I’ve been going to Crossroads Mall in Bellevue for years, decades even, but I hadn’t realized that they have a Daiso Store. My only defense is that it has an exterior entrance. It is like a dollar store with everything being the same price (a little more than a dollar). I sent about $20 and walked away with a bunch of fairly useful stuff. There is a nice mural on the exterior wall.
A while back while we were having that string of lovely weekends, dear husband and I were exploring and came upon the Des Moines Marina and Creek. It is a lovely area with a marine (you might have guessed), a large parking lot, some public art (including a way cool mural) and to the north end trails and beach. The Fish/man in the mural is also a statue elsewhere in Des Moines.
I talked dear husband into coming with me to take sunset photos at the lovely Saltwater State Park, but when we got there the road was closed (seriously!). Well, ok, there must be other places around to see the sunset. So we drive around and find Redondo, which is a neighborhood community in Des Moines and Federal Way. Wikipedia tells that the area was originally designed as a resort, but over the years became a middle class residential community that centers around the lovely Redondo Beach. In addition to the residential homes, there is a Salty’s Restaurant, a marine museum, another restaurant which was closed at the time and some great public art. The beach features a fishing/viewing peer, boardwalk (above the beach), a diving tour, some amazing sunset views of Poverty Bay. The area is rumored to be named after the more famous Redondo Beach in California, which is famous for its surfing and beach volleyball.
After a trip to the Lakewood History Museum, I went off on their driving tour beginning with the Judge Wilson House (a private residence). The map can be found here.
I had a rare free afternoon on this lovely sunny Saturday and stopped to visit the Lakewood History Museum at 6211 Mt Tacoma Drive SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. It is located in a small retail space in the Lakewood Colonial Center. It is small, but charming and I actually knew the woman who was volunteering there today. Since Lakewood is a relatively new city, incorporated in 1995, I hadn’t thought it had much history, but I learned a great deal. I hadn’t realized that the area had originally been called The Prairie and I was reminded of the fact that the Lakewood Town Center was on the site of a convent. And I enjoyed seeing the replica of an old fashion classroom and a log cabin interior. The post office boxes particularly fascinated me. Altogether I took in that although it has only been a city for 20 years, there is still an extensive past. I promised to bring my husband to the museum for a visit. The Lakewood Historical Society has a wealth of information about the museum and events in the area.
I’ve been meaning to the Original Pancake House at 601 Pine Street since it opened a few months ago (December 2014). Dear husband and I finally went to the all breakfast restaurant the other day and the pancakes were indeed delicious. I hadn’t realized the chain is so extensive, all over the US and now in Japan and South Korea. The original Original Pancake House opened in 1953 in Portland, OR. Their website is here.
Mcmenamins Olympic Club in Centralia has won the award for best women’s room sink (if such an award existed!). Today dear husband and I went for lunch before some antiquing (him) and outlet shopping (me).
The Olympic Club Hotel was built in 1913 and is a mixed use facility which includes a restaurant/bar, pool area, movie theater and hotel with guest rooms. We didn’t take in a movie this time, though we have in the past. It is a great theater with comfy, overstuffed chair and a full menu/bar service. I snapped a photo between shows. The guest rooms have a shared centralized bathrooms (European style) and are uniquely charming. I had a photo from some years ago that I’ve included. The property has been a McMenamins since 1997.
I was having a Valentine’s Day meal with my Valentine when I glanced out the window towards LEED (Law Enforcement Equipment Distribution) at 6902 Sixth Avenue. It took me a moment to realize what seemed out of place to me. The rhododendrons were in full bloom! That seems crazy to me since we are only in mid-February! So then I started looking around and sure enough there were cherry trees blooming and daffodils coming up and a lovely camellia in full glory. So, I guess the ground hog was wrong for us this year, but for sure right for my friends and family in the northeast.
LEED specialize in duty gear, body armor and firearms for law enforcement and armed security professionals.
Nuckle’s Sandwich Shop at 4312 6th Ave in Tacoma was a wonderful find for dear husband and me. We stopped in for lunch. I had the Hot Pastrami and soup and dear husband had the BBQ Cheese steak and soup. He was surprised when his cheese steak came with pineapple, but he loved it! Really, everything was delicious and reasonably priced too. Their menu is here.
My friend went to a Portland food truck specializing in grilled cheese and it sounded so good that I went to find one in Seattle. The owners of the Cheese Wizard were so nice and so proud of their food. As well they should be with their focused specialty. I had the Green Seer and dear husband had the Gobblin’ King, both warm and delicious.Their Facebook account is here. There were several other food trucks in the Westlake neighborhood and I thought it was wonderful that there was actually street parking spaced dedicated to them.
The truck was parked in front of the Tesla Showroom, so we stopped in there too. It was interesting to see the cars plugged in to charge and I loved sitting in one and looking at the information panel. We were told that if we ordered one today, it would be ready in three or four months. I would have test driven one, but the traffic in the area was crazy with all the new construction.
