Here and There Blog

Came down with an unpleasant cold that combined stuffy nose, sore throat and hacking cough all in one. After 3 intense days it seems to be clearing up and my brain can function once again.  Flu shot is on the agenda for this week! Here are the last from Waikiki. Below the tiki's in front of the Army museum.  Old clock tower in a small shopping plaza  At Ft. Bragg public grounds, walking around  And random sculpture near the high end shopping district

Wandering around always leads to water. The outrigger is ready to go for the morning tourists. Hard to see in this photo but a surf competition was going on and the waves were crowded.  Along the canal the business district and condos are a quieter place from the noise on the main street.  And view of the mountains from the room.

Hawaii is the best. I've been to many places and this is one where I'm never disappointed in the trip. From sunrise over Diamond Head, to wandering around the beach paths, and hanging out at the beach it's all good. I'm home now and will cheer myself up this week by posting a few photos of Waikiki.    

A soft rainfall from the sky means it's time to head inside. This is from Maui Brewing. After I ordered it, I found out I could have gotten a Hawaiian sampler set of local brew. 

Sunrise sees Waikiki beach nearly empty of tourists. The pink sky gives way quickly to blue and a cruise ship moves towards port. The heat won't hit for another hour and coffee tastes great.

It's Friday evening and I'm at the airport headed to Honolulu! Weekend trip with the help from travel points and off I go! Looking forward to waking up in Waikiki in the morning!

I'm walking around the hotel and adjacent building parking lots for post work exercise. There were not one, but five cats clustered around a couple of cars in the lot. Evidence of people feeding them is what defines these as happy, well fed, and big cats. I guess it was finally cool enough that even the cats were willing to venture out of the shade.

Inside Toronto airport. I left cold and rain for hot and humid. If only a weather balance was possible We'd all be happier!

This has to be the least I have seen a city on a  9 day trip. Work, hotel, and roads that was it. I'm glad I've been to Toronto before or I'd be bummed. As it is, the view of the airport area from my hotel is good enough for me. Travel home in the morning!

Work's been slow and there's not much going on. I took a dash to the Farmer's Market during a break from the rain. The pony was going for the grass is greener on the other side.

Not a lot going on in Waterloo. Seagrams  is loft housing and there are some odd art works around.

The hotel is next to a theatre. I'm not sure why a stilt walker sculpture but here it is.

For such a small area there really is a lot to look at. I know that I missed much more than I photographed so I'm glad for the opportunity to learn even a small bit about this city. Below is the Rotary Club sculpture. There are lots of Steam-punk elements in this city.  Horse in front of the Bank of America building  Historic Kress building from the 1928 with gothic style influence  These two are pointing at the Kress building which in one of it's past incarnations was a variety store. There was very little graffiti in Wichita and this was the only attempt at either street art or political statement that I found.

I got nothing else going on today so here's more Wichita. The flowers are along the exterior of apartment lofts. Most of downtown is getting a renovation in some form to try and revitalize it.  Underneath a bridge  More loft renewal  The old Telegraph Center has new life as an office building but some of the history is retained  And one of the random walk-about scultptures

Veterans Memorial Park is located along the Arkansas River, a short walk from downtown. A combination of biking and walking paths lead around memorials from WWI to Operation Freedom. Below Operation Freedom. The USS Dorado was hit by friendly fire during WWII in the Caribbean Sea. The sub has never been found.   http://www.ussdorado.com/history.html Korean War Memorial This is the outline of the USS Wichita. The ship was launched in 1937 and served in WWII, earning 13 battle stars. The ship was the first named after Wichita, Kansas and after 10 years of service was decommissioned and turned into scrap metal.   http://navysite.de/ca/ca45.htm Memorial to the US Merchant Marines

This square caught my eye on the ride to the hotel. Downtown Wichita has dozens of sculptures on the streets. Most of the depicting less wealthy people, even hungry animals. This park is a small square with some seating and water fountains. On Sunday morning I had it to myself.