I only took a few photos with my iPhone from the actual Thomas Event, but they are pretty cute. These first two images show me, Adrian, and Zachary riding the tram that goes from the parking lot into the museum. The third is a cute shot of Zachary riding the train. You can see lots more pictures of the Day Out With Thomas event on my Part One post.

After we left the Gold Coast Railroad Museum, we were all super hungry! Adrian took a look on Yelp to see if he could find a good burger place nearby, but the one he was interested in was located in midtown Miami – about a half hour from where we were. I had hoped to find something a bit closer, but once he mentioned that the burger joint had a nutella burger…well, I was sold! The burger place is called The Filling Station and is located right next to Miami Tower and the Knight Center. I didn’t get a chance to take any snaps inside the restaurant, but it’s basically decorated like a bar/burger joint located inside a mechanic’s garage. Really cool spot. The food was very good (and yes, the nutella burger was simply incredible), and I look forward to going again!

We never go down to Miami for fun (I’m always there for work though), so Adrian thought it’d be a good idea to do some exploring and extend our family day instead of just heading home. We’ve never taken the Miami Metrorail or Metromover and we were delighted to find out that rides on the Metromover are free!!! After a morning of riding on Thomas, we were about to take Zachary on a different kind of “train” – a public transit tram through a major city! Once again, he was totally thrilled!

Zachary was so excited when the tram pulled up and even more so that he got to go inside. He was so good holding on to the rails and loved looking out the window. As he looked out the window, he actually sighed and said, “Mommy, this is my favorite!”  Our hearts melted! Adrian and I were both so happy that we had given our little boy such a wonderful day.

We took the tram up to the next station – Bayside and Bayfront Park. I’ve done a few photoshoots here so I’m very familiar with the area, but I’ve only ever been here once before on my own time. It was so nice to walk through the park and enjoy the atmosphere without holding my big heavy camera! I was thrilled to see there was a great looking playground at Bayfront Park, so we took Zachary over to play for a bit. I wish I’d taken a few more shots of the playground, but he was all over the place and really loved these slides! The happiness on his face is so apparent.

I never realized what a joy it would be to have a toddler! We are able to have so many cool experiences now with Zachary, and we can really see now what a great personality he  has. He is growing up so nicely and is such an amazing kid. We have so much fun hanging out with him. I can’t wait until our next family adventure!

Adrian checked Yelp from his phone and found The Filling Station. As soon as he mentioned a review about a burger covered in Nutella, I was sold.

This place was fabulous. Service was very good, and at least during the day, it was a quiet, family-friendly spot, with varied state and foreign license plates all over the walls, toy cars (which Zachary thought were awesome) and funny quotes plastering the walls. It looked like a funky car garage that just happened to have a restaurant inside.

Yes, I did have the Gabby’s D’Lorean, and it was quite possibly one of the most amazing burgers I have ever tried. Adrian had a burger with egg on it and loved it, and Zachary had a hot dog and fries.

I really, really look forward to coming back here again! Yes, it’s nearly an hour drive, but with the Miami Metromover right across the street and easy access to Bayfront Park and its awesome playground, I could totally see us making another day of it and checking out The Filling Station again. Though, you’ll be hard-pressed to get me to try a new burger…. I have found my favorite right off the bat!