Despite the van driver’s assurance that we’d get stuck in rush hour traffic, I arrived at Pittsburgh International Airport yesterday with plenty of time to poke around before my flight.
Good thing. Because in addition to the free internet access, there really are plenty of reasons to appreciate spending time at this airport.
Here are just five of them:
The dinosaur
The shopping. Plenty of it – and a shoe store. Enough said
The mobile by Alexander Calder in the center core. This is a great art treasure to have at the airport.
The shrine to Mr. Rogers, who filmed his long-running running TV show in Pittsburgh.
And, just across the way, a wall covered in Andy Warhol self-portrait wallpaper, along with several pieces of his artwork.
There’s never enough time to do everything I want to do in London, but on my most recent visit I managed to squeeze in quite a lot in just three days.
Activities were wedged in between a meal seasoned with performances by contortionists and flame-embellished dancers at a West End cabaret bar named Circus, Afternoon Tea at The Langham’s Palm Court and whiskey tasting (before and after dinner) with the whiskey sommelier at The Athenaeum Hotel.
Forks-down highlights included a visit to the funky top floor apartment Jimi Hendrix lived in from 1968-1970 (more about honoring Hendrix here); a Fat Tire Bike Tour past iconic monuments, memorials and palaces (more about that here), and walking tours of upscale, low-key Primrose Hill and East London, which is brimming with hip art galleries and stores chock-full of clothing by up-and-coming designers.
Hendrix fan waiting to tour Jimi Hendrix's London flat
I couldn’t afford to buy anything in any in-city shops, so that left souvenir shopping at Heathrow Airport.
Souvenir Sunday was coming up – the day Stuck at the Airport looks at fun, inexpensive items for sale at airports – so I focused on items selling for under £10, which right now equals about $16.
Here are a few of my favorites:
Giant Princess Diana postcard
Heathrow Airport Souvenir - post box banks
And of course:
Meet the (scary-looking) Beatles. That's not really Ringo is it?
If you find a great souvenir while Stuck at the Airport, please take a photo and send it along. Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.
[Note, my trip to London was part of a research trip for several articles in progress unrelated to whiskey, cabarets and shopping and was hosted by Air New Zealand, Visit London and The Athanaeum. Thank-you.]
In the spirit of Snack Saturday, here are two short videos that feature Lindt chocolate, tennis star Roger Federer and a pair of take charge TSA officers who get exactly what they want. Be sure to watch the longer, behind the scenes version as well.
Here’s the “making of” version. Officers claim chocolate balls are on the “No Fly” list.
A 1954 Yellowstone Travel Trailer - with two doors
So I was intrigued when I saw a story about the 26-foot 1958 Airstream Overlander trailer being gutted and re-modeled by a group of students at Washington State University in Spokane.
They’ve been working on it all summer and, according to a university report, “Part of the focus of the project is to explore the sustainability issues of today’s society and challenge the current image of the travel trailer industry.”
They’ve gutted the inside, but luckily they’re committed to preserving the trailer’s historic exterior character.
Here’s a short video on their progress:
And here’s the part I’m especially excited about: this fall, when the Airstream is all shiny and renovated, the students will be taking the trailer on the road to show off their handiwork. (And party?) After that, the updated WSU Airstream trailer will be either given away in a contest or sold. To find out what happens, follow them on Facebook or Twitter.
And for inspiration, here are few photos from the collection of the RV Museum and Hall of Fame:
Mae West's 1931 Chevrolet trailer
1936 Airstream Clipper
(Vintage RV photos courtesy RV Museum and Hall of Fame)
There are more than 700 aviation and space museums around the country. Each Monday we profile one of them. Eventually we’ll hit them all.
Today, to mark the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death on August 16th, 1977, we’ll make a stop at Graceland, where two of Elvis’s jets are on display.
According to this article, Elvis purchased this Lockheed JetStar in September, 1975 for $899,702, while waiting for his other plane, the Lisa Marie (below), a Convair 880 Jet previously owned by Delta Airlines, to arrive.
At Graceland, visitors sit in a mock 1970’s-era airline terminal to see a short film about Elvis and his airplanes and are then allowed to tour the JetStar and the Lisa Marie, which was also known as Hound Dog I or Flying Graceland.
Elvis Presley's airplane - the Lisa Marie - at Graceland
Sadly, I haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Graceland. Yet. But when I do, I’ll make a beeline for the airplanes. First stop, the Lisa Marie. According to this article, the airplane has a seating area, conference room, library and plush bedroom with an executive bathroom equipped with gold washbasin and faucets.
Have you seen Elvis’s airplanes at Graceland? Share details of your visit below.
And please let us know if you have a nomination for an aviation or space museum you’d like to see featured on a future edition of Museum Monday here at StuckatTheAirport.com.
