Staycation Day Two - Ride the Train

Growing up on Long Island, I took the train to New York City a bunch of times.  While I was definitely a child of the burbs, I had the frequent opportunity to be a "city kid."  My children are children of the burbs.  We have a 1/4 acre lot, drive a mini van, car pool, and shop at big box stores.  These poor children never "go to the city."

Well, day two staycation we are living on the edge.  I loaded four kids in the car and drove 25 minutes to the nearest MARTA "train" station.  Seriously, we drove to the train - - how suburban is that?  Anyway, The five of us took the train 30 minutes to the airport.  Yup, the end of the line.  Besides it was lunch and they have a food court.

The airport is a place of wonder.  They have a real dinosaur exhibit.  There is a group of WWII items on display.  The luggage racks moves - fast at times.  The shoeshine man plays old Michael Jackson very loud and people love it when you dance with him.

The best thing about the airport is the USO.  There is a group of volunteers constantly on stand to cheer our soldiers in as they arrive to Atlanta.  We even got to eat lunch with a solider.  His name is Andrew, he is on his way to Seattle then on to a special operation he couldn't say anymore about.  We will be praying for him as he goes on his way.  What a special man to serve and protect my children - I am thankful for him and his colleagues.

We left Andrew and headed back to the train.   A vivid crowd joined us.   The ride home was full of valuable lessons on what words are good words and which are bad.  My children learned why jail is a really bad place.   W asked me "what is a baby's mama -- doesn't every baby have a mama?".   They also learned that some opposing gang members do not get along.  Fortunately this group only stayed on for 4 stops.  We were then joined by a very talkative lawyer who handed me his business card if I was ever in an accident.  Culture at its' best.

I think I will just finish "train day" with a cupcake and be glad that we don't live in NY.