Fun Stuff

Pop-up lounge at O’Hare Airport – for kids

Aviation history, Exhibits, family travel, Free Stuff, Fun Stuff, Kids, Kids travel, ,

At Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport, a pop-up lounge just for kids (and their parents) is moving through the terminals.

Called the “Fly with Butch O’Hare” lounge, it’s described as a place to relax, take selfies, re-charge cell phones and devices and to learn about the Fly with Butch O’Hare mobile game the airport developed in collaboration with DeVry University.

First, who was Butch O’Hare? He’s the airport’s namesake, Edward “Butch” O’Hare – and this year marks the 75th anniversary of Butch O’Hare’s heroic actions in World War II, saving the aircraft carrier Lexington.

He was honored with the Navy’s first Medal of Honor, and in 1949 Chicago’s airport, Orchard Field was renamed Chicago O’Hare in his honor.

The lounge is outfitted with chairs and foot stools, cell phone charging stations, the airport code  in 8 – f00t-tall letters,  orange flooring and a miniature plane flying overhead with – you guessed it – Butch O’Hare.

There’s also an almost life-size cut-out of O’Hare and a plane – for selfies.

ORD is also giving out flat photos of Butch O’Hare (on a stick) in the lounge and at bins in the domestic terminals and encouraging passengers to pose with the flat Butch O’Hare while in the airport or and around the world and post their photos  online with the hashtag #FlyWithButchOHare.

 Looking for the lounge?  It’s in Terminal 1, near Gate B12 through August 9 and then moving to Terminal 2, near Gate E1, from August 10 through 31.

And what about that Butch O’Hare game?
Updates on the progress of that project is on this Fly with Butch O’Hare    page along with some airport trivia  and a list of airport shops and restaurants offering discounts.

KLM offering Amsterdam travelers a ‘care tag’

Assistance, Fun Stuff, gear, ,

Thinking of heading to Amsterdam?

September, when all the college kids and summer tourists clear out, might be a good time to go.

And if you do, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has what may be a fun – free – travel gadget for you.

For travelers going to Amsterdam in September, KLM has created a “Care Tag,” which it describes as a smart audio luggage tag with a built-in offline GPS module and a speaker that automatically provides verbal tips (recorded by KLM crew members) on how to travel in the city.

KLM says the tips include alerts on busy intersections with a lot of cyclists, where and how to lock your bike, and when you should watch out for pickpockets, where to taste local food for free, where to see great street art, or where to rent a bike or boat.

How do you get a tag?  KLM says passengers traveling to Amsterdam in September will be able to order their  tag on line for free. The first batch of Care Tags will speak English, but Care Tags that speak Chinese, Portuguese, German and Russian will be available later this year.

I’m checking to see if just a speaker on the tags or if you can plug in a set of headphones.

And, while the Lost and Found pup was cute – but not real – KLM reps say the Care Tag is real thing.

 

 

Pull over for these really big things

Fun Stuff,

Who can resist pulling off the highway when a “World’s Largest…” sign appears?

Not me. And you shouldn’t either. Because these really big things I found for a recent round-up on World’s Largest  things are really great.

Here’s a sampling:

Vulcan, Birmingham Alabama’s colossal statue is the world’s largest cast iron statue.

Albert, the World’s Largest Bull (45 tons, 30 feet tall), in Audubon, Iowa

The Land of 10,000 Lakes is home to the World’s Largest Ball of Twine made by one man. It’s 13 feet in diameter and more than 17,400 pounds.

At the City Museum in St. Louis: a 7 foot tall pair of underpants!

In Huron, South Dakota, the state’s official bird is honored with a 22-foot-tall, 22-ton fiberglass fowl that is World’s Largest Pheasant

 

 

Airlines – and IKEA – join in on April Fools’ Day

Fun Stuff, Holidays, , ,

Keeping with tradition, many airlines shared April Fools’ Day announcements. Here are a few:

 

 

 

 

 

https://www.facebook.com/ikea.au/posts/10155184905858288

Wacky carpet exchange between Portland and Orlando airports

Fun Stuff, , , ,

On  Thursday, March 16, Alaska Airlines kicked off flights between Orlando and Portland.

To mark the day – and with a nod to PDX carpet that became a national celebrity – Portland International Airport and Orlando International Airport did a carpet exchange.

Here’s how it went down on Twitter.

Eat in a gondola at Munich Airport

Food, Fun Stuff,

Munich Airport has a lot going for it, amenities-wise.

There’s the brewery/beer garden, the play areas for kids, the sleeping cabins, the observation deck, and the MAC Forum that’s used to host everything from summer surfing to a full=blown Christmas Market.

Now there’s one more fun way to spend time at Munich Airport: eating in a gondola taken from a real ski lift.

The airport has a new restaurant – Sportalm – in Terminal 2, that serves Alpine specialties in a mountain-decor, a gondola, a sports bar and, opening next month, an upper level sun terrace with love seats and lounge chairs.

To set the scene of a traditional Upper Bavarian farmhouse, the decor includes tree trunks, knickknacks, an old barn door and a stone trough – all things that give the restaurant “authentic snugness and originality,” according to the airport.

 

New, old-fashioned arcade at Orlando Int’l Airport

Fun Stuff, Shopping, ,

With theme park-like phot ops, a fun fountain, a giant aquarium, art and plenty of shops and restaurants Orlando International Airport is already quite fun.

With the addition of the 2,000 square-foot old-fashioned Power Play Arcade, the fun meter now goes higher.

The arcade is part of the redevelopment of a larger area that now also includes a Skechers footwear shop, a branch of XpresSpa, Natalie’s Candy Jar, a Tumi travel gear store, Desigual, Guess, Timeless Travel (watches) and Naturally Inspired – selling “an eco-friendly line of hand-crafted wares.”

(Photo courtesy Westfield)

Now there’s a pig on duty at SFO Airport

Fun Stuff, Pets, , , ,

sfo-pig

An increasing number of airports now have teams of therapy dogs on duty in the terminals to help ease the stress of travel.

Back in May, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport added a miniature therapy horse to the mix.

Now comes LiLou the pig – who joins the Wag Brigade at San Francisco International Airport on Monday.

sfo-pig-2

LiLou is the first pig to be certified in the SF SPCA’s Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) program and was a perfect fit for SFO, which was determined to expand the type of animals in the Wag Brigade.

LiLou is sure to be quite the hit. In addition to be being a pig at the airport – she does tricks.

According to the stat-card Wag Brigade handlers will be distributing for LiLou in the airport, she can wave, greet you with her snout, play the piano and give a bow after her performance. She will also be twirling and standing up on her back hooves to entertain travelers.

sfo-pig-3

SFO’s Wag Brigade team has at least one dog on duty every day of the week, with up to 3 dogs at a time working their 2-hour shifts.  LiLou doesn’t have a regulars slot in the schedule just yet, but airport officials say the Juliana Pig will be on site at least once a month.

sfo-pig-1

Dogs, miniature horse, a pig. Which animal do you think will show up next in an airport pet therapy program?

(All photos courtesy of SFO Airport)

Airports take the Mannequin Challenge – & rock it!

Airports, Fun Stuff
mannequin-library-of-congress

(Courtesy Library of Congress – via Flickr Commons)

The Mannequin Challenge is – for some reason – sweeping the nation.

I don’t quite get it, but the short videos are oddly entertaining to watch. And the fad seems harmless.

Here’s how a few airports accepted the #AirportThrowdown Mannequin Challenge.

More – I’m sure – to come.

Let me know which ones I’ve missed and I’ll add them here.