Fort – RDZ Photography

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

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.

Columbus – August 2018 – Classic Cars in a Historic Setting

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Sports, Transportation

Fort Hayes was a military post first built in Columbus at the start of the Civil War in 1862. At the time it was located just north of town, now it is at the edge of downtown.

One of the highlights of the remaining buildings is the former ‘shot tower’, used to make bullets in the 1800s. Today it serves as an art gallery and visual arts center.

On this day they were having a car show on the grounds.

While I always enjoy checking out classic cars, we wanted to use the opportunity to roam the grounds and check out the buildings.

Many of the original buildings are still standing. A number of them, like the ones below, have been restored. Others on campus are in poor condition, or have been torn down.

Not shown on this posting is a high school that has been built in the last 30 years.

We returned to the main yard where the cars were located and found a band was playing. She was clearly getting into it.

While the guitarist kept his cool on this hot humid day.

But the cars were the stars – a great VW bus.

Hats and tails were in order (just not the formal black tie kind).

Another great VW.

There weren’t many cars on display, but it was a relaxed show with some shade so it was worth a quick visit.

It was small enough all the car owners were on hand and happy to tell people about their rides.

While the judges kept score. The show was small, but the setting was interesting and we left having enjoyed our brief visit.

Staten Island, NY – May 2018 – Island Life

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation

After Coney Island we headed to Staten Island for the rest of the afternoon. To get there we crossed the impressive Verrazano Bridge.

At one time the longest span suspension bridge in the world, it is still an impressive structure with 8 lanes on each of the two decks.

We arrived at the other side and went to Fort Wadsworth.

Being on a hill at the narrows entering New York Harbor, this site has been a military post since the 1600s with the Dutch. The existing structure was built in the mid 1800s.

As we continued our hike we had a great look at the underside of the bridge.

When the Verrazano Bridge was being designed the community insisted they bypass both this fort and Forth Hamilton on the Brooklyn side. They did bypass it, but not by much.

Just south of the fort is South Beach, a bit of tropics in Staten Island. The view in the distance is Brooklyn.

Our final view was of a large cargo ship passing under the bridge.

Hyderabad, India – November 2017 – Golkonda Fort

Art, History, Nature

Golkonda Fort in Hyderabad, India is built into a nearly 500′ high granite hill, about 7 miles west of the old town city center. The original fort was built in 1143, but was rebuilt numerous times with this iteration dating from the 1500s.