Today was the celebration of the Lunar New Year in Tacoma’s Lincoln District and I took the chance to snap some photos of the new signage that reflects the revitalization of the district. An article on the revitalization project can be found here. I love this district and am really looking forward to how the revitalization project proceeds. It was also a joy to see how some of the more recent immigrants are positively shaping the country.
Every time I visit dear daughter at WSU, I pop across state lines to visit Downtown Moscow, home of the University of Idaho’s Vandels. It really is a charming downtown with a selection of restaurants and shops. I love the bookstore, Book People of Moscow, and Cafe Artista. This time I also tried Moscow Bagel and Deli and it was yum. The Moscow Downtown Historic District includes 60 buildings and was placed on the National Historic Register in 2005.
The past six Tuesday evenings, I’ve been taking a photography class to become more familiar with my camera. Really it has been great and I have learned a bunch. Now I just need to practice! Anyway today was our end of the class photo shoot. We met outside of Freighthouse Square and took the “Trolley Tour” (the Tacoma Link), stopping along the way to capture some moments. We strolled through the University of Washington Tacoma, crossed the Bridge of Glass and toured the theater district.
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.
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.
Royal City, a small town in Grant County, WA was founded in 1956 and incorporated in 1962. I stopped at the grocery store there on my way to WSU to pick up a soda and advil. The clerk was extra nice and I noticed that when he moved on to the next customer he switched to Spanish. That makes sense since per Wikipedia, the town’s population is almost 89% is Hispanic. Going through the town I found a few smaller grocery stores, a convenience store, an auto parts store, a feed store, a post office, library and other services that would support a town of slightly over 2,000 people. The town and the surrounding area is primarily agricultural including apples, cherries, peaches, timothy and alfalfa hay, melons, potatoes, onions, wine grapes, pears, mint and corn.
I’ve been wanting to visit Salmon Beach ever since I learned that there was a Salmon Beach! Friday night I was invited to a soiree at one of the cabins. It was great! Good friends and food, and an amazing view of the Tacoma Narrows and the Narrows Bridge. We even saw a seal 🙂
From what I’ve read, the community started as fishing shacks, but in 1934 electricity was brought in and the shacks became cottages. They are an eclectic collection of homes accessed by going down a long series of stairs (more than 200) and then a path.
My only regret is that I didn’t walk down to find the mermaid sculpture. Guess I’ll just have to go back!
To read more about the history of Salmon Beach try this link.
I only spent a night in Lewiston, ID and didn’t have much time to explore. I came into the city from Washington State and was surprised at just how steep the hill leading into town was. I especially wasn’t thrilled since it was very dark and I was tired. The city fronts on both the Snake and Clearwater Rivers. The city’s website is here.
We didn’t have much time to spend in Brisbane, really just lunch and some look around time. But what little I saw of Australia’s third largest city was very nice. There were plenty of flowers and a lovely man made beach, which was under construction. There were plenty of these birds walking around much like pigeons in the US, only much bigger!
Their website states “Chester is arguably the richest city in Britain for archaeological and architectural treasures preserved to this day from the time of the Roman occupation.” We had an hour or so to walk around this lovely town.
