The Tides Tavern at 2925 Harborview Dr, Gig Harbor, WA 98335 is a Gig Harbor institution. The waterfront building was constructed in 1910 and served as the area’s general store. It opened as the Tides Tavern in 1973.
Their website is here
I was there to meet an old friend and we both enjoyed delicious salmon burgers. It was great to have a chance to visit.
Actually there were two types of sweet corn ice cream bars at the H Mart, which recently opened at 8720 South Tacoma Way in Lakewood. Dear daughter and I visited and found many delightful food items including udon (which she loves), mochi, fresh turmeric, those long vegetable things (I knew I should have written down what they were!), an entire aisle of dried seaweed, all sorts of pickled foods (see the yellow pickled radishes) and fresh seafood. There is a large produce section and all the day to day household items one would need. The employees were super friendly.
The H in H Mart stands for “Han Ah Reum,” a Korean phrase meaning “arm full of groceries.” The chain’s website shows two other locations in Washington State (Federal Way and Lyonwood. There are also locations in 12 other states and Canada, mostly on the east and west coasts. They recently opened a location in London.
I was driving around the other day and found this terrific mural 2914 East Main Avenue. It is a Trompe-l’œil style and I was tempted to drive on through to the beautiful mountain sunrise. But of course that would be a bad idea. I think the building is used as apartments. There is a sign on one of the doors that says “Due to the recent thefts, the upstairs tenant has been instructed to shoot … then call police“.
Dear daughter has been working hard on her mural, so as a treat I took her and her friend out for a meal at the recently opened Shake Shake Shake, 124 North Tacoma Avenue. Dear daughter had the Cheese Griller with a chocolate shake, her friend had the Classic Deluxe Burger with a coconut shake and I had a Tacoma Dog with a frozen latte shake. The service was fast and friendly, the food tasty and the decor a lot of fun. Dear daughter declared her shake, the best she’d ever had. Shake, Shake, Shake opened March 13, 2013. The building was constructed in 1925 as a grocery store and in 1938 became an I.G.A. In 1999 it was converted to a mini mart.
A review can be found here and their Facebook page can be found here.
There is a glorious magnolia tree in front of the First Lutheran Church at 524 South “I” Street, Tacoma, WA. The church was founded in 1882 and their current building was finished in 1929. The church’s original mission was to support Swedish immigrants. There website is here.
The First Evangelical Lutheran Church was designed by Heath, Gove & Bell, arch. The Gothic design is tapestry brick with Tenino stone trim and an oak interior. An addition was added in 1957.
Ubiquitous Journey at 2607 Sixth Avenue opened on March 15th. They have a plentiful selection of spices, herbs and teas, as well as a grill and espresso bar. I’d love to come back and try the grilled cheese! Each of the spices and herbs had tester containers to sniff. I walked away with some amazing garlic salt and some dried onion, which is nice to have around for when I run out of fresh onion. I wish them the best of luck in this, their second location. For more information, go here.
Their motto is “Because you deserve the best flavors the world has to offer. Find them at Ubi’s!”
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Sears is located at the Tacoma Mall at 4502 S Steele St #100, Tacoma. Information about Sears is here. Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room says that the mall’s original four anchors were J.C. Penney, the Bon Marche, Nordstrom and Rhodes Department Store. I was a little surprised that Sears wasn’t on the list. The Bon was Tacoma Mall’s first tenant.
Tacoma Public Library has a wonderful photo of Tacoma’s original Sears at the corner of South 13th Street and Broadway circa 1950. It can be seen here.
Harbor Greens at 2620 Bridgeport Way W. University Place WA 98466 opened on March 1, 2013. Really, its delightful store full of fresh, lovely produce and a great deli. There is also a large wine/beer selection, interesting candy, flowers/gardening supplies and sundry items. Oh, and the people working there were really nice! The original location is in Gig Harbor. Their Facebook page is here and their website is here.
Parkland School at 12102 Pacific Avenue in Parkland is the future home of Mount Rainer Lutheran High School. The concrete block school was built in 1908, had several additions over the years and closed in 1982. More recently it has used for counseling offices. Come this fall, it will be Mt. Rainier Lutheran High School.
Special thanks to Tacoma Public Library’s Northwest Room for finding this info for me!
The Old Settler’s Cemetery is located at the Northeast corner of Washington Boulevard SW and 83rd Avenue SW in Lakewood. The almost 5 acres site is partially tree covered with paths leading through the graves. A variety of headstones are there including those flush with the ground, old marble, new marble and wooden. It appears that several of the grave sites are no longer marked. Burials began at the site in 1855 for pioneers and their descendents.
The first headstone I came to belong to Hugh McLeod who died on July 3, 1891 at age 60. His stone stated that he was a native of Scotland. The most recent burial that I’m aware of was in 1988.
I noticed a bunch of crocuses in bloom all over the site. The explanation for this can be found here “Another settler of note is James Holt, who came from South Wales and settled in what is now Lake City in 1915. He built many of the houses in Lake City as well as donated the land used for the Lake City Community Church. His daughter Janette is credited for planting the crocus bulbs on his grave that still bloom each year.” Information can also be found here
