This is another guest post by the fabulous Mrs. InACents.

So where were we? Oh yes, it was the end of spring break, and I had taken the boys to Lodi Station Outlet with Grandma and Papa. Upon driving there my 3 year old was so excited for the train that he uttered for the first time, those magical words to any parents ears, “Are we there yet?!” Just as I was considering adding this milestone to the baby book, he asked again, then again, and then another time…and that was when I realized that the upcoming trip to Hawaii was gonna be as magical a family memory as I had imagined.

I am guessing that once upon a recession, Lodi Station was an outlet mall that was in need of a draw to shoppers and stores to return, so they built a train ride. Having grown up shopping at the Lodi Factory Outlets before, I knew many of the stores that used to be open here and had shut down several years ago. The property was beginning to seem like an abandoned wild west town that still happened to have a Gap.

Then in an act of sheer genius, a few years ago they made the edition of the railroad theme and train ride and now a load of stores seem to call Lodi Station home again. I particularly enjoyed all the children’s clothing stores including Gymboree, Children’s Place, Carter’s, and OshKosh.

I have to admit I restrained my purchases for myself and the boys and only bought them summer sandals, summer Pj’s, and myself some Bath and Body Works Goodies at 75% off. My three year old had a melt down in the Gap so our Discover card made it out of there unscathed. A well timed melt down if you ask my husband.

All aboard! Daddy will earn Miles for this trip!	120412 Lodi Outlet Train Guest Services
120412 Lodi Outlet Train Station 1	120412 Lodi Outlet Train Station 2

Anyways back to the rails! There are two trains. Each looks like a fancy old steam engine out of any child’s imagination which lit up my train obsessed boys eyes instantly. These are not just some little zoo, plastic seated trains running with a lawn mower motor. These are beautiful trains handcrafted in England! Their cars are enclosed and their Engineers enthusiastic.

120412 Lodi Outlet Train 1	120412 Lodi Outlet Train 2
120412 Lodi Outlet Train Village Mockup	120412 Lodi Outlet Train Storage Shed

They did not just slap a train ride up here (although maybe they did throw-up the building mockups); Lodi Station did a real professional job of making the whole place seem like an old time railroad with theming, railroad music playing all over the outside corridors, and even a few layouts visible in shop windows for children to watch.

Children even get to keep their all day train ticket, which was cute and printed with the train station. My three year old is a real collector of scraps of paper and often can be fond calling random receipts and playing cards “train tickets.” So I really was touched that we could keep the ticket. He slept with his ticket for about a week after since he loves to sleep with weird little non-cuddly boy stuff, in addition to the infamous Polka Dot.

120412 Lodi Outlet Train Display 2

I can not imagine "this" Conductor yelling "All Aboard!"	Watch out for frantic shoppers on the loose.
120412 Lodi Outlet Train Display 1

We all enjoyed the long ride (somewhere between 15 and 30 min) around and through the outlet. The best value was the unlimited tickets, allowing us to ride around the property twice during our visit (Papa says no more train rides today!). Children three and under were free. This pleasantly surprised me because I could only imagine their target audience to be 2 and 3 year olds, meaning they were missing out on all that revenue from their biggest fans. All the better for penny pinching Moms like me…oh wait Grandma and Papa paid!

Hands down best parts of the day were:

1. The conductor yelled “All Aboard!” Love that!
2. My one year old learned to say “Choo-Choo!”
3. My three year old slept the whole car ride home and did not ask “Are we home yet?” Not even once.

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