Souvenir Sunday

Happy Souvenir Sunday from: Vancouver International Airport

Airport guides, Airport shops, Fun Stuff, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs,

In February, Vancouver, B.C. will host the 2010 Winter Olympics Games and, as you might expect, everyone up there is pretty gosh darn excited.

That includes the folks at Vancouver International Airport (YVR). During the course of the winter games, the airport expects to host about 230,000 Olympics-bound passengers. On March 1, the day after the closing ceremonies – the airport expects a record 30,000 people to pass through the airport on their way home.

A lot of those travelers will be looking to take home an Olympics souvenir.  And the airport has made sure visitors won’t be disappointed: all sorts of Olympics-related items are for sale right there in the terminals.

In fact, the airport’s official Olympics souvenir shops have been open for about a year.

Our souvenir budget here at Stuck at the Airport is pretty slim. So we’re always on the look-out for items that are $10 or below.  This week, we had plenty to choose from.

The most popular Olympics souvenirs are pins. There are pins for pretty much everything, and pin-trading has been elevated to an unofficial sport.  So the airport has set aside a special area inside the terminal where travelers can gather to trade.

Clothing, toys, accessories, wallets, pens, etc.:  anything with one of the Olympics mascots on it seems to be popular.

Including this cute cold pack, which would come in handy in case of a sports injury.

But, so far, the most popular and hard-to-keep-in-stock 2010 Vancouver Olympics items are these red mittens.

More than million have been sold already and every time a new batch hits the stores, they’re snapped up in moments.  Proceeds from mitten sales go toward supporting Canadian athletes. And at $10 a pair, they’re our pick for Souvenir Sunday.

Have you found a great souvenir while you were 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.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future Souvenir Sunday!

Souvenir Sunday: Cheese curds, cheesy cup holders and toothbrushes

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Although Outagamie County Regional Airport (ATW), in Appleton, Wisconsin, isn’t very big – it’s served by just 4 airlines – it does have a couple of free, much appreciated, amenities.

Like what?  Well, in addition to free wireless internet access, the airport stocks the post-security bathrooms with free, pocket-size, dental kits complete with mouthwash, dental floss and toothbrushes with a dollop of toothpaste.

Once you’ve freshened up (or “Freshin’ed Up”) with the complimentary dental supplies, perhaps you’ll want to hang around and do a bit of  souvenir shopping in the airport gift shop. If you do, you’ll find plenty of  cute, Wisconsin-identified items.

Like this cheese-shaped cup holder.

And this bag of cheddar cheese curds that, an airport official assures me, are OK to take through the security checkpoint.

Have you found a great souvenir while you’ve been stuck at the airport? If it is under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.

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

Happy Souvenir Sunday from Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport

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Each Sunday is Souvenir Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com – the day we unpack our bags and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive things you can buy at airports.

This week: moose-themed items from the Minnesota! shop at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)

This “Hang Moose” keychain was kind of cute,

and so was this Moose-themed game of Farkel – whatever that is.

But my pick for this week’s Souvenir Sunday item is this lip balm called, appropriately enough, Moose Smooch.

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

Happy Souvenir Sunday from George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston

Airport shops, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs,

Here at StuckatTheAirport.com, each Sunday is Souvenir Sunday: the day we unpack our bags and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive items on sale at airports.

This week, Tess Staadecker sent along some photos of a few souvenirs she picked up in Houston, at a branch of the Barton Springs Dry Goods store at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH).

I suspect she bought this jar of D.L. Jardine’s Olé Chipolte salsa and dip as a gift, but I hope she kept the Texas Chili “Bag O’ Fixins Kit” for herself.  With that bit-o-string, that little cloth sack looks like it could do double duty later as a western-style accessories tote.

Have you found a fun, inexpensive souvenir while you’ve been stuck at the airport? If you find something that’s under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, 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: Olympics souvenirs at Seattle-Tacoma Int’l Airport (SEA)

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Happy Souvenir Sunday!

Each Sunday here at StuckatTheAirport.com we take a look at some of the fun things you can buy at airports for under $10.

This week we picked up a few souvenirs from the upcoming Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics that will be taking place in February.

Vancouver Olympics passport

Olympics souvenirs will be sold at the games of course, but they’re already for sale on-line and at the Vancouver International Airport.

Turns out you can also buy Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics souvenirs in Seattle, at a pop-up shop in the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA) that will stay open through March 7th, 2010.

Vancouver Olympics pillow

But what to buy?  A good choice would be something that bears the image of Quatchi, the Sasquatch-like creature chosen to be the mascot of this winter’s games.  Or of Sumi, Miga, or one of the other sidekick creatures.

SEA - Olympics - pink purse

But while the USA Store on Sea-Tac’s Concourse C sells t-shirts, sweatshirts and other Olympics souvenirs, there’s not much you can buy here for under $10.

So for Souvenir Sunday we considered making an exception and raising our shopping limit above $10.

Instead, we settled for that old stand-by – chocolates – from this small section of  stickers and other small – very small – under $10 items.

SEA - Olympics - DREAM USA CANDY AT A GLANCE

Have you found a great souvenir while you were 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 next week’s pick for Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday at Indiana’s Fort Wayne International Airport

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It’s Souvenir Sunday.  The day we unpack our bags and look at some of the fun, local , inexpensive stuff you can pick up when you’re stuck at the airport.

Today we’ve got a few items from Indiana’s Fort Wayne International Airport (FWA), which this past week handed one lucky arriving passenger the millionth complimentary “Welcome to Fort Wayne” cookie – along with 25,000 airline miles and some other prizes.

