Kilaeua Lighthouse, USA

Next comes a card from Bryon.

The card shows the Kilaeua Lighthouse, on the northernmost point of the Hawaiian Island, built in 1913.
Interestign fun fact about it is that it can be seen briefly in Disney's animated film Lilo & Stitch, and it plays a more important role in the sequel, Stitch! The Movie. In the film, the lighthouse serves as a rendezvous point where the protagonists are to trade Jumba Jookiba's first 624 experiments (the 625th experiment was taken by Gantu earlier) with the antagonist Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel for Jumba himself. The lighthouse in the franchise was said in the movie to have shut down years ago due to the financial troubles of keeping it running. Towards the end of the film, however, Experiment 221—an electrical experiment that Lilo names "Sparky"— is given the lighthouse as a new home, and he uses his power to make the beacon shine again.

Well, for those of you who have watched it, this may be interesting trivia... i still need to put this on my watching list :)

a number of lovely stamps on the back! Two are from the amazing last year's set of Bioluminescent Life of a total of 10 stamps. The stamp on the left features a firefly, while the one on the right a marine worm. These stamps do not glow in the dark, as some may wonder, but they are highly reflective under white light - something I yet need to test.
The remaining two stamps are quite older - the left one, issued in 1977 shows the Peace Bridge, an international bridge between Canada and the United States - and as the name suggests, it was named to commemorate 100 years of peace between the United States and Canada.
The last stamp is from 1968, simply titled Register and Vote - and I guess it is another self-explanatory stamp as well :)

Honokohau Falls, USA

Well, I guess im more or less sticking around nature today, so after two mountains, here comes one waterfall...a missile fired straight from Hawaii...by Bryon of course :)

it is so cool to have a business meeting scheduled in Hawaii, isn't it? :P

the back of the card - Maui's tallest waterfall. The upper section of 1100 foot tall Honokohau Falls within the interior of the West Maui Mountains.

You know, Hawaii is usually all about sandy beaches and beautiful waters...but I actually like it when I see something different about it, like for example this card

and some pretty cool stamps here - all 2015ish!
Penguins on the very left - United States Coast Guard in the middle - and his majesty, Elvis on the very right, issued August 12th, commemorating 38 years of his death (he had died August 16).

Thank you as always Bryon - your missiles are just always so precise :D

Kilauea, USA

Long time ago (actually at the beginning of my posctcrossing career) I posted some Hawaiian volcanoes, here and here. Compared to those, these are in an active mode and are so bright and colourful :)

the card above is called "Birth Day" and the back of the card says: Almost every day the newest land on Earth is born here on Hawai'i Island. Since 1983, when most recent eruption began on the southeast flank of Kilauuea, nearly a cubic mile of lava has gushed forth, adding some 500 acres of new land - so far: Often, our excitable volcano goddess Pele likes to celebrate with fireworks when she gives birth.

Interesting story and an amazing eruption!
Thanks a lot to Mary for sending me this awesome card as a part of her Vacations RR group. She also used a number of lovely stamps as you can see below:

the two on the right side are part of the four stamps issued in 2011 representing the US Merchant Marine (i really like those); the top left stamp was issued in 1974 as a part of 4, mineral heritage stamps, while the Magna carta stamp below dates back from 1965. I dont know if Mary had these stamps purchased in advance or found them on spot (though my guess bets on the first), but she certainly had put effort in them!

US-1478078

the second volcano came as an official card, and it again represents the Kilauea volcano at twilight and you can see (or not) how lava is flowing into the ocean. 

the stamps you can see hee are the American clock from 2003, the Cars from the Send a Hello series, issued in 2011, and one more ship from the US Merchant Marine series....the owl is a sticker ;-)

Maui, USA

This great surprise arrived from Glenn from his trip to Hawaii back in March

from the back of the card:  The Lāhainā - Kaanapali & Pacific Railroad train on its way to the centre of Kaanapali, Maui. And this is also known as the Sugar Cane Train, which is a 6-mile, 40-minute trip in open-air coaches pulled by vintage steam locomotives. Well, when one gets bored of the beaches, this is surely a thing to do..though I think that 40 minutes is just too little....

Lāhainā is said to be the largest census-designated place, in West Maui, and the gateway to the famous Kaanapali and Kapalua beach resorts. And it was interesting to read that until permanently moving to Honolulu, Lahaina was the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.

the famous Grand Teton :)

thank you so much Glenn! And I feel even more honoured to have this card coz of the circumstances of its sending :)

Hawaii, USA

After wanting to get one for a long while, finally here is a map of Hawaii! And I got it as a total surprise from Dede, along with a bunch of other cards she sent me! Thanks so much to her!!!

