Halloween Nights Of Lights Scarborough

Location: Scarborough, Ontario, Canada
Address:  300 Borough Drive
Date:  Oct 2023
Website:  www.pumpkinville.ca

  Scarborough Town Centre hosted a Halloween walk through for the month of October 2023.  It featured creatures, lights and lots and lots of pumpkins.  We felt brave enough to go for a visit.

    We were greeted by a very tall skeleton.  The skeleton had a glowing ribcage and a glowing pumpkin head.

 

 

    The pathways of lights were watched over by pairs of eyes.

 

    There were giant pumpkins, scarecrows, spiders and skeletons wearing top hats.

 

 

Some might say that the lights were eerie!

 

     A bale of hay had taken the shape of a spider.

 

  

  We had to walk through a spider's nest.

 

  There was a tent of lights filled with scary clown heads.

    If you had to look away from the creepy clowns and looked straight up, the lights and ribbons were beautiful against the night sky.

     Next up was a row of alien specimens preserved in some sort of liquid.

       The next scene was a biohazard cleanup scene.  Perhaps something had gone wrong with one of the alien specimens?

 

    There were some huge creatures who didn't look so scary.  They looked more like they were mummy DJs spinning all the Halloween classics like Michael Jackson's "Thriller".

       There was a small forest where the trees had eyes.  We even spotted a small owl skeleton hiding in one of the trees.

  Next there was a maze of skeletons in cages and hanging body parts.

    Unfortunately, it was raining when we arrived so the hanging hands and feet were even more disgusting. The rain dripped off of the bandages as we passed under.

 

    Finally, we emerged from the Nights of Lights and entered Pumpkinville.

    Pumpkinville lived up to its name as there were pumpkins everywhere.

    There was even a giant wall made out of just pumpkins. We are not sure if they will get the chance to become Jack-o-lanterns or turned into pie before the wall starts to rot away.

 

      Pumpkinville also had some huge sculptures made out of pumpkins and other gourds. This one was an owl giving us a sideways glance.

 

       A whale rose up from out of the ground. It took us a while to figure out that the other pile of gourds was the whale's tail.

 

       There were also a few garden insects made of gourds.

    A gourd frog had its eye on those insects. Cucurbita means gourd in Latin.

     Día de los Muertos takes place at the start of November. There was a tunnel filled with colour and skulls to celebrate.

    A few rides were set up for children. This included a very small ferris wheel. We would be lucky if even one of our legs could comfortably go for a ride. We didn't want to join the other body parts hanging in the maze in order to find out.

    There were a few food and drink stands. We were delighted to see our favourite lemonade flavour.  Corn roasted yams!!

    While enjoying the Fall season we had a good time exploring Pumpkinville and the Halloween Nights of Lights.

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Map of Our World
Scarborough Town Centre

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Post # 328

Love Park

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  96 Queens Quay W
Date:  July 2023
Website:  www.waterfrontoronto.ca

  Love Park in Toronto opened in June 2023.  The park is focused around a large tree in a heart shaped pond.  It is tucked into the corner of business towers and condos at Queens Quay West and York Street.

    The park was built in an area that used to be an off ramp for the Gardiner Expressway.  For years the concrete pillars were all that remained of this ramp.

 

    The pond in the middle of the park is shaped like a heart except it has no pointy edges.  The heart in the park is best appreciated from above.  We hope one day to find ourselves high enough up in one of the buildings that surround the park in order to look down at the heart.

     The red glass mosaic that curves around the edge of the pond is being called a "love seat" by the city.  It will give 165 meters of seating for people to enjoy the park.  The water in the pond is meant to be natural and uses no chlorine of other chemicals to filter the water.  When the pond first opened, people were concerned about the bright green water. 

     One feature of the park that may go unnoticed by some, is that there are nine bronze cast animal sculptures hidden around the grounds.  Don't worry, we won't spoil your fun and tell you exactly where each creature is hiding.  We have included photos of the animals below so you know what you are looking for.

 

  

  A sculpture of a beaver sits on its own private island.

 

  A fox sculpture can be found next to one of the benches.

   A rabbit sculpture also likes to hang out near the benches.  It had better watch out for Mr. Fox.

    A polar bear sculpture is supposedly based on Juno the polar bear from the Toronto Zoo.

      A chipmunk sculpture is busy filling its cheeks with golden hearts.

    A raccoon sculpture wanders the park.

    Most Toronto residents should be familiar with the photo above.  A raccoon prowling around looking for trouble in the middle of the night. 

 

    A blue jay sculpture sits up in a trellis.  There are quite a few Blue Jay fans in Toronto.

    Another bird sculpture of an owl sits perched looking over the square.

    The final sculpture is a woodpecker hunting for a meal in the concrete jungle.

      The sun shines through the buildings and falls on the big tree in the middle of the pond.  We suggest you also spend a little time enjoying what Love Park has to offer.  Love Toronto.  Love animals.  Love Park.

