Every year I go to Alaska in March to volunteer for the Iditarod. As a result, I’ve met people from all over the world, and have come to call many of them good friends. So when one of these friends from the San Francisco Bay Area said he was going on vacation to Seattle, I suggested we get together.

Ian loves using public transit and his own two feet to explore the cities he travels too. He said he wanted to take the bus to Tacoma to visit the Museum of Glass, so we agreed to meet there and then use my car to other areas after that.  After touring the glass museum we crossed the Chihuly Bridge of Glass to the old Union Station and enjoyed the old architecture and more Chihuly glass art inside.

Next we drove to Point Defiance and visited Fort Nisqually, which is a replica of the Hudson’s Bay fort that was originally located in the DuPont area south of Tacoma.  Volunteers dressed in period costumes are eager to talk to you about life at the fort in 1855. For more photos of Fort Nisqually, see my older post; Christmas at Fort Nisqually.

Ian also had a goal to ride a Washington State Ferry, so we left Tacoma via the Tacoma Narrows bridge for Gig Harbor, had lunch, and then drove on to Bremerton. Once we got to Bremerton, we found a small lavender farm to visit and then I dropped him at the ferry terminal for the ride back to Seattle as a foot passenger. I had a nice drive back to Olympia via Belfair, Union, and Shelton.

Oh, and regarding the lavender farm in Bremerton. Ian got some photos there with his point and shoot camera, but because I had a “professional” camera (Nikon D800E) I was not allowed to take photographs. I don’t quite understand that, but it really ticked me off. I was going to buy some lavender to plant in my yard, but I changed my mind after that! Some people are just wound too tight.  So the one photo I have of the lavender farm at the end of the set was taken with my “non-professional” iPhone!

Here is a sampling of what I shot that day. For the complete gallery, click here.