One of our neighbors at the campground told Carol about an art fair being held in a suburb just south of us. It was actually 3 art shows with a juried select few being allowed to show in the main Bellevue Art Museum Art Fair.
We decided to do the art fair as soon as it opened at 9:30. It was a gorgeous, clear day, and we had several more destinations for the day. The art fair was fascinating. There were lots of photographers displaying, but there was also about any kind of art you can imagine. The artists were incredibly creative and found new approaches to traditional subjects or methods. One of the advantages to such an art fair is that we could talk to the artists. They were generally very friendly and anxious to talk about their art. By 11:30, it was getting very warm, and we were ready to move on. When we returned to our parking structure, cars were lined up on every level trying to find a parking place. Most of them would have a very long wait.
Tacoma Museum of Glass
After lunch, we drove down to Tacoma to the Museum of Glass
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The drive to Tacoma took much longer than anticipated,
and we almost missed the museum. We only had 30 minutes in the museum before it closed. It was a little off-beat,
but it also had some very cool stuff in it. The outside of the museum is as famous or more famous than the exhibits inside.
Chihuly created glass sculptures for the reflecting areas on the outside "patio" of the museum as well as
for a pedestrian bridge that spans the I-705 Freeway. On the south wall of the bridge, he created "cubby holes" of
various sizes (see image on right below) and put glass sculptures in them to reflect "hot room." I wish we would have
had more time to watch them.
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| Museum of Glass Exhibit | Reflecting Pool | Chihuly Glass Bridge |
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| Hot Room |
Gig Harbor
We weren't far from Gig Harbor,
so we decided to shoot Mt. Rainier over the harbor. This is a classic shot, and Mt. Rainier was cooperating.
We found the viewing platform and quickly started shooting. We would have liked more time to find better angles over the harbor,
but our main goal was Kerry Park at sunset. That was 40 miles away near downtown Seattle, and we were running out of time.
Kerry Park
We joined the throngs at Kerry Park about 8:00.
We couldn't believe our luck. We got one of the closest parking places to the park possible.
Photographers were already lined up along the railing, but we found a spot and got set up. The EMP Museum was to the lower left, the Space Needle was center left,
Mt. Rainier was to the center right, and the Smith Tower finished the scene to the right. The mass of Mt. Rainier dominated the right side
of the scene even from 50 miles away. Sunset was a dud, although Mt. Rainier had a slight pink blush.
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By 9:30, the sky had darkened, the city lights blinked on, and the ferris wheel near the harbor shone bright blue. Mt. Rainier was lost in the clouds, so the Space Needle replaced it as King of the Hill. We marked time by the coming and going of the ferries. It was a gorgeous evening, and no one seemed in any hurry to leave. We finally packed up and returned to camp. We still had plenty of re-organizing and packing to do before we leave tomorrow.
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Today was a very great day and a good way to wrap up our time in Seattle.
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