Category Archives: WA State – Pierce County

Honk! Honk! Goodbye Ruston Tunnel

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I knew when I read the paper yesterday that I needed to drive through the 1912 Ruston Tunnel one more time, honking all the way! And so I did, — four times actually, two in each direction. And there were plenty of other cars there too and everybody was honking and yelling and taking photos. The Tacoma News Tribune produced a nice write up about the tunnel which can be found here:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2011/07/11/1741529/honk-if-youll-miss-ruston-way.html

Be sure to check out the historic photo which is part of the article.

Happy Birthday 7-11!

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Happy Birthday 7-11! by Gexydaf

Today, 7.11.11 was 7 Eleven’s 84th birthday and they gave away 7.11 oz. slurpees all day long.  We went to the one near the Tacoma Mall at 4701 S. Oakes and we weren’t the only ones with this bright idea!  I had the banana, which was pretty darned tasty and dear daughter had the Berry, which was blue and she drank the whole thing so I guess it was alright. According to Wikipedia 7-Eleven is “is the world’s largest operator, franchisor and licensor of convenience stores, with more than 39,000 outlets”. 8,200 of these are in the US.  The company originated in Dallas, TX, but the franchise is now owned by the Japanese Company Ito-Yokado.

Art on the Ave (Sixth Avenue)

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Today was 13th annual Art on the Ave and today’s new place is the Sixth Avenue Business District.  We knew from reading status updates that parking was going to be tough, so we went to the TCC transit center and caught the #1 bus to Sixth Avenue.  It let us out withing a block of the festival.  It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been to this festival and it has really grown with lots of quality art for sale.  We purchased some 253 (the local area code) tshirts and I bought two hair clips.  We watched Vicci Martinez (recently on The Voice) belt out a couple of songs and then we had a cool drink and went home.  I think my favorite photo below is the guy who was filming Vicci Martinez on his iPad!

The website for Art on the Ave is here http://on6thave.com/art-on-the-ave.html

 

 

 

Blue Willow Lavender Farm

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What I should have been doing is cleaning the kitchen. Why do we have six nut crackers? Really, we don’t even eat nuts in a shell!

But I really wanted to go to the festival at the Blue Willow Lavender Farm (10615 Wright Bliss Road, Gig Harbor, WA 98329) , so I did that instead. The farm is lovely and smells divine. The festival was small, but really nice. There was an excellent harp player in the middle of one large field. We enjoyed the the you pick (cut) lavender and the gift store and all the booths.

http://www.bluewillowlavenderfarm.com/Blue_Willow_Lavender_Farm/Welcome.html

Bluebeard Coffee, Tacoma

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I’ve been meaning to stop at Sixth Avenue’s newest coffee shop since it opened in April 2011.  Bluebeard is located at 2201 6th Avenue, Tacoma in the 1928 building which had previously housed Rector Antiques, Cafe WA and a Ford Dealership.  They really have a lovely, open space with plenty of natural light.  My iced Americano was very good.   Service was a tad distracted, but pleasant.  I might have had a treat, but there were only eight in sight.  But if I had known they were from Corina’s Bakery I probably would have had one any way!  Bluebeard roast their own beans, which can be purchased for home enjoyment.

http://www.bluebeardcoffee.com/

The not so cheerful folktale of Bluebeard can be found here.  I wish I had asked the guy behind the counter why they picked the name!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluebeard

 

 

 

 

 

St. Vincent de Paul Mural

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Tacoma is a city full of interesting murals, many of them recent. The mural on the St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Store Building (5009 South 56th Street) had Christopher Jordan & Kenji Stoll as the lead artists and was installed in the fall of 2010.

Here is an interesting article on some of the new murals. http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/09/05/1328964/painted-revival.html

Greeting from Fern Hill

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The Fern Hill neighborhood has a wonderful mural that boldly declares Greetings from Fern Hill! The mural is located on the corner of South 84th Street and South Park Avenue on the Foam and Fabric Building. The lead artist for the mural is Kelda Martensen.

This webpage shows the mural as it is being developed.

http://www.tacomaculture.org/arts/MuralsComplete.asp

Titlow Beach on the 4th of July

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Some of the things we saw today while visiting Titlow Beach:

  • Lots of tiny crabs, some with egg sacks
  • Folks sunbathing
  • A man and his dog boating away in his inflatable canoe
  • A starfish
  • A wedding
  • The Narrows Bridges
  • Canada Geese
  • A low tide
  • The remains of the original pier
  • Trains, both freight and passenger

Altogether, a good outing!

Cascade Bagel

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This morning we were looking for a place to eat breakfast. We didn’t want to take the time and spend the money for a nice, sit down restaurant, I didn’t want fast food and dear husband didn’t want Starbucks or donuts. And then we had a brain storm! Cascade Bagel at 6115 Motor Avenue in Lakewood. We each got a toasted sesame seed bagel with cream cheese, his plain and mine garlic. They were delicious with a cup of coffee. While we were there, we also picked up a couple of bags of day old bagels. My only regret is that I didn’t ask for a tour of the cooking area, which apparently they will happily do for customers. Oh well, next time!

http://www.cascadebagel.com/

Lakewood Water Tower

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Lakewood Water Tower

Originally uploaded by Gexydaf

Today the family went to see the movie, Super 8, which we all enjoyed…way more than I expected. Anyway, there is a water tower featured in the movie, so tonight I stopped to consider the City of Lakewood Water Tower. I thought it looked nice with the blue tower against the blue sky. The tower is located on Bridgeport Road near the Lakewood Town Center.

The website for Super 8 is
http://www.super8-movie.com/