That made me think about gas prices and I found this website that provides the gas prices within cities or zip codes. Per the site, the average gas price in Tacoma and Washington State is $3.90 per gallon and in the US the average is $3.80 per gallon. The site also has a trip calculator and an interesting 72 month average price chart. Nope, it’s not my imagination, gas is high right now!
I made a quick stop today at Lowes at 7905 South Hosmer Street, Tacoma to pick up some flowers to put in pots on the front porch.
They were pretty busy for the middle of a weekday and that made me wonder if the home improvement stores are doing well. Apparently, based on this article in the LA Times, yes they are.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-home-improvement-20110413,0,7527522.story
I’ve been wanting to see the newest Tacoma Boys, the one in the South Hill portion of Puyallup. It is much like its sister stores, the one on 6th Avenue in Tacoma and the other on Lakewood Drive in Lakewood. As always, they have excellent produce, a lovely assortment of specialty items and friendly staff.
http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/Page.aspx?hid=239
It was the first time that I had been in a Tacoma Public Library on a Sunday and it felt good to see all the people there. The history of the library can be found here.
http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/page.aspx?hid=42
Currently in the gallery of the library there is an exhibit of art tiles, old and new, that is well worth seeing. That link can be found here http://www.tpl.lib.wa.us/Page.aspx?nid=64
I’ve been honoring the strike at Macy’s at the Tacoma Mall, though they probably haven’t noticed because I go there so infrequently anyway! But I needed a nice dress for an upcoming event and I don’t have time to order something online. So, feeling particularly mean I dragged my poor husband to Macy’s. It ended up that I didn’t find a dress that I liked in my price range, but I did buy a nice pair of jeans for $24, which seemed reasonable to me. The sales associates were pleasant, but the racks of clothes were a mess with sizes all mixed in together.
The UFCW Local 367 members voted to strike Tacoma Macy’s in May 2010 and I’m not readily finding information to see if the strike is settled. I haven’t seen one of the trucks that had been driving around promoting the strike for a while.
The first Friday that feels like Spring and we decide to celebrate with milkshakes, one chocolate mint and the other vanilla. This Jack in the Box at 2420 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, is pretty much like the rest. I haven’t gone into this store in forever because, to be honest, it doesn’t feel completely safe to me especially in the evening. But the drive through is fine and the drive through workers are friendly and do a good job.
I confirmed this in an online article that states “The Trident submarine base at Bangor, just 20 miles from Seattle, has become home to the largest single stockpile of nuclear warheads in the U.S. arsenal“.
Recently in Tacoma five peace activists, the Plowshare Five, were sentenced to time in jail because of their form of political protest. It is a fascinating story and one well worth reading. The best source of information is their blog at http://disarmnowplowshares.wordpress.com/
My hat is off to them for living their beliefs.
Days when everything goes right deserve a treat, so dear daughter and I stopped at a new to us place in Freighthouse Square called Seasonal Delights Cafe & Espresso Co. We shared this wonderful, still warm cinnamon bun and half was plenty. Next time we’ll go for dinner or lunch and try the crepes!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Seasonal-Delights-Cafe-Espresso-Co/135368629853945?sk=photos
Ha! Nobody has ever accused me of being cutting edge, but two days after we were there the Tacoma News Tribune reviewed this restaurant 🙂
Update June 2013: Sadly when I stopped by this week to buy a pie, Season Delights was gone. It appears that they vacated the space in April or May.
I really debated using Borders Books in Tacoma as one of my new places of the day. But today I stopped in to say goodbye. This is the closest bookstore to my house and my family has spent hours here. Its practically a family tradition to go on a rainy Sunday for a cup of coffee and to read the magazines in the cafe. And of course, we’d always end up with a book or two. I’m pretty sure my daughter has never walked out of the store without a book!
But our Borders, which is almost always busy, is closing no later than the end of May. The cafe is closed, items are heavily discounted and some of the shelves are pretty empty. The GIg Harbor and Federal Way Borders are also closing with only Puyallup Borders to remain open in Pierce Co. Across the country Borders is closing 200 of its 643 locations as part of a bankruptcy reorganization.
So, goodbye Tacoma Borders. We’ll miss you.
