Two sweet words… spring… break. And time to go a little further afield. Today we hopped in the car and drove up I5 into Canada. Then we took the Spirit of British Columbia Ferry and over to Victoria. Our delicious halibut and chips dinner was at Nautical Nellies. Dear daughter and I shared a meal and a dessert and it was more than enough.
http://www.nauticalnelliesrestaurant.com/
We have been members of AAA for years now. Some years we don’t need any road service and one recent year I used it four times (once on the Narrows Bridge on a Saturday night when my friend’s car got a flat). It is worth the price to have the piece of mind. And they are invaluable for trip planning, supply my family with maps, guide books and good advice
Note, the AAA Tacoma office looks nicer than this lackluster photo!.
www.aaa.com
The newspaper yesterday talked about how the Kalakala was in danger of sinking because it is taking on water. I had just asked my husband last week if the vintage ferry boat was still at the port. We had gone to see it years ago and hadn’t heard much about it since.
I have no idea about the financial feasibility of restoring this ferry, which is in pretty bad shape, but I’ sure wish it could be brought back to its former glory. It was spectacular!
The website for the ferry has abundant information about it. http://www.kalakala.org/index2.html
I took a couple of shots from where it is docked and then went across the way to photograph it from across the Hylebos Waterway.
For a photo of the Kalakala when it was in Tacoma in the 1940s, see this webpage from the Tacoma Public Library.
Gibson’s Frozen Yogurt opened on Valentine’s Day 2011 in the Stadium District and tonight after dinner we went there to celebrate the beginning of Spring Break. It was fun and delicious and not very expensive, so what more could we want?
Dear daughter and I sampled almost all of the flavors before going with the French Vanilla, Chocolate and Cookies & Cream. Then we added Hot Carmel, Hot Fudge, Strawberries, Maraschino Cherries, Gummy Bears, M&Ms, Walnuts, Whipped Cream and Rainbow Sprinkles (not all items were on both servings!). Then we sat down to eat some serious tastiness. The place wasn’t very crowded when we got there, but by the time we left, it was packed. And both the employees and the customers seemed to really be enjoying themselves. I was glad to see the crowd in hopes that Gibson’s Yogurt is here to stay!
UpdateL 6.16 Sadly Gibson’s was not here to stay. The store closed earlier this year.
SAMI is a Tacoma Public School located in the lovely Point Defiance Park. The facility itself isn’t much to speak off, though there are some nice artistic touches. SAMI’s website says “The Science and Math Institute creates an inclusive high school learning community that provides integrated, inquiry-based experiences utilizing our natural and community resources, combining science, mathematics, and the arts.
The Science and Math Institute opens in the fall of 2009 as Tacoma School District’s newest public high school for students beginning their ninth grade year. SAMI will grow into a full four year high school with the 2009-2010 freshmen class.”
http://www0.tacoma.k12.wa.us/schools/hsx/sami/
Today’s new place is the Starbucks at the corner of Sixth and Pine (601 Pine Street, Tacoma). It looked much like all the other Starbucks, warm and comfortable. The service was friendly and fast and the coffee especially good for some reason. The breakfast roll was warmed and very delicious. There is a reason that Starbucks has a following.
Update 2/2015 This location has closed, which surprises me since it was always busy when I went.
A darling little pup was wandering near a busy street and my husband took him home for safe keeping for the night. The dog was obviously somebody’s loved pet, but I didn’t find any signs or see anybody looking. So today I took him to the Tacoma Pierce Co. Humane Society, so that he can be reunited with his rightful owner.
The Humane Society does good work and I respect them for it. There website is here: http://www.thehumanesociety.org/
Note, although I took a photo of a darling rabbit, it is only a good pet if you are ready for the responsibility. If you’re not ready for bunny ownership, then buy a delicious chocolate rabbit for Easter!
Today I made a quick stop at this interesting neighborhood church. The Lincoln District has an international flair, with an emphasis on Asian Countries. The informational sign is in both English and Vietnamese.
While there does not seem to be a dedicated web presence for this particular church, the Tacoma Vietnamese Alliance Church, there is a website for the Alliance Church in general. I enjoyed reading their quote “The Alliance is a unique missionary denomination—a maverick movement into whose soul the Head of the Church breathed “Go!” from the very start. —L.L. King, C&MA President (1978-1987)”
There are three other Alliance Churches in Tacoma.
Today dear daughter, the two pups and I went to Flaming Geyser State Park in King County between Auburn and Black Diamond. This day use park has a couple of interesting features.
* It has a geyser which releases a methane seep. With a lighter or matches, it can actually be lite and flames will come out for a couple of minutes. It’s kind of cool!
* There is an open field for model airplane flying.
* There is over 3 miles of freshwater shoreline along the Green River. In the summer months, it is used for tubing and when we were there today there were kayakers.
The website for the park states “Flaming Geyser State Park has existed on this location since the 1920’s. Operated as a private park into the 1960’s, it fell into bankruptcy. State Parks rescued it from conversion to home development and has operated it as a park ever since.”
http://www.parks.wa.gov/parks/?selectedpark=Flaming%20Geyser
