Gas Leak Ignites; Shopping Mall Crumbles

Megan Dougherty and AP

- Two of the nine injured are in serious condition

- Officials say the structure was decades old

- Fire is contained and clean up has begun

An explosion possibly caused by a gas leak ripped through a suburban Chicago shopping plaza Thursday, injuring nine people and rattling nearby buildings, fire officials said. 

Of the nine injured, two are in serious condition at a local hospital, Deputy Fire Chief Dan Young Said. Injuries range from smoke inhalation, bumps and bruises. 

The shopping center is located about 40 miles north of Chicago. The explosion ignited around lunchtime, leading to a subsequent fire and the collapsing of the roof.

Officials say they are looking for one person who is still unaccounted for, but they are "99.9 per cent" sure everyone is out of the rubble. 

Fire crews are still at the scene cleaning up the rubble.

UPDATE: Illinois Blast Injuries Up To 9

Megan Dougherty and AP

-More people found injured

-Gas leak is said to be probable cause

At least 9 people are said to be injured by the blast in a Waukegan, Illinois shopping plaza. Emergency crews are looking to see if more people are trapped in the debris of the roof that collapsed.  

The Waukegan Fire Chief says it is suspected, but not yet confirmed, that a leaking gas pipe is to blame for the blast. A People's Gas spokesman says they have turned off all gas pipes in the surrounding area. 

Candie Rixie says she working at Leno's Submarine shop a block away, when she heard the loud noise. 

"We felt like an earthquake, like somebody had hit the building with a car," she said. 

Emergency crews are still on the scene cleaning up the rubble and looking for more clues. 

A Blast Injures 5 at Shopping Plaza

AP and Megan Dougherty 

Highlights:

- An explosion occured at a mall in Waukegan, Il

- Emergency crews are on the scene

- 5 people have been injured

Five people are hurt after a large explosion at a shopping plaza in Waukegal, Illinois. Details of what caused the explosion are still unknown, but there are at least 5 injuries reported so far. 

Mayer Richard Hyde says there are likely more. Fire Department spokesman Dan Young says all surrounding businesses have been evacuated. 

Authorities are on the scene investigating. 

It's Almost Here!

I'm trying to get really excited about Spring Break, but it's hard since I've been really sick these past 2 weeks. I have so much work and am so overwhelmed, that a vacation doesn't seem like it's going to be much a vacation after all. However, I have been looking at lots of pictures online to get excited about. 

Also, after reading that article I posted yesterday, I have weighed the pros and cons and have decided to ski. I would rather be able to really hit the mountain right away, rather than spend most of my time in the snow from falling so much. 

To Ski or Not To Ski...?

I just booked 5 nights at the Wedgewood Lodge! I got a really good rate online, so for 5 nights it's just a little over 700 $ for two people-- compared to everything else I was looking at and how expensive it can be... that's a steal! Now that everything is becoming so finalized I am getting really excited. Now the next question: To ski or not to ski? Up until 3 years ago, I used to go skiing with my family every year. So, I know how to ski. I tried snowboarding once, but it didn't turn out to well. However, Rob snowboards and since the two of us are going to be there together, sometimes it's better if you do the same thing. Snowboarders go a lot faster, but take longer to get off the lift etc, So I just need to decide if I want to continue skiing and try something new and take snowboarding lessons. 

I have been reading this website to help me with my decision:

Snowboarding vs. Skiing

I have a week and a half to decide! I cannot wait!

Lodging

     

To the left is the Sunset Lodge. 

This is the Wedgewood Lodge

I just got back from STA. Unfortunately, their rates were not as good as what I can find online and they don't really have any worth while ski packages. 

I went ahead then and booked 2 tickets on American Airlines. The fares are not exactly in our budget, but I guess that is what you get waiting until 2 weeks before the trip.

Now I'm trying to narrow down lodging. My 2 choices are up above. 

Both are ski in and ski out. They are about the same in price. So, it really just comes down to what's available and flipping a coin. Now tomorrow, I need to book it for sure and start making reservations for ski rentals and transportation. 

Colorado it is...

After talking to my friends, they decided that they wanted to drive to Key West for Spring Break. So, I decided that I'm going to go to Colorado with my boyfriend Rob. Since he goes to FSU and we never get to see each other and I always get to see my friends I thought that this was a fair trade. So, I'm going to go tomorrow to the Student Travel office in Reitz to see if they have any better deals than what I have found online. We have narrowed it down to Breckenridge, Colorado. 

Here are some good sites to help plan a ski vacation: 

http://www.collegeskitrips.com/

breckenridge.snow.com

Panic Time

I have been so busy taking 17 credit hours this semester that I haven't even stopped to breathe. I haven't stopped to notice that Spring Break is less than 3 weeks away until now... and I haven't done one thing about it. I do know that since this is my last Spring Break FOREVER (scary thought) that I want to make it one to remember. The only thing: I don't know how to plan this working with everyone's budget, location preferences, etc. and for some reason I am the friend in charge. So, I thought I would keep my blog about the trials, tribulations and hopefully success of planning a trip to remember.

So far today, I went to Expedia.com to check out airfare to a couple of places in Mexico and a couple of places in Colorado. Personally, I want to go skiing. I have done the Mexico Spring Break thing a couple times before and I think I've had my share. I think it would be more fun to be active and outdoors sans the "festivities" of Cabo or Key West. So, this is what I pushing for. After getting the airfare, I found some reasonable prices to Denver so I'm going to take a poll among my friends and cross my fingers. We'll see what they say... if they like it, I then have to start planning a ski vacation. If they don't, what do I do? Go with a smaller group who wants to go skiing, or go with all of my friends to Mexico? I know, I know, tough life, right?