A Day Out With Thomas... and Grandpa

Yesterday we went to the Day Out With Thomas show at Emerald. Coen loves trains, especially Thomas the Tank Engine and Puffing Billy, so when the two are combined there was fun to be had. I couldn't believe it when I called to book tickets and was told that the original date we wanted to go had been booked out 3 weeks in advance, so after a date shuffle we were on our way!

We picked up Grandpa (the genetic source of Coen's train obsession) on the way to Emerald and managed to get the very last parking space in the carpark! I had expected the event to be much more commercial than it was. It was quite low key, they obviously cap the numbers low and the heavy involvement of the local scout troupe gives the whole thing a bit of a back county feel!

The weather was perfect, warm, overcast and breezy.

The Pantomime was perfect, cheesy, overacted and silly.

During the show Coen had a bit of a dilemma. The rush of steam up close was very loud and frightening, but it was life sized Thomas and he couldn't help but look. So he clung to Darron for most of the show.



He was brave enough to have his photo taken with the Fat Controller, who was not that fat and I'm sure the Fat Controller is bald (I've seen enough of the dvd's to know!)



And with Thomas and Grandpa.



After the show and a ride on Bulgey the Bus we had a ride on one of the Puffing Billy trains to Menzies Creek and back to Emerald. Coen was pretty apprehensive about the whole idea of going on a noisy train...



But once he was on board he had a wonderful time!

It really is a beautiful part of the world, and I find I enjoy a ride on Pufing Billy as much as I did when I was kid. We had a great day out with Grandpa and Thomas!

Jen