Tat’s Bizarre Travels

Tacoma, WA - Dale Chihuly’s Bridge of Glass connects Tacoma proper with the Museum of Glass. And if it wasn’t for the Bridge of Glass, the Museum of Glass would be like any other museum out there. In fact, I’d give a pass on the museum and just head on over to the bridge. It will save you the entrance fee and the only (slightly) unique thing you’ll see inside the museum is a team of glass blowers making giant apples, or other a sundry chakies to sell at the museum store.

The Bridge of Glass, however, is worth the visit. It’s not a bridge made of glass, like I desperately hoped (in my mind I pictured a giant amorphous Chihuly glass bridge that you could walk on and somehow withstood the elements and thousands of people walking on it), but instead it’s filled with Chihuly glass well worth a small fortune. Although slightly disappointing, because it’s filled with glass instead of made out if it, you’ll get over it as you see the plethora of Chihuly in a row and overhead.

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Fremont, WA - My last stop on my walking tour of Fremont was “Waiting for the Interurban,” a strange little statue of people waiting for the bus and dressed… well differently almost every hour. I must have seen then in at least three outfits while I was about. It’s appearently tradition for the folks of Fremont to dress these poor commuters up as they see fit. And directly behing them is another pile of cloths. I’m not sure if they were the ones they were just wearing or if they’re the next intended outfit, but it’s like a Walmart for the less fortunate back there!

The Interurban statues have their own nifty little but stop complete with coverage, I guess so their fancy duds don’t get wet, and are on an island in the middle of the street all on their own. In fact they’ve got the nicest bus stop I’ve seen in or out of Seattle! Of course no bus goes past. I guess that’s supposed to be the poetic irony of the statue, but something tells me it would be a little more awesome if they had the opportunity to mingle with the regular commuters and feel their pain.

Fremont, WA - Under the Aurora Bridge in Fremont stands the Fremont Troll. He’s a large fellow with an apparent dislike for Volkswagen Bugs, or possibly a childish love that makes him have to possess them. Either way, he’s truly awesome…yet another of the great sites to see when wandering through Fremont.

The Fremont Troll was constructed by four local artists and was sponsored by the Fremont Arts Counsel. It’s quite a sight to behold and people flock to get a closer look, or just hang off of him (or out his nose). While I was there the troll went from being virtually alone to having at least 20 people gathered around at one time. Both kids and adults clamored around the beast to have their pictures taken. It was almost like Christmas the way the troll get’s everyone having a good time.

I’ve got to say, I especially love the big guy. Not only is he somewhat of an artistic masterpiece, I love how he’s hidden away under the bridge. It’s not a far trek from the hart of Fremont, but it’s still very close by to a bunch of residences. If you get a chance stop by, he’s right on (you guessed it) Troll Road.