What to Do?

It was one of those days that doesn't quite pan out.  Cory and I started the day by heading out to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, just to discover it's one of those outdoor small parks that is best suited to parents with toddlers...and warmer weather. 

The ticket booth attendant recommended the Seattle Aquarium for a larger indoor venue so we will try that on Monday.  On we drove through the cold drizzle, eyeing up sights and hoping to stumble upon something else to do.  Unfortunately it was too early for lunch or I would have stopped at this place just due to the cool mural.

I thought about heading to Bremerton where I used to live as a toddler myself but decided it would just make for too long of a day.  We passed by Tacoma, where I stopped for a minute when I saw their Old City Hall.  Unfortunately the building is not open to the public.  The Italian Villa style building has a clock tower, and the bricks are believed to have come from ship ballast from China, Belgium or Italy.

The clock and bells were cast by the same foundry who did the Liberty Bell.  The building is owned by the city and they are trying to get a sale going to revitalize the grand structure, preferably a boutique hotel or other similar venue.  As I circled the building I came across an interesting mural that I assume has its roots in the Asian culture of the area.  There is a website for public art in Tacoma including murals, but this piece was not listed.

Onward to Auburn where we saw a few pieces of their Downtown Sculpture Gallery as we motored through. On Sunday we are moving to a different hotel in Auburn so I'm sure we'll get a closer look at more of the art featured there, plus we'll be revisiting Tacoma so maybe we'll see some murals as well.

I brought Cory back to our hotel and then headed back out myself to hunt down a place to walk.  Washington Trails Association has a great website for this purpose and I've used it to scope out where I'm going to try to fit in a few hikes without running into snow capped mountains hopefully. Today I settled for a 3 mile hike at King County's Lake Desire Park. 

Nothing fancy, tucked behind a residential area, it was a nice oasis after a day of driving around larger cities filled with weekend traffic.

There is no shortage of lichen and mosses in the Pacific Northwest, they love the damp air here. Though my shorter haircut isn't faring so well, it is proving to be a waste of time to straighten it in the morning!

Tomorrow morning I am lighting out very early to trek on out to Snoqualmie Falls and see what hiking I can find before the crowds show up. Then we have to move to our new hotel and hope to have time to check out the Museum of Glass in Tacoma and Dash Point State Park.