Beaches – RDZ Photography

Virtual Travel – New Jersey

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Welcome to New Jersey – my usual first views of the state are landing at Newark airport, for better or worse.

At the other end you can take a ferry from Delaware.

Overview

1955 2000 2002/2003/2004

The New Jersey State Capitol is in Trenton. (Photo from Flickr)

The unusual state symbols of the day include:

State Colors – Jersey Blue and Buff. This dates from the Revolutionary War when Washington assigned the colors to the regiments of the New Jersey Continental Line. It is thought he chose these because New Jersey (as well as New York) were settled by the Dutch, and those colors are the Netherlands colors.

State Tall Ship – A.J. Meerwald. This ship, built in 1928, is featured on maps below. It is a Oyster Schooner.

Officially known as the New Jersey State House, the building was completed in the 1790s, behind the capitols in Maryland and Virginia.

Let’s visit some other cities in the state starting with Atlantic City. It’s main business since being started in the 1850s has been tourism. It was marketed to the crowded city folks in New York and Philadelphia as a healthy resort on the ocean.

By the 1870s more than 500,000 people a day made their way to Atlantic City. By the early 1900s it had large hotels lining the coast, along those streets whose names have been made famous by the board game Monopoly, as well as the notoriety from the Miss America Pagent.

The mayor of the time quoted during Prohibition ‘we have whiskey, wine, women, song and slot machines. I won’t deny it and I won’t apologize for it.’

By the 1970s it had fallen on hard times, so they introduced legalized gambling. These photos show the rebirth in the 1980s, but the convention hall still being the showpiece.

Today it is similar, only with so many cities introducing gambling, the city has one again fallen on hard times. (photo from NJ public radio)

Much of the Jersey Shore (not beach or coast) has some cool/kitschy features, but the best is easily Lucy the Elephant in Margate. This 140 year old elephant still brings in the tourists.

Jersey City – The second largest city in New Jersey has the good fortune of being located just across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan. While the city has had it’s ups and downs, peaking out at 316,000 people in 1930, it dropped down to a low of 223,000 by 1980. This reflected the exodus of people from New York City as well, as everyone was headed to the suburbs.

Since then though, with significant renewal of the waterfront area the population has gone back up to 265,000, and continues to grow.

Just upriver Hoboken is experiencing a similar rebirth, but retains the fabulous Hoboken Terminal for New Jersey Transit Trains, and ferries to Manhattan.

Statue of Liberty

1983 1986

It is interesting that New Jersey has featured the Statue of Liberty on the cover of some of the maps, as technically it is in New York. The island that the statue sits on is in New Jersey water, but is a federally owned island that belongs to Manhattan.

This is a result of a dispute dating (amazingly) from 1664, that stated the New Jersey borders did not extend to the middle of the river, or bay. In 1834 the US Congress did set the boundary in the middle of the waterways, however specifically exempted Liberty Island, stating it would remain in New York. This was held up in 1908 by the Supreme Court, and again in 1987 when New Jersey sued to take control of the island. Clearly these maps from 1983 and 1984 were when Jersey was confident the island would once again be theirs.

Ellis Island however is much simpler, it is in New Jersey. So all those ancestors of ours who were so proud to step of the boat onto New York, really set foot in New Jersey.

Interestingly it is connected to New Jersey by a bridge that is not open to the public, just park service personnel.

Those immigrants – unless you were headed to New England, you were herded onto barges and sent to the train stations in Jersey City and Hoboken, having never set foot in New York.

2018 05 29 190 Jersey City NJ Liberty State Pkark

Liberty State Park in Jersey City is along the mainland near both islands. The park is on an area that was once large rail yards, with the centerpiece being the Jersey City Terminal of the Central Railroad of New Jersey. This building dates from 1889, and is currently undergoing renovations (for years).

Outdoors in New Jersey

1988 1990 1992 2007 Holgate 2009 2012/2014/2015 AJ Meerwald

Sandy Hook is a spit at the far northern end of the Jersey Shore, sticking out into New York Harbor. It is home to a vacant military facility, but is now a vast park, including large areas of natural settings with views across the harbor to Brooklyn and Manhattan.

New Jersey Palisades. This geological feature along the Hudson River just north of New York City has been protected since 1900, as the industry of the times were blasting it away for crushed stone. (all photos in this section fromonlyinyourstate.com)

Virtual Travel – Massachusetts

Architecture, History, Museum, Nature, Sciences, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

The Massachusetts Bay Colony was established in 1628, with the initial towns being located in Salem and Boston. This colony was established 8 years after the Plymouth Colony, but the name they chose stuck.

The state has numerous locations of historical importance, but it does not live in the past. With colleges like MIT it is at the forefront of technology.

But you have to travel to get around the state so we start with:

1971 – 1999 – 2012 Transportation in Massachusetts

According to some statistics Massachusetts drivers are statistically the worst drivers in the country. But if you leave the hotel at 5 AM on a Saturday you get a tunnel that looks like this…

Instead of this….

Boston does have an extensive subway system.

There are two major train stations in the city, including South Station

Logan Airport is just 3 miles from downtown Boston, but it is across the harbor.

The MTA also has a fleet of ferry boats, however most are very small.

2009 History in Massachusetts

As previously noted, Massachusetts has a lot of history. Below is a actor playing the part of Paul Revere

Salem – House with 7 Gables

Salem Harbor

Lowell – Historic Cotton Mills

2001 & 2007 – Boston

Boston is a city where the latest is next door to the historic.

Historic Waterworks

North End

Fenway Park – the legend

MIT

Boston Main Library

2003 – 2011 Cape Cod & The South Shore

The Massachusetts coast has numerous small towns with harbors.

Plymouth Rock – pure fiction, but pure American.

Lobstah

Cape Cod National Seashore

Shack where the first transatlantic cable terminated. At one time this was high tech.

Virtual Travel – Hawaii

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Because of the uniqueness of Hawaii I have no state highway maps in my collection. For this trip we will use a National Geographic Map from 1976.

Having spent an amazing 3 weeks in the islands, there are plenty of photos of the highlights. As a result this is a very long posting full of photos.

Hawaii – The Big Island. Covering over 4000 square miles, it is slightly smaller than Connecticut.

Big Island HI Pu’uhonua O Honaunau National Historic Park

Big Island South Point

Southernmost point of any U.S. State – take that Key West

Green Sand Beach

Black Sand Beach

Volcano National Park

Kaimu Bay

McKenzie Park

Hilo – One huge banyan tree

Akaka Falls

Hilo (again)

Waipio Valley

Pololu Valley Overlook

Kapaau

Kona Cultural Festival

Off Kona

Maui

Views from the water

Lahania

More coastal Maui views

Iao Valley

Haleakala National Park

Kahekill Highway

Waimoku Falls

Hana

Kahului Hi Hui No’eau Visual Arts Center

Makai Glass Company

Dingking Surfboard Company

Molokai and Lanai

Lanai

It was once massive plantation, so the landscape has been altered to support the sugar crops.

Lanai cat sanctuary

Molokai

Drive to the far eastern end of the island

Halawa Valley

Native leader

Tallest seacliffs in the world – 3000′ high.

Oahu

Ka’ena Point

Makaha Valley

Honolulu, Waikiki Beach & Diamond Head

Waiahole Preserve & Kaneohe

North Shore Oahu

Dole Pineapple Plantation

Back in Waikiki

View from Diamond Head

Iolani Palace

Hawaii State Capitol

Aloha Tower in Honolulu Harbor

Makapu’u Overlook

One final night in Waikiki

Kauai

Waimea Canyon

Kalalau Lookout

Waimea Canyon

Polihale State Park and Beach

Waimea State Park Beach

Opeaka’a Falls

Rainbow Trees

Wailua Homesteads

One of the million wild chickens in Hawaii

Cocoa beans

Virtual Travel – Georgia

Nature, Transportation

We make our way north from Florida for the next stop on the Virtual Tour to Georgia. As with most states the cities are very different from the rest of the state, but nowhere is this more pronounced than Georgia. During our time living there we would say we didn’t live in Georgia, we live in Atlanta.

