I felt that the only map image that would be suitable for today would have to be some part of the parade route in New Orleans, LA for Mardi Gras. Today is Fat Tuesday! Even with all of the devastation that occurred to the area earlier this year, everyone is back to throw a great party for this year's celebration. The parade this year will be starting on S. Claiborne, going down St. Charles, and ending on Canal. The image shown from Google maps is of Lee Circle. Lee Circle is on St. Charles, and will be on the parade route. I will be watching for images on the news today to see if the area still looks as it does in the map image. I am not sure if this area got hit by Hurricane Katrina, but it doesn't matter to everyone down there celebrating...the parade must go on!

Google map image: Lee Circle - Mardi Gras!

It is getting very close for most of the horse tracks to open their gates again and let the races begin! Here in Buffalo, NY, the races have been going for about 3 weeks now. It is great to go and just watch all of the races. If you are into betting, this is just another place that you can feel the thrill and excitement! I found a great map image of Monmouth Park Race Track. It is located on the eastern side of New Jersey just a little off the Atlantic Ocean shoreline. This track will not start racing until May, but in the summer season will have up to 5 days of racing! The track is a 1 mile dirt track with a 7 furlong turn inner-oval. Monmouth Park will host the Breeder's Cup in 2007...a race many people enjoy to watch. A lot of tracks you go to cannot compare to how well this track has been kept groomed. Have a great summer of watching the horses.

Google map image: Monmouth Race Track

There is something about trying to find airplanes taking off, landing, or just flying in the air that really amuses me! The best place to look for these is around large airports...of course. The Charlotte Douglas International Airport has a great viewing of airplanes around the airport, but the best was the caravan of airplanes that were getting ready to take off, or have just landed. This caravan is located on the south-west side of the airport. Even though the Charlotte Douglas airport is not one of the largest airports in the nation, it is still has over 25 million passengers going in and out of their airport, over 180,000 tons of cargo, serve 117 different cities, and also serve many different countries. Google map image: Charlotte Douglas International Airport

If you are a fan of the Winter Olympics, you have probably heard of today's map image before. Lake Placid was where the Winter Olympics were held in 1980. Today, people love to visit the area all year around, but especially in the winter. With the Adirondack Mountains surrounding the town, the snow is plentiful, and the skiing is great. They also use the area as a training facility for olympic athletes in the areas of bobsled, luge, skeleton, and more! Most of the training is open for the public to watch. Coming up this weekend is the Empire State Winter Games that will be held here. New York State holds these games to allow residents to compete in many winter sports, and to just have a great time with friends and family! A lot of the sports you see in the Winter Olympics will also be held in the Empire State Winter Games. If you are interested in visiting the area during the summer, you will find some great trails, camping, hunting, fishing, etc. It is the perfect place for the outdoors-man in all of us!

Google map image: Lake Placid

There really is not a lot I can say about today's map image. It is an image of the St. Johns River Power Park. The power park is built around 2 coal boilers. I just found the map image amazing because of the great detail you can see on the smoke stacks of the park. Living near Niagara Falls, most of our electricity is from the energy created by the falls. As far as I know, we do not have another power plant in our area...good thing you just can't shut off Niagara Falls! I am always in awe when I see a power plant, and the massive size of the facility. The St. Johns River Power Park is located in Jacksonville, Florida.

Google map image: St. Johns River Power Park

How many places in the United States can you goto and see shoreline, salt marshes, freshwater ponds, beaches, ocean, land, and so more? One place that you can see all of this at is the Cape Cod National Seashore. Other than the scenic views of nature, the man-made structures around the seashore really turn this area into a paradise. To be able to walk around the nature trails and to picnic in the area while looking out at the water or a lighthouse just has to be a great way to spend a day! I have often wanted to head out to Massachusetts and take a trip to Cape Cod, but I have not had the opportunity to do so yet. I can count on visiting the seashore when I do get out there though!

Google map image: Cape Code Seashore

I always take off from writing for holidays (big or small), and the next holiday is coming up on Monday. It is going to be President's day. I have already written about the birthplaces of Lincoln and Washington, so I wanted something in Washington D.C. that I could show. When looking around the area, I was amazed at the view you get of the U.S. Capitol, so I decided that this had to be the map image for today! Sure, I should have shown the White House, but the detail you get of the Capitol Building is well worth trumping the White House. The US Capitol is the home of the Legislative branch of the US government. The building is split into 2 wings. The North wing is reserved for the Senate while the South wing is reserved for the...You guessed it - The House of Representatives. When I visited, they were very strict on security. I would be scared to see what they are like now! If you come during a time that either group is meeting, you can sit in the viewing gallery to watch our legislature in action. Happy upcoming President's Day everyone!

Google map image: U.S. Capitol

I've noticed that recently, the maps I have been showing are either some sporting event, or some type of park. I am going to try to spread out my future selections a little better, and figured that showing a University would be a great place to start! One of the biggest prime-time NCAA Basketball teams this year resides in Durham, NC at Duke University. Established in 1859 as the Trinity College of Art & Sciences, the university expanded to many areas of education include law, nursing, medicine, business, etc. Trinity was expanded into Duke University around 1924. I always expected Duke to have a huge student population, but I was wrong! They currently only have around 12,000 full-time students. Their admissions also show that the school is very selective at only about 10% of the students applying actually getting enrolled. The sporting teams the university produces are always great and entertaining, but their education is just as good! The map image for Duke's campus shows good detail. You can easily spot out the stadium and practice fields. Also, you can see the school's golf course southwest of the campus. If you zoom in a little, you will be able to get a great view on some of the buildings. I was impressed with the size of the "Sarah P Duke Gardens" that split the campus up a little bit.

Google map image: Duke University

If you are in Massachusetts, you might want to take a trip to Minute Man National Historic Park. It is the site of the beginning of the Revolutionary War. The battles of Lexington and Concord have been preserved in this Park, and will bring back the history to the visitors. Most of the landscape in the area has been restored to try to give it more of a historic feel. The war started off as a bunch of small battles where the citizens were trying to hold their rights as English Citizens. These battles soon turned into the war for independence. Other than seeing the areas of battles, you can visit the Ranger center which is called the "Hartwell Tavern" where you will get a better history of the area.

Google map image: Minute Man National Historic Park

Did you ever wonder where U.S. Olympians actually train for their events? Because of having the Winter Olympics here recently, we have some great facilities near Salt Lake City, Utah for a few of the events. The Facility is called the "Utah Olympic Park", and contains training areas for the Ski Jump, Bobsled, Skeleton, and the Luge. Other than training, events/competitions are still held here for people to come and watch. Depending on the time of your visit, you might even have a chance to take a ride down the path of the Bobsled! This would be a great place to spend a day at if you are going on a vacation to Salt Lake City! The map image shows some great detail to the facility. With all of the tracks and roads around the area, it almost looks like a map image to an amusement park...I guess when you think about it, it is an amusement park for big kids!

Google map image: Utah Olympic Park