Taking in Life Around Me.....#Sundaystills: Iconic places and spaces

This #sundaystills challenge is hosted by Terri from Second Wind Leisure. It's a great themed photography challenge that you'll enjoy. I love seeing the other participants interpretation of the theme each week...it causes me to think outside the box. I joined in hopes of it pushing me to get out and take more photos...I have to some degree, but I also like that Terri is okay with us finding photos in our archives, which is also a lot of fun. So check out my photos and then head over to Terri's page to participate or visit other's posts. There are some awesome contributors who always inspire me.

Phew! I almost forgot about Sunday Stills this week. I happened to head over to another blog to say I wasn't going to participate this week in Weekend Coffee Share, and Natalie mentioned her post was part of Sunday Stills. I thought "yikes" I almost completely spaced it. 

This weeks theme is iconic spaces and places. Iconic means very famous or popular, especially being considered to represent particular opinions or a particular time. An icon is a person or thing widely admired especially for having great influence or significance in a particular sphere. I think that in general, there are some agreed upon icons/iconic places, but I also think that each person will have in mind something or someone who is iconic to them. 

When I think of this word, I think of someone or something that is worth remembering, worth visiting or revisiting, that sparks an emotion within me.

While in Hawaii, sitting at a coffee shop, I spotted this store with this sign, and laughed, telling the girls, "I have got to get a picture of that". They couldn't figure out why so I had to explain. I think they still looked at me funny. 

What are some other iconic places etc, in my book? Let's see.

Snoqualmie Falls, in Snoqualmie, Washington is a landmark that is well known with locals and visitors.  It is 270' high. It attracts over a million visitors a year. The link takes you to it's own page where you can read about the history. I grew up in the nearby town of North Bend. Growing up, it wasn't nearly as crowded as it is now, probably thanks to social media and the internet. It is stunning all year long, but when it's full, it's spectacular. You can easily google it, or go to the website. 

The Vista House on the Columbia River Gorges Crown Point is a very popular landmark and tourist spot. It's beautiful inside and out and offers amazing views up and down the gorge. It is known for it's high winds. 

Another iconic landmark is the Astoria Column. The link shares some great history. I finally climbed it (stairs on inside), back in 2019 when we took a trip to the beach. There's a lookout at the top, and you can sail paper airplanes off it (they give them to you at the gift shop).

This one is a no-brainer....Disney World. We were lucky to have family who lived within 45 minutes and so on our trips every few years to visit them, we made sure we visited Disney. So much fun. The last time we were there was in 2018 and we did their disney after dark (you had special tickets and gained access from 7pm-midnight), which was fun, but I like daytime better. 

Another PNW icon is Mt. St. Helens in the SW Washington reason. We live about a 45 minute to an hour drive from this beautiful location. 

An icon that we all wish wasn't an icon is the 9/11 memorial site. We visited when we were there in 2017. As soon as we walked onto the site emotion just overwhelmed me. The white roses indicate that the person had a birthday on that day. There is at least 1 birthday on every day of the year and I believe 6 on 9/11. 

While on our trip to NYC we had to take a boat over to Hoboken to visit the Iconic, original location of Carlo's Bakery! 

Central Park had a few iconic spots...the Balto statue...if you had kids who loved the movie Balto, you'll know that it was a true story. 

Strawberry Fields in Central Park is a memorial to John Lennon. The area takes up 5 acres, but we just saw the mosaic. 

You can also see the Ghostbusters Home Base. It was being worked on when we were there so we couldn't go inside.

I also suppose that Times Square and this whole area of NYC would be considered iconic places. 

St. Marks Basilica is a popular Icon in Venice. We did not go inside, but enjoyed the outside view. 

The chickens and roosters are an iconic sight around Hawaii. Fascinating for visitors to see, but probably highly annoying for the locals. Or maybe not. I don't know really. 

While walking on the Main street of Haleiwa I spotted this building and plaque. Maybe it's considered an iconic location. 

Surfing is definitely an iconic sport in Hawaii. In fact while we were there, the girls were hoping The Big Eddy invitational would take place and they could go watch it. But didn't happen. The above statue is at the beginning of Waikiki and I thought it was cool. 

This statue is also on Waikiki and is of Duke Kahahamoku, who is considered the "Father of Modern Surfing". He may be the other statue too but I couldn't find that out. He was born in 1890. 

The girls of course had to try surfing while there. My daughter has tried several times when she's visited. She's determined to get it figured out. 

I'm not sure if this is considered iconic, but it's a popular hiking spot on Oahu, called Kokohead Tramway trail...1.5-2 miles "UP", and at least 1,048 stairs to climb. Phew! 

The Banyan tree is iconic in Hawaii and I'm pretty sure I took a photo every time I saw one and was able to. Can you imagine having one of these in your backyard? What a great fort! 

We also stopped and visited the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific. WOW. I wish I had more time to walk around. 

This plaque was at the top of the Makapuu lighthouse trail. 

In Texas, the Fort Worth Stockyards and Cattle Drive are iconic to the area. We were able to see it a few times. 

Maybe not iconic per se, but I was so excited to visit the Silos in Waco, and Magnolia Market! 

This drawbridge, in Mystic, Ct celebrated it's 100 year birthday when we were there in 2022. That's pretty iconic. 

ALSO, if you were a fan of the movie, Mystic Pizza, this location will be familiar. 

It's been years since I've seen that movie. I posted more about Mystic in this post.

My amazing grandma was an icon in our family! 

When we were in Switzerland we saw this statue, which is based off a story my MIL would tell and one that she heard growing up. This is the Kindlifresser who ate nature children. So probably an iconic story and statue. 

In Venice, this bookstore, Liberia Acqua Alta Venezia. A self proclaimed "most beautiful bookstore in the world". Pretty cool. I have more photos and pics here. 

Last but not least, this spot in Basel is the Dreilandereck. The monument marks spot where the borders of France, Switzerland and Germany meet. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin