I’ve mentioned before how much I enjoyed visiting Seattle last April through Road Scholar’s Hands-On Glass In Chihuly’s Seattle . This tour was a good choice for a solo female traveler: the attractions were accessible and safe, and there was plenty to do with or without the group.

There was so much for me to see and do in this land of art, culture and coffee. And, as you can see above, I also got to participate in the tradition of catching a fish at Pike Place Market.

Even so,  it was nice that our group took an excursion to nearby Tacoma. After we took the 45 minute ride, we started by visiting the town’s beautiful Union Station.

 

Originally owned by the Northern Pacific Railway, this lovely copper domed structure is now home to the courthouse of the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington. It’s also filled with amazing Chihuly art. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After this, we took a short walk to the Tacoma Art Museum. The museum had some wonderful displays of art including those created by Chihuly.

However, because I love paintings from the Hudson River School, I was fascinated by the exhibit Artists Drawn to the West.  This discussed how painters of this genre expanded their search for subject matter to South America,  the Arctic and the American West.

 

There was also a wonderful visual of where western themed art was created.

After visiting this museum, we eventually crossed the amazing Chihuly Bridge of Glass…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the end of the bridge was the Museum of Glass where there were wonderful exhibits including the wonderfully life-like creations displayed in Into the Deep.

 

 

Glass blowing was also demonstrated in this facility’s own working hot shop. Great trip!