mn Travel Guide
Tags: Bad Pilots / Northwest / Delta / Bad Landings / Airplane Hell / → All Tags
Were The Northwest Pilots Just Perplexed By The New Facebook?
Note: These are not real pilots. Or are they?
By now, we've all heard about the Northwest Plane That Flew Too Far. But we haven't quite heard the full story on what caused these two fools pilots to stop paying attention during the landing. Until today.
Initially, the pilots said they were distracted by a "heated discussion over airline policy and lost track of their location." But it turns out that the pilots were not even handling the right controls.
The FAA has recently suspended the pilots--First Officer Richard Cole and Captain Timothy Cheney--because they copped to being on their laptops during the crucial moment. They still maintain they were discussing new crew schedules. But yes, their laptops. Laptops in the cockpit. Pilots diddling about on their computers while they were supposed to be landing a plane. Why not pull out your Blackberry and start playing Brickbreaker, for crissakes?
Not surprisingly, there will probably be a crackdown of laptops use by pilots in the future. Peter Greenberg even surmised that this sort of tomfoolery in the cockpit could lead to a flat-out ban of electronics for pilots.
Tags: Tourist Traps / Minnesota Travel / Weird Travel / → All Tags
A Minnesota Roadside Tourist Trap To Get Full Fish-Lift
For 16 years, the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota has released a list of the ten most endangered historic places in the state. On this year’s list are obvious choices like historic hotels, classic ballparks, old buildings, and bridges. However, there’s one endangered species on the list as well, and it’s The Big Fish in Bena, Minnesota. Don’t worry if you haven’t seen it, because with a little love, and probably a lot of worms, local residents are bringing it back to its original beauty.
The giant critter was created back in the 1950s, and is made up of wood and roofing material—no taking the easy way and using fiberglass here. Originally designed to be an ice cream and hamburger stand, the 65-foot long fish has just been hanging out on the side of US Highway 2 ever since. Fans of the National Lampoon's Vacation film may recognize the structure, as it appeared in the postcard photo montage to start the comedy classic.
Tags: Airplane Hell / Continental / Airline News / Travel Storms / → All Tags
Passengers Forced To Be Cramped Campers Aboard Regional Jet
Over the weekend about 50 passengers experienced airplane hell aboard a Continental Airlines regional jet stuck on the tarmac. Everybody was headed to Minnesota’s Twin Cities, but thunderstorms in the area forced the plane to take a pit stop in Rochester to wait out the storm and get some gas. However, the pit stop that started around midnight lasted until the next morning, and everyone was forced to snuggle tightly in the cabin of the plane.
Passengers obviously were less than thrilled, and one flyer let everyone know that the smells of the toilets and babies aboard the ExpressJet plane were getting pretty bad. Unfortunately, the situation sounds pretty typical. The crew couldn’t do much since they were over their legally allowed hours for the day, the security screeners at the Rochester airport had gone for the day, and all the passengers got to eat were a couple bags of pretzels.
Tags: Baseball Travel / Baseball / Sports / Minnesota Travel / → All Tags
We're Already Looking Forward To 2010 And Target Field
The Major League Baseball season is almost half over, and fans are already flocking to St. Louis to take in this year’s All-Star Game at Busch Stadium. Since we’ll be following the pennant races before long, we thought it was only natural to start looking forward to the 2010 season. That’s because outdoor baseball will return to Minnesota for the first time since 1981, as the Metrodome closes and Target Field opens.
Last month, the final beam was put in place on the Minnesota Twins’ new home, and the project is on schedule and under budget. Now if it can stay that way, we’ll be in cheap seats in the Budweiser Roof Deck in no time.
Tags: Marathons / Active Travel / Running / Sports / Athletic Travel / → All Tags
The Inline Skating Craze Lives On in Minnesota
If you often reminisce about the early 1990s and how much fun you had racing around orange cones with your Rollerblades, then you might want to head to Minnesota. After all, the state pretty much created the inline skating craze thanks to all those depressed ice hockey fans sitting around all summer (thanks Wikipedia).
Beginning bright and early on June 13, avid inline skaters will grease their bearings and warm up for the Baxter Inline Marathon. The race has attracted skaters from all over the US and Canada since 2001, and it just keeps on going. Apparently they’re all in search of the Scary Man Trophy—some kind of wooden tiki-trophy gone wild that features a grass skirt and a mean face.
Tags: Know The Law / Travel Bans / Smelly Travel / Minnesota Travel / Advertising / → All Tags
Say It, Don't Spray It: Axe Body Spray Not Welcome in Minneapolis
Heading to Minneapolis anytime soon? Leave your Axe body spray at home; it's not like the flight attendants have fallen into your lap yet, anyways. You see, Minnesota isn't too happy that Axe's hyper-sexual advertising campaigns have been working so well, causing kids to drench themselves in the potent scents and offend sensitive nostrils.
Apparently the overuse of Axe is so widespread in the City of Minneapolis School District, that they've called for a ban on the stuff.
You'd think that with all this hubbub, flying into Minneapolis airspace would involve descending through a fog layer of aerosol Axe spray, but instead it's simply a case of teachers trying to encourage teenage boys to shower more often. Says StyleList: "One concern prompting suburbia to sound the alarms is the idea that Axe Body Spray is somehow enabling teens to adopt poor hygiene habits."
