The Polar Express

Last weekend, Meg, the boys and I traveled up to North Carolina for a weekend getaway in the mountains and to ride the Polar Express with some friends and their kids. We stayed in a great cabin just outside of Bryson City; the cabins were recently built log homes that were very nice and comfortable. The views were great, the beds were extremely comfortable and the hot tub was perfect for taking the chill off. We rented the cabin through Watershed Cabins and if you are looking for a nice weekend getaway, check this place out! The cabin was located about 15 minutes away from the town of Bryson City, which is a nice small town with quaint shops and down home restaurants. The town itself was a lit up with Christmas decorations and was very festive. The Nantahala River runs through the town and there are a lot of nearby activities that focus on the river. Also, I know there is some great hiking and biking trails all through that area.

It was far to cold for us to take advantage of the river or any of the outdoor activities, but we did get to take a ride on The Great Smoky Mountain Railroad. The train depot is in the middle of town and I am sure it draws a large portion of the tourism in the town. They run scenic trips all year round, but around Christmas time they run the Polar Express trip to the North Pole. I didn’t realize how close Bryson City was to the North Pole but it only took us about 45 minutes to get there. Once we arrived, we stopped long enough for Santa to get on the train and then we headed back to Bryson City. I think they did a great job while we were on the train. They served us hot chocolate and chocolate treats, they read the Polar Express book to us and we all sang Christmas Carols. Along the way, there were beautiful houses all lit up and once we arrived at the “North Pole” there was an entire small town lit up as if it was Santa’s village. The kids had a great time and were very excited to get to see Santa. He came through our train car twice. The first time he handed out small bells to all of the kids and the second time he stopped and took pictures and said hello to all of the kids. I am really glad we went at night so we could see the beautiful lights but going at night didn’t allow us to see the river much or the other great sights. But I think the darkness also help cover up some of the not so pretty sights along the route (trailer parks).

Here are the kids in front of the large Polar Express ticket.
Here is the entire crew in front of the large Polar Express ticket.

Anyway, the kids had a great time on the train and for the entire weekend. As did the adults, we really enjoyed being away from all of the Christmas chaos and the hot tub was a great way to relieve all of the stress we were feeling. Now we are all back at work and we continue to scramble around trying to finish our shopping and preparing for the holiday. Can you believe Christmas is next week? Where does the time go?

Here is Mac and Henry with Santa!

Here are all of the kids at the cabin, they loved running around on the big decks!