The Lisa Marie is a Convair 880 jet which was once owned by the King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley. The plane about the size of a 707 was used by the king and his entourage to travel between Graceland and Elvis’s performances all over the United States. Unfortunately Elvis only owned the jet for a few years before his untimely death in 1977.
There are lots of legendary stories about Elvis and his plane but one of the favorite which gets told time and time again. Elvis was a bit hungry and needed his favorite peanut butter and jelly sandwich to quench his hunger, the only problem was the best sandwiches were in Denver. So Ron Strauss his pilot flew the Lisa Marie from Memphis to Denver to pick up enough sandwiches for Elvis’s snacktime.
The airplane is part of the extensive Elvis collection on exhibition as part of Elvis’s Graceland mansion in Memphis Tennessee. The plane sits next to the Hound Dog II which is a smaller aircraft Elvis also flew in. Nearly quarter of a million people visit Graceland every year to celebrate the life and times of Elvis and the Lisa Marie Convair 880 is one of the more popular attractions.
The magnificent Orca or Killer Whale are the highlight attraction at San Diego’s Seaworld park. These massive mammals live in over 7 million litres of water an have been the major drawcard to this popular park since the 1960s performing to millions of visitors. The park currently has seven of killer whales but they have a huge variety of other amazing animals to thrill young and old including the pacific walruses who are so cute. Dolphins, penguins, sharks and otters are also hugely popular exhibits and many are part of several daily shows which are held in the park where people can see the animals up close and learn about their threat of survival from pollution, over hunting and climate change. Seaworld is home to more than animals they have a huge amount of fun for the whole family, with dozens of rides and attractions including boat rides, simulator rides and the skytower which gives a panoramic view over the park. The Sesemae Street team are on hand for the youngsters and there are plenty of dining and shopping options. Seaworld is a great day out in Southern California.
Longbeach California just to the south of Los Angeles is the resting place of one of what was one of the world’s grandest ocean liners. The RMS Queen Mary sailed the seven seas for just over 40 years until she was retired in 1967. Today the 1019 ft long liner is docked at Longbeach and has taken on a new role as a museum, restaurant and hotel. Many of the original splendor of the Queen Mary is intact including magnificent art deco hallways, ballrooms and function rooms. The ship also boasts some stunning artwork including a huge transatlantic map which stands in the first class dining room which had lit up and showed the position of the ship as it cruised from London to New York. The cabins are not as luxurious as you would expect in a modern liner, but they are charming, a bit small but have good comfortable amenities. The Queen Mary is a unique accommodation experience and a very fun place to stay for anyone planning to spend a few days in Longbeach, San Diego or Los Angeles. Interestingly the Queen Mary was owned by Disney for a period in the late 1980’s there was talk of the ship being the centrepiece of what would have become a ocean themed park. There is a striking resemblance to the Queen Mary in Tokyo’s Disneysea.. Maybe the Tokyo Park might have come out of concepts for what might have been in Longbeach.
Mexico is planning the world’s largest underwater museum with the first four concrete sculptures of 400 to be submerged in November in the Mexican Caribbean near Cancun. The sculptures will help protect the areas reef as well as attract sea life, eventually turning the sculptures into living sculptures as algae etc starts growing on them. The main idea behind the project is to attract tourists to the artificial reef instead of the coral reefs where they have previously damaged them. The sculptures are to be placed just below clear shallow waters to give easy access to divers, snorkelers and those in glass-bottomed boats. The sculptures are the work of Jason deCaires Taylor who previously did a similar project in Grenada West Indies (see video above). check out his website below for some more fantastic images from the projects. Read the rest of this entry »
Linking Manhattan Island with Brooklyn the 1825 metre long Brooklyn Bridge has spanned the East River for over 125 years. Opening in 1883 the bridge was designed by John Augustas Roebling and like the Empire State Building and Statue of Liberty is one of the most iconic structures in New York City. Upon opening the bride was the longest suspension bridge in the world, infact it was nearly twice as big as anything previously built, but it soon lost its title in 1903 to the Williamsburg Bridge which also crosses the East River to Brooklyn. The bridge has a clearance of about 41 metres at mid span and the huge brick Gothic towers rise 273 feet. For visitors the Brooklyn Bridge has a wide walkway open to both pedestrians and cyclists and offers some spectacular vistas of the Manhattan Skyline from a different perspective.
Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead and Clavert Vaux , New York’s Central Park is one of the worlds’ great urban spaces. Taking up a huge 1.32 square miles or 843 acres on Manhattan Island the park plays host to over 25 million visitors every year. The park is a very popular tourist attraction for visitors with so much to see and do year round. There are magnificent landscaped greens with lovely plantings and two spectacular lakes, many sporting facilities including plenty of paths for jogging, bike riding and just strolling. The park is home to the Central Park Zoo which is one of the world’s great zoological gardens and the park is a well known venue for entertainment, with plays, opera, open air theatre and some of the biggest music events ever being staged in the park. The park is home to 37 playgrounds making it a favorite with the young and there is plenty of wild life, birds, chipmunks and plenty of squirrels. The park has some spectacular pieces of art and many monuments including the moving Strawberry Fields which is dedicated to the Late John Lennon who was murdered outside the Dakota Apartments overlooking the park in December of 1980.
Only a little over an hours drive from Walt Disney World and Universal Studios in Orlando Florida is the Kennedy Space Centre home to the Apollo Missions and the Space Shuttle, it was also the setting for the popular ’60’s comedy I dream of Jeanie. The centre offers an amazing chance to get up close to some of the world’s most amazing technology and for some lucky people even the chance to see a launch. The centre has an incredible visitors centre with many artefacts and even an IMAX cinema but the highlight is catching a bus and going out onto the facility and visiting the launch pads where the space shuttle is launched and to visit a proper Apollo rocket and Saturn V modules. The size of these objects are just staggering and the items on display are breathtaking. The centre offers a great option to escape the hustle and bustle of the theme parks for a day and see up close an important piece of America’s history. Read the rest of this entry »
Alcatraz Island or the Rock as it is commonly known is one of the major tourist sights in beautiful San Francisco. Located in the centre of San Francisco Bay the island has had a long history as a fort and more notably both a military and a federal prison, becoming home to many of the most notorious criminals of the USA before it closed in 1963. Today the island is administered by the National Park Service and ferries leaving Pier 33 near Fisherman’s Wharf offer trips and tours of the facility. The island has an abundance of wildlife and rare plant life and is nesting grounds for many birds. The island is free to visit although ferries are the only way to get to the island, which have a transportation charge, booking should be made in advance as only so many people can be transported a day. The tour thought the grounds and the prison facility is accompanied by a fantastic audio tour which really give you a first hand experience of what the prison was really like- its quiet eerie.
The Statue of Liberty has been fully reopened to visitors after closing in September of 2001 after the terrorist attacks on New York City. For the last few years visitors have only been able into the pedestal of the grand old lady but now are able to climb the narrow winding stairs to the top to see the spectacular view of Manhattan through a series tiny windows in the crown. It is expected the climb will be open for two years and then closed for another period for some maintenance and safety works. Due to the restricted space only a limited number of people are able to climb the statue every day, the number is around 30 an hour, so it is going to be one of the most sought after things to do in New York City. Tickets can be purchased up to a year in advance from the cruise companies, and for added security people must show ID matching the names on the ticket to use them. Good news is the tickets only cost $3 each on top of the usual $12 ferry ride.The Statue of Liberty has been looking over the skyline of Manhattan since October of 1886 and is the world’s most recognisable statue, with smaller copies in Paris and Tokyo also much loved and are regular stops on tourist tours of both cities.
The Bonsecours Market can be found in the French speaking city of Montreal in Canada and is a beautiful domed building dating back to 1847. The market is the central point of Old Montreal which features some of the city’s most beautiful and historic buildings. Designed by architect William Footner the market was home to the City Hall and also briefly housed the Parliament of United Canada back in 1949. The building today is home to a variety of specialty stores, cafes, and quaint boutiques offering some beautiful 17th century splendour. The market houses huge exhibition spaces which are booked for fairs, and other events, there are also some wonderful art exhibitions which are well worthy of a visit.