Tags: New Routes / Southwest Airlines / MSP / Jetblue / → All Tags
It's Southwest Versus Northwest On Twin Cities Route
Just as Jetblue announced that they'll be dropping their "desert run" between Las Vegas and Salt Lake City on April 30, which is coincidentally the #1 city in America for downloading online porn, Southwest has turned our frown upside down with a new route from Minneapolis/St. Paul.
Infiltrating Northwest's Twin Cities hub is a major coup for Southwest, who will be flying from MSP to Chicago's Midway Airport and taking no prisoners along the way. Today marks the first day of the service, and we've been following the @SouthwestAir Twitter through the morning as the the first passengers receive free backrubs and Southwest CEO Gary Kelley makes the rounds.
Competition is very fierce in the under-served Midwest routes, especially when it comes to secondary airports like Midway. According to USA Today's Today in the Sky blog, "airfares between the Twin Cities and Chicago, which had been as low as $100 round-trip, started to rise as soon as AirTran exited." Add to this Southwest's notoriously low fares, and we could be witnessing the sown seeds of a Northwest and Southwest fare war. Hopefully this means we will soon reap $100 flights once again.
Related Stories
· Southwest Enters Minneapolis/St. Paul "fortress hub" [Today In the Sky]
· New Routes Coverage [Jaunted]
[Southwest at MSP check-in photo via Southwest's Twitter]
Tags: Travel Weather / Delta / Northwest / MSP / Flight Delays / Change Fees / → All Tags
Delta Waiving Change Fees for The Minneapolis-Bound
Heading to the Twin Cities tonight? Don't forget your mukluks: Minneapolis-St. Paul is expecting six-plus inches of snow today, with the storm starting this morning. And freezing rain and sleet for the side dishes!
Delta in its capacity as new owner of Northwest's major business at MSP is waiving all change fees if you had planned to fly in today. We recommend not being re-routed through Chicago (dense fog advisory!) or the Dakotas (same storm), but anywhere else should be fine. And hey, Delta, way to be proactive.
Related Stories:
· Valentine's Day Winter Storm Creating Travel Mess [Jaunted]
· Winter Storm Shutters Las Vegas Airport [Jaunted]
· Flight Delays coverage [Jaunted]
[Photo: smohundro]
Tags: Halloween / Spookiest-Small-Towns-Map / → All Tags
Spookiest Small Towns: Halloween Capital of the World?
If there's no other town around to refute their claim, then we just may have to agree that Anoka, Minnesota is in fact the Halloween Capital of the World. Pretty much forever ago (the 1920s!) the town decided that it would welcome Halloween celebrations instead of waking up the next morning to a town full of toilet papered trees and egged cars. It was a success, and the treats, rather than tricks, continue to flow.
Tags: Possible-Presidents-Map / Presdential Candidates Travel / John McCain / Sarah Palin / Barack Obama / Joe Biden / → All Tags
Possible Presidents Travel: Drill, Baby, Drill!
Whether they were captivated by her energy independence plan or fixated on the way her daughter played with the baby's hair, everyone's talking about Sarah Palin's speech at the Republican National Convention last night.
It was the Alaskan governor's first real outing on the national stage and after the furor, tonight's address by John McCain is feeling downright anticlimactic. Today's theme is "Peace: A safer and more secure America," and we're hoping the absence of speaker details on the GOP website doesn't suggest the party attitude towards that topic.
Tags: Possible-Presidents-Map / Presdential Candidates Travel / John McCain / Sarah Palin / Barack Obama / Joe Biden / → All Tags
Possible Presidents Travel: RNC Chill
The Grand Old Party's still raging in Minneapolis today as the nation prepares for Governor Sarah Palin's speech to the delegates tonight. Former presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Mike Huckabee and Rudy Giuliani are also scheduled to speak on the night's topic, "Reform: Washington is broken and the original maverick will fix it." (They mean John McCain, people!)
Tags: Possible-Presidents-Map / Presdential Candidates Travel / John McCain / Sarah Palin / Barack Obama / → All Tags
Possible Presidents Travel: Minnesota, Pregnant with Anticipation
Hurricane Gustav put a damper on the first day of the Republican National Convention--and speeches from Cindy McCain and Laura Bush. But the show must go on, and tonight brings former presidential candidate Fred Thompson and former Democrat Joe Lieberman to the stage. Meanwhile John McCain is defending his campaign team's vetting of Sarah Palin after this weekend brought news that the Alaska governor's 17-year-old daughter is pregnant.
After meeting with firefighters in Philadelphia today, the presumptive Republican nominee will make his way to Minneapolis-St. Paul to accept his party's nomination. After the RNC wraps on September 4, he, his wife and Governor Palin will set off on a "Road to Victory" starting in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
Meanwhile, Barack Obama told his staff to lay off Palin's daughter as he stumped in Monroe, Michigan yesterday. The newly nominated candidate plans to spend the rest of the week in Chicago planning future campaign stops. But just because his team isn't poking fun at the Palins doesn't mean a certain comedienne is laying off.
Related Stories:
· Possible Presidents Travel: McCain Picks Alaska Governor Sarah Palin [Jaunted]
· Most Missed In Minneapolis: Get This Grand Old Party Started [Jaunted]
· Possible Presidents coverage [Jaunted]