FWA - millionth cookie served

Even though FWA is a small airport, it’s surprisingly easy to find locally-made items that fit our under $10 category.

DeBrand Chocolates has a an airport shop where these shiny chocolate bars sell for $2.50 each

FWA - DeBrand Chocolate holiday bars

And for $10, you can get these cute Vera Bradley coin purses.

FWA - purse

I know – the company’s colorful handbags and luggage items are in a lot of airports. But since they’re headquartered in Fort Wayne, they definitely qualify as a Souvenir Sunday item.

Have you found a great souvenir while you were 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.

Souvenir Sunday two

(Today’s Souvenir Sunday photos from the Fort Wayne Airport courtesy of  Dave Young)

Happy Souvenir Sunday from San Antonio International Airport

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Happy Souvenir Sunday!

On Sundays we unpack our bags and take a look at some of the fun, inexpensive, “of the city” souvenirs available at airports.

SAN Armadillo droppings

This week’s souvenirs come from San Antonio International Airport (SAT), where Rich Johnson was kind enough to take photos of some of the items for sale.

SAT Tortilla Soup

Chocolate “Armadillo Droppings” and this colorful box of Tortilla Soup Mix would make lovely gifts, but each sells for just a bit more than the $10 we set as a limit for our “pick” on Souvenir Sunday.

But this box of leche quemada, a fudge-like Mexican candy made in San Antonio, fit the bill.

The entire box sells for just about $8.

San Antonio Leche Quemada

Have you found a great souvenir at an airport?

If it is under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat, then please take a photo and send it along.

It may end up in a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday: space stuff from Kona International Airport

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KONA MAP

The Kona International Airport (KOA), on Hawaii (The Big Island),  is charming, but really very tiny. There are ten gates between two terminals and the waiting areas are outside, in small courtyards that offer limited shade.

Amenity-wise, there’s not much. Still, you’ll want to arrive at the airport early enough to spend some time at the Ellison S. Onizuka Space Center, located at the airport, between the two terminals.

KONA ONIZUKA KIDS

This space center honors the memory of Ellison S. Onizuka, who was Hawaii’s first astronaut and one of the crew members who perished aboard the Challenger Mission in 1986.  The center has dozens of interactive exhibits that tell the history of manned space flight, physics, and daily life in space. It also displays personal items that belonged to Ellison S. Onizuka; a moon rock, an Apollo 13 space suit and other items.

KONA - ONIZUKA coffee

My favorite items:  the packages of freeze-dried macadamia nuts and Kona coffee (with cream and sugar) that were prepared especially for Onizuka and which the museum director assured me are still available on the menu for modern-day astronauts.

KONA - macadamia nuts

We were disappointed that the freeze dried Kona coffee wasn’t available for sale in the well-stocked space center gift shop.  But in the under $10 price-range that we seek out for Souvenir Sunday, we found freeze dried ice cream and plenty of books, stickers, and space-themed toys.

KONA ONIZUKA ice creamKONA Onizuka astronaut

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

Souvenir Sunday at Honolulu International Airport (HNL)

Air Travel, Airport shops, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Shopping, Souvenir Sunday, Souvenirs

HNL airport - garden

There’s a major and much needed modernization program going on at Honolulu International Airport (HNL).  Shops, restaurants and public areas are being upgraded, but I’m happy to report that no one is going to lay a finger on what many people consider to be the best part of this airport:  the cultural gardens.

Surrounding the main terminal lobby, this trio of three cultural gardens – which honor the Chinese, Japanese and Hawaiian influences on the island – is an oasis offering lovely spots for relaxation, meditation, sunning and snoozing.

It will be tempting, but try not to spend all your time at HNL in the gardens, because the shops here offer plenty of treats.  So many, in fact, that I had a hard time choosing what to feature this week for Souvenir Sunday – the day we  highlight items you can buy at an airport that are under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally, a bit offbeat.

HNL obama shirt

Souvenirs in the running ranged from all manner of items celebrating President Barack Obama’s links to Hawaii;

HNL Obama teddy

Food items such as pineapple and chocolate-covered macadamia nuts, and of course leis made out of everything from flowers and nuts to candy. .

HNL candy lei

This cute and somewhat practical oven mitt caught my eye:

HNL hula pot holder

But in the end I chose this Surfing Santa ornament as my pick for Souvenir Sunday this week.

HNL Surfing Santa

Have you found a great souvenir at an airport?  If it’s under $10, not a shot glass or a magnet (too easy), “of” the city or region, and a bit offbeat, please snap a photo and send it along.

Your souvenir may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday.

Souvenir Sunday: corny stuff from Des Moines International Airport

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Each Sunday at Stuck at the Airport we take a look at some of the fun things for sale at airports that are under $10, “of” the city or region and, ideally a bit offbeat.

Usually I rule out shot glasses because they’re everywhere and just too easy to find. But we must make an exception this week for this shot glass, sent in by Stuck at the Airport fan Ken Rogers.

Des Moines - corn cob shot glass

Ken found this corny souvenir at the Des Moines International Airport (DSM) and was kind enough to send a photo along.

THANKS!

I was also willing to make an exception for this corny shot glass because it gave me the opportunity to bring back another fun Sunday Souvenir from Iowa:

IOWA Corny Cob

Corny Cob:  a 6-inch tall stuffed ear of corn that’s a best seller at Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids.

Have you found a great souvenir at the airport?  If it’s under $10, “of” the city or region and a wee bit offbeat, please take a photo and send it along.

It may be featured on a future edition of Souvenir Sunday!