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Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts
Showing posts with label USA. Show all posts

Sunday 20 August 2023

Lahaina Hawaii

Lahaina's Famous Banyan Tree.

Location: Lahaina, Hawaii, USA
Date: Feb 2017
Website:  lahainatown.com

  On August 8th 2023 there was a wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui.  The fire burned through the historic town of Lahaina. Lahaina was the capital city of Hawaii back in 1820 when King Kamehameha II ruled. We always visited the town during our trips to Maui. This blog looks at some of the structures that have been lost or damaged in the fires. If you click the link to the website above, you can donate and help the people who call Lahaina home.

Lahaina Cannery Mall

  Built in 1987, the Lahaina Cannery Mall offered free shows on its stage.  There were hula shows offered weekly.  Our favourite was the weekend keiki dance. Keiki means child in Hawaiian.

Kobe Japanese Steakhouse Lahaina

  The Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in Lahaina had already shut down before the fire.  At the hibachi table your chef would prepare food with great skill.  The photo above shows an onion volcano erupting.

Wo Hing Museum Lahaina

  The Wo Hing Society Building on Front Street was built around 1912 as a social hall.  An increasing number of Chinese immigrants were arriving in Maui to work in the sugarcane industry and could meet here.  Wo Hing means "Peace, Harmony & Prosperity".

Pioneer Mill Co. Smokestack

    The Pioneer Mill Company was the first plantation to grow sugar comercially in Lahaina in 1860.  This 225 foot tall smokestack is built of brick and concrete.  After operations ceased in 1999, the smokestack was restored so it would remain standing as a symbol of Lahaina's past.

Sugarcane Train Myrtle Kaanapali to Lahaina

    The Sugarcane Train ran from Kaanapali's plantations to the mill in Lahaina. The steam engine trains continued to operate as tourist trains once they were no longer in commercial use. The train above is train No. 3 and is called Myrtle.  It had just turned around in Kaanapali and released some steam.

Sugarcane Train Lahaina Turntable.

    At the station in Lahaina the engine would be turned around on a giant wooden turntable.

Baldwin Home Museum Lahaina

    The Baldwin Home was the oldest house on Maui.  It was built on Front Street in 1834. In 1836 Reverend Baldwin and his famiy started living in the home.  The Baldwin home was always open to help those in the community or visiting travellers. Reverend Baldwin helped vaccinate local residents during the smallpox epidemic of the 1950s.

Lahaina Jodo Mission.

  On the north end of Lahaina sits the Jodo Mission.  This historic Buddhist temple has been here since 1932. 

Jodo Mission Buddha.

  Sitting near the temple is this 12 foot tall Buddha.

Bubba Gump Lahaina Monkeypod Tree.

  This building on Front Street was built around a monkeypod tree.  It used to be a Bubba Gump's restaurant.  A monkeypod tree is also called a rain tree.

Fleetwood's On Front Street Lahaina.

  A little further along Front Street you will find Fleetwood's restaurant and bar.  It is owned by Maui resident Mick Fleetwood.  He is known for being a member of the popular rock group, Fleetwood Mac.

Lahaina Front Street Businesses.

  Another Maui resident is Clint Eastwood. This stretch of Front Street has faced a natural disaster before, but only in the movies.  Clint's movie Hereafter brought a computer generated tsunami wave through this part of town.

Lahaina's Historic Front Street.

  Front Street in Lahaina has many historic building dating back to the very early 1900's or earlier.

Old Fort Lahaina.

  One of the oldest structures in town is Old Fort Lahaina.  It was built in 1831 and demolished in 1854.  A small portion of the fort can be seen in what is now Courthouse Square.

Lahaina Heritage Museum Old Courthouse.

  Once the fort was demolished, a courthouse was built on the square.  It later became the Lahaina Heritage Museum and home to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.  The Lahaina Restoration Foundation worked hard to preserve the historic buildings around town.

Lahaina Pioneer Inn

    The Pioneer Inn was built in 1901 and was the oldest continuously operating hotel in Hawaii.  It sits on the edge of Courthouse Square.

One-Legged Sailor Pioneer Inn Lahaina.

  A one-legged sailor carved out of wood stood outside the hotel.  Lahaina was filled with talented artists and their work can be seen throughout the town.

Oldest Pacific Lighthouse Lahaina.

  Also standing outside of the Pioneer Inn is the oldest lighthouse on the Pacific.  The Lahaina Lighthouse is a beacon for boats entering the Lahaina harbour.

Pioneer Inn Harbour Side Entrance.

  In the movie The Devil At 4 O'Clock, Frank Sinatra is a prisoner.  He is escorted from the docks and then passes the Lahaina lighthouse and the entrance to the Pioneer Inn.

