If you’re on our mailing list, you know that we’ve finally made good on our claim of finding and sharing skyway-specific deals and coupons.  SkywayMyWay is happy to announce partnerships with DealStork and ReservePerks, offering daily deals in the Twin Cities!  Last week, we sent out a 50% off deal at Rock Bottom to the SkywayMyWay mailing list, and we’ve got more deals coming down the pike.  Because they’re limited-time offers we wanted to make sure and share them with all of our daily visitors to the site as well, so we’ve incorporated these into our map.  There won’t be a skyway deal every single day, but often enough that it’ll be worth keeping an eye out.  If you’re not a daily SkywayMyWay user, be sure to sign up for our mailing list to make sure you don’t miss these skyway deals!

Similar to Facebook’s “Like” button, Google’s +1 button lets everyone know “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.”  Okay, I took that definition from here.

We’ve incorporated the +1 button into all the locations in the skyway map.  (except for Parking and markers in the Miscellaneous category- but let us know if you think if that’s a mistake)  Clicking the button will simply update your Google+ profile to show that you +1′d that particular business/thing/whatever in the skyway.

So far it seems to work much better for us than the “Like” button, plus we’re really digging Google+ and the ability to limit content to specific Circles seamlessly.

So go start +1ing all your favorite places in the skyway!

A favorite of the SkywayMyWay team, the Aquatennial Plaza Tennis Classic is downtown once again (has it been a year already?!)  We enjoy grabbing a Potbelly sandwich for lunch and eating it out in the plaza while watching the matches.

If you don’t get a chance to watch the action in person, you can watch it via a live streaming feed this year!

Check out the tennis schedule for more info, and see what other Aquatennial events are happening as well.

It’s that time of year again, music and entertainment over in Peavey Plaza weekdays from Monday, June 6th through Friday, June 24th. (Downtown Council calendar)

Take your lunch down to the plaza for Land O’ Lakes Tunes at Noon (11:00am – 1:00pm) or go out for happy hour during Alive After 5 (5:00pm – 9:00pm).  Enjoy!

We’ve added another new feature- a quick and easy way to make a reservation online at your favorite restaurant via OpenTable!  Wherever you see a ‘Reserve Now’ link associated with a restaurant’s details (many in the ‘Gourmet’ category), simply click to be taken to it’s OpenTable page, and make your reservation.  Cheers!

It was a simple thing really, and we’re not sure why we didn’t release this feature sooner, but here it is at any rate-  Skyway directions in our map now show you the approximate distance measured in feet, and also the time it takes to walk it!

By approximate distance, we mean that our algorithm calculated it for us.  So, if you take your measuring wheel through the skyways, don’t expect our distances to match too closely.  For approximate travel time, we used 4-5 feet per second (after some Googling to find average walking speeds) to calculate the value.  Be sure to tack on a minute or two for elevator time though if you’re heading to an appointment you don’t want to miss!

Anyway, user feedback is to thank.  SkywayMyWay user Mike, over in Butler Square, was one to request this feature with the given use cases:  “When do I have to leave to make it to my 1:30 eye appointment at Target Optical”? and “If I want to walk a half-mile over lunch, how far do I have to go?”

We couldn’t have promoted a new feature better ourselves!  Thanks again to everyone who uses the site, and keep the feedback coming.

Happy Cinco de Mayo to everyone out there hoping that we will see some sun and warmth in 2011 sometime.  Argghhh!!!

Today, a group of nine here in One Financial Plaza  chose Barrio Tequila Bar for lunch to celebrate Mexico’s victory over the French.  The $10 lunch this week included two shrimp tacos and chips with a pile of guac.  Not sure how productive I’ll be this afternoon after two Trinity margaritas, but oh well, the 5th of May comes but once a year.

Anyone else have any fun plans to celebrate this holiday?

It’s Twins baseball time!  Watching my first game this Spring (from the nose-bleeds) during a noon game, (gotta love taking the day off from work though) the sun was out but the big clouds were rolling in.  It happened to work out that the weather started to turn sour just as the game was finishing up, so instead of walking outside to Hell’s Kitchen for dinner afterward we took to the skyways!

The quickest access is via Target Plaza. (stadium gate #34)  Although, if you were to exit out of gates #3 or #6 near the light rail station you could jump into the entrance underneath the Transit Center.

No pesky cold wind or spitting rain could bother us on this day.  (would’ve been nice if the Twins had won the game though)  Thank you skyway!

Spring is in the air.  Ok, maybe not outside yet, with slush and snow falling this week.  However, the annual Macy’s Flower Show with Gardens By Bachman’s should help us out during this one last cold weather push!

From Sunday, March 27 through Sunday, April 10, 2011,  Macy’s will have giant bouquets on the first floor, as well as floral displays and landscaped gardens completely taking over the 8th floor auditorium.  An incredible 47-year tradition, it is sure to impress.

This year the theme is Towers of Flowers, so expect to see some tall displays of flowers, replicating famous buildings and monuments. We’re curious to see how exactly you keep a floral version of The Leaning Tower of Piza upright.

For now, don’t look out your office window.  It’s too depressing.  Make a run down to Macy’s next week instead for an early peek at Spring!

In “Skyway,” the 1987 song by the Minneapolis band The Replacements, the skyway is a barrier between the protagonist up in the skyway and his love interest on the street below. But, in “Skyway Girl,” vocalist Kison finds the skyway bringing her together with her “crush on the 14^th floor.” She kicks off her flats and puts on her stilettos to get his attention.

In the skyway lunchtime rush you see the same people coming and going. Kison steps off the elevator “Suit coat buttoned / hair all curled / Steve Madden struttin’ on top of the world / I’m a skyway girl.”  The skyway brings her together with the boy on the 14^th floor.

Anyhow, we love the song and with an alias like “Skyway Girl,” Skyway My Way figured we had to meet her! So, we sat down over coffee (in the skyway of course)…here are some nuggets from our interview:

SMW: Where are you from? And, is your real name Kison?
Kison: No, my real name is Kim Swanson. Kison is a combination of my first and last name. I grew up on a farm in Warren, MN about 320 miles away from Minneapolis on the North Dakota border.

SMW: How did you get started in music? Who has influenced you?
Kison: I’m classically trained and have been in vocal lessons since I was 7 years old. In high school/college as part of my training I sang opera. But, my real influences these days are more soul and R&B. Artists like Etta James, Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, and Alicia Keys. I try to keep an open ear to many genres though.

SMW: Are you performing anywhere?
Kison: I’m working on my second album due out this summer. So, I haven’t been performing much lately. I’ll keep you posted on upcoming shows for spring and summer.

SMW: Where can people go to hear your songs?
Kison: Here’s my website/Twitter/FB:

http://www.artistecard.com/kison

@LadyKison

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kison

Thank you Kison! We love Skyway Girl and can’t wait to hear more!