United States of America – California II

A postcard of loggers and a California redwood tree; must be a rather old photo too as redwood have been protected species for a long time. Giant redwoods, Sequoia sempervirens, are very tall, long-lived trees that can grow more than a hundred metres high and live more than 1,000 years. In the past they were distributed across most of coastal California, although they were heavily logged (as seen in the postcard photo) from the 1850s with the arrival of European goldminers and pioneers. It's estimated that as little as 5% of the original old-growth redwood forest remains, almost half of which is protected in Redwood National and State Parks, a UNESCO World Heritage site and part of the California Coastal Ranges Biosphere Reserve.

Thanks to friends David and Cormac who were on a road trip holiday!

This is the first American international rate "Forever" stamp in my collection. It's pretty dull, if you ask me. Everyone is probably already bored to death of it and I won't go to the bother of uploading any future copies I receive. 

United States of America – Louisiana

Postcard from New Orleans, showing a "second line" jazz band. The "main line" or "first line" is the main section of the parade; those who follow the band just to enjoy the music are called the "second line". It's a New Orleans tradition that is thought to have its origins in West African circle dances, where children formed a periphery circle outside the main circle of adult dancers. The dance was brought by slaves to New Orleans, where it became incorporated into processions, such as funerals, forcing the ring to straighten into a line.

Many thanks to friend Paul who was in New Orleans for a conference.

Fairly commonplace American flag "Forever" stamps, sans postmark, but plus a Mardi Gras logo.

United States of America – District of Colombia

Postcard showing the two airports of Washington, D.C. On the left, the larger Dulles Airport (IAD), whose main terminal building, pictured here, was designed by celebrated Finnish architect, Eero Saarinen, in 1958. Ronald Reagan Airport (DCA), pictured on the right, is the older of the two, having opened in 1941. It is also smaller, handling mostly short- and medium haul domestic flights.

Many thanks to friend Kate who what in Washington for a holiday.

Average, bland postage label.

United States of America – Illinois

Postcard showing a beach on the shores of Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline in the background. Chicago is the third-largest city in the United States, although it is not the capital of Illinois, which is the small city of Springfield to the southwest. The city was founded in 1833 near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed. Due to its location on the banks of the Chicago River, at one of the few natural harbours on southern Lake Michigan, and with the opening up of agricultural lands in the Midwest, Chicago was the fastest growing city in the world for much of the nineteenth century.

Thanks to Paul who was in Chicago for a short holiday.

Stamp commemorating José Ferrer, a Puerto Rican actor who was the first Hispanic person to win an Academy Award (in 1950, for Best Actor in Cyrano de Bergerac).

United States of America – New York IV

Postcard of Boldt Castle in the picturesque Thousand Islands region of the Saint Lawrence separating New York state from Ontario. The Castle was built by wealthy hotelier, George Boldt, at the start of the 1900s. The lavish contrustion was not to be outdone by it's boathouse on the island opposite, which has doors 20 metres high to allow his yachts to enter with mast standing.

Postcard sent from across the river in Canada. Previously featured stamp on the left of blue-flag irises from 2004 series on flowers and a 2006 stamp from a set of two featuring the Snowbirds, the Royal Canadian Air Force's air show flight demonstration team. Stamps were cancelled by hand instead of Canada Post's usual, unlovely dot matrix printer cancellation – a nice added bonus!

United States of America – California

View down Market Street to the San Francisco city centre, with the Bay Bridge on the right and Oakland in the distance across San Francisco Bay. The bay, although being one of the largest on the Pacific side of the Americas, is surprisingly shallow, with an average depth of only about four metres -- not much deeper than an Olympic swimming pool!

Previously featured international rate stamp of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, centre of Amish culture in the United States and setting for the movie Witness, featuring a young Harrison Ford, which I recently saw on a plane journey.

United States of America – New York III

Multiview of New York City showing famous sites of the city, namely the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Centre, the Flatiron Building, the Empire State Building, Times Square, the World Heritage listed Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge. Special thanks to James who was visiting for work.

American Forever stamps issued in February this year from a set of four featuring the American flag.

This is my 100th blog post, so a big thank you to all those who stop by! Here's to the next 100.

United States of America – New York II

Statue of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders in front of Rockefeller Centre in New York City. Interestingly, when the statue was unveiled in 1937, some people protested, claiming that it looked like Italian dictator, Benito Mussolini. – Having seen photos of Mussolini, I would have said it looks more like what Mussolini imagined he looked like in his dreams!

Lovely assortment of stamps, the first two from a series honouring American craftsmanship, the centre one commemorating celebrated American poet, E. E. Cummings, and the last in honour of this year's Year of the Dragon Chinese New Year.

Special thanks to Susan for putting such effort into this lovely card! :-)

United States of America – New York

View of Lower Manhattan skyline. Quite an old photo, I think, from the looks of the land reclamation development in the bottom left of the card.

Thanks to Kate, a recent NYC transplant from Singapore, and best of luck to her there! :-)

New international rate stamp depicting Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, the centre of Amish culture in the United States.

United States of America – Texas

A vintage postcard of the Fort Worth Stockyards, a historic district that is located in Fort Worth, Texas, that opened in 1866 as a livestock market. The city of Fort Worth was often referred to as "Where the West Begins", and it became a vital transshipment point for western cattle after the arrival of railroads.

Thanks to Jennifer who was visiting and can indeed confirm that Fort Worth lives up to its Wild West heritage!

Permanent rate stamps issued in 2011 showing, very obviously, the American flag and the Statue of Liberty.

United States of America – Oklahoma

Great herds of bison, as many as 30-60 million, once roamed North America. By 1888, only 541 remained in the U.S. Efforts began to prevent the species from becoming extinct. Today, about 250,000 bison live in the U.S. and large herds can be found in many natural areas, such as the Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma. Thanks to David who was visiting.

From a set of stamps at postcard rate featuring Hawaiian shirt, issued this year. Some people have traced the “casual Friday” trend to Hawai’i, where Aloha shirts were first worn to work on Friday as they were more comfortable than a suit and tie in the state's climate.

United States of America – Arizona

Organ Pipe National Monument Arizona. Established in 1937, this large area in southern Arizona protects some of the most spectacular Sonoran Desert scenery in North America. Designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1977.