Lahaina Harbour

  We also walked from the docks past the lighthouse and the Pioneer Inn when we did whale watching tours with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  We enjoyed Sunset, Dinner and Whale Watching cruises. 

Humpback Whale Tail Maui Hawaii.

 The waters off of Maui are full of humpback whales between November and March when the whales come to mate and give birth.

Zebra Dove Lahaina Hawaii.

  The wildfires have taken a great toll on the people of Lahaina, but will also have a huge affect on the smaller creatures that called the town home.  This zebra dove (above) is just one of many species that will have to adapt.  Here is an older blog post about the birds of Maui.

Ghost Crab Lahaina.

  This little ghost crab was running along the beach during one of our visits.  His fate is uncertain as the land and the sea work together.

 Dan's Greenhouse Parrot.

   Here is another blog post about Dan's Greenhouse.  It also shows more of Lahaina's Front street.

    We always enjoyed our visits to Maui and Lahaina, not because of the structures we mention in this post, but because of the people.  They have always been welcoming and courteous.  Our thoughts are with the residents of Lahaina who have lost so much  We know that just like their mighty Banyan Tree they will support each other and they will endure.


Map of Our World
Lahaina

Post # 326

Thursday 20 July 2023

World's Largest Nipper Statue

World's Largest Nipper Statue In Albany New York

Location:
Albany, New York, USA
Address:  991 Broadway
Date: June 2023
Website:  www.rca.com

  In 1898, Francis Barraud painted a picture of his dog Nipper curiously listening to a phonograph.  It has since become a famous logo for corporations such as RCA and HMV.  RCA stands for Radio Corporation of America and HMV stands for His Master's Voice.  His Master's Voice was the name of the painting.

His Master's Voice Oxford Street London England

  The front entrance of the HMV store on Oxford Street in London, England has Nipper pictured with a gramophone. When Barraud tried to sell his painting, the Gramophone Company was interested but only if the phonograph was changed to a gramophone.  Barraud painted another painting and this is the logo that you see today. HMV started using this logo in 1909.

World's Largest RCA Dog Statue Albany New York

      The world's largest Nipper has been sitting on top of a warehouse in Albany, New York since 1958.  He is made of fibreglass and steel and weighs about 4000 kg and stands almost 28 feet tall.  He has no gramophone, so he listens to the sounds of the city.

Giant Nipper On Albany New York Rooftop

   Nipper sits alone in an industrial part of town so he would be happy for you to come and pay him a visit. He is an interesting part of history and an interesting logo. What is Nipper listening to we wonder?

RCA Logos On A Compact Disc.

    You may already have something with Nipper on it in your CD and record collection. We took a look around and quickly found the old electric RCA logo as well as Nipper on this CD from Pop Will Eat Itself that was released in 1990. Nipper may already be in your home too. If not a trip to Albany, New York will get you the most Nipper that can be found in one place.


Map of Our World
World's Largest Nipper , His Master's Voice
Post # 325

Saturday 20 May 2023

Lake George

Lake George New York State
 
Location: Lake George, New York, USA
Address:  2 Canada Street
Date:  September 2010
Website:  tikiresort.com

  Lake George is located in the northern part of New York state. It is located beside the Adirondack Mountains. The area is a popular tourist destination to enjoy the mountains and steamboat rides on the lake. After falling in love with Maui, Hawaii, we visited Lake George for the Polynesian dinner show. If you can't make it to Hawaii then you might want to head to Lake George in New York state and visit the Tiki Resort.

Polynesian Dinner Show At The Tiki Resort in Lake George.

   We enjoyed a dinner, a few drinks and the show. It featured Hawaiian dancers and drummers all the way from Schenectady.  One of us even got to participate. A few lucky dancers were chosen to shake their stuff based on the fruit shouted out by the band. "Coconut" to the right, "Pineapple" to the left and "Papaya" to the rear. By the time we were done we had danced up a fruit salad.

Lake George Mallard Duck

     We were only in Lake George for one night to catch the Tiki show. The next morning we decided to see what else was going on in town before heading to New York City. As we approached the waterfront this duck quacked out to us.
 
Minnie Ha Ha And The Mohican Steamboats At Lake George
 
  Across the water at the pier we could see the Mohican and Minnie Ha Ha steamboats getting ready to take tourists out for a relaxing trip around the lake. We hear that in the fall, the colours are lovely.

Uncle Sam Magic Forest Lake George

    As we headed out of Lake George, we were in for one last treat. We noticed a giant Uncle Sam in a parking lot. We pulled over and went to check him out. This Uncle Sam is 38 feet tall. He was designed for an Ohio restaurant called fittingly, Uncle Sam's. He then stood outside of the state fairgrounds in Danbury, Connecticut until coming to Lake George to stand in the parking lot of the Magic Forest amusement park.

