There is public art everywhere in downtown Tacoma.
When we arrived and walked to the hotel from the train station it was like 28 Days Later – remember that zombie movie where Cillian Murphy wakes up in the hospital and goes outside and there’s no one around?
Later we saw people around but not many walking right in that area.
I don’t know if this is public art but there were language tidbits in the concrete which I am guessing are Puyallup.
I have a few more photos. Perhaps more to come.
I can’t remember how to do Photoshop arrows anymore. I tried to put one in and it was gigantic and then I fiddled with it and got it to a decent size but I couldn’t rotate it. Couldn’t remember how to deal with text either. No patience for re-learning today.
Many years ago we used to go this fantastic bluegrass festival called Wintergrass in Tacoma. A couple of old posts: (Wintergrass, 2002,
Wintergrass, 2005)
Turns out our hotel is the Wintergrass hotel which has been rebranded. As we walked around we remembered all the places we’d seen music: ballrooms down a floor, little nooks on the mezzanine level, and the restaurant is now a spa. Lots of great memories.
When we were walking around the hotel we remembered the area although almost everything has changed.
We went to the Karpeles Manuscript Library Museum. The museum director grew up in Vancouver around the same time as Bob so we had a fun conversation and made a new friend.
I love these ads painted on buildings. There are quite a few in downtown Portland as well.
Very quick travel log. Might be a few more posts.
Not long ago, I posted about the statue where I get off the bus.
Here’s a view of the statue from the office if you stand at the very edge of this one window:
I feel like it’s optimistic that I will get back here and finish up the Tacoma trip — but I will try. I want to keep this short because I only have another couple hours to get out in the yard and I know I won’t want to get on the computer after I’m done.
This is the train station in Vancouver. While you wait you get to watch the metal recycler work. On our day a guy was playing the banjo as accompaniment. I was sorry we left before they ripped apart the school buses.
Bob and I did a quick trip to Tacoma for our anniversary.
Telling people you are going to Tacoma is like telling people you are going to Belgium.
They say, why?
People, Tacoma and Belgium are both awesome. (Here’s a post from Belgium, 2014)
There are lots of museums, fun restaurants, and a lovely waterfront. It’s easy to get around and nothing is crowded.
I was afraid Bob would wake up dying for a coffee and we would end up at some sad toasted bagel counter drinking hot drinks out of little paper cups.
I did the homework and found Hob Nob — a neighborhood favorite — and for good reason. It was a nice walk, adjacent to Wright Park, a place we planned to visit anyway.
It rained but just enough to be refreshing.
Delicious.
Hopefully more to come.
This guy chased the bunny around the yard, goofed at the camera but also was afraid of it, and then had trouble with his bath.
There is a vacation rental across the street and before it was a rental, the owner lived there and they rarely do anything with the yard. The theme was neglect. It was sad because the previous owners did a lot with the yard and had flowers. All gone now.
Today, at about 8:30a three trucks came in and they weed-eated and hedge-whacked and pruned and leaf blew for hours. They had a huge crew and I can’t even imagine how that many people kept busy for so long.
I have a little bit of use it or lose it leave time so I took an extra long weekend.
It has gone by so fast. I did a mixture of chores and lazy things. I watched all the men’s gymnastics coverage from the recent US championships. I haven’t watch men’s gymnastics in ages and I don’t understand why this sport isn’t bigger. Amazing athletics. I did lots of walks. I read 2 New Yorkers because the week before last arrived late. I made some whole wheat sandwich bread and a peach pie. Both came out great.
Now, I’m trying to take care of computer stuff that I’ve been putting off and every time I sit down I remember why I put it off.
A couple weeks ago, Timbers legend Diego Valeri was honored at the match. He did the coin toss. We were playing Columbus and their team captain, Darlington Nagbe is also a Timbers legend. Our captain, Diego Chara, you guessed it, legend. They all played on the team when we won the Championship. It was so sweet and wholesome to see all three of them there.
I think this person is my soulmate:
I Don’t Think Anything Is Worth Waiting In Line For But I Don’t Want To Seem Stuck-Up Either
Favorite quotes:
“But speaking for myself, I do not believe that anything can be as good as not waiting in line feels.”
and this:
“It is my opinion that no food, no experience, no exhibit can ever successfully compensate for the suffering and personal degradation line-waiting inflicts upon me, and therefore if a line ever gets in between myself and a desired encounter I immediately surrender and go elsewhere.”
Well, maybe not my soulmate in the full intention of this essay.
I don’t like to wait in line. It’s not snobby. I don’t mean like wait at the grocery store or at the airport.
But not for attractions like restaurants or museum exhibits.
Now that I’m trying to articulate it, I see that my personal stance is very particular and hard to explain.
I guess I just don’t see the point. Waiting in line to get into a packed restaurant where the servers are harried and you’re elbow to elbow and can barely have a conversation. How is this enjoyable? Same thing when you’re traveling and there’s some famous object and you get on a bus and arrive at the famous object and then join the throngs of people to see the famous object. Why is *this* object famous and not that object next to your hotel where there is no crowd?
I don’t get it. No judgement. I just don’t get it.
This is my office building.
It looks so fancy from the outside. Like there must be amazing things going on inside.
And the curved part in the middle — those offices must be really cool.
Nope. It’s an office building. From the inside the curved part just seems like a window.
Sorry to disappoint.
Back when Mom was here, there was a fire in this building. They had some of the people on the news and it was so sad – people who lost everything and didn’t know where to go.
When I was waiting for the bus, people were talking about it and swapping stories. My office faces away so I didn’t even know it happened.
I was at the health clinic last week and saw the wreckage.
It was really hot and dry so I scrubbed the bucket and put fresh water in and put it back in its place.
I also put out a little dish for animals that can’t reach the bucket.
But also: the camera has been mostly blank, night after night.
Then this guy showed up. With friends? Not clear from the clip but there were 2 turds. How can deer turd that much? Or do they hold it all in until they get to my yard? They damaged the apple and pear tree.
I was slacking on setting up the motion sprinkler. Sad to admit but one reason is that it’s dark when I leave for work and I don’t like stumbling around the backyard trying to turn it off.
Also, this cutie coming through, seasoning the water with his dirty feet.
These are a couple of the giant tomatoes I was talking about before. There are more out there.
Bob was gone for a couple of days and for lunch and dinner for 2 days I turned one of those tomatoes into sandwiches. They were so good.
I also made a peach berry pie last weekend.
Something about foods you can only eat at a certain time of year make them extra delicious.
Here’s a little raccoon print.
The trail cam has been quiet lately. It went so long without a photo I thought it was broken.
But I got clip of a cat running through the other night so it works.
For some reason have to do with a route downtown switching to articulated buses, my bus stops changed.
My morning bus now stops right in front of the second largest hammered copper statue in the United States. See if you can guess what the biggest one is.
I love this statue. You can see a partial view of it from our office, too.
One morning I noticed that there is a model of the statue in the window across the street. Portlandia facing Portlandia.
What do you think it means?
I took a picture of the reflection of Portlandia in the window of the mini-Portlandia. It didn’t quite work but it’s there.
