I’ve said it before, we live in a wonderful age. Even if one can’t afford to travel (that would be me these days), there still are amazing virtual options to explore the world, options that weren’t available to us only a decade ago. Google Maps, for instance, continues to innovate and impress me. You can now, in select U.S. cities, get a street level photographic view of an address. That’s right. Anywhere in town!
Let’s say you’ve just booked a couple of nights at the Penguin Hotel in Miami Beach (yeah, I stayed there overnight, years and years ago, on my way back to Little Cayman) and are wondering what the hotel looks like, and if it indeed faces the beach as advertised? Well wonder no longer and type Penguin Hotel Miami into Google Maps. Voilà! Drag the mouse on the picture to scroll around the 360 degree view, or click on the street arrows to move along.
Planning a photo shoot from San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge and wondering if the city will be too far away in the background? Go to Google Maps and check it out!
And then of course, there are my recent non-Street View favorites, like the ray spotted swimming among surfers on Bondi Beach, Sydney, and the urban core of Everest’s Base Camp.
For more amazing views of our Earth from the sky, read my previous post Google maps and our Amazing Earth .























« Check out this huge list of Google Street View wierdness:
Date of comment: 2007-07-09 10:02 •http://streetviewgallery.corank.com »
« It would be very cool if they had a time search feature so I could see Banana Wind going around to the North Side of Little Cayman on Google Earth maps...with you at the helm and Rod keeping the guests entertained. Those were some great times! »
Date of comment: 2007-07-10 00:15 •« Mapper99: Thanks for the link. Some of those pix must be rather embarrassing for the people. Here’s the modern children warning: Behave! You never know when Google’s truck is going to drive by and immortalize you with a finger in your nose!
Date of comment: 2007-07-10 01:49 •Craig: LOL! I hadn’t realize you were a veteran from our days in the sun. Now you’ve got me wondering... But you’re right about time travel-Google, it would be fun.
I’ve studied the current map carefully, the satellite picture is definitely post-hurricane Ivan (the new docks are up.) It must have been taken during the morning and I can make out all the dive boats; a Newton on the Meadows, a boat that could be one of Southern Cross’ leaving Jackson Bight, a Newton on Sarah’s Set, two others on Mixing Bowl and Marilyn’s Cut, the Aggressor on Randy’s Gazebo, more Newtons on the Great Wall and Lea Lea’s and finally another boat (Southern Cross too?) on Joy’s Joy. But no canopy-less Banana Wind. She might already be on her way back and going around the West End below the cloud, or maybe she’s in Grand Cayman for good... Sigh. »