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All Around HDC
The thread where we discuss different topics from HDCers throughout the world.
If you want to participate, that would be wonderful. Please use a decent format and post some good information on what you're suggesting. Links and pics are a plus. First topic: Things to see in my town if you visit The Fremont Troll (Seattle, WA) http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1049/...3dde2fde51.jpg Located under the Aurora bridge in the Fremont area of Seattle, the troll is a giant sculpture clutching a VW Beetle (it's a real car.) Not usually listed as one of the tourist attractions in my fair city, the troll is a local favorite and one of the coolest pieces of public art I've ever had the pleasure of seeing. |
I got lots of trees.
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... This attraction is about an hour away from where I live, in Gloucester, MA. Hammond Castle http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v6...water_view.jpg Background: Tycoon John Hays Hammond, Jr. built this medieval-style castle between the years 1926 and 1929 to serve both as his home and as a backdrop for his collection of Roman, medieval, and Renaissance artifacts. You Europeans may yawn and poo poo at this architecture, but keep in mind that castles aren't all that common in America and the fact that this one is only 80 years old makes it eccentric and really neat. It's gorgeous, cool, and during Halloween they put on a fantastic haunted castle. |
The Superlambanana
This is an infamous landmark in Liverpool. Its suppose to represent Liverpool's role in world trade back in the days of empire (wool was one of the largest commodities). I love it! http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/IMG_0245.jpg |
http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Fl0kFcs0xIE/SL...Y/IMG_3641.JPG
http://www.offbeattravel.com/port-tun.jpg The Portland Shanghai Tunnels In the early days of Portland it could be dangerous to get drunk. This series of tunnels criss-crosses underneath downtown and leads to the pier. There were trap doors in many bars and if someone was unlucky enough he would find himself stuffed down the tunnels and soon headed off as an unwilling crew member aboard a ship. The tunnels are reputed to be haunted and tours are available. |
Castle Hill
This is about a ten minute walk from my house. It's an old Iron Age fort and was once home to the king of East Anglia (East England). Queen Boudica, a Celt who rebelled against the Romans also lived there. At that time, there was no large hill, but the trenches surrounding it were there. Many years later when the Normans came to England, it was turned into Motte and Bailey Castle and the hill was made. The Normans chose the location due to the large trenches already there, which added protection. It attracts many tourists each year and is one of the few Motte and Bailey hills still there. http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...etfordhill.jpg Thetford Priory About the same distance away from my house, however in the other direction. This was an old Cluniac priory from the 12th century. Once a great collection of flint buildings father time and climbing children have worn it away to what you see in this picture. Though it is illegal to climb on the structures, this isn't enforced and many people still enjoy running along the flint walls. In fact, I once got stuck up a very tall bit of it. At around 5:00pm it turns from tourist attraction to a druggies hangout. http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...iory_ruins.jpg Thomas Paine Statue My town, Thetford, was the birthplace and home of Thomas Paine, a man who believed in equal rights for all mankind and wrote books on the subject. Many people in England eventually turned against him due to his belief that America should be granted independence. He was also a great influence to the French Revolution. He died in New York at the age of 72. The statue depicts him holding a quill and his book The Rights of Man. Behind him the large house now used as the council's meeting place can be seen. Behind that is a very large public garden. http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...homasPaine.jpg Thetford Forest Created after World War 1 to provide a strategic supply of timber, it is the largest lowland pine forest in Great Britain. It is entirely man made and is used for many recreational activities. There is a small woodland park, a large tree climbing team building structure that takes two hours to complete called Go Ape!. It constists of a lot of wires and jumps from tall trees. Mountain Biking and Hiking, a maze, camping and music concerts. Acts such as Blondie and Motorhead have performed there. It's about a five/ ten minute drive to get there and I have to run through it every sunday for my rugby warm up. Two mile run. The forest is