Category Archives: Des Moines

The Bubbleator from the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair

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To go to the World of Tomorrow at the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair, you would take the Bubbleator. It was a Plexiglas covered elevator that provided the riders (up to 100!) experience what it would be like in a bubble because of the way the light was refracted. The Bubbleator had originally been installed for the fair which the KeyArena Building is now, and it was later moved to the Seattle Center (Armory) and then taken out of that building by 1984.  Wikipedia says “While boarding the Bubbleator, passengers were commanded by an ethereal female voice to “Please move to the rear of the sphere”, or the “Martian type” male elevator operator would say, “Step to the rear of the Sphere” in a creepy sci-fi type voice. The soundtrack for the Bubbleator was conducted by Attilio Mineo and released as Man in Space with Sounds.[2]“

The top part of the Bubbleator was purchased on bid and is now at a private residence in Des Moines. Dear husband and I stopped by to see it and snap some photos, but of course left the owners to their privacy. It’s not easy to impress dear husband, but he really liked this one! (and he also liked the Hobbit Hole from the day before.) It had been a greenhouse, but appeared to be empty when we went by though I hear that it might be a recording studio. There are some photos of it here and here. To see it in action see this news report. And there is a heartwarming story here.

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Salty’s at Redondo Beach

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Dear husband and I celebrated our wedding anniversary at Salty’s at Redondo Beach at 28201 Redondo Beach Drive South, Des Moines. There are three Salty’s locations (here, Aliki Point and near Portland on the Columbia River) and this was our first time at any of them.  It was altogether a lovely lunch. The restaurant extends over the water and has a comfortable, but sophisticated feel to it. Dear husband had the Dungenous Crab Melt and I had the Cod Fish & Chips. Both were excellent. My only sadness is that I had no room for dessert since I was excited to see that they served Winegars Ice Cream. Their website has full menus and their Facebook Page has a chance to win gift certicates. They even have an instagram feed.

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Des Moines Creek and Marina

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Man and fishA 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.

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Redondo, WA

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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.

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Big Catch

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Big Fish edited_edited-1The story goes that the fisherman fell in love with beautiful maiden, but alas she was turned into a fish (you know how that goes). Eventually they find one another for a joyful reunion and with a kiss she returns to her human form. This statue at Big Catch Plaza (the intersection of 7th Place S. and S. 219th St., near Albertsons in Des Moines) captures to reunion. There was some controversy when the piece was unveiled because the fish has a human female anatomy on top, right where her fisherman is holding on!  The sculptor is Richard Beyer and the park, which was created because of a road realignment, was dedicated in 1994. Richard Beyer, who passed away in April 2012 also created, waiting for the Interurban in Fremont.

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Going into the Ocean

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For years I’ve wondered about Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, WA. I mean I like parks and one with saltwater just has to be good, right? And yet I’ve only seemed to think about it as I drove by on I5 on my way to or from somewhere with no time to stop. Well, today after dropping my dad at the airport, I finally went!

It is lovely. There is plenty of Puget Sound shoreline (1,445 feet) with rocks to turn over and look for sea life, a stream that goes into the sound, some wooded trail areas, picnic tables, restrooms and a seasonal concession stand. I visited with a woman who was getting ready to scuba dive and she told me about seeing octopus and seals. There is an underwater artificial reef for scuba divers. My only caution would be to wear sneakers or other thick soled shoes because the beach area is covered with barnacles and broken shells.

http://www.stateparks.com/saltwater.html