Riding the Pink Pig

You have to think carefully about what you expose young children to. Experiences can become traditions that they insist upon for years to come. We took just such a chance the other weekend. The Pink Pig is a staple of the Atlanta Christmas scene. For decades the Pink Pig (then a very tiny monorail) rode around the downtown Rich's Christmas display. After being out of commission for some time, the Pink Pig was revived (this time as a somewhat larger train). It now rides around a festive, pink diorama under a circus tent on top of the Macy's parking garage in Buckhead. Heh, not quite the same I'm sure. But we decided to take Noah and give it a try.

Here's a picture of one of the original Pink Pig cars. The top of the car would come up to the waist of an average size adult. And yes, that is cage wire on the windows. I'm not sure exactly who rode in this thing, but clearly children were much smaller then.

In addition to all the motion and deluge of pink, the voice of the Pink Pig narrates the train ride at a high volume. All these things combined left Noah in shock, but not overly scared. This photo is from the second lap around the track. In case you're wondering why he's not in April's lap, it wasn't allowed. Apparently it's much "safer" to have him sit on his own.

Paying for a ride on the Pink Pig is made easier since part of the proceeds go to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, a fabulous hospital and medical network that we've already visited three times. Of course, the gift shop at the end offers additional spending opportunities. No, we didn't purchase the ears. Thankfully at this age Noah is content with simply playing with things in the store.