Sometimes what’s good in Tacoma is going back to a park you’ve already visited countless times. We’re never sorry when we take Dandie down to Titlow for a saltwater splash.
This is not an ultimate, all time, best of the best, win or go home, top 5 list. No, we aren’t really bringing that kind of energy to life. Top 5s and rankings and spouting off isn’t really our style (unless right now we’re spouting off about how we’d rather notice what’s good than claim what’s best). The point isn’t to figure out which coffee is the best coffee and never drink coffee anywhere else, it’s just to notice the good where it’s good. This is the 5th edition of 5 things we like in Tacoma made from a much longer list of way more things we like in Tacoma. Sound good?
The master list is long: a view over a low wall on a certain curve of road, a spot for a pint, a mural or a detail in a mural, a path between trees, a place where the server might call you “hon.” Some of it costs no money at all. It’s sights, experiences, foods, and spots both well-known and lesser-known. It’s things we would look back on with nostalgia if they faded away, or we moved away someday. It turns out no city is perfect. No place has it all; this is a sample of what we do have that enriches the day to day of Tacoma.
1. Coffee on the Beach
Contrary to what this image suggests, boots are not required.
Jack Hyde Park beach along Ruston Way. Fun even in the cold months, just bundle yourself up.
If you’re thinking, “but I can do that lots of places,” that’s true. Hallelujah for all the places in the world where you can have coffee on the beach. But most places you cannot. My extended family in Idaho and North Dakota and my friends in Oklahoma and central Germany are not having coffee on the beach in the place where they live. So, hooray! Brew something hot and steamy (we’re talking BEVERAGES here, folks—yeesh) and put it in a mug you love, then get yourself to Old Town or Titlow or Owen Beach or Chambers Bay and have a time. I hope it’s a good time, but maybe it’s just a quiet time or a necessary time or a hard time with a good beverage. One of my favorite ways to do this is to meet a friend at Curran Coffee in Old Town with my own mug so I can take my coffee to go but still drink it from a real, solid cup and cross the tracks to the beach between the Old Town Dock and Jack Hyde Park. It’s sandy and the view is a real treat. Bring a blanket and watch the cold plungers plunge and the dogs fetch and the seals rise and disappear again.
If you don’t already know and love The Grand, it’s time to make friends!
2. Free Family Flicks - The Grand Cinema
Every month on the 3rd Saturday you are invited to watch a Free Family Flick at The Grand Cinema. That’s it. No fine print. Okay, a teeny bit of fine print. If you are under 14 years old bring an adult with you. (If you are 14 or older you are not, however, required to bring a child.) Upcoming films include: Ghostbusters, The Iron Giant, and Elf. Dollars are not what it’s all about—no dollars required.
3. collect Garden Gates
As you wander the neighborhoods of Tacoma notice all the various and sundry garden gates. Collect them in your mind, make notes in a pocket notebook with a short, easy-to-stash pencil, sketch them on the fly, or take photographs and show all of them to your fascinated friends who will never, ever be sorry you picked up this habit. Do not dismantle and make off with someone else’s gate; it’s not that kind of collection.
Frito Pie - don’t argue.
4. The red hot for a balanced diet
Listen, we eat a lot of vegetarian, whole grain meals at home. Steamed broccoli. Potato and kale soup. Mushroom barley casserole. We’re talking lentils, etc. Sometimes what the doctor ordered is Filthy Nachos at The Red Hot. If you’re really overdoing it with the greens, it could actually be time to go all the way to Frito Pie. These choices are necessary for a balanced diet. The Red Hot is a hot dog place, and they’ll even fix you a long list of vegan hot dogs. But I’m there for the various salty, fried chips smothered in a cheese-like sauce. This is, no doubt, a good part of life in Tacoma.
Filthy Nachos - with beef chili or vegetarian beer-b-q baked beans because they’re nice like that at The Red Hot.
Blind Date with a Book. Take a chance.
5. Blind Dates, But with a book - Grit City Books
You’re not getting any younger and it’s been a while since your person’s surprised you. It’s okay. Surprise yourself, baby. Don’t wait for that secret party no one’s ever going to throw you. Do this thing for yourself. Go on a blind date with a book. Grit City Books is there to support you. Make your way to 6th Avenue and get thee to the book store. On the wall past the register (the east wall, if you’re that kind of person) stands an end case stocked with brown paper packages tied up with string. And sealed. Yes—whimsical, old-fashioned wax seals to prevent peaking.
Now, this is a blind date, not a reckless encounter so there will be clues. You might feel drawn to “space battles, fast-paced action, alien encounters, aging and rejuvenation,” or you may be curious about “small town, friendship bonds, summer adventure, personal growth.” Take your pick. Then take it home and let the date commmence. Tell yourself how nice you look and how lucky this book is to get to know you better. Tuck yourself in with your favorite blanket and away you go.
Hungry for more that’s good in Tacoma? Take a look back at our original 5 Good Things and 5 Good Things Vol. 2, Vol. 3, and Vol. 4.
We welcome you to tell us some of your good things too. Let us know what lifts you up and lights you up around the city.
Maybe our paths will cross on 6th Avenue, down on the waterfront, at the cinema, or beside an intriguing garden gate. We’ll see you around Tacoma!
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