Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 5 in Tacoma

Today our schedule included two things - a visit to the LeMay Car Museum and dinner where we could watch the second preseason Seahawk game! We began at 9:30 with a guided tour of the museum.

There were 17 of us that went and we had a great time looking at all the cars and learning a little history about the cars from our guide. Bob and I went to the museum a couple of years ago but I learned that while the museum owns about 1000 cars, they rotate 300 through the exhibit at any one time. Someday Bob and I would like to drive Route 66 across the country and one part of the exhibit talked about it and also showcased some of the types of cars you would have seen along the route in the 60s.

Another area showed some alternate modes of transportation that were interesting to see. There was the bicycle, the first electric car with its separate charger, and a Stanley Steamer,

 

A couple of my favorites were the 1957 BelAir, turquoise of course, that I would love to have. I also enjoy seeing old fire engines and this one caught my attention.

For dinner, we all went to Paesan Restaurant for good pub food and to watch the game. We had a great time and pretty much took over the restaurant for the evening.

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 4 in Tacoma

Thursday morning we left Olympia and headed to Dock Street in Tacoma.  It took us 3-1/2 hours and it was an uneventful run. As we entered the harbor, I got a good picture of Al & Sue following behind us. This is a very nice marina and it is obvious they have been working hard to make it a tourist destination for boaters.

After everyone arrived, Bob and I took some time to catch up on our reading and I did some paperwork for our business. Barkley was happy to get a couple of walks and greet everyone he met. The bridge that crosses overt I-5 was designed in a way that showcases the glass museum that is adjacent to the bridge. The wall included many pieces of art (with bullet-proof glass protecting them) and also the ceiling was full of pieces that represented sea life.

This evening, we all went to dinner at Harmon's Brewery and Restaurant. One thing the restaurant did that we thought was a great idea was to have a variety of toys available the kids could play with at their tables.

We discovered that the glass museum is open on the 3rd Thursday of the month for free until 8:00pm. I went with Al and Sue to take a quick look and were able to watch the artists working in their hot shop make another piece of glass. I was pleased to discover the gift shop had beautiful spheres that contained sand and seashells. We used to have one years ago that somehow got broken and I have always wanted another. These were made by The Glass Eye in Seattle and were reasonably priced.  Mine will take center stage on our boat in the near future.

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 3 in Olympia

Today was for sightseeing and shopping so we had a leisurely morning and then gathered together at  9:30 to go for our tour of the capitol building. When we arrived, we passed by the World War Monument. It was to honor those who fought in WWI but since it was made before WWII, the statue states "World War".

Across from the Capitol was the Temple of Justice. We wandered through on our own and found the Law Library and where the Supreme Court meets.

 

We began our guided tour on the steps of the Capitol Building with a description of the doors. They are of bronze and weigh one ton each. She showed us that they can easily be opened with two fingers. Al demonstrated for us but the guide joked that it took him four fingers to open them! The close up of one of the doors shows the original building before this one was built from 1922-1928. There are six doors, each with a different scene. She also pointed out there are 42 steps up to the entrance signifying that Washington was the 42nd state to join the Union. 

 

In the Entry Hall is a time capsule that was placed there for the bi-centennial in 1976. It will be opened again in 2076. The contents include 100 letters written by children describing what they though life would be like 100 years from then. The contents also include evergreen tree seeds, water, air, a can of Olympia Beer, and some canned salmon. 

These photos show the rotunda and the incredible architecture of the building.

We moved on into the Reception Room which also doubles as a ballroom every four years for the governor's inauguration. The 42 star flag was made to commemorate Washington becoming part of the Union on February 22, 2989. If no other territories became US states by July 4, 1890, This flag would have flown over the nation's capitol. As it turned out, on July 3, 1890 Idaho joined the United States and their flag flew on Independence Day.

 

 

Legislature was not in session while we were here but we did get to go inside the House of Representatives and the Senate.

 

 

We really do have a beautiful Capitol here in Olympia. It was such a privilege to hear about the history and all the symbolism that went in to creating this campus. Our guide was wonderful and very knowledgeable about everything we saw.

 

As we were walking around the grounds waiting to return to the marina, we stumbled across the Law Enforcement Memorial that overlooks Capitol Lake. It is a wonderful tribute to our fallen law enforcement personnel. Sadly, there were many, many names on the memorial including recently fallen officers such as the Lakewood 4 (Griswold, Owens, Renninger and Richards) who were gunned down while sitting in a coffee shop. Jayme Brindl who was a corrections officer at Monroe Penitentiary and was killed by an inmate, Sean O'Connell who was killed on his motorcycle in Skagit County, and so many more. Thank you to each one of you for your service.

Tonight our club was invited to join the Olympia Yacht Club for their monthly burger night. We all loaded onto Ron and Denice's boat, NeaSea LaRae, and Ron took us over to the yacht club. We met some wonderful people and learned that their club is probably the most like ours of all the Grand 14 clubs in Puget Sound.

Our ride was much more comfortable than our dinghies were last night but both proved to be fun times in their own way. It was lovely tonight with the gentle breeze and a little cooler temperature.

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 2 in Olympia

Today we cruised on to Swan Town in Olympia for a two day stay. The landscape reminds us very much of the Gulf Islands. There are not many boats and there are lots of trees. The water is much shallower here so it is not good for crabbing. We passed many beautiful homes on our way here. We all left at about the same time so there were a train of boats behind us.

After some reading and relaxing, we gathered on Miss Maui (Rob and Kelly's boat) for happy hour and then took dinghies over to The Oyster House for dinner. We didn't leave the restaurant until about 9:30 so it was dark coming back. It was a little of an adventure returning to the marina with the dinghies since it was dark and, even with lights, it was hard to see each other. The one ahead of us did not have a stern light so we just stayed in their wake. We made it back just fine and had a lot of fun in the process.

Commodore's Cruise to South Sound - Day 1 at Longbranch

We headed out of Everett today to join up with the Edmonds Yacht Club at Longbranch. They left on Friday and headed to Gig Harbor but we decided to keep our eBay business open until this morning. Bob shipped our items last night so we could get an early start. We left the marina at 7:30am and had a beautiful trip to Longbranch.

Along the way, we passed Tillicum Village on Blake Island which is a well known tourist attraction with salmon dinner and Native American dancing and cultural displays.

As we cruised south we were welcomed to the South Sound by the Narrows Bridge near Tacoma.

We have never cruised south of Seattle except the morning we picked up our boat in Olympia. There is so much to see and it is really a beautiful area. On our left we passed the Chambers  Bay Golf Course where the U.S. Open was held this summer. I was relieved to see their brown grass and to discover I'm not the only one that can't keep my grass green in this unusually dry summer.

Another interesting site was the former state penitentiary on McNeil Island. The McNeil Island Corrections Center closed is doors in 2011. The small island also contains 52 homes and a K-12 elementary school.

We made great time getting to Longbranch and arrived about 3:00pm. We gathered for a salad potluck on the dock and enjoyed the company of the other EYC cruisers. Longbranch is a nice, quiet little place to go but there is nowhere to go once you are there. However, we did have a beautiful view of Mt. Rainier from the bow.