Souvenir Sunday

Souvenir Sunday at Indianapolis International Airport

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On Sundays we take a look at some of the inexpensive souvenirs you can pick up for around $10 when you’re stuck at the airport. This week, we’ve got some fun stuff to share from the Indianapolis International Airport (IND).

Of course, there’s the requisite candy ‘poop.’  Here, it’s Cardinal Poop, in honor of the state bird.

Marcella Gruelle created the Raggedy Ann doll in Indianapolis back in 1914, so you’ll find plenty of  Raggedy Anns and Andys for sale at the airport.  Only the tiniest sizes, and maybe the books, fit our $10 or under budget for Souvenir Sunday, but its fun to see the different-sized dolls all piled up and ready for new families.

There’s also the Just Pop In popcorn I featured yesterday on Snack Saturday, but it’s a fair bet that if you buy this as a souvenir, you’ll end up eating it all on the airplane.  Or before you get from the shop to your gate.

So consider doing some souvenir shopping at the airport spa. Yes, the spa.  IND is the only outpost for Erin Humphrey’s Enroute Spa and the spa is headquarters for a locally sustainable retail program Humphrey calls Hip and Handmade in Indy.  I had a chance to sit down and chat with Humphrey about the program and she told me how much fun she’s having scouring craft and DIY fairs in search of products to feature.

I’d already spotted these purses and Humphrey pointed out that they’re made by ReFind Originals, an Indiana company that turns reclaimed leather from everything from discarded old car seat covers to well-worn bomber jackets into purses and handbags.

The purse I had my eye on was over the $10 Souvenir Sunday limit, but the Enroute Spa also has this nicely smelling line of locally-made body care items with all natural ingredients. The blends have names such as Stress Relief, Immune Support, Elysia and Winter Magic and in addition to the $10 price tag on many of the containers, the selling point for me is the fact that body lotion also comes packaged in TSA-friendly solid sticks.

Have you found a great souvenir while you were Stuck at the Airport? If it’s $10 or under, “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.  Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Happy Souvenir Sunday from Southwest Florida Int’l Airport

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Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we take a look at some of the inexpensive souvenirs for sale at airports.  Our favorites are items that are under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat.

This week the folks at Southwest Florida International Airport (RSW) in Fort Myers, Florida scoured their shops and sent along their favorite souvenirs: a tiny stuffed sea turtle (it looks like a frog, but you can sort of see a shell there in the background) and Fort Myers Pelican Poop candy.

Thanks!  (Some Sunday we’ll explore why every city has ‘poop’ candy…)

I’ve spent some time at Southwest Florida International Airport but in preparing a profile of RSW as part of the USA TODAY Airport Guides project, was pleased to learn about this lovely outdoor gazebo.

Have you found a great souvenir while you were stuck at the airport?  If your souvenir costs $10 or less, is “of” the city or region, and is a bit offbeat; please snap a photo and send it along.

It may end up featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday: treats from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport

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Until my most recent visit, I’d spent much more time at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport than I had in the city itself.

That was fine with me.  Schiphol, with its wide array of art, entertainment, services and amenities, is a great place to spend a few hours.  In addition to hundreds of lounge chairs, there’s a casino,  seafood bars, the bite-size branch of the Rijksmuseum (more on all that later in the week), and plenty of opportunities for shopping.

The shopping is especially fruitful for Souvenir Sunday, when Stuck at The Airport focuses on fun stuff for sale at airports for about $10.

Here are some of my classic finds:

In among the real (very expensive) and knock-off Delft-ware, there are these cute cow creamers:

Tulips (and some other flowers) are everywhere, of course,  but I’m not sure how fresh flowers would survive on a 10 hour plane trip;

A better choice: wooden flowers, which are colorful, easy to carry and, available singly or in bunches.

Have you found a great souvenir while you were stuck at the airport? If it’s around $10, fun, offbeat and “of” the city or region, please snap a photo and send it along.  It may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday: Virgin hot air balloons and Eurostar uniforms

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While researching a story about recycling efforts by airlines and airports, I came across Worn Again, a London company that made a line of small bags and jackets out of a decommissioned Virgin hot air balloon (you can order items in any color, as long as its red).

Worn Again also makes a variety of accessories out of decommissioned Eurostar uniforms. And while everything in the on-line store is very eco and desirable, everything is beyond the $10 limit we set for Souvenir Sunday.

Except this: a mobile phone holder made from decommissioned Eurostar staff cardigan uniforms.

Looks more like a lost sock to me; but I applaud the concept.

Have you found a great souvenir while Stuck at the Airport? If it’s $10 or under, “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo, jot down some notes and send them along. You souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.  And if you find a great local food at an airport, take a photo of that too.  We’re thinking of making Snack Saturday a permanent feature.

Souvenir Sunday: shopping the airline stores

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Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive, souvenirs you can pick up in airport shops.  This week, we’re taking what may end up being a several-week side-trip into souvenirs sold by airlines.  Going alphabetically…

Poking around the AirTrain Airways website I found an AirTran Airways Airport Play Set for $10.50, just a wee bit beyond our $10 Souvenir Sunday limit.

This construction set at $5.99 was a better option. As was the Airplane Cockpit Clock, at $9.95.

But over at the Alaska Airlines site I hit pay dirt. This doggie hoodie –with pouch pocket! – comes in four sizes and three colors – but at $15 is out of the Souvenir Sunday budget. (I don’t even own or a dog or know anyone who’d dress their dog in this fashion. But maybe you do..)