Uncle Sam And Santa In The Magic Forest.

  Behind Uncle Sam we noticed someone else very special. It was Santa Claus! What more could you ask for in a town? A Tiki Resort and Santa are two of our favourite things.

Santa Claus Lake George

  Sadly, Uncle Sam has returned once again to Danbury and Santa has disappeared. The Tiki Resort is still doing shows so that is more than enough reason to spend a day in Lake George.  Coconut!!


Map of Our World
Tiki Resort , Minnie Ha Ha

Post # 323

Monday 20 March 2023

Kelly & Ryan

Live With Kelly & Ryan Niagara Falls Canada

Location:
New York, New York, USA
Address:  77 W 66th St
Date: June 2017
Website:  kellyandryan.com

  LIVE with Kelly & Ryan is a morning talk show filmed at ABC studios in New York City.  The show has left the studio and travelled to Canada on three occassions.  Back in 1996 the show filmed from Niagara Falls, Ontario and the hosts were Regis Philbin and Kathy Lee Gifford.  In 2006, the show returned once more and this time Kelly Ripa joined Regis as a host. In 2017, the current hosts Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest filmed a pair of episodes and this time we were there.  Ryan Seacrest has announced that he will be leaving the show so we found ourselves looking back.

Sheraton Fallsview Hotel

  We didn't actually have tickets to the show but we obtained ourselves a bird's eye view.  We had a room at the Sheraton Fallsview Hotel which overlooks the Oakes Garden Theatre where the taping of the show was to take place.

Sheraton Fallsview View Of Niagara Falls

  The hotel also offers a great view to look across and admire the American and Horseshoe Falls.

Kelly & Ryan Stage Preparations Niagara Falls

     As we looked down from our balcony, we had a perfect view of the stage below.  The day before the taping we could watch the crews getting everything ready for the big day. The proximity to the Falls means that even if there is no rain in the forecast, you always have a chance of mist. The main desk on stage remained under a tarp for protection.

Kelly & Ryan Stage Oakes Garden Niagara Falls

   Since we had arrived the day before, we were able to go down into the gardens and get a close up view of the stage. This is what it would be like to be one of the lucky audience members in attendance when the show went live.

Crowd Wait To Enter Kelly & Ryan Taping Niagara Falls

  The audience members started to fill up the street at the bottom of Clifton Hill, waiting for their chance to enter the gardens.

Kelly & Ryan Live From Niagara Falls

  While the crowd squeezed into the gardens, we admired the beauty of Niagara Falls and were quite happy having our own private viewing area. It may have been way in the back, but we had an unobstructed view. 
 
Kelly & Ryan Lobby Of Sheraton Fallsview Niagara.

   As show time approached we headed down to the hotel lobby.  Rumour had it that the stars themselves were in the hotel and getting ready to walk across to the Oakes Garden Theatre. Next thing we knew we had a front row seat as Kelly & Ryan were greeted to cheers from their fans.

Live With Kelly & Ryan 2017 Niagara Falls.

  We headed back up to our private viewing suite.  We were just in time to catch the start of the show.

Kelly & Ryan And Their Fans Niagara Falls.

  Kelly & Ryan addressed the crowd of mostly Canadian fans.  It is only a short walk or drive across the Rainbow Bridge to get to New York state for any American fans in attendance.

Kelly & Ryan Live From Niagara Falls.

  Kelly & Ryan sat at their big white desk. The desk was nice and dry after being protected under tarps waiting for the hosts to arrive. 

Kelly & Ryan & Justin Trudeau.

  To make the show even more Canadian, one of the guests was Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. The highlight of his appearance seemed to be that he wore R2-D2 and C-3PO Star Wars socks.

ABC Studios New York City.

  Since Kelly & Ryan had been nice enough to visit us in Canada, we decided to see more of them when we were in New York City. The show is filmed at ABC studios at West 67th Street and Columbus Ave. in Manhattan.

Kelly Ripa Bench In Central Park.

  If you follow West 67th Street into Central Park you will see a row of benches as you enter the park.  One of those is dedicated to Kelly Ripa.

Kelly Ripa 30 Years With Disney Bench In Central Park

      The bench congratulates Kelly Ripa for over 30 years with the Walt Disney Company which owns ABC. Kelly has been with LIVE for over 20 years and shows no signs of stopping. Her next co-host will be her husband Mark Consuelos.  If they choose to do another taping from Niagara Falls, we know where we will be watching from.


Post # 321