Still there is much to the state outside of Atlanta. With the Piedmont in the north and the beaches in the south, there is plenty to see and do in Georgia.

The oldest map in the collection is from 1949.

1953 – The Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta is featured on the cover. This building was completed in 1889, having been built to support the move of the state government from Milledgeville after the war.

The reverse side contains city maps, including downtown Atlanta. Note the first portion of the Downtown Connector has been completed, with plans for the Northwest and Northeast Expressways.

Downtown Connector – 1955 & 2019. That’s what happens when the metro population goes from 1 million to 6 million in a little over 60 years.

Sailing has been featured a couple of times. Left 1966, Right 1982

Atlanta Skyline on the maps – 1968 & 2009. In 1968 there were 3 buildings in Atlanta over 400′ tall. Today there are 39.

1968 Skyline

2019 Skyline (photo by Curbed Atlanta)

1970 – Unidentified country scene

1972 – Forsyth Fountain in Savannah

The same fountain in 2020 (photos – Visit Savannah Tourist Website)

Savannah is a historic city with beautiful parks and antebellum architecture.

1976 – Bicentennial Map.

The backside of the 1976 map details Georgia’s role during the revolution. Note the state encompassed the area that is now Alabama and Mississippi.

1980 – View from the top of Amicalola Falls. These watefalls are the highest in Georgia, with a drop of over 700′.

Same view 40 years later (photos from Wikipedia)

Main cascade

1983 – Road construction in the colonial times.

1984 – State Route 2 in far northeastern Georgia. While much of the state has had dramatic growth, Northeastern Georgia looks much the same.

1989 – Celebrating Georgia’s most famous crop – peanuts.

Believe it or not they now do ‘Peanut Tours’

For 1993 and 1993 the map was produced by Southern Living Magazine, resulting in nondescript scenes.

The Georgia coast, while short, has a number of highlights including Tybee Island (photo from visittybee website)

Jekyll Island was once the winter home to the very rich. Today many of the ‘cottages’ remain.

2002 and 2003 highlighted Georgia’s other famous crop – peaches. Ironically despite being the Peach State Georgia ranks #4 in peach production behind, amazingly, New Jersey!

California grows more peaches than the rest of the country combined.

2007 – Not happy kids at a Horticultural Center.

2008 – Lake Lanier. This massive lake is a result of the damming of the Chattahoochee River in 1956. The lake provides water for Atlanta, although the downriver states (Florida and Alabama) are constantly arguing with Georgia about the water rights.

With suburbia having reached the shores, there is also a constant battle to preserve the undeveloped areas.

2011 – Blackstock Vineyards and Winery in Dahlonega

Dahlonega is a cool little town in the mountains of North Georgia. Originally a center for a gold rush, the town has relied on tourism for 100 years. (photo from Pintrest).

2013 – A $6 million dollar bridge to Fort Benning, complete with a fountain that can turn itself off if it is too windy. Fort Benning has the population of a medium sized city, with over 100,000 people.

For 2015 & 2016 rural scenes returned.

Virtual Travel – Florida

Architecture, History, Nature, Sports, Transportation

I have had the opportunity to travel many places outside of the United States. When I speak with people in foreign countries and ask if they have ever been in the United States, those that answer yes usually have been to two places – New York City and Florida.

Florida is another state I have been to only a few times, and then mostly for Spring Training baseball. This posting will once again depend on the internet for additional photos.

Since the late 1800s Florida has been the east coast place to go to escape winter. Our virtual tour starts with the 1948 map.

Florida has had population growth that rivals the western states. In 1948 there were about 2.5 million people living in the state; today there are about 22 million, making it the 3rd most populated state.

The cover of the 1948 map is showing the Overseas Highway – U.S. Route 1. This road travels 113 miles from the southern tip of the Florida peninsula to Key West.