But in the $10 range I found what looks like a metal thermos for $10 (the site says silver, but nothing more..) and  pint-size pilot hats, which I’m certain would be a big hit for any kid heading to the airport.

Have you found a great souvenir while stuck at the airport? If it’s costs $10 or less, is “of” the city or region and is, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along. It may end up on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday!

Souvenir Sunday at San Francisco International Airport

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Each Sunday we take a look at some of the fun souvenirs you can buy for about $10 if you find yourself stuck at the airport.

At San Francisco International Airport (SFO), there’s always that old standby – sourdough bread.

Souvenirs from SFO

The bread could come in quite handy if you find yourself in need of something to gnaw on during a long delay.   But if you know any sports fans, the under-$10 category also offers these cute options:

The Cal Bear is sort of cute, even if you’re not a sports fan.

Have you found a fun souvenir while stuck at the airport? If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and sort of offbeat, please take a photo and send it along. Your souvenir may end up featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday: funny soap and rescued tools

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The 40th anniversary of Earth Day arrives on April 22nd so to do my part I thought I’d share a couple of smart, good-for-the-earth souvenirs I found recently on a road trip in Oregon’s Mt. Hood Territory.

The first is this funny looking bar of soap -“designed to eliminate the unused center of traditional soap bars” – that I found in my room at The Resort at the Mountain in Welches, Oregon.

There are plenty of other hotels stocking this product, but it’s the first time I’d come across it.  And while it looks funny, it makes a lot of sense to me.  I mean, really – when was the last time you used an entire bar of soap on an overnight at a hotel?


(Vintage sprinklers at the Red Pig Garden Tools Museum)

The other unusual and super-earth-friendly  souvenir I encountered in my travels recently were “Old Gold” tools that Bob Denman and his wife Rita have for sale at Red Pig Garden Tools in Boring, Oregon.  (I’m not saying Oregon is boring; there’s actually a town named Boring)

Bob Denman is a blacksmith who makes much-in-demand, hand-forged tools out of recycled materials.  The “Old Gold” tools are just that: perfectly good and, in many cases, valuable old tools Bob and Rita rescue at yard and barn sales that just need a bit of cleaning and, in some cases, repair, before going back to work.

Denman explains a bit more in this video:

Interested in visiting Red Pig Garden Tools yourself? The folks at the Mt. Hood Territory are having a Sweet Spot Sweepstakes. Prizes include a free trip to the area – and a variety of weekly prizes.

Souvenir Sunday at Fairbanks International Airport

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It’s Souvenir Sunday, the day we focus on fun, offbeat and inexpensive items you can find at airports. And I’m tickled that this week’s Souvenir Sunday items come to us from Fairbanks International Airport (FAI), courtesy of Bobbie Egan of Alaska Airlines.

The first souvenir she sent over is this teeny-tiny brush, which has a teeny-tiny price tag: $1.95.

The second souvenir is this moose nugget jewelry:

Both these souvenirs are really tiny, so for balance, here’s  a photo of something really big:

(Official DOT&PF photo by Rebekah Cadigan, FAI)

According to the Fairbanks International Airport website, this is the world’s largest aircraft: the Antonov 225, which has a 290-foot wingspan and 32 wheels.

The plane made a stopover at Fairbanks airport in February while on its way to Port-au-Prince Haiti with more than 250,000 pounds of earthquake relief supplies.

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 take a photo and send it along. It may end up featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

More Wacky Festivals

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(Dillsboro, N.C. is having its Easter Hat parade today)

I knew this would happen. And I’m really happy about it.

People keep sending emails with the subject line “Heh! You forgot….” in response to my Wacky Festivals slide-show on msnbc.com this week.   Here are a couple that showed up yesterday.

“I am disappointed you missed the Heeney, Colorado, World Famous Tick Festival, held during the second weekend of June each year.”

“You should have Sauk City Wisconsin on your list…the Wisconsin State Cow Chip Throw and Festival.”

And we all just missed Frozen Dead Guy Days in Nederland, CO! “One of the wackiest festivals that celebrates a cryogenically frozen man that has been in a Tuff Shed for over 12 years. They hold coffin races and frozen salmon toss-off.”

(song written & performed by Sister Merry Harmony; discovered on Nederland Area Chamber of Commerce website.)

All wonderful! Thanks, everyone. I could – and maybe should? – start an entirely new website, or a book, to gather up all the offbeat festivals in North America alone.  But right now, I’ve got to get started on tomorrow’s Souvenir Sunday feature.  You’ll be tickled when you see what a Stuck at the Airport fan found!


Souvenir Sunday: cactus candy and lucky pigs

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Each Sunday here at Stuck at The Airport we take a look at some of the fun, ideally offbeat, items for sale at airports for about $10.  This week, Claire Stern sent along some items from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). My favorites include some of the candies made by the Phoenix-based Cactus Candy Company which makes saguaro-shaped lollipops and this sweet, chewy Prickly Pear Cactus Candy.

And these three-legged chonchitos, which hail from from the village of Pomaire, Chile. They are supposed to bring good luck and are traditionally given to friends as a token of goodwill and love, but since they’re only $5.99 a piece, I’d probably buy a few for my friends and make sure to keep one for myself.

Have you had the good fortune to find a great souvenir while you were stuck at the airport? If so, please take a photo and send it along. It may end up featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.