Tag Archives: Chambers Bay

Chamber’s Bay Whole Foods

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16793848633_738f3a9fab_kI was pretty excited when I learned that Whole Foods was opening up a location in University Place (Chambers Bay Whole Foods, 3515 Bridgeport Way West, University Place, WA 98466). We had a Whole Foods near us (kind of) when we lived in Dallas and I’ve always enjoyed shopping there. My day to day shopping is elsewhere, but Whole Foods was a pleasure for a once in a while treat.

I went to Chambers Bay Whole Food’s grand opening with live music and free samples. It was a lively event! But yesterday I went back to see how they are doing now that the opening is over and the US Open has left town.

The good points are.

  • Their employees are helpful, cheerful and knowledgeable.
  • Free samples! Lots of delicious fresh fruit and even a little wine.
  • There is plenty of parking and an entire underground parking lot also.
  • Plenty of ‘to go’ meal options including pizza by the slice, salad bar, hot food bar, juice bar, coffee bar with adjacent bakery, a bar bar (yes, you can have beer or wine with your pizza there in the store!) and other made to order goods.
  • They have a lovely Facebook Page.
  • Their website is also well done.
  • They have a good selection of local produce and other goods. For example there is an upcoming brewer’s night with local beer brewers.
  • All kinds of products that I don’t see elsewhere.
  • I love the octopus on the narrows bridge art over the cheese shop!

The less than good points are:

  • Well, they are expensive. For example the leg cramp medicine my husband uses was 1/3 more expensive than it is on Amazon. Though I found quite a few reasonably priced items and some of the sale items (I love their soaps) were a steal!
  • This location doesn’t carry Tom’s Shoes, which is what brought me there. In fact they have very little in the way of clothes. That’s OK, if I want clothes with my groceries I go to Fred Meyers. Though I really wanted to check the fit on the new Tom’s sneakers.
  • Like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods doesn’t stock most day to day items, so if I want Pepsi or Oreo Cookies, I need to go elsewhere. They do have healthy options to sodas and sweets.
  • I was looking forward to taking a class or two there and they don’t seem to be set up for that. Maybe in the future.

The good outweighs the not so good and I’m delighted that they are here.

 

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Bridge of Locks, University Place

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IMG_1269A quick survey of my Facebook friends let me know that there are four Tacoma area bridges/overpasses that are being used as Bridge of Locks. On Sunday, which had glorious weather, I went to Bridge to the Beach that crosses the railroad tracks at Chambers Bay Regional Park in University Place. I hadn’t realized that I could drive down to the bottom of the park and I also didn’t know there was a bridge to the beach. What an amazing park it has turned into! There were families and couples with plenty of dogs. There were huge kites and picnics and music. Really it was splendid. I was there in August 2011 and it has significantly updated since then!

A short stroll took me to the modern bridge and at first I only saw a lock or two, but then there was a little cluster of them and at the end of the elevated pathway there were a number of them. Unlike many of the other Bridge of Locks, the arrangement of the Bridge to the Beach is such that each locks does not have its own little area, but instead can slide back and forth. This was a pretty exciting discovery for the four year old next to me!

Bridges of Locks are relatively new on a wide spread basis. The tradition is that those in love put their name on a lock then attach it to the bridge and throw the key away to symbolize their unfailing devotion.  This is a worldwide phenomena, as can be seen here.

The Bridges of Locks have not all been well received, with the weight of all those locks pulling down and damaging several structures. In University Place, there are no plans to remove the locks. Pierce County spokesman Hunter George said “We’re not encouraging it or discouraging it (the hanging of the locks). But we do think there are better ways. If people really want to demonstrate their commitment to each other, we’d love to see them get married at Chambers Bay. We have great rates. Or get a tattoo. Or both.”

Oh, and there is a picture of an osprey, just because they are such cool birds! Their wing span can be almost 6′ across, though I don’t know about the one on the nest.

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Chambers Creek Labyrinth

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10432192875_dc0ec30186_hI really needed to stretch my legs and for a couple of minutes it wasn’t foggy, so I sent off to see the Chambers Bay Labyrinth off of 64th Street. The labyrinth is based on the Chartres Cathedral labyrinth in France. At first I saw no discernible pattern, but after a while it became apparent and I walked its twisting ways to the center. More information on the labyrinth can be found here. And the worldwide labyrinth locator can be found here.

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One of the best views around

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As we dip into the second half of August, I find myself trying to squeeze in as much summer as possible before the rain and cool weather returns. Today dear daughter and I took the loop trail around the Chambers Bay Golf Course. The loop consists of two trails, the 1.25 mile Grandview Trail and the 2 mile Soundview Trail. The Grandview Trail is pretty much flat and looks out over over the Chambers Bay Golf Course and Bay. We were pretty happy to see a quick little Garter snake slipping through the grass on the upper level! The Soundview Trail is pretty level along the railroad tracks and water, but rather steep going up and down! Going counter clockwise, facing the bay, the Soundview Trail starts in a lovely forested area and then goes along the railroad track. Further on there are the remains of the industrial use of the property and then there is the open and extra steep hill going back up. Where the trails meet there is the clubhouse restaurant, where we had a lovely lunch before heading back to the car.