Trains and Flowers

Trains have now gone from frequent interest status to near-obsession status. Rai loves his trains. At toy stores, he goes right for the train table and pushes anyone who dares get within 2 feet of his beloved 'choo-choos'. Pushes are quickly followed by hugs, of course, but one out of five kids walk away in tears.
The point is: Rai takes his trains seriously so when Grandma told us about the model train exhibit at the Conservatory of Flowers, we knew that this was something not to be missed. We went today and are immensely glad that we did. The train set, which takes up the entire east wing of at the house of flowers, is incredible! Two side tables have a train and cable car doing loops around models of key sites in the city. The models are creatively built from unlikely materials ranging from as cutlery to cassette tapes.
The long, main table is the highlight, though. It is a model of Golden Gate Park itself, with every major building, lake, or garden represented in miniature with a train making its way by each site. Amazing, beautiful and fun! Rai loved it. We loved it. Ko's eyes were open.