Tacoma Museum of Glass

I finally have two days off in a row... so we planned on going to Seattle today, but since we didn't get up early enough (surprise!) we went to Tacoma to check out the Glass Museum. It was pretty impressive as we not only got to see different pieces of glass, we also watched a few movies on the history of glass making and watched an artist and team blow a glass creation.

 

The large silver cone is the "Hot spot" workshop, where they have visiting artist creating glass pieces for visitors to observe. Some blow glass while others create sculptures. It depends on who is the artist for the day/week. The Bridge of Glass connects the glass museum to the Washington Museum of History.

 

The first section has a wall with different works of blown glass on display. I can't imagine what the cost of the display must be... one of the pieces of that size and character in the Museum Gift Shop was priced at over $1,000.

 

In the middle were these two "Crystal Towers". I think they are suppose to resemble lights (although the bridge is not lit up or even open past dusk. The Big squares of glass were rather large and impressive. It was so big that Corey could walk underneath the towers with room to spare.

 

The last part of the bridge had different pieces of glass in the ceiling. It appears that they are set in to the ceiling and layered for a very interesting look. The pictures turned out pretty good, but they were much more impressive in person.

Tomorrow we head to Pike's Market Place in Seattle... I'll let you know how that goes!

Mt. Rainier

So today I got a day off... and the weather was perfect! (The best so far... warm, no rain and clear!) So we headed to Mt. Rainier National Park for the day. It is about 45 miles from our apartment, and even though the Mountain can be seen for miles, often the clouds prevent a good view of it. We were able to get quite a few very cool pictures, but due to space I cannot post all of them. I talked to Martha tonight and she informed me that I needed to do a better job keeping up with this blog site... so I will try!

 

We got to go hiking and see a few of the old growth trees. Many were destroyed in a mudslide (or Lahar) in 1945... so a new forest has grown up around them and the old one is rotting away. The mud covered up the roots so deep that the trees could not survive. We went climbing down in what appeared to be where the glaciers and spring time thaw runs through the mountain. At this time of year we only saw a little trickle and many trees and rocks to try and climb over. In the background is the top of Mt Rainier at over 14,000 ft.

 

After we met someone from Pierz Minnesota (his grandparents happen to be friends and neighbors with mine... what a small world!) we headed to Narada Falls. It was a little tricky getting there since it has already snowed. However, the warm temperature melted some of it, so the falls was raging and we carefully made it down to a great viewing spot. The rainbow comes from the angle (I had to subject our camera to the mist... and after two pictures the lens was so wet I could not take anymore.) Corey didn't think the rainbow would turn out, but I think it looks pretty good!

 

When we were standing by the railing the wind from the water fall and the mist made us feel like we were at that ride at Valley Fair. You know the one where you stand on the bridge and wait for the water to come. It was a weird sensation, we felt like we were going to fall... but we didn't. The trip back up was a little treacherous, but the view was worth it.

 

We were not able to get all up to the highest point that is accessible by road since snow has already closed down some roads. We did make it up to the last visitor's center open where we found a bunch of people taking in the view (and feeding the birds.) One lady found this fox hiding in the trees, a bunch of us were trying to get his picture... with out much luck. Finally, he decided to come out of hiding and got up fairly close to the people... that is what happens when people don't read signs and decide to feed the wildlife (pretty soon the wildlife is not afraid of the people).

Letting Go...

We are back in Washington after a refreshing weekend in Minnesota. We came home for my cousin Nick's wedding... and had the chance to catch up with some people (mostly family and a few old friends.) I also finally got the chance to clean up the house a little. We have had a few challenging weeks trying to adjust out here in Washington. The paperwork and other things that come with moving and starting a new job hasn't been much fun. But at last things are turning around and we are getting settled. Traveling nursing is a lifestyle, and consequently takes a little adjusting! I also realized that since I never left home to go to college (I have only moved once... and that was to my own house), a lot of my challenges with adjusting come from "leaving home" and trying to let go. Living in an apartment takes a little getting used to (hearing other people flush their toilets, wash their clothes and needing to have volume control!)

 

Coming home we got the chance to see family, which is always a pleasure. Marina is growing up so fast. Mom and Martha brought her outside to the large Maple tree in the back yard and taught her how to run into the pile! It was really fun to see her go. She is quite the character with her laughter and contagious smile. She is going to be a great big sister. (Only a few more months left to go.)

 

With a face like that (and a matching personality) what's not to love about her! It is wonderful to us that she recognizes family and is very flexible when being passed around from one to another. She knows my mom and Martha very well... which can be a challenge in church when they are ushering or being Eucharistic Ministers... Marina spots them up front and wants to join them! It is kind of funny, unless you are the one holding her and trying to keep her quiet. She also loves phones and purses... she seems to have an internal radar that can detect open purses or cell phones left around... she disappears and in a few moments can be found wondering around the house with her new treasures! Of course we laugh at her, and then she laughs back. She is such an adorable little person.

 

I found my notes from our Honeymoon and our Pope pictures at home... I will go back and add in the missing dates in case any one wants to see more from our honeymoon. I am not sure how many days that will take, but it is on my agenda.

Oktoberfest

We didn't make it to the Puyallup fair... but we did go to the Oktoberfest that is held at the fairgrounds. Funny how we went to Berlin and couldn't find any German food... guess we had to go all the way to Washington to get some! We spent a few hours hanging out, eating Weinersnitzel and listening to German polka music before I headed off to work.

 

This lady was in a swing that was hanging from the ceiling. They used a lift to get her on the swing and then she is belted in. It was interesting... I am not sure that I would want that job!

 

This was a family of singers/musicians. The dad played the Accordion, the mom on the keyboard... and their three daughters also played different instruments (the clarinet, violin and the bells). They had terrific harmony. The drummer, trumpet and guitar players were friends of the family. We really enjoyed listening to them.

 

During one of the songs these dancers got up and starting waltzing. It was great to watch them in their traditional costumes. The room was decorated with the German flag and banners of Red, Gold and Black. Another building had a Scandinavian festival going on. That one was mostly crafts, a smaller stage for music and some food. We saw two different Beer Gardens, but being that I had to work... we passed on the beer!