The Washington State Fair’s 1917 Merry Go Round is the oldest active carnival ride at the Fair, operating there since 1923. I learned that seniors, 62+, qualify to ride for free! No, I don’t qualify.
The fair had a glorious last day of it’s run with the weather sunny and in the mid-70s. It was packed!
Here are a couple of photos of the merry go round, as well as a couple of other shots. Apparently I can’t stay out of the floral building!
Four Apples – Prizma
One of my favorite buildings at the Washington State Fair is the Floral/Grange Building and of course while dear husband and I were enjoying the fair I took a bunch of photos there. I thought this time I would try editing each of the photos with a different photo app. The four apples above were made with the Prisma App (a new one for me)
Washington Fair Grange – Brushstroke
Washington Fair Grange – Tomatoes Mobile Monet
Washington Fair Grange – Carrots – Photolab Cartoon
Washington Fair Grange – Onions Toon Camera
Washington Fair Grange – Kaleidoscope
Washington Fair Grange – Pixlromatic
Washington Fair Grange – Pears and Grapes – Photolab Light Boken
Washington Fair Grange – Photolab Pen & Ink Photo Lab – Pen & Ink
Washington Fair Grange – Glaze
Washington Fair Grange – Tintype
Washington Fair Grange – Living Planet
Washington Fair Grange – Distressed FX
Washington Fair Grange – Photosplash
Washington Fair Grange – Sparkle Post
Washington Fair Grange – Juxtaposer
Percolator 2.4 (2.4)
Grind: Extra Fine (Average Circles & Effect: Auto Adjust), Brew: Circles (No Pic & Full Blended Circles), Serve: Black (Clear Tone & Paper Cup Texture)
Waterlogue 1.3.1 (72)
Washington Fair Grange – Photoshop Pro Antique Oil
Washington Fair Grange Photoshop Express – Bright
Washington Fair Grange – PicMonkey
Washington Fair Grange – Be Jealous – PicLab
Washington Fair Grange – Enlight Urban Paintsplat
To celebrate our wedding anniversary dear husband and I took the Seattle Duck Tour, which translates to after years of asking I wore down my husband and we went on the Duck Tour. Part of the Duck Tour includes a brief dip into Lake Union. Houseboats are cool because they are houses that float! I mean seriously how great is that. They have been on Lake Union since the late 1800s and there is so good information about them here. Of course the most famous of the Lake Union houseboats is the one featured in the movie Sleepless in Seattle. We got a glimpse of that though it was far in the distance. Anyway the tour was a blast and we saw parts of Seattle that weren’t that familiar to us. And the nice people that run the tour told us about relatively inexpensive parking, so that was a bonus.
Dear daughter happily sent off her vote a couple of weeks ago, but soon afterwards she received a letter back politely saying her signatures didn’t match. So on Friday, we popped into the Pierce County Election Center to remedy the problem. The man behind the counter was very efficient and pleasant. He showed her the original signature and her current one. College has really made a difference in how she signs her name!
Anyway while we were there, we picked up a copy of the unofficial results to date. Below is a slightly more recent version from the auditor’s office website (which is full of interesting information!) There are also things to be learned on their Facebook Page.
Things I thought were interesting:
Most years I manage to go to the University Place Garden Tour which is spearheaded by The University Place Historical Society (UPHS). This year the theme was “Spring into Summer,” and there were five gardens and the Curran House. Each garden had several docents that were amiable and knowledgeable. The gardens varied significantly. One was a farm like setting, one was packed with flowers, one had hidden art and a stunning view, one had 100+ rhododendrons and one was a reclaimed barren lot. It was really a delight to visit each one with my friends and daughter. Lunch was an unexpected bonus.
It’s probably a tribute to our marriage, that when my husband and I drove past goats clearing the undergrowth next to old Elk’s Club/Future McMeniman’s, he just quietly did a u-turn so I could go get a really good look at them. The goats were chopping away at the vegetation on the lot next to the Old Elk’s Building, which may be part of the entire property. I took photos from above and below, though I do believe the goats were avoiding me! The goats were on loan from Rent-A-Ruminant. As somebody who just that day removed some prickly plants from her yard, the goats seem like an excellent idea! I’m excited to see how the new McMeniman‘s develops.
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.
Most years dear daughter and I would go to the Lunar New Year Celebration in Tacoma’s International District. I remember firecrackers going off near her stroller and her crying, so it has been a long tradition. But the celebration hasn’t happened for the past five years, until today. At 10 am sharp the firecrackers went off and the festivities began. Mayor Strickland said a few words and a few others (I couldn’t tell who since I was still walking up). There was a very short, but great parade and then the crowd followed the lion dancers to the Lincoln Pharmacy on the corner of South 38th and South Thompson . A string of firecrackers was lite, the lions danced and musicians played. Then we all moved on to the next business.
I noticed that at some of the businesses there was a head of lettuce hanging for the lions to “eat”. Wikipedia tells me that this is the traditional custom of “cai qing“, “plucking the greens”. The lion dance is believed to bring good luck and fortune to the business.
It was great to see the crowds in attendance and the festive atmosphere. The Lincoln District is undergoing a period of revival with big changes in the near future. There were several interesting new businesses that I’m sure to visit, now that I know about them!
There I was driving around downtown Tacoma, looking for something to photograph. I was surprised at just how busy downtown was and while there were several photo worthy places, there was no ready parking. Discouraged I started home going past the Tacoma Dome since Pacific Avenue is still closed. I turned right into a traffic jam with a sea of people dressed in black. It was mostly folks in their 50s and 60s, some of which had kids (grandkids?!) with them. I was even more curious when I notice a small but serious group protesting. “Jesus said go and sin no more.” Once home, Siri informed me that Black Sabbath was playing their “The End” tour in Tacoma tonight. Oh that explains it. Black Sabbath is an English heavy metal band that was formed i n1968 (which explains the age of those attending). Since I was snapping photos out of my car window, I’m including “Washingtonia Domus” , the palm tree art just up the hill from the Dome.
I’ve always wanted to see the Fantasy Lights in Spanaway around the holidays, but somehow it has never happened until this year. The very last night dear daughter, her friend and I finally gave it a whirl. The line to get in only took about 10 minutes and the tour of lights went on for much longer than I expected (two miles) It is the largest holiday drive-through display in the Northwest. It was a lovely display and a great value. We stopped at Starbucks on the way there, likely it was also a drive through since I was the only person not in pajamas!
More information about the display can be found here.