we stopped in Tacoma to see union station. some of these old restored train stations are as beautiful as a capitol buildings. since this is chihuly’s home town, of course it has some of his work in it.
you can see the difference size of the wholes in the tubes.
since they restored it to a different use, the train artifacts weren’t displayed. only a few pamphlets survived. it was a chance to see another part of the history of the trains though.
the museum of glass was right across the street, but we didn’t venture over there again since we had spent a whole day there in 2010. you can watch them blowing the glass in that big cone shaped building. we had seen the capitol that trip too so we didn’t visit that either.
we drove on down the road and ended up in castle rock for the night. I finally got to use my cherished item from the blacksmith. most of the campgrounds we’ve stayed at haven’t allowed campfires, maybe because of all the forest fires, I don’t know. so I haven’t gotten to use my poker. it’s a big one too. you don’t have to stand close to the fire to use it. it’s going to look nice on the fireplace at home, where I can see it every day and remember an amazing moment in time.
oh what a night
stay tuned
Once in awhile-now and again-this is us 
Finally got to see what the blacksmith made for you. Very nice and useful too. I love that last picture. Love you – Sharon
That station is amazing- I so enjoyed all the artwork pictures and the menus and information plaques. You bring the city and the beautiful nature to life in your blog. That poker will be handed down in your family for generations with the story behind it.
thanks Sharon, that poker is going to come in handy. were you surprised?
thanks Martha, for your beautiful comment. let’s see, who should i leave that to in my will? tracy, tony?
Hey – i’m moving to a place where i’ll need fire in the winter, a poker might come in handy! Tony would probably end up using it for gardening! Anyway, you’ve got plenty of time to enjoy it yourself. PS i sure hope Chris and Jose don’t have a fire pit….
I laughed out loud tracy. in fact they do.
The train station menu was fun to see, a reminder of how much things have changed in our brief lifetime. Loved the two Chuhuly close ups. The blue glass sculptures are my favorite. I was so curious what the blacksmith made for you, and now I know. It’s beautiful.
didn’t you come down on the train when the girls were little? what year was that.