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Map of Our World
Love Park

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Post # 327

Lahaina Hawaii

Location: Lahaina, Hawaii, USA
Date: Feb 2017
Website:  lahainatown.com

  On August 8th 2023 there was a wildfire on the Hawaiian island of Maui.  The fire burned through the historic town of Lahaina. Lahaina was the capital city of Hawaii back in 1820 when King Kamehameha II ruled. We always visited the town during our trips to Maui. This blog looks at some of the structures that have been lost or damaged in the fires. If you click the link to the website above, you can donate and help the people who call Lahaina home.

  Built in 1987, the Lahaina Cannery Mall offered free shows on its stage.  There were hula shows offered weekly.  Our favourite was the weekend keiki dance. Keiki means child in Hawaiian.

  The Kobe Japanese Steakhouse in Lahaina had already shut down before the fire.  At the hibachi table your chef would prepare food with great skill.  The photo above shows an onion volcano erupting.

  The Wo Hing Society Building on Front Street was built around 1912 as a social hall.  An increasing number of Chinese immigrants were arriving in Maui to work in the sugarcane industry and could meet here.  Wo Hing means "Peace, Harmony & Prosperity".

    The Pioneer Mill Company was the first plantation to grow sugar comercially in Lahaina in 1860.  This 225 foot tall smokestack is built of brick and concrete.  After operations ceased in 1999, the smokestack was restored so it would remain standing as a symbol of Lahaina's past.

    The Sugarcane Train ran from Kaanapali's plantations to the mill in Lahaina. The steam engine trains continued to operate as tourist trains once they were no longer in commercial use. The train above is train No. 3 and is called Myrtle.  It had just turned around in Kaanapali and released some steam.

    At the station in Lahaina the engine would be turned around on a giant wooden turntable.

    The Baldwin Home was the oldest house on Maui.  It was built on Front Street in 1834. In 1836 Reverend Baldwin and his famiy started living in the home.  The Baldwin home was always open to help those in the community or visiting travellers. Reverend Baldwin helped vaccinate local residents during the smallpox epidemic of the 1950s.

  On the north end of Lahaina sits the Jodo Mission.  This historic Buddhist temple has been here since 1932. 

  Sitting near the temple is this 12 foot tall Buddha.

  This building on Front Street was built around a monkeypod tree.  It used to be a Bubba Gump's restaurant.  A monkeypod tree is also called a rain tree.

  A little further along Front Street you will find Fleetwood's restaurant and bar.  It is owned by Maui resident Mick Fleetwood.  He is known for being a member of the popular rock group, Fleetwood Mac.

  Another Maui resident is Clint Eastwood. This stretch of Front Street has faced a natural disaster before, but only in the movies.  Clint's movie Hereafter brought a computer generated tsunami wave through this part of town.

  Front Street in Lahaina has many historic building dating back to the very early 1900's or earlier.

  One of the oldest structures in town is Old Fort Lahaina.  It was built in 1831 and demolished in 1854.  A small portion of the fort can be seen in what is now Courthouse Square.

  Once the fort was demolished, a courthouse was built on the square.  It later became the Lahaina Heritage Museum and home to the Lahaina Restoration Foundation.  The Lahaina Restoration Foundation worked hard to preserve the historic buildings around town.

    The Pioneer Inn was built in 1901 and was the oldest continuously operating hotel in Hawaii.  It sits on the edge of Courthouse Square.

  A one-legged sailor carved out of wood stood outside the hotel.  Lahaina was filled with talented artists and their work can be seen throughout the town.

  Also standing outside of the Pioneer Inn is the oldest lighthouse on the Pacific.  The Lahaina Lighthouse is a beacon for boats entering the Lahaina harbour.

  In the movie The Devil At 4 O'Clock, Frank Sinatra is a prisoner.  He is escorted from the docks and then passes the Lahaina lighthouse and the entrance to the Pioneer Inn.

  We also walked from the docks past the lighthouse and the Pioneer Inn when we did whale watching tours with the Pacific Whale Foundation.  We enjoyed Sunset, Dinner and Whale Watching cruises. 

 The waters off of Maui are full of humpback whales between November and March when the whales come to mate and give birth.

  The wildfires have taken a great toll on the people of Lahaina, but will also have a huge affect on the smaller creatures that called the town home.  This zebra dove (above) is just one of many species that will have to adapt.  Here is an older blog post about the birds of Maui.

  This little ghost crab was running along the beach during one of our visits.  His fate is uncertain as the land and the sea work together.

 

   Here is another blog post about Dan's Greenhouse.  It also shows more of Lahaina's Front street.

    We always enjoyed our visits to Maui and Lahaina, not because of the structures we mention in this post, but because of the people.  They have always been welcoming and courteous.  Our thoughts are with the residents of Lahaina who have lost so much  We know that just like their mighty Banyan Tree they will support each other and they will endure.

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Map of Our World
Lahaina

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Post # 326