I love big claims… the world’s best pizza, burgers, etc. I love that Wallingford claims to be the center of the universe and I also love that Tacoma’s First Church of the Nazarene at 3640 South M is the Epicenter of Hope. So on this snowy day I drove over to the church to snap a photo. Their sign says that they have English and Latino Gatherings and that there is a Samoan Service at 2:00 on Sundays.
I was sent to Harbor Freight Tools at 5401 6th Avenue Tacoma, WA 98406 to purchase knee pads. They had really good prices, perhaps because of the sale, and some unusual products. Their website is http://www.harborfreight.com/
Fire Station No. 16 at 7216 Sixth Ave., Tacoma, WA, 98406, is the site of art by Bob Henry titled Wilson Rams. The Tacoma-Pierce Co. Public Art Tour site (http://wspdsmap.ci.tacoma.wa.us/website/Art2/viewer.htm) says that the medium is Paint on canvas and the size is 10′ x 30′.
I love the bright colors and the fact that it is a local artist and a local scene! What I don’t like is that it is primarily visible from a small side street that leads to the driveway of the firestation and a small apartment complex. It would be great if more people could enjoy it!
The word cryogenics gets my imagination going! Per Wikipedia, It means “the study of the production of very low temperature (below −150 °C, −238 °F or 123 K) and the behavior of materials at those temperatures“. When I hear it I think of human bodies being frozen until a cure for the disease they are dying from has been found and I think of science fiction books where the characters are frozen for a long, long space voyage.
I found an interesting article on cryogentics here http://abcnews.go.com/Health/life-ice-world-crazy-cryogenics/story?id=14167348#.TwuZh1auHTo. The article states “And for approximately $30,000, anyone can be cryogenically frozen. Currently, there are over 200 people in a frozen state at cryonics centers in the U.S. – and some 2000 people have signed up for it.”
Cryogenics is the word printed on the large canister at Pacific Welding Supplies, 2902 S M Street, Tacoma, WA 98409. I suspect that the canister is most likely used for the gases involved with industrial welding instead of human preservation or space travel, but still its fun to consider the possibilities! The website for Pacific Welding Supplies is http://www.pacificwelding.com/
I’ve gone past Mattress Mania at 2901 S 12th St., Tacoma, WA 98405 plenty of times, but on Wednesday I paused to consider it for a moment. The Tacoma Public Library indicates that in 1909 the site was occupied by I.E. Russell Drug Store and in 1930 by Twelfth Street Drug Co. and in 1950 by Fowler’s Twelfth Street Drug Co. The Pierce County Assessor’s Office shows that the building was constructed in 1938 and I’m unsure if the original building was demolished
“Coffee in Tacoma that doesn’t suck” is the motto of Satellite Coffee at 817 Division Ave., Tacoma, WA 98438. I stopped in today for coffee and a cookie and they were both unusual. The coffee was French Press and really good and the chocolate chip cookie had raisins. The cookie was good to, just not what I expected. There are two Satellite Coffees and this one is located up a short flight of stairs. Inside there was some catchy music and a funky, pleasant atmosphere.
There website is here: http://www.coffeetacoma.com/
The write up of their other location is here: http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2237
Normanna Hall at 1106 S 15th St., Tacoma, WA 98405 is another very wonderful building in Tacoma (the corner of South 15th and Martin Luther King, Jr.). The building was constructed in 1922 and Geo. Trust was the architect. The dedication was on March 19, 1923. On August 24, 1979, the lodge celebrated 75 years in America.
The Sons of Norway, is a lodge that is dedicated to preserving Norwegian heritage and culture in the Tacoma area for over 100 years. Sons of Norway and promote Norwegian traditions and fraternal fellowship through cultural and social activities. Once a year, in October, the Norden Lodge (Sons of Norway) has its annual Lutefisk Dinner there.
The Metro Tacoma Fencing Club occupies space in the building and the Seattle Branch of the Royal Scottish Country Dance Society has been known to kick up their heels there.
For more information about the lodge, including some photographs, check out their website at http://www.norden2.com/
As we usually do, dear daughter and I celebrated New Year’s Eve at Tacoma’s First Night in Downtown Tacoma. We drove to the Dome Transit Center and caught the Link to the theater district and then we kicked up our heals! It is really a top notch event. The weather was cold, but not frigid and there was no rain (a small miracle). I ran into a bunch of folks that I knew, but dear daughter seemed to know almost everybody! She declared that her schoolmates owned the downtown domain!
The new place for the day is the Pythian Temple at 924-926 1/2 Broadway, Tacoma. The building was constructed in 1906 for the Commencement Lodge No. 7 of the Knights of the Pythias. On August 23, 1985, Pythian Temple was added to the National Register of Historic Places. The meeting room is upstairs and is amazing, with dark carved woods and lovely frescoes and a huge organ.
For more on the Temple, including some historic photos, go to here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pythian_Temple_%28Tacoma,_Washington%29
This is my sixth building that was designed by Frederick Heath, architect and named after the 25th President of the United States, William McKinley. The others are:
http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2012 Oakland School
http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=1961 Urban Grace
http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=1335 Titlow Lodge
http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2370 Tacoma Public School’s CAB
http://blog.firsttries.com/?p=2374 McKinley School
It is a pretty chilly day, but pleasantly sunny. I was thinking about taking a walk and I asked dear daughter what she thought. She said no (something about a school project), but both dogs heard the W— word. Oh no! They pranced and danced and barked and whined and when I took down their leashes, the smaller dog (lLilly) grabbed the end as if to just walk herself. Well, OK then. Wapato Park has a nice, short walk around the lake. My coat was plenty warm enough, but I hadn’t counted on the breeze off the lake and wish I had brought a hat. The dogs thought it was the best walk EVER! We saw other dogs, ducks, geese, lots of crows and some kids. The park includes a covered picnic area, a bathhouse, grassy areas, playground equipment and a observation dock. Apparently the name Wapato comes from some of the native vegetation and means small potato!
The park’s website is here http://www.metroparkstacoma.org/page.php?id=285
When I heard that Zoolights at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium was featuring a scuba diving Santa on select days, I knew that we had to go! So, despite the fairly heavy rain, yesterday dear daughter, her dear friend and I went off to the zoo. It was really great! The rain mostly stopped and it was pretty temperate. I thought parking would be a snap, but the lot was almost full. Must be the pull of Scuba Santa! There was a short wait to see Santa, but when we got in we had a pretty good view and didn’t feel rushed. Everybody was having fun and the kids really got a kick out of it!
