Category Archives: WA State – Pierce County

Mt. Tahoma High School

Wednesday I went to a very crowded meeting at Mt. Tahoma High School at 4634 S. 74th Street, Tacoma.   The original building was constructed in 1961. The school, which as named after the Native American name for Mt. Rainier, was substantially remodeled  in 2004. The school’s mascot is the Thunderbird.  The photo I took Wednesday isn’t very good, so I’m using photos from 2008.

 

A lovely day for Big Foot Coffee

Apparently it is a mini quest to go to all of the coffee shops and stands in Tacoma! There are 26 Big Foot locations, two of which are in Tacoma. This is the Highland Hills location at 5921 6th Avenue South. The iced coffee was good and the service was fast and friendly.

http://www.bigfootjava.com/locations/bigfoot_java_tacoma_highland_hills.php

Small Commercial Building

On Sunday the time got away from me and it was dusk before I was driving home and realized I didn’t have a new place of the day. After a fair amount of indecisiveness I said to myself that I was using the next commercial building I saw! This small commercial building at 711 48th Street was the one! It was built in 1921 and as of 1931 was functioning as a grocery store.

Edgeworks Climbing looks like fun!

Edgework Climbing is tucked away in an unusual place at 6102 North 9th Street, Suite 200, Tacoma, WA 98406. It is in an newer industrial building, behind the Safeway on Sixth Avenue. I stopped in to pick up some information and was impressed with the knowledge and enthusiasm of the woman behind the counter. She allowed me to walk around the cliffs and I loved that the floor was so bouncy! I could just envision myself climbing up those walls! If you know what you’re doing and have a certificate to prove it, the cost is $15 per day.

Their website is at http://www.edgeworksclimbing.com/#

 

 

Dock Street Marina

We took an evening stroll today along the Thea Foss Waterway and I took this quick photo of the Dock Street Marina with the Murry Morgan Bridge in the background.  The website for the marina says “Dock Street Marina is the leading all-weather metropolitan destination on the Puget Sound. Completed in 2005, Dock Street Marina was publicly commissioned to provide first class, year round quest and permanent moorage. Brand new concrete docks, marina support facility, and the ideal location make Dock Street Marina the leading destination marina on the Puget Sound.

http://www.dockstreetmarina.com/

While we were there I stopped to admire the new to me exhibit at the Museum of Glass.

I guess we need frogs

In a moment of weakness I said yea, sure, you betcha’ to dear daughter getting another pet.  We already have two dogs, cairn terriers and that breed is ratters. So, all of those rodent kind of pets seemed like a bad idea (mice, rats, etc.). Dear daughter is sadly allergic to cats and the reptiles seemed to want to eat live things.  We ended up with two African Dwarf Frogs and they are kinda cute in a froggy way. We had already purchased the aquarium and set it up and today we got the frogs.  We went to Petco at 4028 Tacoma Mall Blvd, Tacoma.  And no, I don’t have a photo of our frogs here (eye roll), I’ll get one soon.

http://www.petco.com/

   

 

Destiny Harbor Tours, Gig Harbor

I wanted to pick up some information about Destiny Harbor Tours at 8829 North Harborview Drive, Gig Harbor. What I found out is that a two hour tour costs $27 for an adult, which I thought was pretty reasonable. They also offer memorial services, which sounds like a good way to say final respects. Their website is here: http://www.destinymarine.com/

 

The Chinese Pagoda and One Year

It’s been one year since I’ve started this new place of the day project and I wanted to pick an extra nice new place.  I was going to go to the Pacific Ocean, but it was just too darned rainy and cold, so instead I went to Pagoda in Chinese Reconciliation Park at 1741 N. Schuster Parkway, Tacoma.  The pagoda is a gift from a gift from Fuzhou, one of Tacoma’s sister cities.  Apparently there was some vandalism on the building in May 2011 and now perimeter fencing is in place until security cameras can be installed. The pagoda, called a ting, will be open to the public in mid-September.  The park also contains the Bridge of Pearls footbridge, which is accessible.

Looking back at this one year project, I have some observations:
  • 257 of my new places are in Tacoma. Lakewood, with 18 places came in a distant second.
  • Tacoma has some pretty darned interesting places! Lots of art and history in T-Town!
  • I’ve learned a bunch, about the places, Google maps, blogs and research
  • My most popular type tag is restaurants (85), followed by Art (77) and then History (56).
  • Some of the places I checked out alone, but I often brought my husband, daughter and occasionally dogs along for company. They are good sports about the whole thing.
  • I did miss a couple of days. There were a few days that I was sick and the weather was bad and there was that week I took a time consuming class (yes, I passed). The world didn’t end.
  • 30 places were tagged “their future is in question”. Of these 13 have had a change of use and several more remain vacant.
  • My strangest place was probably the sky.
  • Tacoma has some pretty darned interesting places! Lot of art, history and stories here.
  • It’s been good for me to visit a new place everyday and I’ve started keeping a list of potential place.
  • I now carry my camera with me 98% of the time now, though sometimes it is easier to use my phone.
  • I’ve come to admire all of the folks that do a 365 project!
  • I plan to continue until it isn’t fun any more or I run out of places, whichever comes first 😀
  • The encouragement that I’ve received along the way has meant the world to me! Thank you!

Tacoma Bike


Tacoma Bike

Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Dear husband needed a mirror for his new to him electric bike and we went to Tacoma Bike at 309 Puyallup Ave, Tacoma. They advertise that they are the region’s largest full services bicycle shop and it is apparent. There are hundreds of bikes and all kinds of accessories. Their website is http://www.tacomabike.com/

Honey Baked Ham Co. & Cafe

I wanted to go to the Honey Bake Ham and Cafe at 2913 South 38th Street, Tacoma, WA  98409 before, but they close at 5:30 most days and I get there too late.  But today I was there at lunchtime and it was open! We shared the Roast Beef Bravo sandwich, which was very tasty indeed. The tomato basil soup was also good. It seems that much of their business is catering. Maybe we’ll try getting a ham or turkey sometime soon.

http://www.honeybaked.com/