Tacoma, WA on Film

May 18, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments

Last weekend after our outdoor adventure, Isaac and I settled in at home to watch some movies filmed here in Tacoma, WA. While munching on kettle corn and sipping on wine we watched “The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” and “10 Things I Hate About You”. I hadn’t watched either film since their original releases back in the 90s; both were entertaining.

The next day we went out to find the local spots where these were filmed. It was fun exploring/creepin’ our new town and the act of scouting out familiar places from film reminded me of kicking around Los Angeles back when I was still a California girl. I grew up in Bakersfield, a hop and a skip from tinsel town so cruising around Beverly Hills to scope out some mega mansions was always a delight.

Since the address used in the ‘Hand’ is the same as the physical address of the house we found it very easily in the Stadium district of Northern Tacoma (I love details like that!). The greenhouse from the film is still there, albeit hidden from view by vegetation grown over the years. This neighborhood, by the way, is incredible. Upper-middle class all the way, this area sports sprawling homes with scenic views of Puget Sound. Too bad we don’t have a cool $700k to drop on a pad in this area.

’10 Things’ was filmed at Stadium High School in Tacoma, WA. Just a short drive from the ‘Hand’ house, the school is located on a bluff overlooking Puget Sound. I read that originally this school was built as a hotel for a railroad. The company went under and instead of having the place demolished, the property was sold to Tacoma Public Schools who then converted it into a school. When the stadium was completed a few years later, they changed the name of the school to Stadium High School. The stadium is a huge venue that has hosted many prestigious guest speakers in the past. Thanks, Wikipedia for the 411. The stadium is most notably where Heath Ledger did his famous proposal-style prom invite to Julia Stiles in ’10 Things’.

Can you imagine spending 4 years getting your education at a place like this? Incredible.

When my friends and family come to visit this summer, I’m definitely going to grab some lattes and take us for a spin in this neighborhood. So glad to report that the novelty and wonder of living in Tacoma, WA still hasn’t worn off.

Grove of the Patriarchs

May 13, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 6 Comments

This week I was absolutely stir crazy! So I insisted that we go out to Mt. Rainier this weekend. It’s still early in the season, so most of the higher elevation hikes are still snowed in. That said, we chose the Grove of the Patriarchs to hike today. It’s one of the lower elevation trails (although it still had some snow on the ground) that’s very accommodating both in educational opportunity and level of ease. It’s a self guided tour with educational trail markers explaining the flora and fauna. Very enlightening.

The drive was tremendously scenic and the hike itself was humbling. Walking among these giants reminded us just how tiny we are. Sometimes archaic firs are just what’s needed to put things back into perspective.

We fully intend to do this more and more as the weather improves…just waiting on that snow to melt!

Welcome to the family, Iggy Smalls!

May 5, 2012June 21, 2012 ~ Crystle ~ 5 Comments

After we found out about Yango’s ailing health our spirits were pretty low. We knew bringing a dog who needed a forever home would mutually benefit both parties. So after weeks of searching high and low we found a sweet little Chiweenie mutt to open our home to. Iggy came to us from the Tacoma Humane Society and I must say, they do a wonderful dog of keeping their online profiles of dogs up to date, almost hourly! It was easy to track their adoptable dogs over the last few weeks.

If any of you are like me, pacing the halls of an animal shelter can be very taxing. I wanted to take them all home, and felt terrible guilt about walking away with just Iggy. After we got home, I checked online and found that a few of the other dogs we were looking at found forever homes too. It was a relief, but I’m still a little heart broken for little Lady. She was a little pom-pekingese who had a winning (read: silly) smile and a sweet disposition. She’s unfortunately just about as old as Yango, who I adopted as an elderly dog already. I really hope she finds a forever home quickly. I can at least sleep better at night knowing that the Tacoma Humane Society is a no-kill shelter. Whew!

Although he’s small in stature, he may still have the endurance to go running with us on our shorter circuits. Well we’re off to the dog park to enjoy ‘family’ time. Have a great weekend, folks!