Originally a railroad route, it was partially destroyed in a 1935 hurricane. When the Florida East Coast Railway was unable to afford to rebuild, they sold the bridges and roadbed to the state of Florida, where it was eventually rebuilt as a highway.

This photo from the South Florida Sentinel newspaper gives a good aerial view of one section of the road.

The backside of the 1948 map has a cartoon map featuring many of the attractions of the state. While there has been tremendous growth, many of these features are still there.

The 1954 edition shows a beach scene, most likely from the Miami Beach area. By the 1950s the Art Deco area was thought of as old, and new ‘modern’ development was taking over.

This photo shows the main street in Miami Beach, Collins Avenue, in 1954

1963 – A creative approach, the beach has been formed in the shape of the state.

Our 1963 additional photo is from the Castaways Bar in Miami Beach – corutesy of Pintrest.

1965 – More beach scenes.

Most of the 1970s were generic, unidentified scenes.

1971 and 1972 used the same map, just adding 1972 to the later one.

For the American Bicentennial in 1976 Florida looks back at the nearly 400 years since the Spanish first landed in what became the state.

The Spanish arrived in 1513 when Ponce de Leon landed near St Augustine. He named the area la Florida in honor of Spain’s Easter time celebration Pascua florida (feast of the flowers).

St Augustine is proud of the fact they are the oldest continuously inhabited (European descent) city in the Western Hemisphere, having been established in 1565.

St Augustine’s most famous historic site is Castillo de San Marcos, a Spanish stone fortress built more than 300 years ago. Photo from Visitstaugustine.com

The nondescript maps continued through the rest of the 1970s.

1983 – Cape Canaveral has always been the home of manned space flight launches, so when the Space Shuttle program started in 1981, it was natural that they launched from here as well.

1985 – Cape Florida Lighthouse at Key Biscayne in Miami. This lighthouse was originally built in 1825.

1991 – The Sunshine Skyway. This bridge crosses lower Tampa Bay, spanning a distance of over 4 miles. The towers rise over 400 feet above the water level, with the road deck being 180′ high.

The original bridge was built in 1954 as a two lane bridge. In 1969 an additional span was added. In 1980 a freighter hit the bridge, causing a collapse that killed 35 people as their cars and a bus plunged into the bay. Afterward they decided to replace both spans with the new bridge. Note the large barriers in the water to prevent this from happening again.

Once again in 1993 and 1994 Florida used the same cover.

In the early 2000s Florida sold out totally and included advertising on the cover of their maps as each one had a happy family at Universal Studios.

Universal Studios in Florida was designed from the start to be both a working studio and an amusement park. Today it is the 6th most visited park in the United States (the 5 ahead of it are all Disney parks).

2006 – Finally some love for northern Florida. This view of Jacksonville shows the John Alsop Bridge and the Wells Fargo Center.

2009 – Sea World is featured. This park opened in 1973, not long after Disneyworld.

Since 2010 all Florida maps have the happy families at the beach. This has been their meal ticket for 150 years, and will continue to be forever.

All these maps and not one mention of Spring Training baseball. While there are still a number of teams training in Florida, the ones below have been lost to Arizona.

Vero Beach – Los Angeles Dodgers

Sarasota – Cincinnati Reds

Lake Wales – Cleveland Indians

Among those still there

Bradenton – Pittsburgh Pirates

Viero – Washington Nationals

Kissimmee – Houston Astros

Disneyworld – Atlanta Braves

And finally – Lakeland – Detroit Tigers

Brooklyn – September 2019 – A Day at the Beach

Art, Transportation

A sunny Sunday in the city – a perfect time to go to Coney Island.

Even though it was warm the beach was almost vacant.

As was the boardwalk.

A perfect time to stop for some Nathan’s Hot Dogs.

Back on the boardwalk we met a zombie baseball team.

There is currently a large collection of very unique murals on walls placed around a common space. The artists came from all over the world.

It was time to get back on the train to Manhattan….

But not before stopping at the Brighton Beach station where the MTA museum was running a number of vintage trains.

A great way to spend a few hours at the beach – Brooklyn style.

