Trains, Donuts, and Ornaments

We're moving in less than a week, and I had two last things I wanted to cross off my Maryland bucket list before we departed.

First, I wanted to take our family to the local fire station, where they set up a breathtaking holiday train set every December.  There are multiple trains, including the Polar Express, and you can do a scavenger hunt for Harry Potter, Santa on skis, and other tiny figures on the huge set.  Joy found a few of the items on the list.  I preferred to just enjoy the spectacle.

The other item on my bucket list was to drive into Baltimore . . .

. . . to see if this popular little bakery was better than the Dunkin' Donuts stores which seem to have a donut monopoly in Columbia.  (Also, how do you like the purple-sequined skirt Joy requested for her birthday?  I thought she would be a laughing stock at her middle school, but apparently her classmates think the skirt is pretty cool.)

We made our donut selections, then I experienced the blissful torture of riding home through Baltimore with a box of great-smelling donuts on my lap.

And the verdict?  Were these donuts better than Dunkin's?

Yep! I don't think I'd be willing to spend an hour in the car every weekend for a better-than-average donut, but for a bucket-list outing right before we move, they were quite satisfactory.

In other news, Daddy found our kid-friendly ornaments in the storage closet this evening, so we were finally able to decorate our little tree.  Frankly, I think it looked better with just the paper chain, but we all had fun hanging familiar, favorite ornaments.  Sometimes, the experience matters more than the final result. :)