My friend and I had a little adventure earlier this week. We drove over to Gig Harbor, WA to do some shopping. I have a holiday coming up and she had a list, so off we went.
It is a bit of a stretch to even call going to Gig Harbor a trip or even an adventure. It is all of 19 miles from home and it takes 30-40 minutes to drive there.
It always feels like a completely different community to me.
To get there, you have to cross a suspension bridge, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, across Puget Sound. The bridge has an interesting history. It first opened 7/1/1940 and collapsed during a storm on November 7th of the same year (the bridge moved vertically in the wind and got the unfortunate nickname, ‘Galloping Gertie’). The video of the collapse is something!
A new Tacoma Narrows bridge was built in 1950. By 1990, the population of the Kitsap Peninsula (home of Gig Harbor) had outgrown the existing bridge. A second span opened in 2007 and is now a toll bridge. The current toll is $5.50, which is a bit of a deterrent. The other deterrent is bad weather. It is no fun to cross a high suspension bridge in heavy rain and winds!
Fortunately, our travel day was dry.
Since this was primarily a shopping trip, our initial destination was Uptown Gig Harbor, an outdoor shopping mall. If you check out the store directory, you will see the stores are somewhat tailored to women ‘my age’. And that was validated when we saw several women from my demographic as we were out and about in the shops.
A bit about shopping….
I’m tired of ordering online and returning things. Aren’t we all!?
It was good to actually go into a store, see and try on the merchandise. I had a couple of things on my list I had intended to order, but wanted to check out first. When I got to the stores and saw what I thought I wanted, it didn’t fit or I didn’t like it. I was able to find a couple of unexpected items that did the trick and I was a happy camper, as was my companion.
I would like to say I am going to stop shopping for clothes online, but in most cases the stores just aren’t that well stocked or well staffed. On this particular trip we did pretty well at Chicos and a little less well at J Jill. Talbots was a bit of a bust☹. We were reminiscing about the Talbots of old – known for its well organized, well stocked stores, and quality merchandise. Since that is ancient history, it is time to move on.
We both were ready for lunch and decided to venture down to the harbor and eat at Anthony’s HomePort. Anthony’s is always a reliable bet and the view of Wollochet Bay from our table was a treat!
We were home by 3 and now I wonder why I make such a big deal about going ALL THE WAY to Gig Harbor! 😊
Good Things Come to Those Who Shop Local
Melinda Lemay
Allene
P.S. Happy Birthday to my mom (1/21/1910 – 10/2/1994)
Travels with Allene 