Thanksgiving Surprise Reveal!
Corpus has been doing some major construction and just recently opened the “New Harbor Bridge.” I believe that we must have crossed this bridge 4-6 times! Each thing we wanted to do seemed to keep us driving from one side to the other!! I guess that what tourist do - LOL. After killing time with the shark above and looking to find me a cell phone charger, it was time for our evening surprise!
We are so close to Christmas, Tommy’s favorite time of the year… Now to get back on the USS Lexington! We drove back, it was dark and the carrier was all lit up, Tommy firmly said, “no”, “stay right here” …
Well, I had news for him… I purchased tickets and he was going! LOL It was “first come first serve” and we had plans to take the trolley car this time. One time walking that ramp today was plenty! They had “Barney Fife” guarding the gate, and we were told that it would not open until precisely 7:00pm. but when the trolley arrived, Heath and Tommy found them a spot!
As part of the conversion of the carrier being turned into a museum the plane elevator in the front of the vessel had been converted into a three-level theatre. Featured tonight would be none other than…
THE POLAR EXPRESS!
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THE POLAR EXPRESS! 〰️
This unique experience included hot chocolate and snacks - Popcorn and candies galore! The “golden ticket” would be stamped by employees and the “first gift of Christmas” bell would be given to everyone that attended! The first stop was Santa and Mrs. Clause. Tommy studied Santa, up and down! He was walking towards him, and I told him to sit on the bench beside him (because he has scared a Santa before trying to sit on his lap!!) After our photo, Heath told me that Tommy turned back around and looked at Santa and gave him a wink and finger snaps! Too funny, Wish I knew what this kid was thinking!
Balloon archways were set up marking the path to the theatre where you got your ticket punched for entry! It was time to grab your goodies and find you a good seat!
I felt sorry for Tommy. These seats were made for very small adults… He had to sit at an angle and lean back, but I believe he was still found a way to be comfortable. We weren’t sitting more than a minute, and he tells me he has to go to the bathroom… I was already worried about the bathroom situation from our earlier visit because I had not seen any with easy access. There were signs but they all lead below the deck down stairways that were just metal pipe type of stairs. Not for Tommy. With this knowledge, we stopped and let him go to the bathroom before we arrived just in case, but his nerves had still gotten the best of him. I found someone to ask and there were stalls near the theatre. We had to venture down long corridors, like in the movies, which was pretty cool! We got back to our seats in time for the start of the show! We received 3D glassed as we entered. I did not know ahead of time that they were showing this version of the film. Some parts of this movie are scary to Tommy. He would put on the glasses and then take them off. Some of the time he would put them on and then look over the top of them like wearing “cheaters”! Quite comical as this was his first 3D experience!
Tommy’s favorite way to watch any movie is with the ability to rewind and rewatch whatever parts he likes. I believe that he still learns the words for each segment this way. Many times, he will come into the room or run through the house reenacting movie scenes. This is hilarious to us when we realize what he is doing! We have taken him to the movie before, but it has been a while and the fact that he sat for the entire show and of course talked out some of the scenes was great! I believe that he had a great time and I am happy that he settled in and got to experience this!
Weather?
We beat the rain back to the RV, but not the wind. The wind has not stopped since we started this trip. Heath watching the weather he decided that it would probably be best to go ahead and head back home tomorrow afternoon instead of waiting and taking a chance and having rain all the way home the following day. We were a little bummed at that since we had traveled so far to have to cut out trip short:( Safer is better so that is what we needed to do.
Tommy and I got up and explored the park before we had to leave. The amenities here were great, wish we could have used them more. They had a club house with two swimming pools. One heated and one not. Lots of outdoor seating. There was a pirate ship playground, a butterfly garden and putt putt available. The pier on the lake was right at our campsite if the winds would have only been less gusty so we could have enjoyed that more. Enjoy Tommy’s photos and videos!
We left around noon, but as we travelled “maps” kept changing our route based on traffic and road closures. This made for another long travel day. I did not pack many snacks for the ride home. Thought we would just find a spot to get a bite 1/2 way, but that did not happen. Tommy lives by the clock and thinks that he has to eat at certain times. From the back seat we would hear…
“11 o’clock, I’m hungry mother!” Then, “12 o’clock, I’m hungry.”
This continued at the top of every hour until we found ourselves praying our way to a fuel station! I let him go in and get some snacks and a drink somewhere around 4! Honestly, we were all ready to eat something by now!! LOL
We had a great time and exploring a new place is always fun. Tommy did face some new challenges, which make for continued lessons in patience and trust. Patience on our part and Trust on his! We are thankful that God has provided a way for us to show Tommy the world and we praise him for Tommy’s continued progress and growth.
Until next time - God Bless!