Galveston, Texas – May 2019 – Beach and Bay

History, Nature, Transportation

Galveston is located on an island, just off the Texas coast. While there is a major freeway crossing the bay onto the island, we chose the more interesting route by taking the ferry from the Bolivar Peninsula.

The Gulf of Mexico was angry this day, with a very rough surf, and red flag warnings for all to stay out of the water.

One the ocean side of Galveston there are the typical beach town activities such as an amusement pier.

One of the fishing piers shows how rough the surf was.

A monument to the victims of the 1900 storm is on the beach.

The bay side of Galveston is all business. An off shore oil rig construction company is located on the mainland side.

The Houston Ship Channel is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the country.

The tall ship Elissa is located in Galveston. Built in 1877 it sailed under Norwegian and Swedish flags before being located in Galveston and after extensive restoration, is used for tourist and training of young would be sailors.

Another view of Galveston Harbor.

Like Morgan City, Louisiana, Galveston has a historic offshore oil rig. Unlike Galveston, this one has much corporate sponsorship. We passed since we had seen the ‘real thing’ a couple of days earlier.

One harbor was filled with shrimp boats.

Galveston has always been a point of origination for cruise ships, as was evidenced as one was in port ready for departure.

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 19 Kauai and the Grand Canyon of Hawaii

History, Nature, Transportation

We flew from Maui through Honolulu to Kauai on a Tuesday evening. Using google maps we made our way to our hotel, which took us past the shipping docks to who knows where.

The following morning we were up and on our way before sunrise. After about an hour and a half, and a quick breakfast in Waimea, we made our way up to Waimea Canyon.

We were greeted by the official bird of Hawaii – the rooster.

We made our way through the park until we reached the famed Kalalau Overlook. If it looks familiar, it should, it was used in Jurassic Park.

We are about 4000′ above the ocean at this point.

Look closely you will see the helicopter well below in the valley.

The other highlight of the area is Waimea Canyon.

Waipo’o Falls cascades into the canyon.

From a distance you can see why it has the nickname Grand Canyon of Hawaii.

It is immense, especially given how small the island is overall. This area of Kauai is one of the most beautiful I have ever seen, and well worth the trip.

We made our way back down to the coast, and found this dirt road that continued in the direction of the bluffs we had just been on.

Eventually we reached the end of the road and found this amazing secluded beach with a view of Ni’Hau.

The waves, while not as impressive as what was in Maui, still made a great ‘Hawaii Five O’ look.

But it was the view of the cliffs that made the dusty ride worthwhile.

On our return trip to Lihue we stopped by the site of a Russian Fort, which was near the town of Waimea. Just down the hill from this fort a river ran into the ocean making some great sand dunes.

Further along the coast we found Salt Pond Park and Beach. Nearby pools produce the famed Hawaiian sea salt, but the beach was more picturesque.

Our final stop of the day was at Kauai Coffee. Very touristy, but amusing.

They claim to have 4 million coffee trees, and near the visitor center you can take a walk amongst them.

They also had some displays on how the beans are dried. These are for show, as this is a large commercial processing facility (that does not offer real tours of the plant).

Remember that drive in the dark – it was much better in the sun!

An amazing view at the Menehune Fishpond, literally a mile from our little hotel. The moral of this view is don’t always trust first impressions, the hotel and the views were spectacular – you just have to go through the cargo shipping area when you come from the airport.

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 7 North Big Island back to Kona

Architecture, Art, History, Nature

Day 7 started out with breakfast at Ken’s House of Pancakes – enough breakfast we didn’t have lunch. When in Hilo, stop at Kens 🙂

About an hour north of Hilo we arrived at Waipii’o Valley Overlook. The valley is 2000′ deep, with great sea cliffs just beyond.

A waterfall comes out of nowhere along the cliffs.

Hawaii has a number of micro climates, with the landscape looking very different. Once we passed Waimea (Cowboy Capital of Hawaii), it all of a sudden switched from rain forest to ‘Central California hills’.

