out & about in tacoma

My friend Arielle is one of my favorite people to go to museums with (my other favorite being my mom), especially art museums. Instead of glancing at a piece for a second and moving on, we might stand in front of it for as long as five minutes and chat about the texture of the brushstrokes, the lighting, the subject, and the intended meaning and story behind it. It makes for a much fuller experience than simply looking at a painting and saying, "I like this painting!" or "I don't like this painting!" and moving on. A lot of times, though, thoughts like that are great grounds for conversation on that particular piece, maybe describing why you like it (or don't like it). 

Anyway, I had told Arielle about the free day for the Tacoma museums, and so we decided to go in August (yessss....I took these pictures over a month ago!). We started out at the Washington State History Museum, then walked next door to the old train station turned courthouse to take some pictures of the Chihuly glass pieces inside. At the courthouse, we were just about thrown out by the security guard who was eager to close the place down (it's a long, awkward story!), but not before getting at least a few good shots. Then we spent some time wandering the galleries of the glass museum, which is a fairly small museum, but definitely worth a visit. 

Afterwards, we headed to the art museum, where we probably spent the most time out of all the museums. They had not one, but two Renoirs on display, guys! I love Renoir, and had never had the pleasure of actually seeing any of his work in person. So amazing. 

We wound up the day at the Spaghetti Factory...probably my favorite restaurant ever. It was a fun day...full of adventures (perhaps more than we expected), and laughter, and the best of company.

Have you had any adventures lately?