Category Archives: Federal Way

Natives at the Pacific Bonsai Museum

Dear daughter and I went to revisit the Himalayan Blue Poppies at the Weyerhaeuser Rhododendron Gardens in Federal Way before they completely faded away for the season. In the United States, these poppies only grow in parts of New England, the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, so we are lucky.

While we were they we checked out the adjoining Pacific Bonsai Museum, which we had been through a half dozen times. This time though there was a really great exhibit titled Natives. Per the brochure “each display in Natives is a composition of four artists — the bonsai artists, the kusamono artist (Young Choe), the ceramicist (Victoria Chamberlain) and the visual artist (Iuna Tinta)”. In case you don’t know (I didn’t) a kusamono artist creates potted arrangements of wild grasses and flowers in unique pots or trays. So each display has a bonsai, a companion kusamono (accent), the ceramic art (often using minerals from the depicted region) and a visual piece of art, all of which are centered around a particular place. It is a marvelous exhibit and worth some real time. The exhibit runs from April 8- October 8, 2017 and more information can be found here.

And, of course, there are some photos of the blue poppies and other foliage from the gardens.

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Marlake at the West Hylebos Wetlands Park

Marlake

Dear husband and I wanted to stretch our legs today so we went to the West Hylebos Wetlands Park in Federal Way. Our intent was to walk along the boardwalk path, but we turned right instead of left and ended up at Marlake (that’s what Google Maps says it is called). It is really a beautiful spot and some of the surrounding area must have been an orchard at one point because we found plum, pear and apple trees, as well as grapes and blackberry bushes. The blackberries and plums were delicious!  The lake itself has a dock with a bench on it to contemplate life. Many of the trees leading up to the lake were actually labeled and my favorite was a ginkgo tree. Such lovely leaves. The park really is a perfect place to take a walk.

On an amusing note, the handwritten sign that greats visitors asks us to protect the wetlands and no dogs (I get it), bikes (still get it) or Pokemon (what?!). I’m not sure what damage the not really there Pokemon could do. Perhaps they meant no Pokemon players. But there were a bunch of players and they were all respectful and having a good time with their families. Perhaps the highlight for me was that I won my first gym (it’s a game thing) and let out a yell of victory. An older teen smiled at me and we talk about the game for a while. He even set it up for me so that I could really win the gym since I obviously don’t know what I’m doing. I love that the game gave two very different people a chance to visit and work together. What fun. 🙂

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PowellsWood Gardens, Federal Way

imagePowellwoods Gardens is a wonderful garden that you have to know about to find. The three acre park is located at 430 South Dash Point Road, Federal Way, WA.  My first reaction was that the air felt oxygen rich and it was so green, gardens surrounded by tall pines. There are seven separate gardens and a lovely little pond. There is a private house and an open to the public garden room with chairs to rest, a bathroom and a table with a honor pay box ($5 per those over 12).

The variety of flowers so late in the season was a nice surprise and the little rabbit made me smile.  Monte Powell purchase the site which is 40 acres altogether in 1993 and after much work the gardens were first opened to the public in 1999. I plan to go visit again at other times of the year to see what additional treasure I can find. More information can be found here.

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Federal Way Farmer’s Market

imageFederal Way has a pretty righteous farmer’s market located in the parking lot next to Sears at the Federal Way Commons. It has a nice mix of farmers and crafts people and this Saturday there was also a safety fair going on with a fire truck and police dogs.  I enjoyed some delicious fish tacos (2 tacos for $8) and homemade lemonade from The Frying Dutchman and bought two pair of earrings (2 pair for $5!). For more information, check out their website.

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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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The Blue Poppies of Weyerhaeuser Rhododendrom Gardens

14068639349_2d35260236_bSeeing a blue poppy has been on my life list and yesterday I finally saw one when I took dear daughter and her friend to the Weyerhaeuser Rhododendron Gardens in Federal Way. We actually went to see the Rhododendrons and while there were many still in bloom I feel like we missed the peak viewing by a couple of weeks. We were having a grandtime walking the trails and were admiring a small pond when a pleasant woman asked if we had seen the blue poppies. Ummm, no, guess we missed that section of trail. Thank you lady! The poppies are taller than I expected and there was some space between the stalks. They were just a little translucent and there was a bit of rain on some of the petals. The photos below feature the blue poppies, but include some other flowers and some Hilltop Artist glass work that is currently on display.

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Breath at the Starplex Cinema, Federal Way

13524609005_d2e4ef361a_bDear husband and I were delighted to see that the movie Her was still playing somewhere and the place is the Federal Way Gateway Cinema (Starplex Cinema, at 2501 S. Gateway Center, Federal Way, WA, 98003. This is a discount theater, with our tickets being $2 each. We went to the 11:15 show and had the theater to ourselves. Their website is here.

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Pho Hoang Restaurant

Photo Jul 30, 6 42 52 PM

Dear husband and I ventured up to Federal Way for a movie and grabbed a quick dinner at Pho Hoang Restaurant, 31871 Gateway Center Blvd S, Federal Way, WA. Because of time restraints, I went with the two fresh spring rolls and they were very good. The highlight of the restaurant is this wonderful wooden Seattle skyline. 
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The Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection

The sun was shining, it was relatively warm and dear daughter and I escaped to the Pacific Rim Bonsai Collection in Federal Way. There were very few rhododendrons in bloom, as was to be expected, but that was good because it let us really focus on the bonsai. We left with a little fern, a lovely scarf and two cute magnets.

Starbucks in Federal Way

 

So I was going to stop in the Port of Tacoma and take a great photo of an industrial building. But it was raining and raining hard. So this fair weather photographer stopped at the Starbucks at 34024 Hoyt Road SW, Federal Way instead. My FourSquare check in phone program declared that I had checked into 40 different coffee places! Really? I should be jumpier 😀

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I think the Starbucks’ Create Jobs for USA campaign is interesting. Sounds like a good idea to me!
www.starbucks.com/responsibility/comhttp://www.starbucks.com/munity/create-jobs-for-usa-program