Alright, I’m back, and so’s From Above. Now & then, at least. Let me tell you what’s going to make this more fun for me: I’m going to quit staying within the Pacific Northwest. I could offer a birdseye view of my sister’s UMC in Fort Davis, Texas, if they had birdseye views of Fort Davis. I could offer a picture of Lovers Lane UMC in Dallas, or Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas … or Wesley’s Chapel in London. Methodist / United Methodist locations it will be. Pacific Northwest will still get more weight than elsewhere … but it could be from ANYWHERE that Bing Maps has Birds Eye Views.
Don’t worry: there will be clues.
As always: be the first post an identification of the Methodist location in the picture, and a LINK to the view, as a comment on this blog, and you’ll win the prize: your name in pixels!
Here’s the new Bird’s Eye View:
A few technical hints: I use Bing Maps’ classic view, which you can reach via http://www.bing.com/maps/. The Bird’s Eye Views database for Bing covers mostly urban & suburban areas of the US & Europe, plus a few other countries.
You get to the bird’s eye views by hovering over “Aerial” on the menu bar at the top of the map window., then clicking “Bird’s Eye”. If “Bird’s Eye” is greyed-out, then you’re not in an area with those views.
To copy the link of the view in the window, don’t copy the address in your browser’s address bar; instead, click the envelope icon in the lower left corner of the main Bing Maps window, then copy the selected address listed there — that’ll give you the view your map is currently showing.
Play w/ Bing a bit: type “United Methodist” in a view of a region, and see what pops up on the screen. Drag the map to a new region, and see that new things pop up.
Now, for you who have read through this too-long comment, a reward: the vegetation might draw your search away from the Pacific Northwest, don’t you think?
Wes,
It’s the Lahaina United Methodist Church, located at 988 Front Street in Lahaina, Hawaii.
Paul
Paul, you got it.
When Kathy & I were on Maui, we meant to go to church at this one — but alas, the snorkeling trip Saturday was canceled, so we went Sunday morning. I wore my yellow “United Methodist Day at the Mariners” T-shirt so I’d be easier to find if I fell overboard, and a member of the Lahaina UMC spotted it, and we had to confess we were skipping church — as was she. It was a nice visit. We remembered that Piula Ala’ilima had been pastor there after he left the PNW Conference, and she remembered him well. Oh, and I didn’t quite drown.
Now folks, if you want a treat, just click Paul’s name above his comment, and take a look at his blog.