Rainy Wanderings in Tacoma: Coffee, Murals, and a Little Bit of Chaos
the weather's got that weird in-between thing going on-like it can't decide if it wants to drizzle or just fog you out. i just checked and it's 10.14°C there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. so i found myself wandering tacoma, and honestly, it's not what i expected. the city's got this gritty charm, like it's still figuring itself out, and i kinda dig that.
i started my day at valhalla coffee co. because, well, caffeine is a necessity when you're running on three hours of sleep and bad decisions. the barista had a tattoo of a coffee bean that looked suspiciously like a butt, which i found both hilarious and slightly concerning. but the coffee? legit. strong enough to make you question your life choices but in a good way.
walking around, i noticed tacoma's murals everywhere. they're like the city's way of saying, "yeah, we're artsy, deal with it." one of them had a giant octopus wrapping around a building, and i couldn't help but feel like it was judging me for my life choices. but hey, art's supposed to make you think, right?
i overheard some locals at a bus stop talking about point defiance park. they said it's the kind of place where you can pretend you're in a nature documentary, except the bears are just raccoons with attitude. i didn't go, but it's on the list for next time.
if you get bored, seattle and olympia are just a short drive away. but honestly, tacoma's got enough going on to keep you entertained. like, have you seen the museum of glass? it's like a cathedral for people who really, really like shiny things. i didn't go in because i was too busy staring at the hot shop from outside like a creep, but it looked cool.
food-wise, i hit up cosmonaut pizza because the name made me laugh. the pizza was decent, but the real star was the guy playing lofi beats on a turntable in the corner. it felt like i was in a quirky indie movie, except i was the only one who thought that was cool.
i also heard a rumor about a secret bar somewhere in the city. someone told me that it's behind a vending machine, and you need a password to get in. i didn't find it, but now i'm convinced tacoma is hiding all the cool stuff just out of reach.
anyway, tacoma's not perfect, but it's got character. it's the kind of place that makes you want to stay an extra day, even if it's just to figure out what that weird smell is near the docks. (spoiler: it's probably fish.)
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