Highlights of Hawai`i

The Hawaiian islands feature special offerings - a spectacular active volcano, majestic humpback whales, delicious shave ice and Kona coffee, and countless, enchanting beaches. Each island has its own unique personality and provides a landscape full of adventure and sightseeing opportunities.

Would definitely like to try that coffee..and maybe the shave ice if im feeling really hot.

I remember it how years ago, it was huge fashion to wear an LC Waikiki t-shirt here...so many colourful people on the streets during summer....I never got one though....

Hawaii, USA

A great surprise card that arrived from Glenn during his stay in Hawaii this summer...

The Diamond Head Lighthouse is built on the steep coast cliff of the extinct Diamond Head Volcano. The original lighthouse was built in 1899 and the original fresnel lens is still in use today. The current structure was erected in 1917. Built of reinforced concrete, the 55-foot lighthouse stands 147 feet above sea level and projects its light 18 miles out into the Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse is completely automated with a back-up battery in case of a power outage. The light keeper quarters were renovated and now serve as the residence of the 14th Coast Guard District Commander.
The fresnel lens atop the lighthouse has the intensity of 60,000 candlepower. The light shows a red sector to warn vessels away from the reefs of Waikiki Beach.

 

and i think you are already familiar with this nice stamp...just that, i find something confusing about it...in a way, it differs from the other 98c stamps showing the Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming...it lacks the perforation, and more looks like a sticker than a stamp...

Hawaii, USA

Here is something which came as a great surprise...in 5 samples....and ill give you one each day in the following updates...

the treat comes from Addis, who was the one to send me my first Puerto Rican card as well...she says she had bought a postcard book about lighthouses featured on US stamps and she sends me all the 5 designs to expand my collection! I think that "Thank You" is not even close enough for that kind of thoughtfulness but i have my ways ;-) :P

The one here is called the Diamond Head Lighthouse, and it stands at the base of an extinct volcano on the Hawaiian island of Oahu. Established in 1899, the original tower was replaced by a new lighthouse in 1917. Today the light from this concrete sentinel leads vessels safely into the harbour of nearby Honolulu.


Now, im not a stamp collector and dont usually feature stamps here, but with this set of lighthouses, ill make an exception since each of them has its own matching 26 c. stamp....i find that VERY neat!

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, USA

Alohaaa!!!! A Card from Hawaii!!! First from a set of two.


This is from the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park.

It displays the results of hundreds of thousands of years of volcanism migration, and evolution, processes that thrust a bare land from the sea and clothed it with complex and unique ecosystems and a distinct human culture. The park encompasses diverse environments that range from sea level to the summit of the earth's most massive volcano Mauna Loa. Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes, offers scientists insights on the birth of the Hawaiian Islands and visitors' views of dramatic volcanic landscapes. Hawaii Volcanoes National Park has been designated as an International Biosphere Reserve in 1980 and a World Heritage Site in 1987.

The picture here shows a steaming bluff at sunset on Crater Rim Trail. Here, rain water comes in contact with hot rocks deep below and the steam produced condenses into water vapour as it reaches the surface.

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, USA

The second Hawaii card.....this time representing the "Waha'ula Visitor's Centre"


This used to be the coastal visitor centre in Hawaii Volcanoes park and was destroyed by a lava flow from Kilauea Volcano on 22nd June, 1989. Only twisted structural steel protruding from the black lava remains to mark its place.


A short legend, regarding this place.

It is said in legend that if any volcanic rock or black sand is taken from Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park (or anywhere in Hawaii) that the person that took it will be cursed by the Hawaiian volcano goddess Pele until it is returned. While purportedly an ancient Hawaiian belief, historians can trace this legend only to the mid-twentieth century, and it is widely believed to have been invented by park rangers to keep visitors from taking rocks. Nevertheless, the lobby of Kīlauea Military Camp (now a vacation area for military personnel) has a cabinet displaying rocks returned by people attempting to atone for the bad luck that has befallen them, and letters describing their predicaments.

I personally would like to take a small sample to be honest....a friend of mine went to Egypt several years ago and she brought me some sand from the Sahara desert...its nice to take such particular things that are so significant and unique for a place......but if im gonna have some additional bad luck coz of it, id think twice....i already have enough to cope with :)

thanks to Jessica for these two Hawaiian cards