Posts in the category "Fun Stuff":

Ready for St. Patrick’s Day festivities?

The Chicago airports are. Today, Friday, March 12, Irish dancers from the Trinity Academy will perform at both O’Hare International Airport (ORD) and at Midway International Airport (MDW). Performances will be 3 to 5 p.m. at O’Hare (in Terminals 1, 2, 3, and 5) and at Midway in Concourse A near the “Battle of Midway” exhibit.

And if you are traveling through Philadelphia International Airport (PHL ) between now and Sunday, March 14th, the Gap store there would like you drop your pants.

Old blue jeans collected by Gap stores nationwide will be turned into cotton fiber insulation.  And anyone who leaves a pair of pants will get a coupon good for 30% off their next denim purchase.

The project is a partnership with the Cotton. From Blue to Green campaign, which has so far turned 200 tons of recycled jeans into insulation for more than 540 houses built in areas destroyed by natural disasters .

Categories: Airport shops, Entertainment, Events, Fun Stuff, Shopping
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Today, Thursday, February 25th, 2010, Ivar’s Seafood outlets in Washington and California are celebrating National Clam Chowder Day by offering a 2-for-1 deal on cups of chowder.   Happily, the deal extends to the Ivar’s Seafood Bar at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA).  “The airport Ivar’s is open way longer than the Ivar’s in town,” an enthusiastic employee at the airport Ivar’s told me on the telephone on Wednesday, “So you can get that deal starting at 4:30 in the morning.”

You’d think they’d also be celebrating National Clam Chowder Day over in Boston, where the Legal Sea Foods chain is well represented at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS).  But no.  Via Twitter, the folks at Logan Airport told me,that there was “nothing planned. But we can tell you clam chowder is an airport favorite…and available in every terminal at BOS!”

Categories: Food, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Restaurants
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Lufthansa pilots have scheduled a four day strike beginning on Monday, February 22, 2010.  Negotiations are currently underway, but if those talks fail to avert the strike, the carrier will be forced to cancel most of its flights. And that will leave passengers stuck at the airport.

The upside? If you do end up spending more time than you planned at a German airport, you’ll be able to find plenty of things to do.

Munich Airport, for example, has an outdoor observation deck and a great indoor/outdoor beer garden with an on-site brewery.

The Hamburg Airport also has observation decks as well as the Airport Model Exhibition – a miniature version of the airport complete with buildings, taxiways, runways, landing strips, and 8,000 light-emitting diodes that light up the tiny airport’s night sky – all on a scale of 1:500.

And at the Dusseldorf, Munich, Hamburg, and Berlin airports you’ll also find Lufthansa WorldShop stores, which offer a promising spot to do some Souvenir Sunday shopping.

The airline recently opened its second WorldShop store at the Frankfurt Airport (Terminal 1, Area B) and, like the others; the store is filled with travel items, backpacks, travel accessories, electronics, model aircraft, toys, and some other fun stuff.  Shoppers can earn Miles & More award miles for items purchased here and – here’s a nice twist – also buy items using accumulated miles.

I’m especially taken with this A380 Cookie Jar

The cool container sells for about $107 – or 22,000 miles, so we can’t make it our pick for Souvenir Sunday, which usually has an upper limit of $10.  But poking around the WorldShop catalog I did find this cute guy, which sells for 9 Euros (about $12) or 7500 miles.

But since this is Souvenir Sunday and do we have that under $10 rule (which may need to be re-adjusted soon for inflation..),  we offer these items sent along by the folks at Virginia’s Richmond International Airport(RIC), where a variety of local museums are represented in the  Hudson News store in the airport’s Atrium area, next to the security screening checkpoint for Concourse B.

These items are from the Edgar Allan Poe Museum

(Beer mugs! )

(Poe action figure – with removable raven! )

Have you found a great souvenir while stuck at the airport? If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. It may show up as our pick for a future Souvenir Sunday.

Categories: Airport shops, Airports, Bars, Fun Stuff, Layover, Museums, Observation Decks, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs
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Two fun contests that reward travelers with travel popped up today:

Share a story or photo about a visit to San Diego North to enter the “Don’t Be Left Without a Story – Write Yours in San Diego North” contest.

The prize includes a three-night trip to La Jolla, surfing lessons (remember Gidget?) and tickets to Birch Aquarium.  You have until June 30, 2010 to enter.

Also, Fairmont Hotels & Resorts is hosting the Original Memories Photo Contest.  Prizes include hotel nights and airfare credit, a swanky digital camera, and Flip camcorder.

Of course, Valentine’s Day weekend is just around the corner and some airports around the country are planning special treats for travelers.  Here are just a few examples of what you’ll find:

On Friday, February 12^th, The Food & Shops in the Central Terminal at New York’s LaGuardia Airport will be handing out free chocolates kisses from 11 am – 4 pm.

At Austin-Bergstrom International Airport, there will be a chocolate-covered strawberries sale in the baggage claim area February 12-14.  Last year, 300 dozen of these decadent treats were sold; this year they anticipate selling more than 360 dozen.

And in past years, volunteers in at least two airports were on duty to give passengers single red or yellow roses.  I’m waiting to hear if the tradition will continue this year and will let you know about that tomorrow – along with some other special Valentine’s Day events taking place at other airports.

In the meantime, if you know of any special Valentine’s Day events at an airport, please send the information along.

Categories: Airport shops, Contests, Events, Food, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Holidays
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Thanks to ThisDayin History.com for the reminder that on this day, February 7, back in 1964, Pan Am Yankee Clipper flight 101 from London Heathrow landed at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with its special cargo of Beatles.

According to History.com:

It was the first visit to the United States by the Beatles, a British rock-and-roll quartet that had just scored its first No. 1 U.S. hit six days before with “I Want to Hold Your Hand.” At Kennedy, the “Fab Four”–dressed in mod suits and sporting their trademark pudding bowl haircuts–were greeted by 3,000 screaming fans who caused a near riot when the boys stepped off their plane and onto American soil.

Here’s a great video using clips from that day:

Two days after their arrival at JFK, the Beatles made their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Categories: Air Travel, Airlines, Aviation history, Fun Stuff, History, Music
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