Tacoma, Washington was the next stop on our route into Washington for August. I had Larry make a quick stop in Chehalis, WA, at the VF Factory outlet mall so I could hike over the the Body & Bath Works’ REAL outlet store to stock up on Sea Island Cotton shower jell. I filled up my bag and ran back to the RV before Larry could see all I had bought—on sale, of course!
By noon, we pulled into the Tacoma Elks’ Club and paid our $60 “donation” for four-days parking with electric hook-ups. We ate lunch and headed off to explore Tacoma. First stop was AAA for a map—just up a half block from the Elks’ Club; very convenient.
We drove the waterfront area from the end of Pacific Ave. out to Defiance Point Park—and fell in love!
Six gardens live inside the little square on the map right above here…I wandered through the rose, fuchsia, hydrangea, dahlia, herb, and Japanese gardens for over an hour.
Look at the size of the hydrangea blooms. The arm in the photo belongs to a helpful lady—not a skinny, young child! While those gardens had beautiful flowers, I am partial to Japanese gardens….feel the peace!
We drove the five-mile road through the park, ooohing and aahing over the scenery. We stopped at Owen’s Beach to gobble down an ice cream cone and do a bit of beach-goer watching from the sea wall.
Look at that sky and the calm, peaceful water. What a wonderful day!
We were stopped by some little furry friends—one guy who wanted to collect a toll to continue on our way—any kind of food was acceptable currency. We didn’t pay, he checked our license plate number as we drove by, so we may get a toll-violation ticket in the mail!
The younger raccoon was more shy—just hoping for a handout!
The next morning, Jerry and Mary Frye drove down from Poulsbo to take us to a secret (ha ha) little restaurant in downtown Tacoma to try western Southern cooking. Guy Fieri highlighted it on his show, Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives. If you are in Tacoma and enjoy Southern cooking—this is the place: Southern Kitchen, 1716 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98405, (253)-627-4282 http://www.southernkitchen-tacoma.com
The food was so good, I forgot to take any photos! For breakfast, try the Biscuit and Gravy—or Chicken-Fry Steak! Yum Yum.
Sunday morning I headed for the Museum of Glass and the Dale Chilhuly Bridge of Glass in downtown Seattle.
Parking is a big pain, but Sunday mornings are better. I left Larry in the nearly empty lower lot of the Washington Museum of Natural History, just below the Chihuly Bridge of Glass. I climbed up to the bridge and was enchanted by the view.
The ceiling of this structure is filled with Chilhuly blown glass and just breathtaking. A sunnier day would have enriched my experience with more backlighting to highlight the beautiful blown glass in the ceiling—but one can’t be choosy in the Pacific Northwest.
The Museum of Glass lives at the other side of the bridge. The big silver cone is the Hot Spot where glass is blown. The exhibit area and gift shop is in the building to the lower left.
And this is what was happening in the cone on Sunday morning:
One of the blowers went to get “colored glass” for the vase. Would you stick a short pole into this? I wouldn’t!!
Yikes, that is worse than looking into a pottery kiln while it’s firing!!!
The Museum of Glass was fantastic, however, I felt frustrated. No touching and no photos of the exhibits! One exhibit were things designed by 9-11 year olds on paper and created by the studio glassblowers, and it was so whimsical and fun, I had to smile—time and time again. The other exhibit was blown by a man who works in local Indian art. All of it looked so touchable! I wanted to touch it!!
Sunday afternoon we drove south to the new Cabela’s store in Lacy, WA. It is hard to find once you get off the freeway at Exit 111. Traffic engineers, who must ride bikes, have fallen in love with the “round-abouts” for intersections instead of four-way stops.
If you haven’t been trapped by one yet, just wait—you will. it’s the newest thing in traffic control. The cars swerve into and out of the lane of traffic—while zooming around the circle in two side-by-side lanes as fast as possible, and no one is sure who has the right of way! Circular chaos comes to mind while waiting for a turn—only if you wait, you lose!
We had to make it through 3 round-abouts to locate Cabela's and the parking lot was quite full. Is there really a recession??
Larry needed to put in some walking time and he enjoys wandering around Cabela’s so it was our afternoon task. They have interesting wildlife displays and aquariums. No entry fee—and we know keep our hands to ourselves—no buying more “stuff.”
Although he hates to admit it, Larry’s blood pressure started back down after walking Sunday and Monday. We are on to a good thing, smile!
Off to Poulsbo, Washington for a few days to visit with Mary & Jerry Frye and see their handy work on their new kitchen and living room.
Great photos, Carol. I feel the peace and calm of the gardens just by looking at them. And the Chihuly blown glass is so beautiful! I love his work.
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