In Hawaii

We flew into Hawaii this past Sunday.  We spent most of the day traveling from Fairbanks, to Anchorage, and finally to Hawaii, arriving at around 7:30 in the evening but no one had put the agricultural forms on board so we had to wait for those to be delivered.  Once every family filled the forms out and turned them in, they finally allowed us to leave.

 This moose is in the center between concourse C  and B, near the exit from security.  Everyone files by as they head to their flights.  This area also has a place with Alaskan food, books, a couple of restaurants and a place you can purchase locally made alcohol to take with you when you head off.

I've found unique growlers, filled them with a locally made ale for a relative in Pennsylvania who collects them.  He enjoys the liquid in them.  This company also made a fantastic nonalcoholic blueberry soda a few years ago but have since discontinued its production.

There is a series of birds flying away from the end of concourse B, heading towards the center with the moose.  This is the concourse with a Cinnabuns place.  There is a series of three shops selling outdoor clothing, furs, and dolls dressed in fur parkas. 

I found the bird sculptures much more interesting than stuff for sale in the stores at the airport.  I almost missed the birds standing off to either side, carefully hidden near a few of the gates.  They all had character.

 This picture was taken as the plane headed towards the Honolulu International Airport.  It was taken from the window so the view isn't too bad. 

By this time, I was so ready to land.  I really dislike sitting for about 6 hours at any one time.  I'm so used to moving around that I find sitting way too hard. 

On the other hand, its faster than taking a boat.  I remember my grandmother saying she first moved to Hawaii back in 1938, well before it became a state.  I think she said she went over by ship.  I do know she and her children left Hawaii on Christmas Day in 1941 due to Pearl Harbor being bombed.  During the war, she worked for Boeing as one of many who helped out.

To the right, you get a great view of the ocean to the side of the airport.  In the foreground is Waikiki, where most of the hotels are found.  There are still two or three hotels from the mid to late 1800's but most are fairly new.

The airport has been in the same location since 1927 or so but wasn't considered an international airport till 1951.  Its sort of the gateway to the south pacific and the orient.

 We have landed and are rolling towards the terminal.  It feels like you travel for quite a few minutes before pulling up to a gate.

If you have not been there, the state requires everyone to fill out an agricultural form listing any plants or animals you bring into the state.  They also check all luggage to make sure you are not taking anything illegal back to the mainland. 

Its standard procedure.

 After finding my luggage, I grabbed a shuttle and finally made it to my hotel.  I just got to the desk around 8:30 when the front desk attendant asked if she could wait about 30 min to check me in so we could watch the huge fireworks show.

The hotel I stay at is about 2 blocks from the ocean.  The fireworks are launched from barges sitting in the ocean just off of Waikiki.  One of the hotels traditionally fires off some every Friday night but this was a special 30th anniversary for some Japanese company.

 Of course I said I was happy to wait.  At this time of the year, I do not get to see any fireworks displays in Alaska because it never gets dark enough.

The only time I see fireworks displays is at New Years when it is dark enough.  So this was quite the novelty and I enjoyed every single moment of it. 

Tomorrow, I'll share some photos with you of dancers and musicians who provide a weekly show at the hotel I stay at.

They are locals who treat everyone as if they are family and it is so much fun.

I hope you enjoyed these pictures.  I have a trip scheduled to spend a day going around the island and I plan to take lots of pictures to share with everyone.

I am interested in checking out how much has changed since I lived here.  Please let me know what you think.  Have a good one.

At a conference

I am attending an educational conference so busy. Last night went to jam session with lots of music. Tomorrow I should be back to normal. I am in Hawaii and loving the visit so far.

Awesome Artists.

Today, you get a view of some of the more entertaining vendors at the Fairbanks Farmers Market.

 The gentleman who runs this stand live in North Pole about 15 miles on the road towards Tok, Alaska. 

He makes cute little bird houses but what sets his apart from other peoples is his use of old license plates.  He finds old ones and uses them on the roof of each bird house. 