HUGE. What I described probably takes up 10% of it at most. http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...orest_dtab.jpg Grimes Graves An old Neolithic mine located in Thetford Forest. It was used between 3000 BC and 1900 BC! It is now a tourist attraction and they quite happily let people go down there to take a look, although in the past twenty years certain caves have been closed off due to safety reasons. At least 433 shafts were dug into the chalk and it takes up a space of around 96 acres. One pit was turned into a shrine by unknown people. There was an altar of flint, a bowl and antlers. There are also chalk models of a Venus like figure and a chalk penis. People think the shrine was made to improve fertility. The area around the mines is sadly littered with dead rabbits due to the man made disease Myxomatosis. http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p...7_59c1a8b7.jpg |
We have Lovecraft's grave in our capitol city
http://musicalpeace.org/vyoma/Photos..._01_122407.jpg also Mercy Brown....thats right...A VAMPIRE http://hauntedsandiego.com/wp/wp-con...gravestone.jpg In the late 1800s, Rhode Island was known as the center of strange spiritual activity. A mysterious epidemic called consumption killed thousands. In 1883, George Brown lost most of his family to consumption. His teen daughter dreamt of a shadowy figure that stole her breath and blood at night. The residents of Rhode Island turned to folklore, saying that the dead must have been rising from their graves. George Brown was convinced to have his family’s bodies exhumed. When they opened the caskets of his wife and youngest daughter, only bones and dust were inside. When the casket of his teenage daughter Mercy was opened, Mercy’s body was completely intact. The town’s citizens said she must have her heart removed and cremated because she was a vampire. This was done, and a potion made of the ashes from Mercy’s heart. The potion was fed to George Brown’s son, but he died a few weeks later. After Mercy’s second burial, the consumption epidemic stopped. |
Anglican Cathedral
Im the worlds most ardent athiest but this is a fantastic place. Its difficult to appreciate the size of it, well worth a tour round. http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/dscn1203.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/dscn1188.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/dscn1186.jpg http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f3...s/dscn1182.jpg |
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If we are talking horror movie related spectacles we have:
http://hamiltonparanormal.com/hopkinstomb/hopkin3.jpg Hopkin's Tomb. Too many theories and stories to really list. Was he a pirate? Is his tomb really cursed? Read about it here. People come from all over to go ghost hunting in and around Port Colborne, but I don't think it's quite as interesting to them as it is to people living here. To know that this man once owned a lot of the buildings we walk by everyday. To be honest, I didn't thoroughly read that page until now and I got chills remembering all the times I was in the back room of Lewis Textiles and got this feeling like I was being watched. http://hamiltonparanormal.com/bgt/btunnel45.jpg Blue Ghost Tunnel A lot of accidents happened here. A train wreck that killed 2 people in 1903. The Lock 6 disaster in 1928 where 8 men died, and exactly 2 years later another 8 men dies in the same place. There was a cemetery beside the tunnel and you can still find half burried, broken tombstones there. http://hamiltonparanormal.com/screaming/scrtunnel5.jpg Screaming Tunnel Again, lots of different stories ranging from a girl being burned in a house fire and running to the tunnel where she died, to a girl being raped by her father and lit on fire in the tunnel. It's said that if you light a match or lighter in the tunnel it will blow out and that creams can be heard. Don't know if I believe this one, but it was a filming location for The Dead Zone so it's cool either way. There is also the home and gazebo used in the movie which you can find in Niagara on the Lake, Ontario. As for not haunted or horror related places: http://roselawncentre.com/fileBin/li...6bba0ae94e.jpg Lock 8 canal. We have lots of boats going through, which for some reason is a tourist attraction. I guess some people don't see boats on a daily basis like me. http://www.portcolborne.ca/fileBin/l...b959d921b2.jpg Canal Days. aka Anal Days cause people here are so mature aka the second of 2 fun things to happen annually in Port Colborne. Small town, nothing to do except during the Lion's carnival and Canal Days. We have buskers, people dressed as pirates, tall ships, boat rides, food, a town crier competition, marine heritage museum, kite flying, fireworks, reptile exhibit, and a car show for 3 days, then things get boring again. |
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