Here we are, riding the train to our first stop:











We got off at the nearest station to our destination, which meant a quarter-mile walk back up Central.
In order that we might be fortified for the rest of our excursion, my husband treated us all to a tasty lunch at the downtown Schlotzky's!




The sandwich was enormous... this was what I didn't eat:


Much too big.  But very tasty.


And here are two girls, caught in the act of wrong-doing:

(If I've told them once, I've told them a thousand times: reading at the table is anti-social!)

Walking back to the station, we just missed a train, and so we had a few minutes to wait for the next one.
I thought these brand new apartments across the street looked so attractive, I almost think it would be a fun place to live, and handy too... if I were a down-town sorta gal...










Finally our train arrived, and we hopped on.
Sometimes the people on trains are very... interesting.
On this leg, we had a lady evangelist lifting her voice with a strange doomsday message... she carried a bible, and after a few cautionary words in our compartment she moved on to the next.
I don't know if she does this regularly or if it was a one-off, but nobody seemed terribly surprised.

A short while later we disembarked in the middle of downtown, at the Phoenix version of
Grand Central Station.


Tall buildings:




Paul was pretty sure that tan building at the back was where he wanted to take us, so we headed across the square to navigate our way there.


Pigeons:


We stopped by the old brick building (above) to note it's history:


In part, the sign below reads:
"The eight-story structure was once the tallest building in Arizona."


Continuing on our way, I made like a tourist and snapped all kinds of pics:




Very cool mural:


Finding the right building was a challenge.  We had to walk a few more blocks than expected...


But eventually, we found it...


Our destination:


Within moments of entering the building, an exuberant Meg was hugging the big stuffed horsey pulling the stage-coach.  She wants one.  Badly.  I told her she can have one when she figures out where to put it.


Kids in a coach:




There was a display showing the processing of gold:












These old telephones were fun for the kids:


An old typewriter:


Looking through the teller's window from the inside:


And the outside:


A telegraph machine!


Tap-tap-tap...tap. Tap.


Old movie projector:




Guns!!!




19th Century Crime Scene Investigation:


Grandma explained to the children that she had a telephone exactly like this in her house as a child!




In a little "mine shaft" we found GOLD!


This replica of a piece of gold was very heavy:




Danger!  High Explosives!


After leaving the museum we crossed a beautiful plaza with a fountain.


Paul is forever making people squint into the sun for photos.


We made a stop by City Hall to enjoy both the vasty interior,

and the necessary room.

Then we rode the elevator all the way to the top (20th) floor so we could look out the windows,
only to find that we were restricted from exiting the elevator area once we got up there.  Before turning around and going back down, I zoomed my camera toward the window and snapped this shot through the conference room:


After zooming back down on the main floor, the children wanted to climb the lonnnnnng staircase up to the upper level - here they are part way up:


On our way out again...


The Orpheum:


Finding the westbound train was going to take more walking than we wanted to do, so we rested while Paul did the walking.


He found the right line, and we went to meet him there... I thought these photo posters on the buildings were neat...


Finally we are at the right station and waiting for the westbound train in front of Baja Fresh:


And that, but for the ride home, was our excursion, and a delightful diversion it was!

~*~*~*~*~

Have you ever noticed how hard it is to take a family photo where everyone looks normal at the same time?  Shortly after arriving and setting bags down, I made the attempt to chronicle her arrival.  However, unbeknownst to me, Jeff had just handed her a piece of apple before I snapped the pic, and she quickly tried to hide it:


So I tried again, but too quick:


and then I tried a couple with her camera, and then wanted to get a better one on mine so I tried one more; but by this time, Jacob had completely lost interest in maintaining a pleasant demeanor, so while everyone else looked lovely, we still ended up with this:


At that point I gave up and we adjourned to the living room for some Monk.

Geneva, however, adjourned to the kitchen, where she whipped up a
 Pioneer Woman Best Chocolate Sheet Cake.  Ever.
that was too amazing for words.
I shouldn't even TASTE that kind of thing, really.  Ever!!

I'm off to see what adventures today will hold, but regardless of goofy facial expressions, you may rest assured, there will be photos at the end of the day.