AN EARLY VALENTINE, SHELDON AND AMY STYLE

A month or more ago, Adventure Boy told me to block out February 10th on my calendar. "We've got big plans!" he said. After a bit of pestering on my part, he burst out with "We're goin' on a train ride!" Alas, that was all I could get out of him until just a few days ago, when he finally admitted that we'd be driving up to Cedar Park, northwest of Austin, to Austin Steam Train. The only downside was that we needed to be there by 9:30 AM, and it was a pretty long drive at a time when the deer on the road are most active. And, if that weren't bad enough, we woke up to pea soup fog that morning!

Fortunately, we made it there safe and sound, and with time to spare, so we were able to wander around their little gift shop/museum, where most of the employees are volunteers who are just mad about trains -- like Sheldon on Big Bang Theory.

ALL ABOARD!

There are several different price ranges, and you are placed in certain cars accordingly. Our first class lounge ticket in the Maurice Beckham section got us tea, water, and mini muffins, but hard-backed chairs to sit in. Next time we will probably opt for traditional, well-cushioned seats, and bring our own beverages.

Is he adorable, or what?

Our destination? Burnet, the Bluebonnet Capital of Texas, via Leander and Bagdad, Short Creek Canyon, Liberty Hill, Bertram and Oatmeal, and the Summit quarry.

We knew a strong cold front was due in later that night, but the weather report that morning said high-60s throughout the day, so we dressed accordingly. Big mistake! By the time we reached Burnet (pronounced Burn It, Durn It!) an icy cold wind was blowing through town, and they had cancelled our staged gunfight due to poor weather conditions. What a bunch of sissy cowboys, right? They had given us a map of downtown, showing all the shops and restaurants, and there were even a couple of shuttles waiting to whisk people to restaurants not on the square, plus a food truck right next to the depot. We usually enjoy wandering around aimlessly, scoping out all the options, but it was just way too cold for that. So, I told John to text his old high school buddy Mark, who lives in that area, to ask what his favorite place is. Next thing we knew, he had pulled up to the curb in front of us, ready to whisk us away to his favorite joint out on the highway, the Bar-B-Q Shak.

Pretty Tasty!

The Courthouse

There aren't just a whole lot of things to see and do around the square, but we did find one shop on Main, called The Napping Mouse -- sort of a gift shop/scrapbooking store -- that got me pretty excited. The whole time we were in Cuba, I kept looking for interesting papers, receipts, ticket stubs -- anything I could use in my art journals and collages -- and never found a thing. Well, I walk into this store, and there is an entire wall of gorgeous papers, draped over dowels -- the kind you could use as gift wrap, to frame, or in art projects. I'm kind of kicking myself for stopping at just these three.

Would love to know the story behind this unusual house near the station.

Although we probably won't be doing this same exact trip again, I'm fairly certain we will be taking a certain little boy on one of the other options, such as the Day with Thomas the Train, the Super Hero Train, or the Polar Express-style Christmas Train, seeing as how "CHOO-CHOO!" is his favorite new thing to say!

P.S. Despite the hard-backed chairs, Hubby managed to snooze pretty much the whole way home!