A Few of FR's Finest.Every Day.12-22 to 25-06..Polar Express - Christmas Weekend

December 22, 2006 | Dolly Howard

[DollyCali]

The magical train ride found in the Book and the Movie are the backdrop to the glorious adventure held nightly for 5 weeks in NE Ohio as part of the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railway (CVSR) offerings leading up to Christmas .

The story in a nutshell: A little boy, Jammie clad in jammies(FReeper material ) doubting Santa’s existence any longer, is whisked away one night on a magical train, that picks him up AT HIS HOME & takes him to the North pole where he views the magic of Santa, the elves and the life there. It is a short book with wonderful art work & was released in 1985.

At the Ohio Polar Express, this is captured in the several hour ride that parents & kids alike arrive in Jammies to participate in the fun. Thanks to the Polar express we now have a new dress category to add to Business casual etc. There will be Nighttime Jammies perhaps!

So very much goes on behind the scenes. For the ride of several hours for youngsters in wonderment along with their parents and grandparents, there is an amazing amount of ground work that is done. Professionals and volunteers all work together to make this a memorable part of the participating family holiday experiences. Many US cities have similar programs, we feel fortunate to be one of them.

Do you just decide THAT day, hey, lets go for the train ride tonight? Well, no NOT EXACTLY. The ride is sold out in late Summer and tickets chosen by lottery. There are actually two trains that converge in the North Pole. One begins in Akron heading North & the other begins in Independence heading south. They arrive at the N Pole about 15 minutes apart to gaze out the window at the merriment of Santa’s workshop, all the elves dancing (town folks, who have caught the spirit, Santa on sleigh, drummer boys, reindeer etc.

The deluxe Saint Lucie train car.which goes out each night is a luxury charter smf is sold out for next 3 years.. To say this activity is “in demand” is perhaps an understatement. This popular train, which runs in part through the Cuyahoga Valley National Park holds several other Christmas related series of Rides Mr. Jingeling's Holiday Express and Christmas Tree Adventure (train to neaby Peninsula & pick out /buy tree, return

In the story Polar express (as viewed in the movie) Director Robert Zemeckis revolutionized the art of animated film in 1998's WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT by dropping cartoon characters into the same frame with flesh-and-blood actors. In THE POLAR EXPRESS, live action and animation have merged seamlessly, resulting in sparkling super-realism. A landmark technique Zemeckis and his Sony Pictures Imageworks team call "Performance Capture" perfectly suits the tenor of this wondrous children's Christmas story by Chris Van Allsburg

A disillusioned little boy, just old enough to doubt the existence of Santa Claus, has the adventure of a lifetime one fateful Christmas Eve. Clad in his pajamas, he climbs aboard a magic train to the North Pole, driven by a kindly train conductor (voiced by Tom Hanks who starred in both of Zemeckis's Academy-Award winning films FORREST GUMP and CASTAWAY). Among myriad jaw-dropping moments, the train plummets brakeless through crystalline mountains in a simulated roller coaster ride. Going off the rails, skidding sideways, and snaking violently across a frozen lake, the train arrives at the North Pole (a vast, glowing city of brick buildings)

At that moment, the car carrying the kids detaches and they're sent tumbling down never-ending chutes and slides until they land in the middle of Santa's Workshop.

In the body of the thread are pictures/commentary from the last regular “run” of the season. Try to check back regularly for new additions. Your are invited to join in the “magic”

[onyx]

My half is perfect!
I'll give his half another 30 minutes.
Hey, about that? Thanks, Dear Abby.

[snugs]

Yes they are

[snugs]

Yes it is traditional to serve both roast potatoes and roast parsnips with any roast dinner in Britain. Mash potato is normally served with sausage and gravy or cold meat or a meat pie dinner.

[La Enchiladita]

Okay, NOW I remembered why I wanted to ping you, Rus. This morning I remembered the Christmas truce in WWI, which is a wonderful story. So, later, I found this thread on the movie about the truce ...

Joyeaux Noel

German emperor Kaiser William II had ordered thousands of Christmas trees sent to the front lines to boost the men's morale. On Christmas Eve, they placed the trees, with candles lit, in parapets atop the trenches, in clear sight of the enemy. And then—in the film and in the true story—the tenor, an enlisted man who'd been fighting alongside his comrades, began singing "Schtille Nacht" ("Silent Night"). The Allied troops obviously knew the tune, and soon, all sides joined in on the singing from their trenches, each in their own language. Soon, men were climbing out of their earthen dugouts, sans weapons, and toward one another—toward the enemy!—to join together in celebrating the birth of a Savior they all had in common, politics and the war be hanged.

Since today is actually Military Monday and all, a perfect tie-in ...

[Majie Purple]

[La Enchiladita]

Apparently, my long-distance cooking is better than my nearby attempts.... How about that?!

[onyx]

LOL --- OK, how about some long distance cleaning help? I hate to clean up after I have cooked. .....lol.

Oh, and the roasted garlic mashed potatoes are to diet for.

[Majie Purple]

[La Enchiladita]

Virtual cleaning? It's a snap! Hahahahahaha....

[luvie]

Thanks for sharing those pictures. He is amazing.

I can't think of Christmas and Chinese restaurants without saying....."fa ra ra ra rahhhh, ra ra ra rahhhhhh. LOL!

[firewalk]

Wishing You A Very Merry Christmas

fine print disclaimer...
(can't remember where I found this-google maybe?)
I apologize in advance if I borrowed it from anyone here.

[onyx]

LOL --- I almost always use paper plates and plastic utensils --- he refuses, so he has the cleaning duties --- but not today, and I must say, I have made a mess. :)

[Lady Jag]

[The Mayor]

Please join us for Military Monday..

[Pistov Elf]

Merry Christmas to all!

Sorry I missed messing with ya this year.

My thanks to Santa for allowing me to tend to gravely ill kinfolk.

Pistov

[Mrs.Nooseman]

Merry Christmas Pistov.
Sorry to hear about you kinfolk.

[Lady Jag]

Merry Christmas
to The Finest!!!

[Majie Purple]

...I hate to go and leave such pretty Threads but goodnight to You and You and You on the Finest and The Dose... The Threads I love the most..."

[Lady Jag]

May the magic of the Holidays
be with you now and
throughout the New Year!

[DaBearOne]

Yup, am learning fast. Food was much improved. How? You may ask! Was fairly simple. While I'll was preparing the food, I kept thinking that I was preparing the meal for the Lord to dine with me.

Made me very careful in how I was putting things together.
You know it worked...a lesson I am sure to remember from now on.

Maybe I'm nuts, but I think the Lord gave me a Christmas gift, along with the gift of the "A few of the FR's Finest".

All is well, and Christmas turned out to be so much better.

Bernie,

Yup, your song topped off the day. Bet you didn't know that next to bagpipes the banjo is my favorite instrument. Thanks