Tag Archives: Puget Sound

Point Ruston Just Keeps Getting Better

Leave a reply

What used to be home to an ugly, smelly smelter plant for Asarco has magically transformed into a lovely, walkable shopping and dining district and homes for those who prefer condominiums or apartment living with views of Commencement Bay.

Point Ruston, located on Ruston Way on the Tacoma waterfront continues to add new restaurants and stores almost monthly, it seems. It’s become one of my favorite places to walk around, eat, take the dog, see a movie or just stare at the beauty of Puget Sound.

Here are a few of my preferred haunts:

Coming soon:

  • Ice Cream Social just in time for the sunny summer days we hope are coming
  • Silver Cloud Inn so you don’t have to leave
  • Purpose Boutique where you can shop with your gal pals
  • Fish Brewing Company with seating for 360, handcrafted brews, wine and food

Just when you think a place can’t get any better, Pt. Ruston recently announced their inaugural concert series beginning Saturday, June 24, 2017. Free live music for all ages, every Saturday from 5-7 p.m. until September 2. Look for these groups:  Strangely Alright, Sweet Kiss Momma, Kim Archer Band and Ted Brown Showcase.

Courtesy Travel Tacoma

Breaking News:  A new trolley, the Downtown to Defiance Trolley, goes into service on June 2, 2017. It will take passengers from downtown to the Ruston Way waterfront, Pt. Ruston and Pt. Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. Leave your car at the Tacoma Dome Station and take the Tacoma Link to downtown for no charge. Then catch the trolley and you can leave all the driving to Pierce Transit.

 

“Exploring Washington’s Backroads” Paints a Perfect Picture

5 Replies

John Deviny, author of “Exploring Washington’s Backroads,” was kind enough to give me a copy of this most intriguing book. It’s a short, concise volume packed with trips throughout our state that anyone, traveler or local, would enjoy. Photos on every page just make the enticement more alluring. Deviny has divided the state into what her calls “Backroad Trips,” 17 of them to be exact.

View from Skamania Lodge in the Columbia Gorge, which is also mentioned in the book.

Each of the trips describes the general location, “Sights and Scenes” not to miss and a route to follow that truly depicts the culture and personality of the area. For example, “Backroad Trip 2” loops you through the Black Hills of the Puget Sound region in Thurston and Grays Harbor counties. In our Capitol, Olympia, you begin the journey and then drive through forested hills above the Chehalis and Black River plains through old timber towns and quaint businesses. Be sure to investigate the magical Mima Mounds.

You visit towns like McCleary, which actually holds a Bear Festival (July 12-14, 2013), and where the door factory is still in business wafting off the smell of sawdust to remind you it’s a mill town.

Each trip holds surprises and new information (even to me) so when you’re ready to discover small-town Washington, I urge you to order this book, pile the family in your car and head on down the road. You’ll be glad you did.

Deviny advises you to explore on your own, beyond what he describes in his book, “A good road trip is an art form, and the open road is your canvas.”

Soap Lake, also mentioned in the book, has a new sundial.

Visit Fort Worden for a Host of Fun

Leave a reply

An appetizer courtesy of Bon Appetit

Fort Worden, in Port Townsend, along with Fort Flagler and Fort Casey on Whidbey Island, once guarded the nautical entrance to Puget Sound. Established in the late 1890s, these posts became the first line of defense designed to prevent a hostile fleet from reaching targets like Bremerton and Seattle. As an aside, I remember my dad talking about Fort Worden where he was stationed for awhile during WWII.

But these forts were never challenged and Fort Worden closed down in 1953. Eventually all three became state parks. The dedication for Fort Worden State Park took place in 1973.

Fort Worden, a 434-acre state park has 80 campsites, 60 picnic sites and holds a place on the list of State and National Register of Historic Places. The old barracks now serve as dorms and the hospital offers meeting space.

Besides offering public recreation, conference facilities, performing arts venues, vacation housing and historic and educational interpretive programs, it’s a darn cool place to visit.

The old Guardhouse has become a Gift Shop and Information Center filled with mementos like shirts, caps, coffee mugs, key chains, magnets, tasteful lighthouse gifts and of course, friendly volunteers. All proceeds from the gift shop go to improve the Park.

If you’re coming to the Fort for a conference or taking a class through Centrum, opt for the meals at Fort Worden Commons. Besides being a bargain at $34 for three meals, you’ll have numerous choices and from the sampling I tasted, the food is off the charts. You can thank Bon Appétit and Chef Jay Payne for the quality and freshness of the food.

Touch tank at Marine Science Center

Visitors can begin at the Guardhouse Gift Shop and navigate a walking trail with interpretive signs through the Fort’s history, which includes bunkers, tunnels and gun emplacements. Kids love to take flashlights inside the bunkers and tunnels and play.

On the beach, you won’t want to miss the Port Townsend Marine Science Center with its large touch tanks and creative geologic history and coastal wildlife displays. You can get up close and personal with a live octopus and an endangered pinto abalone. Hydrophones allow you to hear the sounds Orca Whales emit underwater. The Marine Science Center offers bird migration cruises, summer science camps for kids, nature walks, public programs and lectures. To check for days and times for events, visit www.ptmsc.org.

Alexander's Castle is a one-bedroom vacation rental and the oldest buiding at Fort Worden

You can rent the Officer Row homes for your vacation or even as a place to have Thanksgiving dinner if your family is large. Two of the units have been designated pet-friendly. www.fortworden.org

Enjoy your visit.

An Aquarium at Redondo

1 Reply

Blue wolf eel at Highline's MAST center

This past week-end I found more free attractions right in my own backyard. One of them is an aquarium put together by the Marine Science and Technology Center (MAST) at Highline Community Center. Located next to Salty’s Restaurant in Redondo on the beach, this place shows visitors what’s going on in the surrounding underwater communities in Puget Sound. I never realized we had such colorful fish in our waters. I thought they’d all migrated to Hawaii.

See-and-touch tanks allow you to feel starfish the size of steering wheels. Did you know they are soft on the bottom of their legs or stars and spiny along the side of their legs? I braved it and touched one because I didn’t want all the kids in the building showing me up. Tanks also hold sea stars, sea urchins, sea pens, anemones, snails, a blue wolf eel, ling cod, black-eyed hermit crabs, peanut sea squirts and an entire tank full of moon jellyfish. Grab a laminated mat from the chair up front and you can match the pictures on the mat to the actual marine life and learn their accurate names. A staff member is available to answer questions.

You enter through a separate building which has lots of displays and some interactive exhibits for kids to do. Leashed dogs are allowed.

MAST is open from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information, visit www.highline.edu/mast or friend them on Facebook, www.facebook.com/hccmast.

Salty's Restaurant at Redondo.

 

While you’re in the neighborhood, you’ll love dining at Salty’s (next door). This restaurant has a killer happy hour from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. daily (Sundays are a bit different) with delectable appetizers priced from $2 to $9 – appetizers that are very satisfying. My favorite is the smoked salmon with capers, egg, onion, dill cream cheese and crackers. I’m salivating just thinking about it.

Visit www.saltys.com for menus and other news.

Should you overindulge at Salty’s, when you walk out the door, you’re only steps away from one of the most scenic waterfront boardwalks ever. Walking the full length and back again is one mile. How many miles do you need to walk off your “indulgement”?

Along the boardwalk, you can read about the history of Redondo with its skating rink and dance hall. It used to be quite the entertainment destination for Seattleites.