The evergreen state, lush and wet

Washington State was not given the monicker “the evergreen state”  for nothing!  And it should also be  called “the wet  state”!  By this time in CA where I came from the hills are already brown. But here, everywhere  you look is very lush and green, and wet.  It has been raining now for several days, and I mean pouring rain.  Of course we were not surprised, I’m  just whining a bit. But that did not stop us from being tourists and visit Seattle, Tacoma and drive to Point Defiance park. We performed the usual tourist duties by posing in front of the Space Needle and the Pacific Science Center.

Steve does not like using an umbrella but  this day is an exception in Seattle.  Walking in the rain with the one you love made our mile+ walk from the Space Needle to our lunch at the Crab Pot restaurant easy and relaxing.

The trip would not be complete without shopping and buying from the Pike Place Market.  We were in heaven seeing all those smoked salmon, beautiful flowers, fresh fishes and all kind of cheeses and every food that you can think of.

Despite the rain, we drove to Tacoma the next day to check out the Musuem of Glass which to our dismay is closed on Mondays. It was a let down but walking the Chihuly Bridge of Glass was amazing.  The collection of multicolored glass suspended on the ceiling called the Seaform Pavillion was something to behold. Looking up you can see the interplay of light and the illusion that you are under water.

Walking further at the center were the Crystal Towers which are forty feet tall. Because it was raining and gloomy the glass did not show the personality that we were expecting, nevertheless it was very interesting.

At the end of the bridge closer to the entrance of the museum was the Venetian Wall, an eighty-foot installation displaying 109 sculptures from the Paul Chihuly series.  This is a wow, amazing art work, the intricacies of the glass and the play of colors were really impressive. I wished I could take home one of those. This wall is a collection of some of the largest blown-glass works executed in the history of the medium.

We felt like we were walking in a ghost town, for we were the only ones there!  As we came closer to the entrance more artwork was on display.  I posed in front of the Fluent Steps, where you will see 754 individually hand-sculpted pieces of glass that span the entire length of the 210-foot-long Main Plaza reflecting pool.  The glass display looks ordinary on this rainy and gloomy day, but i think with lights and sun it would have been more beautiful.

Tacoma is world  renowned for its glass art which we did not know until we got there.  So if you like glass art this is the place to be.

Our last stop was at Point Defiance Park.  This time it was really pouring so we did not get out of the car. The Barrista at the coffee shop suggested to drive the five mile scenic drive at Port Defiance. We followed the road  through a forest tunnel that goes all the way around the point; you spend most of the circuit underneath a canopy of very mature evergreens, breaking out occasionally into scenic overlooks with views in many different directions out over the sound, islands, and across the water.  We just viewed this from the car as it was pouring.  We noticed there were a few hiking trails which we would have wanted to follow, but it was raining.  Maybe next time.