One of my favorite things about Chicago, which I often fly through, is how easy it is to get downtown from O’Hare. Just hop on the train, ride for a bit…BAM you are in downtown Chicago. There is a lot to see and do, but I just love wandering the streets around Millennium Park. I was on one of these walks when I caught this photo of Trump International Hotel & Tower and the Wrigley Building with the Chicago River in the foreground.
In the hustle and bustle of Pike Place Market is a little sign for the Can Can. I didn’t visit, in fact I have no idea what they do here. What I do know is I immediately fell in love with this sign. It’s rough and not well maintained, the walls around it were in need of paint, but there was a character that stood out amongst all the tourists and fish. I am forever saying I need to get better at shooting details, those little elements I love and remember long after I have left a place. This little sign falls squarely in that category.
On the drive back to Waikiki Beach from visiting the Pali Lookout, I saw a roadside turn off that I immediately pulled over on. I love these scenic overlook as they are most often great places to shoot landscapes from. There is a strong Japanese influence on Oahu which can plainly be seen in Honolulu Memorial Park also know as Kyoto Gardens. It is both a garden park and an adjoining cemetery for Buddhists…I didn’t get a change to visit while I was there, but I have this on my stop list for a visit next year.
I find the carvings of totem poles at the same time interesting and slightly terrifying. Perhaps it’s because I don’t fully understand their purpose, largely because each has a different meaning. This is effectively much like other forms of art or artful forms of history telling. This part of a totem is in a Victor Steinbrueck Park near Pike Place Market in Seattle Washington. I found myself just staring into his eyes a bit lost in wondering. I think he needed to be on the blog so today here he is.
Living in the Ozarks you grow up going to Silver Dollar City. It’s out version of Disney…well if you only count Frontierland in the Magic Kingdom then its our Disney. Also you would need to replace the giant scary mouse with a hairy and equally scary hillbilly…maybe they are a bit different. Anyway, I haven’t been to SDC in a number of year (probably 5) and I haven’t been to Disney World since High School.
It was impossible for me not to notice similarities and differences. For instance there is the roller coaster Big Thunder Mountain. At SDC this is called Thunderation…the colors seem similar in my recollection (maybe I am just crossing theme parks in my head). Both are train motifs. Big Thunder Mountain at Disney was opened in 1979, Thunderation was opened in Silver Dollar City in 1993. I am not saying there is any relationship, but simply that it’s interesting. Here is a fun shot I took while the train was roaring by…I felt it needed to look old.
Pamela and I have been really lucky this year in our travels. I am not referring to how extremely lucky we feel to GET to travel (this applies triple for me), but moreover I am referring to how lucky we have been with weather. It hasn’t all been fantastic, but our trip to Seattle this year is a shining example. Normally when you fly into Seattle, you are doing good to see Mount Rainier…much less the other mountains. We had a ridiculously clear view of everything! When the captain announced we were flying by, I was also lucky enough to find myself on the left side of the plane. I snapped this photo of Rainier on a virtually unheard of nearly cloud free day in Seattle, Washington!
I always feel like I need more time at the Magic Kingdom. I got there an hour before the park opened at 8pm and I stayed till after 11pm. I think I had some 15 or 16 hours in the park, but there was still more to do. I never feel like that at EPCOT, but then perhaps I am just a big kid at heart. This is Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Cafe on the outskirts of Tomorrow Land as seen from one of the bridges in the Magic Kingdom. Its funny, because I always think tomorrow land looks like a 1960’s vision of the future. This diner makes me think of Edward Hooper’s painting Nighthawks even though I know they look nothing alike.
I didn’t ride Mission Space at Disney’s EPCOT Center. I made it to the ride VERY early in the day. It was my second stop after Sorin’. When you enter they ask if you want a green or orange card (less intense or more intense…in that order). I chose orange and anyone my age would. I got into line and started wondering what sort of ride this was. I am not a scared sort of amusement park rider, but I can sometimes get sick. There are pretty much two things that are out; inversion and spinning. While I was waiting in the line I looked on my phone to see what I had signed up for. The first review was of a person much like me who rode early and was queasy the rest of the day. I turned around and left. I tried to come back and ride the green card later in the day, the wait time was 100 minutes. No thanks! Has anyone rode this? Is it fun?
Honolulu is a city of hustle and bustle. I hope to ho back and explore some more next year, but in a big city, sometimes you want to get away from all the movement. You want some peace from all the go. You drive to The Valley of the Temples and visit Byodo-In Temple. This is a replica of a Buddhist Temple in Kyoto Japan. This particular temple is non-denominational and everyone is invited to visit. I sat quietly for some time beneath the 9 foot tall wooden Buddha. People came and went. It is a lovely location.
This little Buddha statue was collecting offerings in the gardens in front of Byodo-In Temple. I almost missed him if not for another photographer lying on the ground to take his picture. Sir, I say thank you.
There are a few things that are really odd about Post Alley in Seattle, Washington. First it’s an alleyway with lots of people coming and going. Generally that is a bad sign, but in this case okay. Second it smell STRONGLY of gum…there is a reason for this as it seems visitors deposit used chewing gum along the brick walls of Post Alley. I was unsure why or how exactly all of this came about, but to me…it is a work of minty art. Portions of the sticky mess reminded me so of Jackson Pollock I expected to see people flinging paint. I didn’t add to the mess myself, but the next time you are at Pike Place Market, give Post Alley a quick stop…its mesmerizing.
