Puyallup (poo-yah-lip according to Saul) has a huge and wonderful artist/farmers market every Saturday morning during the summer. It is set in a park where children splash in a waterpark, climb a jungle gym or hop about a bounce house. Local artists display jewelry, soaps, clothing and home decorations. The farmers stalls abound with local fruit and vegetables. This was one of the largest markets we have visited. We took a bulging bag back to the RV.
We did talk to a man from Madras and asked how the town fared with the eclipse. He rued that the event was “over-hyped” and that many less people came than were expected. He explained that restaurants really suffered because they overbought on food for people who did not appear. The owner of his stall was one of those who will sustain a big hit. He said the town will take quite a while to recover from the financial loss they suffered.
We next drove into Tacoma for some woods walks. We started in Point Defiance which was crowded with Saturday visitors, a wedding and other events. Parking was at a premium so we went out to the end of the peninsula for a drive through the lush woods.
Then we went to The Tacoma Nature Center to walk through a lovely woods, labels gave the natural and human history of the area. It is hard to believe such dense foliage can exist in the middle of an urban area.
These turtles live in Snake Lake where we saw no snakes.
We celebrated another belated birthday dinner for Jerry. He chose Toscana, probably one of the best Italian restaurants we have dined in. From the focaccia bread through the tiramasu, each course was delectable. We are still debating whether his shrimp and gnocchi or Anna Lee’s chicken and artichokes was the better meal. We wish the restaurant were closer to home so we could repeat the experience.
Sunday after a buffet breakfast at the Elks Lodge, where we are parked, we knew we needed to work off all the food we had been enjoying. The day was perfect for an 11K volkswalk along the Tacoma waterfront. We shared the trail with cyclists, skateboarders and people in four-wheel bike-like vehicles.
The first stop along the walk was at the Chinese Reconciliation Park where the story of the Chinese coming to America to work the gold fields, then being forced out because the resident population no longer needed their services, nor wanted them around; a tale told too often here and throughout the world.
The rest of the walk was more uplifting with statues. artworks and murals adding to the beauty of all the boats along Puget Sound.
This bicyclist must have gotten hung up.
Another somber monument is a piece of the World Trade Center from the 9-11 attack.
This bronze is a tribute to firefighters.
Fireboat No. 1 was built in Tacoma and served the city for over 50 years. Its replacements were built in England in the '80s.
We wandered through a new condo development replete with restaurants. None tempted us so Jerry got on TripAdvisor and found that Duke’s Chowder House was the top-rated seafood restaurant and was on our return from the walk. The rating was no exaggeration. We shared a dungeness crab sandwich that rates at the top of our list. The restaurant has photos of a wide range of people named or identified as “Duke.” You probably can guess many of them (females included.)
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