six years ago today...

...Mike and I were operating on about 2 hours of sleep.  We had spent the last ten days loading in simulators, hooking up simulators, pricing merchandise, training employees, arguing with the phone company and trying to resolve register issues and dealing with the fire marshall and asking ourselves what in the heck we had gotten into. 

And whether we were ready or not, ACES Flight Simulation at the Mall of America opened at 10 am on November 11th, 2004.

Local news stations were on hand to film Tuskegee airmen trying out the simulators. 

A Tom Cruise look-alike greeted our customers throughout the day.

And I was still knee deep trying to resolve POS issues with our registers and get Qwest to set up our phone lines properly.  Friends and family stopped in throughout the day to congratulate and greet us, and bring much needed sustenance and smiles.

It was exhausting and exhilerating at the same time.  I don't know how we did it, and I would never want to go through it again.

But six years and many happy flyers later-we are still here, and so grateful for our amazing crew, our wonderful customers, and everyone who has helped us make it through these last six years.  THANK YOU!