August Afternoon 2020 – Lunch and Sharing Beautiful Views and Faces

Peg had gotten up too early. I’ve been resurfacing the asphalt driveway under our three-car carport. I only resurfaced one bay before I had run out of surface goop, filler, and gas. I was gooped up and pooped out. I asked Peg if she’d like to accompany me to Lowe’s for more goop that I had ordered by phone. She did; soon we drove to their parking lot and called them up. Within two minutes it was delivered to our car.

I was no longer chomping at the bit to get my goop going so I asked Peg if she would like to go to Taco Time for lunch. She declined, but offered Burger King instead.

We stopped at the 26th and Pearl Burger King and placed our order for chicken nuggets, Junior Whoppers, fries, with water and a large lemon lime soda. The young lady at the drive-in window was very nice. We commended her on her attitude and efficiency and she thanked us for our kind words and we left for Point Defiance feeling chipper and began to enjoy the beautiful day even more. Nice people begat nice people.

We drove down to the waterfront by Anthony’s Seafood, parked, and within a minute of arriving had claimed a picnic table on one of the small built-out areas over the relaxing splash of Puget Sound waves. We set out our food and shared fries and various bites and nibbles.

As we ate, we enjoyed the view and watched the afternoon ferry arrive from Vashon. We are not up for an ocean journey. Covid-19 wouldn’t allow us even if we wanted to, but we are considering a day long trip back and forth, several times, to Vashon Island via the ferry one day later in the month. Peg will take along her sketch book and I’ll take mine. Together we’ll make sketchy plans for a lovely journey to nowhere and return.

Peg mused about the trout and oysters, two of their excellent menu items while we were close by Anthony’s Seafood Restaurant. We’ll have to check out their current selections. Dinner at Anthony’s is always delicious where you can dine and enjoy the view of the ferry landing and other boats plying Puget Sound. Well, except this time we’ll be arriving on the ferry, but we should be able to see the ferry head back to Vashon from Anthony’s.

Our next stop for the afternoon was the Point Defiance Rose Garden. Peg used to work in the marketing department of the Park District and was the producer for their Cable-TV program Park Bench. This time she merely enjoyed the beauty of the flowers and the people who occupied the various garden paths.

We weren’t the only ones enjoying the flowers. There were many friendly bees gathering and pollinating. Some of the roses where past their prime or already deadheaded but there were many other glorious flowers beside roses: in the Dahlia Test Garden, a variety of gorgeous dahlias, many bicolored or spotted, as well as the generous number of blooms and greenery under and over the trellis adjacent to the Rose Garden.

The Rose Garden is directly across the one-way street from the former Bear Grotto. At one time there were bears living in the grotto. A waterfall made the grotto more beautiful, but now the bears are gone and the waterfall has stopped running. The grotto is now just a walled off empty pit, but those of us who remember like to visit the exhibit and remember how it was when a bear or two completed the view. I’m sure the bears were bored just sitting around in the tiny space, awaiting a long winter’s nap and freedom from those annoying people who threw things at them.

Peg had coupons for Burger King and there’s no cost to visit the park and gardens, so we had a wonderful afternoon with a cheap lunch overlooking the water and experienced beautiful things to see and nodded at the others enjoying the sights, for less than $13! We love Pierce County and Washington State.