I finally stopped to snap a photo of one of the bicycle racks on Sixth Avenue. I love that an individual, Kassie Mitchell, has taken it upon herself to share some joy through yarn bombing. To read more, go here.
I went off today with dear husband to find the the Village of Beaux Arts because its such a cool name. The village has about 300 people and no commercial buildings. Since I’d rather not take photos of people’s houses, I only snapped the sign and then drove out of the tiny village to discover the lovely Enatai Beach Park, which is located in Bellevue. What a great park. It has a beach with people sunning (I was in a jacket!) and fishing off the dock. There were kayaks available to rent also. There was a lifeguard (also in a jacket) who told me that while there were no people swimming today, there often are when it gets warm. The park is practically under the I-90 Bridge, but I didn’t notice any traffic noise.
It took me a while to find a place to shot the sunset over Lake Granbury, but in the end I found two, one from the Irby’s Restaurant parking lot and the one from the parking lot of a near by apartment complex.
….leads to a Harbor Lakes Golf Club. Here is a picture of the golf course as well as the culvert, which is dry during most of the summer and diverts rain water to a pond during periods of rain. Here are a couple of pictures of the culvert, the pond and the edge of the golf course.
Western State Hospital is the largest psychiatric hospital west of the Mississippi and is located on Steilacoom Boulevard in Lakewood, WA. It was originally named Fort Steilacoom Asylum when it opened in 1871 at the site of an army post. More than 3,000 patients are buried at the Western State Hospital State Historic Cemetery though not all of them have grave markers with their name and dates on it. Some have a small, concrete numbered block as a marker, which was originally considered proper because of the stigma of mental health concerns. The cemetery, which is located on the grounds of Fort Steilacoom Park (formerly former the hospital farm), ceased having burials in 1953. The Grave Concerns Association is a volunteer organization dedicated to the restoration of the cemetery.
Benjamin Hooper was one of the earliest burials. Benjamin (1792-1891) was the first patient admitted to the Western Territories Asylum for the Insane on 8/19/1871.
And a shout out to Shelley, who had the brilliant idea to go visit and was bold enough to drive all over Western State Hospital grounds looking for the cemetery (that was on the other side of the road!). I can hardly wait until we go to the Western State Hospital Museum!
Washington State University in Pullman has a Bear Research, Education and Conservation Center that I finally got to visit when I dropped dear daughter off for her next year of college. We got to see five (maybe six) grizzly bears in their enclosures. I was hoping to see them in their larger, outdoor area (and it would have made for a better photo), but not this time. Bears that are capable of living in the wild are not situated at the center. It was a real treat to see the bears at such a close range and I couldn’t help but to notice that other people would stop by the center to spend a little time with them. More information can be found here.
Pam’s Coffee Shop at 204 South Morgan Street in Granbury serves a terrific and filling breakfast. I was lucky enough to eat there today with my mom and a dear friend (adopted niece).
I was strolling through SeaTac Airport going to my flight when I stumped upon Metsker Maps at Concourse B . That’s right, I know remember that they opened an airport location. I love maps and thus love this store! The woman working there was so pleasant and knowledgeable and their selection was great.
The Doll House Museum at 421 Bridge Street, Granbury, TX is really pretty cool. It had its grand opening on December 8, 2012 and per the owners has been gaining in popularity. The museum is on the main floor of the historic house. There are about 3,000 dolls at the museum with many of them on display. I don’t know much about dolls, but there were some lovely ones there. And the women (sisters) that were there when I visited were so nice, welcoming and devoted to their passion. Really, if you like dolls or history at all, it is worth a visit. And if all you want is an interesting place to get out of the Texas heat (over 100 degrees today!), it’s good for that too. More information can be found here.
Continuing my back and forth posting, here is the Washington State University’s famous Ferdinand’s Ice Cream Shoppe. I felt lucky to be able to go since they are only open Monday through Friday. While there I had a small vanilla and a sample of the delicious Cougar Gold Cheese. I loved being about to sit down and enjoy my ice cream while watching the workers make the cheese. There website is here.
