Gingerbread Express Train: a train ride through the “magical land of Gingerbread.”  This popular attraction takes guests past Christmas exhibits and comes complete with a holiday soundtrack.  It’s worth the wait!

Train display inside the Cafeteria: a local model railroad group put together the Lionel train exhibit complete with a Christmas village, Steelers train, awesome scenery and bridges, and even an extraterrestrial UFO crash.

Jimmy Stewart Exhibit: apparently there is a museum in Indiana, PA dedicated to Jimmy Stewart, the legendary star of the Christmas classic, It’s a Wonderful Life.

Make-your-own-cookie: although I didn’t try doing this, it looked like a lot of fun!

Rides: plenty of kiddie rides, carousel, train, Kangaroo, Cosmic Chaos

Live entertainment: there appeared to be a caroling group performing when I was there. Also there was a well-done holiday lights show around the lake:

In Germany, Christmas Markets (Weihnachtsmärkten / “Christkindlmarkt”) have been a popular tradition since the mid 1500s.  Each town had a unique market where villagers would buy and sell homemade Christmas ornaments, decorations, and gifts.  Local tradesmen sold their handmade crafts including carved cuckoo clocks, glass ornaments, nutcrackers, and wooden smokers and figurines.   The tradition is still very much alive today throughout Germany, but also in the States as German immigrants continue the custom.

Bethlehem, PA has one of the largest “authentic German” Christmast markets, and I recently took some time to enjoy it.  The market is held in 2 large tents, complete with handmade crafts, the Käthe Wohlfahrt store (where you can buy everything from a nutcracker to a beer stein  for that special someone…), a large Tannenbaum (Christmas tree), ice carving, and some tasty ethnic food – I had a cherry strudel.  Admission is somewhat pricey at $7 just to get in, but it definitely is worth it if you are seeking some unique gifts.

I randomly came across this problem online and thought I would give it a try…

“Every January Santa cleans his workshop.  Each toy in the workshop may be stored for use next year, taken apart and rebuilt next year, or thrown away and replaced next year.  Storing a toy costs 1 Santa Currency (SC) and uses on average 8 units of storage space.  Taking a toy apart and rebuilding it next year costs SC 3 and uses on average 2 units of storage space.  Throwing a toy away and replacing it next year costs SC 5 (due to environmental regulations and the cost of shipping trash from the North Pole) and uses 0 units of storage space.  Santa has 500 units of storage space available in the warehouse and 100 leftover toys currently in the workshop.  He wants to minimize his cost because the economy is terrible.  What should Santa do?”
We define the variables Xi to represent the decisions Santa must make where:

X1= The toys stored for the following year
X2= The toys taken apart and rebuilt next year
X3= The toys thrown away and replaced next year

Our objective is to minimize the cost faced by Santa.  Here we define an objective function and model the problem as as follows:

MINIMIZE  Z = X1+3X2+5X3 (We want to minimize the total cost)

subject to constraints:

8X1+2X2<=500    (Santa only has 500 units of storage space available)
X1+X2+X3=100    (The total number of toys in the workshop must be equal to 100)
Xi >=0 for every i={1,2,3}     (It is impossible to have negative toys in the usual sense…)

Using AMPL, we can rewrite the model, which I have called “christmas”

var x1>=0;
var x2>=0;
var x3>=0;
minimize cost: x1+3*x2+5*x3;
subject to constraint1: 8*x1+2*x2<=500;
subject to constraint2: x1+x2+x3=100;

And solve it with CPLEX…

sw: ampl
ampl: model christmas.txt;
ampl: option solver cplex;
ampl: solve;
CPLEX 11.2.0: optimal solution; objective 200
2 dual simplex iterations (0 in phase I)
ampl: display x1;
x1 = 50

ampl: display x2;
x2 = 50

ampl: display x3;
x3 = 0

So it would appear Santa should both store and take apart 50 toys for next year to achieve a minimum cost of SC 200.

Ok Santa, that will be $10,000 for 10 minutes of novice IE consulting…Merry Christmas!

Recently I had the opportunity to visit Back Mountain Harvest Assembly’s re-enactment of the first Christmas, a one-hour theatrical performance called The Gift.   I had no idea, but this is the 17th year the church has been putting on the elaborate show complete with dancing, music, and live animals.  They do a fantastic job.  After the show (which is free by the way), there is tasty hot cocoa and cookies for all.  Donations are appreciated.  I was not sure what to expect, but was completely blown away by the detail and quality of the show.  I loved it so much I hope to make it an annual tradition.   Here is their website for more information:

http://www.bmha.org/thegift2010.html

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life…” John 3:16

To make Kennywood, you would need to mix half of  Knoebels Grove’s old-fashioned charm, and half of attractions similar to those found in newer theme parks.  It’s the perfect combination of the two ingredients!  The staff was friendly, the food was reasonably priced, and the park was clean.  Unseasonably warm temperatures brought out the crowds, and I only wish we had more time to experience more of the place.

“Phantom Fright Nights” gets excellent reviews, and I must say they certainly do put a lot of work into their Halloween event.  The entire park is filled with “fog” which makes it difficult to see who (are “what”) is around you.  We visited 3 walkthroughs – Mortem Manor, Noah’s Arc, and Voodoo Bayou.  Mortem Manor is a spooky-mansion style walkthrough that is very elaborately decorated with cobwebs and narrow corridors.  Noah’s Arc – what I thought was more of a children’s attraction – turns out to be by far one of the scariest (and funnest) walkthrough’s I have ever been in!   The “boat” rocks back and forth as you navigate floors and hallways filled with effects and surprises.  Finally, Voodoo Bayou takes on a New-Orlean’s style theme as you walk inside the channel used for Raging Rapids.  This was probably our least-favorite of the three, as there were not as many startling occurrences (perhaps the actors were getting tired?).  All of the walkthroughs were almost 10 minutes long.

If you ever get a chance to visit – Kennywood offers an excellent value-packed product.  Just in time for Halloween – some pictures below:

-6 Medium white mushrooms, cleaned, sliced
- 1/4 c. olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 lb ground lean beef
- 16 ounce can plum tomatoes, with juice
- 1/4 c Cabernet (or Red wine of choice)
- 1/4 c beef broth
- Pinch of oregano
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
- Salt and pepper
- 4 tbsp Parmigiano-Reggiano
- 1 lb penne, cooked…or in my case, whatever pasta you have in the pantry!

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add mushrooms, blanch for 2 minutes.  Drain, chop fine, and reserve
Heat oil in a skillet over medium-high flame and saute’ the onions until lightly browned.
Add the mushrooms, garlic, and ground beef.  Cook 7 to 8 minutes until meat is browned.
Coarsely chop the tomatoes and add with their juice.
Add bay leaves, wine, broth, and oregano.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.  Cover.  Simmer for 15 minutes.
Remove the bay leaves.  Add butter, parsley, salt and pepper as desired, and cheese.
Serve over cooked pasta.

The company dates back to 1893 when its founder, W.E Sullivan visited the Columbian Exposition and rode the world’s first Ferris Wheel, an invention by George Ferris.  Sullivan was fascinated by the ride and returned home to add wheels to their product portfolio.

They’re also a lot of fun – perhaps appear (and feel) to run a bit faster than traditional Ferris Wheels.