We ate our last dinner as single people at the Over the Moon Cafe, which was just around the corner from our hotel. The food was delicious. It’s very much a place to go for big occasions, like anniversaries and the like.
Aside from delicious food and drink, every table had a small box where people leave notes about their meal and celebration. I left one.
Just to establish the angle of the streets just outside our hotel.
The area in which we were staying had boarded up buildings, and many of them had gorgeous murals.
Some with participation.
The hidden message:
The Elks Temple is a gorgeous little beacon in Tacoma. This was our first time visiting.
We splurged on the room, and it did not disappoint.
It had a very pretty balcony.
And a fun view of the herb garden.
And a gorgeous view of Commencement Bay.
But also, the local person highlighted was a twirler! Yay marching band representation!
Stop number two on our journey to Tacoma was this National Wildlife Refuge.
A very fun way to encourage distance.
For a time, this was a kind of corporate farm. A businessman built a huge dike and ran his farm using all the most modern techniques. That included building these two gorgeous barns.
Eventually, the farm was not profitable, and the dike was breached to restore the tidal flats. Now, visitors can take a long walk through the tidal flats. We did this, it was fun.
Us at the end of the boardwalk. There was a woman having a very intense phone conversation, one that would have better been had in private, so we didn’t stay long.
Tidal flats.
There were a lot of birdwatchers. They had a lot of gear. I had a small camera. This was the bird I too a picture of.
Given that it doesn’t take much time to drive to Tacoma, I planned two side jaunts on the way up. The Mima Mounds Natural Area Preserve was the first.
The interesting thing about the Mima Mounds is that there is no clear answer about why the mounds are there. We hiked through the site and also came back with no clear answers. But it’s fun to see them undulate across the landscape.
As you can see, the mounds are not very high. But when seeing them rise across the landscape (see this picture) they make an impression.
We also saw some scat. It is apparently a very seedy time for this animal.
Things to bring:
