Category Archives: Things to do in Tacoma

Things to do in Tacoma, Washington Places

Getting High With Pacific Parasail

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No, not that kind of high, you heathens. Weed may be legal in Washington state for the time being, but that’s not the Northwest Nomad’s thing. The kind of high I’m talking is 1,000 feet above the Puget Sound with the excellent folks at Pacific Parasail.

On a beautiful September day we boated out from the Ruston Way Ram and onto the open water of the Puget Sound. Half the fun of the Pacific Parasail trip, by the way, is the boat ride. You get fantastic views of the Ruston waterfront (I was unable to spot the terrible, mysterious bike, however), Point Defiance, and the area about Thea’s Park.

Parasail lifting up behind a boat on the Puget Sound.

There were six of us in the boat, which I believe is maximum capacity for each trip. Going up by ones or by twos, we took turns spending about 10–15 minutes in the parasail.

You can opt for 600 (roughly as high up as the Seattle Space Needle) or 1,000 feet high. I opted for 1,000. It’s only ten dollars more, and I figured if I’m going to do it then I might as well do it all the way.

The boat moves fast, but you feel almost stationary up in the parachute. Only when we were first going out from the boat and then when we were nearly back on it did I  feel like we were moving quickly.

Tacoma Budget Trip: Point Defiance Park

The views from up high are incredible. I also enjoyed just chilling out in the boat while the others went up. All in all, it’s about an hour on the water, though I assume that’s dependent on how many people are in the boat.

The two guys running the boat were funny and entertaining.

I’m not sure if the experience was the sort of thing I’d want to do again, but I’m glad I did it once. It’s a chance to see Tacoma in a whole new light, and it’s invigorating.

I’ve parachuted many times, and while I wouldn’t say this experience was anywhere that much of a thrill, it definitely gets the blood going. The adrenaline rush is almost certainly dependent on the previous life experiences of each person. One of the women on the boat had never done anything of this sort and was ecstatic when she came down.

If you’re looking for a new experience in Tacoma, give Pacific Parasail a try. I think you’ll be glad you did.

(All Northwest Nomad posts are honest accounts of the Northwest Nomad’s experiences. I’m not affiliated with Pacific Parasail in any way. I paid for my trip like any other customer.)

 

Things to do in Tacoma, Wandering Around With a Notebook

Ruston Waterfront: The Nightmare Continues

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I have written in the past about the terrible, mysterious suspended bike of the Ruston Waterfront. I write now to let you know the horror is multiplying, and the nightmare has deepened.

I was out walking the Ruston waterfront on this beautiful April day of sunshine, seals, and the Sound, when I discovered to my great dismay that a new suspended bike has appeared.

This one’s red—spawned, undoubtedly, from the same nether regions as the last bike, which has haunted my dreams from the I first set eyes upon it—monstrous, unnatural thing that it is.

When the tide is out, as it was when I got there today, you can get rather close to the new bike. It was a just a couple feet off the shore, screwed to a pole in shallow water.

In researching this phenomenon, I found that my friends over at Grit City have already located this bike, and are less irrationally horrified by it as I am.

Grit City‘s excellent detective work puts forth the hypothesis that this and the other bike are related to Burning Man in some way.  I’m not going to plagiarize or steal their thunder here, so I’ll just say that it’s erudite detective work on their part, and you should follow that Grit City link up above to see what they’ve to say.

Let no one say that the Northwest Nomad is less than noble in his content creation…and let no one say, either, that the Nomad is anything less than paranoid about cool art sculptures that add so much wonder to our fair city of Tacoma.

Thanks, suspended bike guys…gals…demons…whatever thou be.

Thanks, too, to Grit City for the fine gumshoeing.

If you’re mad enough seek this bike out, I can tell you that it’s near Cummings Park, which I’m going to pin to a map below. Good luck, seeker, but remember the old adage: be careful what you wish for. BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Things to do in Tacoma, Washington Places

The 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum, Tacoma

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Last weekend I visited the 9th and 10th Horse Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers Museum in Tacoma in order to research a piece I was writing for Grit City. I’ve been interested in checking the place out from the moment I first saw its sign just off 19th Street a couple months ago, but I underestimated how moving the experience would actually be.

“Buffalo Soldiers” was a term given to African American soldiers in the late 1800s, reportedly by Comanche or Cheyenne Indians (there’s some debate among historians over which it was) seeing a resemblance between the hair of the soldiers and the tufts of hair between buffalo’s horns. Some sources suggest that the tribes were also impressed by the buffalo-like toughness that the soldiers displayed.

Whatever the exact inspiration for the name, the term “Buffalo Soldiers” became the widely used monikers for black Army units back when the military was segregated. The term persisted all the way up until the end of the Korean War, when the last all-black unit was dissolved.

I already knew about the Buffalo Soldiers before I went to the museum, but actually walking among the artifacts they used and the stories hit me a lot stronger than I expected it would. I’m a veteran, and it really bothered me to hear about the disrespect that those men had to endure while they were serving their country. As Colin Powell said it, “For a long time they served a country that didn’t serve them.”

It was difficult for me to not allow my anger to overshadow everything else in my experience. I didn’t want that to be my focus. Those men deserved to be honored, not pitied, and I made sure to keep my mind fixed on that outcome. Still, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t bothered by it.

It’s remarkable to think of the hardships the Buffalo Soldiers endured. The thing that stuck with me the most from the visit was something that the woman running the museum told me.

Her name is Jackie Jones-Hook, and her father, William Jones, had been a Buffalo Soldier and POW in the Korean War. The museum was stated in his honor.

When I asked Jones-Hook if her father ever talked about the racism he and his brothers in arms had to endure while they were doing something that should have been commended, she replied that he used to repeat the phrase, “We got this far by faith.” William Jones was a man of deep faith in the Good Book, and he lived his life by that standard.

Ultimately, Jones-Hook told me, her father and his compatriots served for their faith in God more than anything else. When their own country disrespected them, they went right ton serving, because they had faith that God would make things right some day. I found that notion moving and powerful, and it’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot ever since, and it’s something I doubt I’ll ever forget.

It’s hard to fathom the strength of character it takes for men to persist in the way that William Jones and the Buffalo Soldiers did. I’m left humbled and awed by their example. Sincerely, I want to be a better person in light of their stories.

I also want to encourage as many of you as possible to visit the Buffalo Soldiers museum in Tacoma. The place doesn’t have a big budget and so doesn’t have a lot of advertising. Go there and tell others about it, if you’re so inclined. The place deserves to continue operating because the men and women it memorializes deserve to be remembered.

I’m not going to write any more about what I saw or felt there. I’m not that fond of talking about myself, but most importantly, I’d like to encourage you all to go see it for yourself rather than take my word for it.

It’s well worth the trip.

Paranormal, Things to do in Tacoma, Travels, Wandering Around With a Notebook, Washington Places

Talking Ghosts at Alfred’s Cafe in Tacoma

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Interesting Conversation

One of the great things about being the Northwest Nomad is that I have a permanent excuse to drink beer and chat with strangers at bars. It’s what I call “conducting research,” and I’ve found all kinds of interesting informational nuggets out there that way. A couple days ago I had such an encounter at Alfred’s Cafe in Tacoma.

I’ve been to Alfred’s Cafe a few times before. It’s one of my favorite breakfast spots in Tacoma, in fact. On this day, though, I heard something very intriguing — Alfred’s is haunted!

I’ve ordered some books to see what I can verify about the restaurant’s paranormal past, but for now I want to relate what I heard as I heard it, because it was an interesting conversation for sure.

Alfred’s Cafe: The Woman in the Corner

My conversation with the bartender and the patron turned to ghosts when the lights in the building started flickering. They did so in two clusters, roughly five flickers each, set about a minute apart. I didn’t think much of it, but the bartender and the patron smiled knowingly at each other.

I asked what they were smirking about, and they proceeded to tell me that it was probably the ghosts at it again.

The nuts and bolts of the tale are the standard pictures-falling-off-walls and mysterious-footsteps kind of stuff, but one particular aspect of the tale lent it more validity than the typical haunting story.

At least two Alfred’s Cafe employees have quit the restaurant after seeing the reflection of a woman sitting in the corner of the eating area. The sightings occurred on two separate occasions, while they employees were shutting down at night.

Quitting one’s place of employment isn’t the sort of thing people normally do for a hoax, especially not a hoax that brings them no fame or fortune.

The Little Girl in the Window

Alfred’s restaurant occupies the bottom floor of one of the oldest buildings in Tacoma. That bottom floor has been renovated for the modern age, but the upper two floors remain as they were when the building was built. There’s a massive grand staircase that connects the top two floors (the employees told me about this). The staircase used to run down to the ground-level floor, too, but it was taken out a few years ago.

