A Picnic at Wright Park in Tacoma

With the latest spike in Covid:19 here in Washington and mostly locked away from our family and friends, Peg was feeling blue and suggested we get away and relax. We talked about options and finally devised a wonderful plan for a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

We decided on a picnic. We visited Stadium Thriftway near Wright Park and bought a salad to share, a sandwich each, peppadew peppers (for me), a Sprite for Peg, a Bundaberg ginger beer for me, and a special cookie for each of us. Peg also picked up the National Geographic Atlas of the British Empire and said, “It probably has good maps in it.” She loves maps). The bill was $61; we gasped. We’ve paid less at The Lobster Shop, but we enjoyed every bite.

In the past there would have been children playing and running everywhere, but not now. The pool had been dug out years ago and the kids were all playing in the southwest end of the park. We chose a picnic table overlooking the pond with its glowing white statue in the middle and various paths. People were walking and jogging. Mostly we saw groups of two or three people, all wearing masks.

Peg used to work in the marketing department for the Metro Parks. She produced their Park Bench cable television program and created and edited the W. W. Seymour Conservatory newsletter, Botanical Prints, for several years.

The conservatory, when open, is always a beautiful place to visit. There are tropical plants as well as local plants and people are there to answer questions about the Conservatory and the park as well. Peg misses the changing former floral displays, the tropical and local plants and the gift shop, a horticulturally-themed source of special presents and small plants. The immediate grounds around the Conservatory are looking a little neglected but Peg spied 10 banana plants flourishing out front. When Covid:19 is no more, Metro Parks will get the horticulture and grounds crews back in action again and everything will be beautiful and spick and span then.

The homes and apartment buildings surrounding the park are interesting in their own right and complement the beauty of the park’s features. There are more than half a dozen restaurants within a few hundred yards of the park . . . or were. This may not be true after the pandemic.

The trees at Wright Park offer many different varieties from deciduous chestnuts and oaks to multiple evergreens. While picnicking, we saw several small evergreens prospering along the conservatory ridge. Wright Park is a great place to jog, walk, or simply sit and enjoy the view and the weather.