There were a few hours left of being engaged (what I like to call instead planning a wedding) and so we used the pretty backdrop at the Bridge of Glass to take a few photos.
We had a musical interlude.
We were thwarted by the sun.
But managed to not be too squinty in this photo.
On the way back we took this timer photo that I think turned out quite nice, even with the flare.
And here we join together to create the letter looming over us.
After breakfast we finally told Laurie and Burt that we had lured them to Tacoma so they could be our witnesses. They were excited.
Laurie, looking for outdoor things to avoid COVID, had found the Chihuly Bridge of Glass, which was a not-far walk from our hotel. We set out to explore.
Matt and Burt and a traveler.
Looking up is imperative at the glass bridge.
Here is just a bit of what you will see.
There are also these massive sculptures.
A view of the museum.
Then you can explore this wall of glass.
I had everyone pick a favorite and pose.
Laurie’s:
Mine (it had orange):
Matt’s:
Burt’s:
I also liked this one, with the sea creatures.
As single people.
Aside from getting a fancy room, we also opted for breakfast at the hotel. While we were waiting, we took a pre-ring picture.
Though I felt like I was tempting fate to mail announcements before the ceremony, my want to get those envelopes out the door ASAP outweighed my worry about tempting fate. So I set off for the post office. Here’s what I saw along the way.
This gorgeous building, currently not occupied.
I love all the brickwork and detail.
These lovely lights.
This mural.
The actual mailing of the announcements. You can see I was nearly 14 minutes into my walk when I took this picture.
This was my favorite find.
Look at these great stairs. And landscaping!
More great muralage.
A gorgeous old Woolworth’s building. (A thing I just learned from Wikipedia while looking up the possessive situation with the Woolworth name: On October 20, 2001, the company changed names again; taking the name of its top retail performer and became Foot Locker, Inc., which Woolworth started in 1974. The corporate history of Woolworth is legally included in the history of Foot Locker, Inc., which is the legal continuation of Woolworth. Who knew? Not me!)
I thought it was interesting that Idaho ranch land was offered for sale in Tacoma.
This gorgeous quartet of ghost murals. I think a building must have come down fairly recently for that outfitting company’s to be so vibrant. That, or it is a recreation. But see that line above it? I’m leaning toward the first theory.
And more ghost murals.
Who knew that Rossell G. O’Brien started this particular tradition? Not me! (It’s slightly less interesting than the Woolworth/Footlocker connection.)
Even more muralage, this time with the building at the beginning of the post.
This gorgeous mosaic.
And finally, back at the Elks Temple, the joy that is the fifth floor.
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.
The primer color is not very inspiring, but I’m trusting the process.