The upper two floors are today used only for storage, giving plenty of time and space for the ghosts to scamper about at will.

One of the entities living up there, I am told, is a little girl who can occasionally be seen looking out of one of the top-story windows. But how did she get there in the first place? Well, the story behind that little bit is rather interesting.

Prostitutes and their Daughters

The reason why ghost is a young girl and the other is a grown woman lies in the history of the structure.

The building that now houses Alfred’s used to be a brothel. This much I was actually able to verify with some internet sleuthing.

Brothels were notoriously dark and violent places in early America, and the legend is that some ugly, ugly things went down in the building that now houses Alfred’s — things as ugly as murder. Does this mean the woman’s ghost is some ill-fated prostitute? We can’t be sure, of course, though evidence leans that way.

As for the little girl, the Bull’s Eye indoor shooting range across the parking lot from Alfred’s was supposedly once a school for little girls. The prostitutes working the brothel would send their daughters over there during the “work” day.

Well, according to legend, decades ago that school burned down, killing seven girls.

So, perhaps the woman and the little girl are mother and daughter?

Or, perhaps there’s a whole host of women and little-girl ghosts there, singing and crying to each other. Maybe the many sightings have actually been of multiple different people.

There’s no way to know for sure, but I do intend to find out.

Let the Paranormal Adventure Begin

The Alfred’s conversation has inspired me to add a new section to this blog and a new mission to my travels. I’m going to begin covering paranormal destinations in the Pacific Northwest.

I’ll get to the bottom of this Alfred’s thing soon enough. I’ve got my books coming, and I’m going to do some gumshoeing.

So, stay tuned, friends. Also, please do let me know if you’ve got any tips on this or any other Pacific Northwest paranormal story.

 

Things to do in Tacoma, Travels, Washington Places

Where to Stay in Downtown Tacoma: Hotel Murano

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When it comes to choosing deluxe downtown Tacoma accommodations, the Hotel Murano is pretty much a no-brainer.

That line sounds kind of like a slimy sales pitch, but the Northwest Nomad is no one’s peddler! In this case, it’s just the fact of the matter that the Murano is heads-and-away the most distinctive, unique, and classy hotel in downtown (probably in all of Tacoma, really).

When I first visited Tacoma over a decade ago, one of the sights that most branded itself into my memory was the enormous, decorative “swoosh” sculpture that stands outside the hotel. It was a sunny day and the light caught that green glass just right, and the sculpture looked captivating. I decided then that the next time I visited Tacoma, I’d stay at the Murano. I did, and I was not disappointed.

That first experience was many years ago, and today I actually live right across the street from the hotel. I see a lot of the crowds they get for their conferences and other events.

The Murano is beautiful, inside and out. The lobby is full of beautiful Native American artwork and unique glass sculptures, and the place never stops exuding energy. I walk or run by their main lobby often, and there are always guests hanging around just outside the lobby enjoying the vibe.

The location is about as good as it gets in the city. Stay at the Murano and a you’re a short walk or a free link ride away from great sushi, several art and history museums, country line dancing, the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts, the Weirdest Building in Tacoma, and too many other places to list here without creating an absurdly long post.

The Murano’s prices generally aren’t as high as you might expect, but they are a bit higher than some of the other downtown-area hotels. The sheer convenience of the location more than makes up for that, though. It also doesn’t hurt that the Murano is a few steps above the other hotels in terms of personality and quality. It’s also an establishment distinct to Tacoma. There are La Quinta’s and Holiday Inn’s everywhere, but only Tacoma has the Murano. It’s the city’s signature place of lodging.

Oh, and if you’re a potential Tacoma visitor weighing whether or not you want to visit the city, check out my thoughts on that. I’ve traveled every nook and cranny of the Pacific Northwest, and I fall in love with this region over and over again, but Tacoma’s got a unique combination of energy and grit that I’ve found nowhere else. Downtown Tacoma rose from the ashes in the 90s and has been growing nonstop ever since. The vital energy of that transformation is palpable on every street corner.

As always, feel free to contact me for any insights I might be able to share. The Northwest Nomad loves to talk shop.

(Featured image courtesy of Provenance Hotels. I am not associated with the organization in any way; they just happened to have a beautiful picture of the establishment, and one a few steps above what I could provide.)