Author Archives: admin

Locomotive Monument – Tacoma, Washington

Leave a reply

Dear husband and I arrived in Tacoma about 23 years ago today. I remember that we had a not very good Thanksgiving dinner on the road from our prior home in Texas, so I might be off a couple of days, but not much. One of the first things we saw as we drove into downtown, through a very different from today Tacoma, was this cheerful, colorful sculpture titled Locomotive Monument. The artist, Douglas Charles Granum, created the piece in 1988 to reflect Tacoma’s railroad heritage.

Best Buy, Black Friday Eve

Leave a reply

Dear husband told me on Wednesday that folks were starting to line up at Best Buy at 2214 S 48th St, Tacoma, WA 98409. So today I took a breather from Thanksgiving preparations to drive past and check it out. There were seven tents, one truck with a generator and about 25 people. It was kind of difficult to tell since some of them were in their tents. I was expecting a party atmosphere, but those in line were pretty much just sitting or playing on their cell phones. I have to say that afterwards I was glad to go home and have a nice meal with the family. And I hope the people in line get the treasures that they are seeking.

And here is a bonus photo that more reflects the holiday to me.

Great Mural at Crystal Voyage

Leave a reply

There is a great mural on the exterior wall of the Crystal Voyage building at 2601 East D St #201, Tacoma, WA 98421. It is a stone mural triptych created by Macy Jewell, Jody Bergsma and Crystal Stone, the last of whom was kind enough to tell me about it. The elements of this mural form a story for those with “eyes to see”. The mural has many stories to tell, including the elements, native American legends and the Vitruvian Man.

www.crystalvoyage.com/

I remember when I enjoyed Crystal Voyage in its Freighthouse Square location, but their current space is especially nice, roomy and full of delightful merchandise. I purchased some trinkets. Really, I need to come back here more often!

 

Legendary Doughnuts

Leave a reply

There is a new doughnut place in Tacoma, Legendary Doughnuts at 2602 Sixth Avenue. It opened about two weeks ago and every time I’ve been by they have had a crowd. But I went at an odd and relatively calm time and was delighted to see an old friend behind the counter! There was some confusion about my Groupon coupon, which said it had been used, but really, truly hadn’t been! Anyway, after we established my trustworthiness I ordered two dozen creative, tasty and unusual doughnuts.When I saw the size of the box, I knew the folks at my job weren’t go to be able to eat all of them. But within an hour they were all gone! I’m sure I’ll be back. The term horde of locusts came to mind. And everybody seemed to think they were delicious!

legendarydoughnuts.com/

Quetzalcoatl Mask

Leave a reply

This Quetzalcoatl Mask in Tacoma’s Theater District (on Broadway between South 11th and South 13th) is a bronze, stainless steel and granite sculpture that represents an Aztec God (‘the feathered serpent or the rain god Tlaloc). There is another sculpture on the other side of the post. The artist is Doug Granum (http://www.douglasgranum.com/). He was also the sculptor for the Locomotive Monument, also downtown.

Pioneer Middle School

Leave a reply

This cool, rainy Saturday dear daughter and I went off to the DuPont Holiday Bazaar, which was held at Pioneer Middle School http://www.steilacoom.k12.wa.us/Domain/9. My Facebook photographer friend, Kate Lynch, was there and I was so happy to meet her face to face. 🙂 The holiday bazaar had quality, interesting items for sale and the vendors seemed unusually, sincerely nice.

I hadn’t realized that schools in DuPont (ok, the only public school in DuPont) is part of the Steilacoom School District. It is a nice looking school and recently built.

Fair Trade Market at St. Leo’s

Leave a reply

St. Leo’s at 1323 Yakima Ave., Tacoma, is having their annual Fair Trade Market this weekend (Friday 4-7pm, Saturday Nov 17, 1-7pm and Sunday Nov 18, 9am-2pm). There were plenty of vendors, both Fair Trade and local folks. The building was constructed in 1912 and the architect was C. Frank Mahon. I remember when we first moved to Tacoma, I would attend Tacoma Actor’s Guild plays in the theater here. I admire the social justice program and food bank at St. Leo’s

http://www.stleoparish.org/

Downtown Tacoma’s Post Office

Leave a reply

Today dear husband and I toured The historical post office at 1102 A Street, Tacoma. The tour was sponsored by Historic Tacoma http://www.historictacoma.org/ The property is a glorious three story plus basement building that was constructed as a federal building in 1910.The architect was James Knox Taylor. In 1992, the 2nd and 3rd floor courthouse space was vacated in 1992 when the courts moved to their current Union Station location. The tour included a jail cell, courtrooms, the Tacoma School of the Arts (SOTA) space, several large wall safes and a vacant postal area. We got to hear the vision for the property including commercial;retail space, perhaps a restaurant. The 72,000-square-foot building is listed on the city, state and national registers of historic places.

Albertsons on Pearl

Leave a reply

Albertson’s at 2401 North Pearl Street in Tacoma is one of two Albertson’s within Tacoma’s city limits and one of 463 Albertsons in the US (California, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming). The chain was founded in 1939 in Boise, Idaho.

Their website http://www.albertsons.com/ has some good seasonal recipes.

Hula Girls Coffee Company

Leave a reply

Hula Girls Coffee Company at 1901 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, Tacoma, is a wonderful alternative to Starbucks. It’s been in place at the 76th Station for about a year and in April 2012 was painted a bright, cheery yellow that really makes it stand out! The owner was friendly, the coffee (Kealas Hawaiian) was really good, their prices were righteous and they had pastries from Corina’s Bakery and that is always a sign of quality. I’m sure I’ll be back.

The link for the coffee and the stand can be found here

http://www.kealashawaiiancoffee.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hula-Girls-Coffee-Co/272640566099129