Colorado Railroad Museum

We took advantage of the gorgeous Spring weather and drove to Golden to visit the Colorado Railroad Museum.  If your little one likes trains, this is definitely the place for you - worth the drive, especially when they have trains running.  (They often have steam trains on Saturdays - you can check the schedule here.)  The museum store is great, generally reasonably priced (as museum stores go), and if you are a member, you receive a discount.  They also have the most lax membership rules of any children's museum around - a family membership gives you admission for two adults and up to seven children, and they don't care who the adults are.  That is, you can send the grandparents with your kids to the museum with your pass, or can take a friend and their kids, etc.  Most places will not allow such flexible admission on an annual pass. 

They do have a changing counter in the ladies' room.  It is quite bare bones and does not have a pad, so bring your own changing pad.  The bathrooms in general are old and reminded me of campground bathrooms, but were clean and completely adequate.  They did not sell any kind of food (at least not that I saw), but do sell bottled water in the gift shop and have soda machines on the grounds.  They have lots of picnic tables and don't seem to have any policy against bringing your own food. 

They open various cars, engines, etc. for the kids to go inside and inspect.  They can bounce on the seats or beds in the passenger cars, play with the gears and levers in the engines, ring the bells, etc.  They have trains going from the 1800s up, with an impressive variety.  Use caution and common sense - these are old trains, not designed for use as children's toys.  Make sure the wood looks secure and nothing looks sharp before turning your kids loose.  There are things on display that you wouldn't want your small child touching.

As you first enter the museum, you pass through the store, and be aware that there is a great train table set up with a ton of interesting features.  If your child won't want to give up the train table easily, you'll want to shuttle them directly to the back of the store.  They also sell a ton of Thomas stuff (engines, roundhouses, take-along Thomas, etc.). 

Downstairs, they have an elaborate and wonderful automated train set up.  As long as you keep depositing quarters, your little one will be in heaven.  They have chairs for your child to stand on to better view the train excitement, but you will probably end up having to hold your child up until they are tall enough - probably 3 or 4.  If you have a Kelty backpack, I'd suggest bringing it to give your arms a break. 

All in all, a great excursion for a very happy little boy.

On our way home, we drove past the Southern Sun brew pub.  We used to live in the Table Mesa area in Boulder, and we always loved this place.  Now that we have a child, we like it even more.  First of all, it is a noisy, friendly environment, so no matter how much noise your kid makes, you are unlikely to feel self-conscious.  The people are relaxed and friendly.  The food is good, including the kids' menu, and the beer is fantastic.  There are no tv's, which is nice.  The fries are great, and so is the basil-blue burger.  They have a ton of vegetarian options, a nice beer sampler, and will accommodate any special request I've ever had.  They are a cash-only situation, so keep that in mind - no credit cards accepted.

I'll add that we are not big fans of the Mountain Sun pub, as it is very campus-y, and has always been very crowded when we have visited.  It is worth the drive to South Boulder.  Also, if you join the email list for the pubs, they will email you a coupon for a free pint.