So, we went to our local Science Museum (which I have never, I’m sorry to say, been a fan of. God bless them for their efforts, but the great setting (an old power plant) just isn’t served well by the bulk of the exhibits, most of which are very well-worn by enthusiastic users and not so interesting in the first place. But that’s been discussed before. So.)….well…we went there for a "Train Fest," which was essentially a few very rabid and impressive model railroaders setting up their gear.

The biggest hit from the adult model-bearers with my two was the engine that what appeared to be emitting real steam. They liked that. Otherwise, it was mostly several minutes of me saying, "Don’t touch that. Put your hands down!"

There was a room set up with floor-level model engines for the little ones, trains of varying sizes, half Thomas the Boring Tank Engine, half others.

Sounds good, eh?

Well, maybe. Except for the fact that the sets were battery and something-else powered, and ran on their own and you weren’t supposed to touch them! Thomas didn’t need your help! Oh, the agony. Did you hear a wail coming from Northeast Indiana around 4:30? That, and the bright red face – we know him.

Well, things got better. The very intense man in charge of the room, who kept telling me great details about the sets and the trains and what they could do, took us to a simpler, circular set-up in the corner. He switched off the Thomas (well, it wasn’t Thomas, but one of the others), and let Michael push it around the track himself while, mercifully, he found another mom to regale with extreme detail about 4-inch long train cars.

My father and wife Hilary are in New York City this week. (He raved about The Drowsy Chaperone) He asked, "Well, what did you all do this weekend?"

That’s….about it.