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.
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!
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/
The 21st Street Bridge connects downtown Tacoma with the Port of Tacoma and is part of SR 509. The cable stay bridge was constructed in 1996 to replace the 11th Street Bridge (the Murry Morgan Bridge).
I was under the bridge (on the wrong side in this photo!) to attend an arts gathering which was fire dancers at the featured entertainment. How fun is that? Flair’s website is here:
http://tacomaflair.com/tag/tacoma/
There are two fast food places in Tacoma that I would travel to if I really had a craving for a burger and one of them is Legendz at 1201 South Sprague. It is exclusively a drive through with no indoor seating, though there are a couple of tables on the side of the building. For fast food, it is slow. That’s because they are actually waiting until one orders to make it. The burgers are really big and very tasty and thankfully they don’t publish the calorie count! Dear daughter had the fish burger and said it was also really good.
We go through Ellensburg, WA a couple of times a year and often stop to admire Dick and Jane’s Spot at 101 North Pearl Street. I’ve not seen a better collection of joyful folk art! Dick and Jane purchased the house in 1978 and began to add folk art (theirs and other artists). Dick passed away in 2008, but Jane continues to live in the house.
Their tag line is “Art for the heart, from the heart, in the heart of Washington”.
Their story can be found here:
http://www.reflectorart.com/spot/index.html
Yesterday I attended a function at the Lobster Shop at 4015 Ruston Way along the waterway. I love their crab dip! There are two Lobstershop Restaurants. The original opened in Dash Point in 1977 and this one opened in 1981.
Today I drove past the future site of the Grace Baptist Church Community Garden at 2507 N Vassault St, Tacoma WA 98406. The church’s website says “Our Community Garden is longing for gardeners! Contact the church office by phone (253.752.6643) or by email, gracebaptist@harbornet.com”.
There are several community gardens in Tacoma. The go to website for more info is http://www.growlocaltacoma.com/
Lincoln Bowl is located at 3828 South Yakima Avenue, Tacoma, WA. I’ve read that it no longer functions as a bowling alley, but instead is being used as warehouse space. It does however still have the great sign.
Update: 12/12 The building and the great sign are gone! Dear husband tells me that it will be a new Asian grocery store.
For years I’ve wondered about Saltwater State Park in Des Moines, WA. I mean I like parks and one with saltwater just has to be good, right? And yet I’ve only seemed to think about it as I drove by on I5 on my way to or from somewhere with no time to stop. Well, today after dropping my dad at the airport, I finally went!
It is lovely. There is plenty of Puget Sound shoreline (1,445 feet) with rocks to turn over and look for sea life, a stream that goes into the sound, some wooded trail areas, picnic tables, restrooms and a seasonal concession stand. I visited with a woman who was getting ready to scuba dive and she told me about seeing octopus and seals. There is an underwater artificial reef for scuba divers. My only caution would be to wear sneakers or other thick soled shoes because the beach area is covered with barnacles and broken shells.
http://www.stateparks.com/saltwater.html
