in how they can distract themselves - with themselves.



Like when she belted out her "Do Re Mi" lyrics, and after finishing, realized she had an audience. He was nice enough to smile and pick up her notebook when she dropped it.. a few times...



Or Noah, our serious travelor, who occupied himself by tracing the lines on the bus map... and pointing out the various colors of cars, trucks, and construction vehicles in view...



When we got off the bus, we were dropped off in front of the arts district, and the quietness of the Friday afternoon made us feel a little like gypsies wandering in the city. Hot, tired, and hungry - and we haven't even gotten to the museum. 30 minutes later, we arrived for an hour long play, before turning back around so that we could make it back home in time to share Iftar with family. We ran to our bus stop, caught our bus back to the TRE station, and waited with the commuters traveling back to Dallas. Ava and Noah, unphased by the massiveness of the double-decker train, were acting like traveling pros by now. The 4 hours spent traveling was long and exhausting - but evenso, it was an experience that can't be missed.