Day 3: Erin' visit (last day) - Glass Museum preview

Day 3 of Erin's (poohstanggt) visit is a relaxed day, we plan on fitting in what we can but there is always next time if we don't get to some stuff. We start the morning off both handeling work/business stuff and we head out around noon I reckon(I guess:) We start off stopping by my folks place to drop off some luggage for there upcoming trip and erin stays in the car, as my family's long haired cats would make her sneeze up a storm. So I drop those off quick, mom was not home so no mom hugs :( then we are off towards the downtown area of Tacoma.

We arrive in Tacoma and we start off by taking care of our growling stomachs. We decide to do this at the The Swiss Pub, this pub/restaurant has Dale Chihuly glass pieces and is part of the Chihuly glass exibit  that is located in 5 different locations.

You can park in one spot and easily walk to all of the items. When you go to the Union Station (Federal courthouse) you will need to show photo I.D. if you want to get into a good spot to take photos. Other locations of pieces include: University of Washington Tacoma Library = Huge red glass chandelier, Chihuly bridge of glass, and the Tacoma Art Museum. This is all part fo the Tacoma Museum District.

The Swiss was a pretty cool spot and I am considering using the location for a future meetup of some sort. Besides Chihuly glass pieces(above the bar) it also has other items personally owned by Chilhuly that he does not have room for in his storage so he puts them on display(so i am told) , there are many accordians for instance. It was mid-day so not busy, we order a couple beers(again Erin is happy they have schmittwicks on tap) and i try some beer I have never tried before just cuz the name sounded cool(some alaskan something or another.

..lol) we ordered our food and sat at the bar. As for the food, all I can say is I had a french dip sandwich with green peppers and something else in it that did not need ajou dip , it stood well on its own = it was friggin grub my friends ;)  (very good) We also got an appetizer of little potatoe pieces(there take on fries) and we er should I say "I" scarfed most of those down :) Erin had a nice sandwich of some sort. Now maybe i could remember easier, but we were so hungry we were almost done with our food before Erin said "oh crap pictures" we both looked at eachother and Erin adds "Mel is going to kill me" (melemel8) (for not taking food pics...lol) I think I will just go back there soon and order the food again and take pics and add them in :) If I had a last meal and it was that sandwich I would be happy! So we finish up with our food and photos of the place and we make our way for other stuff.

We go down the stairs and head towards the other Chihuly exhibits and other places of interest. The Tacoma Museum of Glass is closed on mondays but we really only wanted to get a taste for it that day. We were able to walk across the Chihuly Bridge of Glass that connects Pacific Ave and the other museum locations with the Museum of Glass and other waterfront places(bridge goes over train tracks and a small freeway)(see photos). We take some photos to give others an idea of whats there(outside) and some area shots. Then we head to the old Union Station and the gift shop for the Washington State History Museum (gift shop was open, but the museum like the glass museum is also closed on monday). A stop for a little train talk at the museum gift store as I notice a train exhibit they have going at the museum(my uncle is a train historian/photographer and has had multiple pictorial books published, and I kinda dig trains from growing up around him).

We then head to a coffee house that brews there own coffee called Cutters Point coffee and Erin purchases some coffee to take back home for herself and for gifts(she wanted coffee you could not find in California). we then walk back up the steps to the vehicle , and we decide to make our way to Seattle.

First stop in Seattle is the Oboy Oberto Factory Outlet Store I buy some beef and turky jerky for my personal comsumption and also some turky jerkey for a friend. Erin buys a few bags to take back as well. We then take back roads(freeway is at a crawl) as it is rush hour by that point, and i show her a few neighborhoods like Seattles "alternative" neighborhood which is called "capital hill". We continue winding our way to the University of Washington campus area and then make our way to the Greenlake neighborhhod of Seattle (surrounding a  natural lake that is great to walk/bike/rollerblade/run around.

All of this is just a drive thru tour, until we get to the Fremont Troll and get out to take photos. This is likely to be our last stop as Erin needed to be at the airport that night. Erin thought the troll was cool(perhaps a bit creepy:) and all was going well and even though it was a bit cold, we were smiling and all was apparently good until "IT" happened. We are heading back to the truck, I hit the button, the doors to my explorer unlock and I decide to open the door for Erin(curb side) , so  I am being nice and she is being nice by trying to make sure her shoes are clean as she enters the truck, in doing so she leans forward as I am opening the door and BAMM the door hits Erin right in the forehead :(   Well things HAD BEEN going good, now she is dizzy and feels like she might be nautious(her mention of a previous head injury has me worried). The remaining half hour drive to the airport was not to fun for her and she struggled a bit at the airport and during the flight and coming days with headaches and nausea(i hope i am telling it right)(just what you want when getting on an airplane is to feel nautious). Moral is = watch out for body parts especially heads when opening car doors!

I had a good time showing Erin around, plenty of new things seen by both of us. I just wish it would have ended better for her, if she dares visit again i will try to refrain from attempting to damage her :)  Now this area will be known for "that shane guy who gives you a nice wack on the head when you leave "I need to work on my "promoting tourism" skills i think ! :)

Thanks Erin for the visit and the help planning for the Sept. seattle meetup, much appreciated! Again sorry about the knot on your head!  :)

UPLOADING PHOTOS RIGHT NOW, LAST OF THE PHOTOS WILL BE OF THE FREMONT TROLL

Please consider checking Erin's Journal and reviews for these events as well.

See below for food review and food photos(food photos available soon).

*****below are links used for this journal entry.

http://www.traveltacoma.com/

http://www.tacomaartmuseum.org/page.asp?view=8258

http://www.museumofglass.org/

http://www.wshs.org/

http://www.theswisspub.com/

http://www.cutterspoint.com/

http://www.roadsideamerica.com/attract/WASEAtroll.html

http://www.

seattle.gov/parks/park_detail.asp?ID=307