I regularly stop to visit and find out what is happening in his town.  Although its just a short distance away, I live in the other direction so it is out of my way.

 Moosetard makes some of the most unusual mustards.  It is not like that yellow stuff you get in the plastic squeeze bottles.  It is made from local ingredients using mustard seeds.

I'm not a fan of mustard but this stuff is actually quite good.  She has one made with coarsely ground mustard seeds, ginger, and birch syrup for example.  Some use local lagers and ales in them or local fruits such as cranberries. 

In addition, her BBQ sauces are great on meat according to my family.  I love chatting with her.

 You saw this picture over the weekend.  I love these wall hangings because the dogs look so real and have such a personality.

I can almost hear them whimper as they ask for loving.  If I had a space on my wall, I'd hang it and enjoy it.  I love cute things like this, especially as they have so much character.

Finally, I share this artist who paints rocks with such character, you'd almost swear they are real.  When I first saw them, I did a double take because they looked so real.

If you look closely, you'll see a cute squirrel on the slab of wood and right next to it is a cute, cuddly looking owl but I'm know its made of rock.

I love seeing these artists at the Farmers Market.  In addition, to locals going, visitors come along and have a great time.  You have to go bright and early because by noon, the parking lot is filled to capacity and you won't find a parking spot.

I'm in Hawaii attending a conference so I'll be talking about some of the things I saw in the short time.  I have a tour around the island of Oahu scheduled Thursday so I'll share some pictures of that on Friday.  Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday will be the Pan Pacific celebration, including a multiblock party and the Kamehameha day parade. 

I'll make sure I get pictures of all of that.  I can hardly wait.  Have fun.

Today, I'm On My Way

Please, Please, Please!!!!!!!

Pioneer Park Part 2

 Pioneer park is actually a large piece of land with a village on it composed of heritage buildings relocated from other parts of Fairbanks. 

This picture is the area near the museum.  Most of these buildings have different business names but it houses a museum and a video room with films about the gold rush.

 This set of buildings are at one end of the property.  Just behind it is the railroad which circles around the property.  I'll have photos of those on Monday. 

I took these pictures after the memorial day concert.  See the last building in the row.   The one just in front of the woman in the light shirt?  Its the same one in the picture below.

 The building is a nice two story gift shop which sells edibles people can take outside and eat at the tables in the front.  The road between that building and the saloon theater heads back and around.

The saloon theater doesn't open till later in the evening when they run a variety of shows high lighting the gold rush.

If I'd turned right at the museum instead of going straight, I'd be turning down this row of cabins.

  The first one in line is a portrait studio.  You know one of those where you dress in costume and have your picture snapped.  The final product is a sepia color so it looks like one you might have had long ago.

The two places by the flags are food places.  One serves Greek and American food while the other is strictly American.  I've never eaten at either place.

If you look to the right of the fence you'll see this the Lavelle Young.

 The Lavelle Young was the first commercial steam boat traveling the waters back in 1901 when people wanted to come up to find gold.  There is only the wheel house from the boat but people can go in, pretend to steer the boat and take pictures of themselves.

It lies in the open area between the original village and the additions including the merry-go-round.




This eating place is at the end of the row of cabins.  They sell a lot of hamburgers and is just to the right side of the gangplank leading into the Nenana steam boat.

The white tent is a place for people to sit and enjoy their food. 

 The next three pictures are of cabins in the area behind the food places.  Each and every cabin has a plaque indicating where the building came from and who owned it. 

One of the buildings stated the owner had dreamed of owning his own place and at the age of 55, he built his own house and lived it in until he died.

 The Wickersham House was the first house built with milled lumber and had a white picket fence.  It was built back in 1904 by Judge Wickersham and was moved here in 1967. 

It is now a museum which shows what life was like back in the early days of the town.  The interesting thing about the town of Fairbanks is as it began growing, women of the night also came up, living in their own part of town but many married men and became proper ladies.

