54th Anniversay of Alaska Statehood

Glacier in Alaska

President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Alaska Statehood Act on July 7, 1958. It led to Alaska's admission into the Union on January 3, 1959, becoming the 49th State. Juneau, the territorial capital, was formally recognized as the state capital, and William A. Egan was sworn in as the first governor.

These shaped cards were purchased in 2003 when I attended the ASPRS annual conference in Anchorage. The glacier shaped card has been sent to Taiwan.

The Polar Bears are the Cutest

New Year's Fireworks at the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas

New Year's Fireworks at the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas 

Watching fireworks to ring in the New Year is perfect; Watching the fireworks shooting from a 1149-foot (350-meter)-tall tower is even better. At midnight on the New Year's Evening, fireworks were launched  from the Stratosphere Tower along with six other casinos and hotels: MGM Grand, Aria, Planet Hollywood, Caesars Palace, Treasure Island, and the Venetian. In all, more than 80,000 fireworks were on display named "America's Party" as 330,000 visitors were celebrating the beginning of 2013 in Las Vegas.

Update: This postcard was later sent as: US-2160260, US-2055998, US-2074542

A similar version was sent as US-2022384

You can customize and purchase this postcard at Zazzle.com.

Shaped Card and US Quarter: Denali National Park, Alaska

Mount McKinley

Mount McKinley reflects in Reflection Pond in Denali National Park and Preserve in this shaped card. Mount McKinley is the highest mountain in North America with a summit elevation of 20,320 ft or 6,194 m above sea level. I got this shaped card in Anchorage when I attended the ASPRS annual conference in 2003.

2012 Denali National Park Quarter

For those who collect US quarters, The  the United States Mint issued a Denali National Park Quarter, showing a Dall sheep with Mount McKinley in the background, as part of its America the Beautiful Quarters Program on November 5, 2012. 

Happy Halloween

Postcard US-1925565 to Latvia shows a life-size chocolate skeleton at Jean Philippe Patisserie in Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas currently on display for the Halloween. The 1.65 m or 5'5" skeleton sits on a chocolate electric chair. It was made of 35 kg white chocolate, 30 kg dark chocolate and 1.5 kg rolling fondant by two talented pastry team members who spent more than 70 working hours. They also have miniature chocolates in the shapes of black cats, ghost, and witches. The photo was taken on October 12, 2012.

Space Needle and Maple Leafs

Jetblue's AYCJ pass took me to Seattle, Washington on October 7, 2010. Postcard US-1812081 to Germany shows the Space Needle, a landmark of city, over the maple leafs during my visit. The observation tower was built for the 1962 The Century 21 Exposition (Seattle World's Fair) in 1962. The tower is 184 m or 605 ft tall, with an observation deck at 160 m or 520 ft and a a rotating restaurant  SkyCity at 150 m or 500 ft. In comparison, the Stratosphere Tower in Las Vegas is 350.2 m or 1,149 ft. 

From the top of the Needle, the panoramic view reveals the downtown Seattle, the Olympic Mountains, the Cascade Mountains, and Mount Rainier, Elliott Bay and surrounding islands. The Space Needle was designated as a historic landmark by the Landmarks Preservation Board of the City of Seattle on April 19, 1999. 

New Orleans Streetcar

Postcard US-1720411 shows a red streetcar on the Canal Street Line near downtown New Orleans, LA on September 6, 2010. There are currently three additional operating streetcar lines in New Orleans: The St. Charles Avenue Line, the Riverfront Line, and the Loyola Avenue Line. The St. Charles Avenue Line is the longest of the four and the oldest continuously operating street railway system in the world since the first half of the 19th century in 1830s, only interrupted by Hurricane Katrina between August 2005 and December 2006.

French Quarter, New Orleans

Postcard US-1677731 to Finland shows a typical art gallery at French Quarter, New Orleans, LA. The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré ("Old Square" in French) and the oldest neighborhood in New Orleans, was the center of the city when New Orleans was founded in 1718. Although it is called the "French" Quarter, most of the existing buildings were built under Spanish rule with Spanish colonial styles. The French Quarter is a National Historic Landmark that has numerous individual historic buildings.

The photo was from a stop at New Orleans two years ago on September 5, 2010 prior to my All-You-Can-Jet (AYCJ) trip by JetBlue. I flew in from Las Vegas one way on Southwest, and left for Portland, Maine via JFK next on a Jetblue AYCJ pass.