We all slept well from such a thoughtful tuck-in from Bliss and Polkadot and woke up ready to start the day. We did some more exploring around the hotel which had a bunch of cute of little shops and things to see, including train memorabilia. Ava liked exploring the train cars that sat around the hotel. This is the entrance to the Silver Diner, a dining car.
We had breakfast at The Gardens, one of the restaurants at our hotel, and then went out into the lobby to see Santa. I was not allowed to take pictures of Santa with my own camera but I did get a picture of his little helper, Prince. He was all decked out in his Christmas finest. Ava got to hold Prince in her picture with Santa so, of course, we had to buy a copy.
Santa also invited Ava to the Elf Workshop at the hotel where she could make a bunch of fun Christmas crafts and hang out with the elves. There were some fun decorations that led us to the workshop.
We got to the workshop and Ava set out to fill up the bag she decorated with fun goodies.
After a couple of hours of hard work, the elves had helped her make Christmas jewelry, ornaments, picture frames, and all kinds of stuff. She had a bag full!
Santa also thought we should check out one of the best aquariums in the country while we were there so he also left us tickets for the Tennessee Aquarium! Such a generous and thoughtful Santa! ;)
We visited the River Journey part of the aquarium first. It's hard to take good pictures in an aquarium but I gave it a shot. (ha ha)
Piranha!
Overlooking the Tennessee River
There are several restaurants around the aquarium campus so we took a break to have lunch at
TGI Friday's. Another exciting thing happened during our lunch at Fridays--I officially booked our Disney World trip! Talk about multitasking!
After lunch, we walked back to the aquarium to visit the Ocean Journey. Love to watch the penguins!
The aquarium has a really great stingray "petting" exhibit along with a beautiful butterfly exhibit.
Just chillin' in a shark cage!
And also chillin' in the center of the crab exhibit!
They have tons of different kinds of jellyfish.
I thought this shark looked mean even for a shark.
And finally just chillin' some more in the middle of one of the aquariums.
We all really enjoyed the aquarium but Ava did say she likes the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago better. I think they are both definitely worth a visit. After the aquarium, we headed back to our train car so Ava could change into her pajamas for the Polar Express train ride with Santa! Here we are at the station waiting for the train to pull in.
We saw the train's headlight coming from a distance and then it pulled into the station with steam everywhere and the whistle blowing! It was very exciting and everyone cheered.
These nice men took our tickets.
We got on the train to begin our journey to the North Pole to pick up Santa. One of the elves read The Night Before Christmas while we enjoyed gingerbread cookies and YooHoo.
The kids were also invited to come up to the front of the car and sing Christmas carols with the elves. Ava loves to sing so she immediately hopped up out of her seat and went and sang her heart out.
We passed lots of pretty lights and then went through the magical tunnel to the North Pole. We came out of the tunnel in Elvington, which is the village where the elves live. We started to slow down and were told to watch for Santa and his reindeer. Suddenly, there he was standing outside and he hopped onboard! He and Ava had a nice chat and he gave her a bell from his sleigh!
Before we left, the elves gave Ava special stamps and she got to hold a jar of "Christmas cheer"! Apparently, Christmas cheer is an eerie, glowing green.
Once we returned to the station, we waved good-bye to Santa and the elves. When we got back to the hotel, Ava and I (being the dessert lovers that we are) made a trip over to Cafe Espresso for some yummy sweets and the best Cafe Mocha I've ever had. When I commented on it to the barista, she told me their secret is to use Ghiradelli cocoa powder instead of syrup and real whipped cream. It was so good, I drank several during the weekend which I try not to do because of the calorie content. But we were on vacation and it's not like I can get them here in Memphis, so I lived a little. :) Seriously, if you ever stay at this hotel, you must try the Cafe Mocha! We took our treats back to the room. Ava chose a chocolate eclair and I had the Chocolate Eruption. Delicious!
This was such a fun, memorable trip that I definitely recommend. I do suggest that if possible you ask Santa to pick the same exact package deal for your family. It was definitely worth it and so much nicer to have the extra day in Chattanooga, the tickets to the attractions, and stay in the train car!
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