 The red building is the Kitty Hensley House which started out as a shack but was rebuilt by a friend who recycled wood from his sternwheeler which had been damaged during spring break up.

I enjoy visiting Pioneer Park.  Last summer, I took my parents over to visit and we went through the aviation museum and had a blast because he knew odd facts about some of the planes from World War II and the Korean War.

The best thing is the whole thing is free in general except for a few things like riding the train, the show at the saloon or the aviation museum.

To end today's installment, I've enclosed a picture of the gazebo with extension of where the band played both Saturday and Monday of this past week.

I hope you enjoyed this.  Next week I'll be in Hawaii so I hope to share some pictures with you.  I will be attending an educational technology conference so I'll share some pictures of parts of Honolulu one does not usually see when visiting Hawaii.

Have a nice time.

Pioneer Park Part 1.

Yesterday you learned about the 50th anniversary celebration but today, you'll see some of neat things found at Alaska Land or Pioneer Park which make up the place.  It caters to both tourists and locals due to all the neat buildings they have.

One of the biggest attractions is the personal train car for President Harding.  People can wander through it and check out all the amenities of the car.   Yes it shows its age and I'm not sure when it came up to Alaska but its something most people check it out.

Yes I've been through it.  I didn't go through it Saturday because the Mayor set up there to give his speech.

 Across the way is the River boat Nenana,  one of the paddle wheelers servicing villages along the rivers.  Paddle wheelers traveled the rivers bringing people, mail, and supplies to Fairbanks in the early days.  This particular vessel serviced the villages between 1933 and 1954. 

Admission is free and they've worked on building dioramas so people can see what the places looked like back when the paddle wheelers went up and down the river.

 This picture was taken from the gazebo.  I'd helped set up the music stands for the band concert and when ready, I took time to take a couple of pictures of the Nenana.

The boat is not in water.  Its sitting on the ground in a hole so you have to cross over walk ways to enter and leave the boat.  Its actually in decent shape.

The chairs you see are there and are in front of the rail car.  This is seating for those who want to be in direct line of the mayor and other dignitaries who are celebrating the 50th anniversary.

 This shot shows the whole Nenana boat.  You can see the walkway into the boat.  There is another walkway on the opposite side directly across from this one. 

No one is allowed in the upper layers but you can see the boat house at the very top.  When you go into the boat, you hit the information area which has a nice map and other things.  You can peel off to the right or to the left. 

Either way, you pass through the diorama which shows villages the boat stopped through as you head to the mechanical parts which run the boat.  Fortunately for those who know nothing about how a paddle wheeler works, there are signs all over the place identifying each section along with information on the job of each part.

I snapped this picture as I came back from the bathroom.  Its a huge metal bird, perhaps a raven but absolutely wonderful  and so real.

If you look carefully, you can see the beak, eyes, wings, and even the roughness of the feathers.  It is awesome and so beautiful.  To the left out of sight is a set of picnic tables.  A family was enjoying time at the tables while I photographed this piece of art. 

Most of what you see scattered around the place are pieces from the early days of mining and farming.  Yes I grabbed a few pictures of those but I didn't think they'd be as interesting as this sculpture.

Since this was a special day, two different rail companies operated runs.  The first is the once which runs most days around the park.  Its run by a gas engine and is owned by Alaska Land but the other is a renovated steam engine operated by the local railroad club.

These railway enthusiasts bring it out on special occasions complete with the coal fired steam engine.  This engine actually ran in this area back at the turn of the 1900's when Fairbanks and other towns in the area found gold.  The train ran from Fairbanks out to other gold mines and brought supplies and people out to the sites.

The railway club found this engine down in Wisconsin or Michigan, bought it, brought it up and worked on it until it ran.  They charge a small fee for a ride on it and use the funds to purchase coal and keep it up and running.  It is a piece of history, they brought to life again.

One year, Fairbanks had had so little rain, the whole area was under a burn prohibition.  They still ran the train but they posted members around the park with water so they could snuff out any fires started from the stray sparks coming from the steam engine.