Our next stop was one of the highlights of the island – Polulu Valley Overlook. With a bit of a hike down and toward the ocean, the view south was stunning. I realize after 7 days there are a lot of ‘cliffs and ocean’ photos, but this is one of the best spots.

The town of Kapaau is famous as the birthplace of Kamekameha. It is celebrated with a statue of him. Legend has it that this statue was made for placement in Honolulu but it was lost in a shipwreck, so they made a replacement.

Locals in Kapaau believed it was karma as they felt Honolulu should not have the statue since he is from their town. The original was recovered from the sea and sent to Kapauu.

Kapaau is a nice little Hawaiian town.

On the way back to Kona we stopped at the Hamakua Macadamia Nut Factory.

Some of their processing is located here where you can check out people preparing the nuts.

We left with plenty to last us the rest of the trip.

As we neared Kona, we headed 3000′ up a mountain (and from 86 degrees to 67 degrees) to the Mountain Thunder Coffee Plantation.

Kona is famous for their coffee, and this nice small family business gave us a tasting and a tour.

The beans after the first step of processing.

The coffee trees are grown on top of lava shoots, which provides the unique chemical balance that makes Kona coffee what it is.

Hawaii – November 2018 – Day 6 Hilo

Architecture, Art, History, Nature, Sciences

Day 6 started with some rain as we made our way down the mountain towards Hilo. As we drove along in the rain to our first destination I found the Apple Maps (the rental car has Apple Car Play) can let you down.

It had me turn on this ‘street’, which after about a mile I decided to give up, and back up until I could turn around. It is literally at the edge of town, so we weren’t way out in the middle of nowhere.

Eventually we reached the town of Kalapana, about 20 miles south of Hilo, and Kaimu ‘Beach’. At one time it was a black sand beach, but in 1990 a lava flow overtook the beach and filled the entire bay.

As noted yesterday many believe that Hawaii is an independent Kingdom, not part of the U.S., especially for any new land that wasn’t part of the U.S. acquisition.

This lava flow had some large cracks in it when it cooled.

We are standing ‘in the bay’ looking back towards town.

Further down the road is where the Spring 2018 lava flow wiped out 700 houses. While I feel bad for the people and their loss, who builds their house in the path of a volcano that has been flowing nearly continuously for 100 years or more.

Yet here they are again, already popping up these little houses on the freshly cooled lava.

Returning the other direction along the coast, we passed through some great forests.

Eventually we reached MacKenzie State Park. Note the fisherman climbing the precariously placed ladder on the left and his fishing pole on the right. I am not sure what he is catching, but I hope it is worth it.

On another recent lava flow people have placed Cairns made out of coconuts and leaves instead of the traditional rock piles.

But it did lead to another great coastal view.

Returning to Hilo, we went to Wailuku River Park, and found this impressive Banyan tree.

The highlight of the park is Rainbow Falls. If you are there in the morning you will most likely see a rainbow, but it was afternoon so alas, we only saw the waterfall.

About 20 miles north of Hilo is Akaka Falls. The hike down was through another ‘jungle’, although this one was nicely paved.

At 442′ high it is one of the tallest waterfalls in America.

There are even small waterfalls coming out of the rocks to the side of the main falls.

The falls in located near the town of Honomu.

Interestingly many small Hawaiian towns are built in the ‘old west’ style, albeit much more colorful.

Once again we had a great view from our hotel, facing west across Hilo Bay towards the mountains (obscured by clouds in this photo).

Next door was Lili’uokalani Park and Gardens. The site was donated by Queen Lili’uokalani, with the park being built in 1917 in the Edo style Japanese Gardens.

It is thought to be one of the best in the world outside of Japan.

Well maintained with beautiful trees and landscaping.

Along with some sculptures.

I am not sure what these are known as so I called them Bonsai Palms.

The park was very relaxing, and a great way to end the day.

Many of the native trees have really cool, funky looks to them.

Chillin’ on Coconut Island.

Our hotel grounds were directly on the bay.

As the sun was setting the last of the days flights were arriving. The airport was nearby, and the flight path brought the planes down the coast with a hard left turn just before the field. The clouds and setting sun added to the look.