We live just over a mile from regularly used train tracks (we're in a rural area & the local farmers use the freight cars to ship produce, cattle, etc. through central Florida), and often hear the sound of the train whistle as it passes through multiple intersections along Old Lakeland Highway. Quintin has always been excited by the sound -- he'll look toward it and yell, "You hear the train? You hear the train? Choo Choo Train! Choo Choo Train!" He's so passionate about All Things That Have an Engine & Move that it's kind of contagious :-)
About a month ago, Quintin & I heard a radio ad for Thomas the Train's visit to a Railroad museum in Parrish, Florida; the entire Thomas entourage (in full scale!) was making its way to the museum in celebration of the museum's 100th anniversary. Quintin recognized the name (we regularly look up Thomas episodes on YouTube) and kept repeating gleefully, "Thomas! Thomas!" -- We were BOTH pretty excited! When I looked it up online, however, I found the tickets to be expensive, and had to admit (very reluctantly!) that a visit with Thomas couldn't happen for us this year. I remembered learning about trolley rides at a local outdoor shopping center (thanks to Martha & the Hernandez family!), and decided that we'd at least try for one of those. Daddy drove Quintin down to take a ride, but learned that the trolley (decorated like a train) had a broken axle and would be out of commission for a month.
The day that the train was fixed, Quintin and I drove down & went for a very fun ride! Quintin called it "Thomas" and couldn't have been any more excited about it :-) Mommy was so happy to be enjoying Quintin's pure bliss at this simple pleasure that she cried, lol! Best of all, rides were only $2.00, so we'll be able to enjoy it some in the future too!
