THE TIME IS NOW. The weather couldn’t be better! Well.. sure it could. But that’s not the point here. Wednesday nights finally have something besides LOST associated with them. It is time for Tacoma residents to get out and do something on Wednesday nights. Especially those of you (like me) who have spent far too much time at home lately – this is your big chance! Get out, walk, run, paddle, sail, row, swim, skate, bike.. there must be something on that list that you do on occasion. Tacoma’s Ruston Way waterfront will be our destination this evening (as well as most Wednesdays in the near future). Hopefully the sailboats will be out in force so those of you that can’t quite make it onto the water will have something more interesting to watch than a few of us kayaks. Weeknights are much less hectic than the weekends on Ruston Way. Most of Tacoma waits for the weekend show-n-tell to head down, so parking and traffic will both be a breeze. Good luck. Safe travels. I’ll see ya if I see ya.
Somebody must know something
The other day I was flipping channels and stumbled upon the credits and outtakes of an 80’s/90’s movie that I’ve never seen before. Molly Ringwald was in it, but I’m not clear on whether or not she was Claire or a new character.. Paul Gleason was in the movie as Vice Principal Richard Vernon. This is what really got my attention. Somehow, some way this is a cousin of the Breakfast Club. I have no idea how much or how little they overlap, but there is definitely a connection. I flipped over to the TV Guide channel but it was too late – already moved on to next time slot. Before I got around to looking online at TV Guide, I was sidetracked by various and sundry tasks – at any rate I never got back around to figuring out the truth about this movie. If anybody can help me, please hold out your hand of knowledge.
Let’s give ‘em something to talk about
The Dock Street/Downtown waterfront of Tacoma is in trouble. The museum restaurant has closed, following the Blue Olive on their way out of town. The pedestrian bridge over I-705 is proving to be insufficient in fueling foot traffic from Pacific Avenue to Dock Street. Even before these closures, Dock Street has been a ghost town, but for construction workers, condo residents and the occasional boutique employee coming and going. A constant flow between Pacific Ave and Dock Street must be developed somehow, some way. It’s easier said than done, but necessary. If things don’t improve, this shiny, new area will continue to die like a limb with poor circulation. Surely, the urban planners have something up their sleeves!? There are currently a couple stealth ways to get from Pacific Ave to Dock Street by car, but they aren’t accessible to newcomers to the area. Those of us who have lived here know how to access Dock Street a few different ways. However, the train tracks and I-705 present quite a barrier to entry for those on the Pacific Ave side. Is it simply these logistics that hold the Tacoma Museum of Glass district down, or is it something more? Perhaps Tacoma needs to focus on getting more high-quality attractions in there. With all due respect, pet stores, sandwich shops and condos are great, but they don’t necessarily do much to attract visitors. I love the sandwich shop. Do you think I’d get in my car and drive down there JUST to have lunch there? I think not. I love the dog shop, too. Again, I’m not going to drive down there just to buy my dog a leash. There are plenty of places closer to home for that. So I ask you Tacoma, what is it going to take to get this area going??
Building fire on Ruston Way
I went down for takeout on the waterfront this evening and stumbled upon a large fire. The old building just south of Harbor Lights on Ruston Way was an inferno around 6:30pm. The road was closed, fire trucks and firemen everywhere. They had been there for awhile, so the sirens were off, and the entire image was very surreal. Giant flames were shooting 25 feet in the air out of the building and dark yellow/grey smoke billowed up and out over the water. An Amtrak passenger train passed about 30 feet from the flames and the travellers were given a great fire view as a vivid memory of Tacoma. Aside from the train, everything seemed eerily quiet. Suddenly I realized I had headed down the hill sans camera. This was a helpless, frustrating moment. You would have loved to see the photos I would have snapped. I even scanned the crowd of onlookers to find nobody taking pictures (I would have asked for them to email me). So instead of great photos of a really big fire in a cool old building on a nice evening on the charming Tacoma waterfront, you only get to read this.
Junior Daffodil Parade
This morning I headed up to the heart of the Proctor District to get a closeup on the Junior Daffodil Parade. In prior years, I’ve been on my way to Starbuck’s or the grocery store, unknowingly crossing up with a tidal wave of pedestrians, blockades and other confused breakfast-seekers. The Proctor District is no fun in a car on this particular morning. This year I gained the upperhand on the whole scenario, opting to travel by bicycle. Let me tell you, those blockades are GREAT when you’re on a bike because they don’t mean anything to you, except that you don’t even have to look for vehicles once you’re on the inside.
This was a very peaceful parade, amid a wonderful spell of sunshine and smiling faces; I meandered like a garter snake throught the apparent pretzel shaped course, snapping photos here and there. I even snuck up on my good friend and neighbor for a chat as the parade came to a close. This day ranks 2nd in “friendly neighborhood vibe of the year” only to the Mason Street block party, coming to an intersection near you in August.
As we were about to head home, we learned that the Junior Daffodil Website is the place to go to register a group to participate in the parade next year. We may get our (substantial group from the) block party involved next year, depending on what it takes to do so. Although I still don’t really know what purpose the parade serves other than community enjoyment, it sounds like a good idea to participate.
If the news cameras show up it must be good, right? Maybe even a breaking news bit on Tacoma Scout Pac 50 doing their best on the evening report?