help surprise FIL for birthday

We will be flying into Minn for Labor Day weekend to surprise FIL for his birthday. ILs live 2 hours from AP near Lake Lillian. If MIL brings FIL to AP, he will be suspicious %26amp; that will diminish the surprise. So we were trying to come up with someplace DH %26amp; I can get to easily w/ carry-ons from AP where ILs could meet us so FIL will be surprised.

Any ideas? I%26#39;m thinking a nice restaurant where MIL could be pretending to take FIL. Only problem we arrive around 2:30 -- 3:00 . . . I guess if they eat early 4 ish would work. The closer we can get to them the better.

help surprise FIL for birthday

Sorry

I just don%26#39;t understand your codes?

MIL? FIL? AP?

Being born/raised in Minnesota, and I%26#39;m still baffled.

help surprise FIL for birthday

I cracked part of it. Mother-in-law, father-in-law, in-laws. Still not sure what AP is.

Where%26#39;s Lake Lillian? One of those small lakes near Lake of the Isles ?

No Lake Lillian that I know of in the Metro area. Must mean the small town (or lake itself) out near Willmar. But I don%26#39;t know what AP refers to.

ahhhh. airport

If we have properly decoded the message, questions remain. What area are you looking at for dinner? Is just the airport suspicious or would the 2-hour drive into Minneapolis be suspicious too? Would the western suburbs work?

How do you plan on getting around?

If the IL%26#39;s gamble, what about meeting at Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee? Or if they%26#39;re nature buffs, the Landscape Arboretum in Chaska? Or if they like quaint lake areas, Wayzata or Excelsior?

Sorry about the acronyms. They are all used on other boards %26amp; I got used to them.

You did crack / decipher them corectly but I will rephrase my Q in English.

We are flying in to the Minn-St. Paul airport the Friday of Labor Day weekend to suprise my husband%26#39;s father for his birthday. If he comes to the airport he will know somebody is showing up. we are therefore trying to avoid having him come to the airport but he won%26#39;t stay home while his wife makes a 4 hour round trip drive to fetch us.

My husband %26amp; I would like to meet the in-laws somewhere else so that dad is surprised. My husband %26amp; I will not have a car so we need a place we can get to conveniently from the airport with carry on luggage w/o breaking the bank (e.g. we don%26#39;t want to rent a limo or other private car service). We are open to taking a bus or train if one exists. Does it?

I have no idea where Lake Lillian is. I have never been outside of your airport but I understand it%26#39;s about 2 hours away from the airport.

We don%26#39;t really care where we meet them other than at the airport but it has to sound / look like someplace father in law%26#39;s wife would take him for his birthday . . . to me that means it has to be kind of special as in out of the ordinary but not necessarily expensive. It also doesn%26#39;t have to be a restaurant but it does have to be someplace my husband %26amp; I can hang out with luggage because obviously we have to get there 1st. Again for clarification -- we couldn%26#39;t really meet at a chain restaurant like TGIF%26#39;s or Applebees because why would the in-laws come all the way into the city just for that? They could eat in any of the ones closer to home.

Does my Question make more sense now?

TIA

If the IL%26#39;s gamble, what about meeting at Mystic Lake Casino in Shakopee? Or if they%26#39;re nature buffs, the Landscape Arboretum in Chaska? Or if they like quaint lake areas, Wayzata or Excelsior?

How would we get to any of those places without a car?

How would we get to any of those places without a car?

You can%26#39;t get to any of those places without a car. I haven%26#39;t looked at the price of renting a car for twenty four hours, but would that be a possibility? If not, you are pretty much limited to someplace along the light rail, which means the Mall of America, or downtown Minneapolis.

If you took the light rail from the airport to MOA, you could probably stash your carry-on in a locker, then surprise your in-laws at some predetermined spot.

Or, you could take the light rail to downtown Minneapolis and meet them someplace; I should think most restaurants would have a place to store your carry-on bags once you arrive.

It seems like it depends on the ability of your mother-in-law to come up with some ruse to get your father-in-law to get in the car for a trip to the city.

One thought that came to my mind was to somehow meet at the State Fair. It will be going on at that time, and that would be something that your in-laws couldn%26#39;t do out where they live. And it would be possible for you to get from the airport to the State Fair using public transit. It would take a while, but it could be done. I haven%26#39;t figured out what to do with your bags yet. Maybe you could store them at the airport for a small charge with your airline; most airlines have a baggage office on the baggage claim level.

Hope this helps; let us know if the State Fair idea sounds good. If so, transit could be explained.