Will Loves Trains

Will hunts for treasure at Cape Henlopen Beach

Weekend before last, my mom and I decided to join Aunt Karen, Uncle Steve and my friend Ben down at Rehoboth Beach for a little R&R. The weather on that Friday was nice for the first time in about two months (give or take), so we hit the road early. Besides an early hiccough when our rear view mirror unexpectedly quit its post while we were going over the Bay Bridge, it was an uneventful drive. The next day, Ben and I played at the beach all morning and after a siesta, mom and I rode our bike up to Cape Henlopen State Park. I brought along my digging fork so that we could look for treasure among the sand dunes. After about 45 minutes of treasure hunting, mom suggested that we head back into town to get some dinner. Then she took a picture of my reaction to the worst idea ever!

Will adds a special ingredient to the cookie dough

Recently, my mom has been on a baking spree. It started with oatmeal raisin cookies one day, then it was chocolate chip cookies and then it was banana bread. I like the baking because it means I get to help measure out the ingredients. This is an important job. Luckily, I have a large book of recipes that tell us how much ingredients we need to make cookies or bread. Since I can’t read words (with the exception of Amtrak and Thomas), I use the pictures next to the recipes to help determine which ingredients we need. But I think we should just put chocolate chips in everything. I can’t believe mom did not introduce me to those special ingredients much sooner.

Last weekend, my mom, Uncle Jan and I hopped on the bikes and headed down to the Southwest waterfront to participate in the Alice Ferguson Foundation’s annual Potomac River cleanup. As it happens, our little stretch of river wasn’t actually waterfront property. But we picked up trash and recyclables along the indicated route and took a little side trip up to 14th Street freight rail bridge. After we’d filled up a couple of bags, we got back on the bikes and went to the Japanese Street Festival, which is part of the Cherry Blossom Festival. We grabbed some lunch and I gave the crowd a tutorial on the proper method for using chopsticks. Watch and learn.

First, you open your mouth wide.

Next, you insert the first chopstick firmly between your teeth.

Finally, you insert the second chopstick between your teeth and you're ready to go.

Mom and Will getting off the chair lift

Last summer, Aunt Catherine, mom and I went to Canada, as you may recall. Mom heard that one of my new friends there was learning how to ski this winter and asked me if I wanted to try it, too. If it involves slipping on snow and ice, then count me in. Today, mom, Uncle Jan and I headed out of town to Whitetail Mountail in Pennsylvania. I spent some time on the bunny slope getting used to wearing the skis and cruised down the hill holding the hands of the grown-ups. Then I decided that I wanted to try the ski lift, which looked like a lot of fun. First we rode up in a large quad lift and then, when I wanted to go up again, we hopped into a double lift to try it again. I think I’m hooked.

Will walks along the boardwalk at Mason Neck, Jan. 3, 2009

After Christmas, Grammy flew back to Washington with mom and me. The trip back was much smoother than going down and Grammy made it even better by producing a brand new train from her coat pocket…Spencer! He is a very special engine. And I’m happy to report that he’s been part of my railway for more than six weeks and hasn’t been left in a car or at anyone’s house or in Aunt Catherine’s purse once. This might be a record. It was pretty cold outside while Grammy was visiting, but we still managed to get outside and have some fun. One day we drove down to Mason Neck State Park, which is a peninsula on the Potomac River near Pohick Bay. We didn’t find any of the area’s Bald Eagles, but we did find a cold playground and some frozen marshes.

Will hits the beach on Boxing Day

After the thrill of Christmas had subsided, we went looking for something to do. We decided to hit the beach. We were in Florida, after all. But when we got to the beach, it was so foggy that we couldn’t even see the bridge, let alone the barrier island where it headed. But we waited it out a bit and eventually the sun broke through, at least for a minute. While taking a break from the playground, I decided to enjoy a snack with the adults. Mom snapped me taking it all very seriously.

For Christmas, mom and I flew down to Florida to visit my cousins. Flying down there was quite the adventure. There was a bad storm in the Midwest, which meant that the plane we were supposed to ride in down to Florida was actually stuck somewhere else. When it became apparent that we weren’t going to make it out in time to catch our connection in Mobile, we went home to try again in the morning. That flight ended up leaving Washington National late, causing us to miss our connection again, but after a few conversations with the airline, we were on our way to Valparaiso. Grammy and Grandpa were waiting for us at the airport and our Christmas vacation was officially underway. Here are some photos from our week.

Will mugging in the Atlanta airport as we eat lunch waiting for our connection, Dec. 21, 2008

Will swinging after a cold hike through the marsh, Dec. 22, 2008

Will reading stories with Grammy and Grandpa, Dec. 23, 2008

Will in Christmas Eve pajamas with one of the dogs, Dec. 24, 2008

Inspecting the Christmas loot with magnifying glasses, Dec. 25, 2008

A few people have pointed out lately that my blog seems to have become the victim of some sort of freeze ray that keeps us stuck in 2008. It’s true. It was a freeze ray. It was really scary. The good news is that even though the blog was victimized, mom’s camera continued to take photos. So without further ado, I give you the past two months in photos. Actually, I give you the month of December up to my trip to Florida in photos. The computer is taking too long to load and mom’s patience doesn’t seem like it’s going to hold up much longer.

Will checks out the Norwegian Embassy's Christmas train display, Dec. 7, 2008

Will sporting a lobster bisque moustache, Dec. 7, 2008

Will sitting on Santa's lap at the Metropolitan Club on Dec. 7...camera failed when he started smiling.

Will and India try out her new birthday presents, Dec. 12, 2008

Last weekend, mom and I went to visit one of her friends in New Jersey. We could have gone just about anywhere and I would have been happy because we decided to take the train. And not just any train, we caught the Amtrak. I have a lot of books about trains, as you can imagine, and I can point out the Amtrak trains in every one of them. Mom assumes that I probably just recognize the shape of the word rather than the particular combination of letters, but is nevertheless considering Amtrak to be the first word that I can read.

Last weekend, mom and I hopped on the metro and hit the museums on the mall. We both took our cameras in case we wanted to save any moments for posterity. I took a lot of pictures in the Natural History Museum’s oceans exhibit. They had a coral reef fish tank, a giant squid and a huge model whale hanging from the ceiling. But mom’s favorite photo from the day is the picture of me taking a picture of her. It’s a classic!