September 18th, 2013 Andrea Rhee is the winner but I still got some cool prizes.

Top 10 prizes! Argosy Christmas Cruise, Kenmore Air Plane ride for two, $5 Forza card, 

$10 Cinema card, 5 day membership to NW Fitness 247

I was sworn to secrecy by the host of Evening Magazine, Meeghan, so I didn't post until today. We got there around 11am and was surprised there were only a few cars parked. The event started at 11:30, but even when "doors opened" there were well under 200 people. I think it's odd that people would be given the opportunity to win an apartment for a year and not show up to the final event. I know some people took a long lunch that day to attend the event.

I haven't been on the ferry before, so I was excited about that. It's much nicer inside than I expected. But that makes sense since it's the sales office for Point Ruston. When you're looking to buy a condominium you get to see the whole plans for the area.

This isn't a picture I took. While I was at the event there were too many people for me to get a good shot of this.

 I found this in google images from pointruston.com.

There were lots of people there and the energy was high and nervous all at the same time. I could feel people's disappointment when the last name was called (not to mention hear it!). I had a good time doing this contest and the event was very nice. I may find a way to continue my journey at Point Ruston, so you haven't heard the last of me yet! Here's some more photos of the day!

 At the event on the ferry

 The bathroom

 In the captain's room

 view from the top deck

 other side view from the top deck

 chillin on the deck before they announced the top 5

 the stairs on the way down

 should have been one of my keys ;)

 filming for Evening Magazine

the two of us before the event

September 12th, 2013 Eagerly Anticipating Monday!

Hey there, it's been a while. I thought I would write some because I still am really hoping I win the apartment. If so, you readers right now will have had the benefit of reading my early posts about the waterfront. If I live there, I will continue to blog to spread the word about Point Ruston. The contest has officially come to an end. I did every challenge and earned 1695 pts. Early on I got one of the questions wrong, so I am missing 30 pts from perfect. I ended up coming in tie for 2nd place. Not too shabby. I look at my pictures, blog posts, interactions with Point Ruston and the amount of social media I did and I think I'm #1 for sure :)

I did the 30 Second Commercial the other day. That was fun. My original concept was a lot different, but I liked what I decided to do. Really, check it out! Okie dokie, I just had Point Ruston on my mind, so I decided to write. Here's a pic of me when I was officially #1.

Too bad I didn't keep that spot. Though really, it doesn't matter, I just thought it was fun. Officially Tony ended up coming in 8th place. So overall, we both did pretty good!

Point Ruston posted the Top 100 Finalists so if you want to see it, just click. Here's the top of the list:

Well I likely won't post until Monday! Wish me luck :)

August 30th, 2013 25 Reasons Why I Love the Tacoma Waterfront

Speaks for itself...thought I would share. I only have 1 more item to go and I have begun planning for that. :) I think this project took 20+ hours all in all. Taking the pictures were really fun! Putting it together with my perfectionist ways not so fun :) But I like the end product.

August 29th, 2013 Rainy Days

So today was a blast! I have been wanting to get a rain photo for a long time for the "25 Reasons" poster I'm making. When I first got there I didn't think I would get a rain shot. It was raining on and off, so when it was sunny by the time I got to the waterfront I was sad as you can see here:

Obviously love the sun, but I had a feeling that today would be the ideal day to get some rain pictures. The picture on the heading is the final one I'm going to use for the poster. It was so super wet and it was really fun to be out there in it! It's really not often that I take the time out and feel the rain on my face. That was a genuine smile on my face in the picture above. Here are some other pictures from today:

the "after" shot haha

 

So, I haven't wanted to jinx winning the contest by seeing the apartments in person and getting my hopes up, but since we were there I just couldn't resist. We met some nice ladies in the leasing office and spoke about different floor plans that are available right now and pricing. Apparently there are different prices for each floor plan. I'm mostly only interested in floors 6-8 because once the condos are built it will obstruct the view of the water. The building is locked at night so it will only be accessed through a key. However, during the day the building is open for all of the public. The gym is accessed through the lobby and there are two fantastic resident lounges. One can be used reserved events and one has a pool table, ping pong, huge TV and lots of places to hang out. 

Coming up the elevator I didn't know what to expect. The walkway is hard to explain, but it's an indoor/outdoor walkway. So fresh air and rain (today) flows through the middle of the walkway, but you stay totally dry. There's a garbage shoot so you don't have to lug it downstairs to a dumpster. We toured the Clark floorplan. The first thing I noticed, of course, was the magnificent water view. The rest of the apartment was pretty nice. Plenty of room and everything seems classy. 

Tony got his wildlife photos for the contest so that's cool. And I got a few more photos for the 25 reasons poster. I also am working out some kinks in the check-ins with a person on the back-end. He has been very helpful. This contest has been very fun and I'm almost sad it's coming to an end. However, I want the 16th to come so I can see if I am the winner! I only have 2 more things to do and I worked on the 25 reasons poster for around 5 hours today. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, so it takes a while. I made it poster board size on the publisher file, but I'll likely submit a smaller version I suppose. In case they wanted to use it I wanted to make sure it was able to be made larger. Well, I'm done for the day. I'll leave you with a rad photo I got of the Copperline Apartments and the sky:

August 21st, 2013 The Waterwalk Interview & 25 Reasons

I'm working on wrapping up the contest. I only have the "25 Reasons Why I love the Waterfront" and the ":30 second commercial". I have been elaborately planning both of those since I knew it was going to be a challenge. I plan to do a collage-type poster for the 25 reasons. One of the reasons why I love the Waterfront is for the creativity it evokes. I'm not gonna lie, this particular time was "staged" but I really have come to the waterfront to write, play music, do homework, etc because it helps me think and be more open-minded. And that is my pink acoustic guitar that I jam out on at campfires and friends houses. :)

I was reminded that I never posted the transcript of the interview I held with my three friends. It was a fun time. I spoke with several of my friends that day and played tour guide. I was helped with the insider information from the conversation I had with one of the residents a while back. I really enjoyed being the knowledgeable one. The looks of excitement and intrigue as I was talking made me think about bringing more friends down. By the time all of the shops open I will probably have brought 40 friends down there! I chose the answers from three of my friends to submit for the contest, but I have an audio transcript of more. So without further ado here it is:

Point Ruston: Now and in the Future

Interviewees: Tyler Pederson, Ciara Swan, Joseph Franco

Q. What did you like most about the Waterwalk?

A. (Tyler) I heard they were going to extend the walkway for a while now. I like that they have extended it as far as they have and you just told me that it’s going to go all of the way to Point Defiance. I like the run the waterfront when I’m training for my 5Ks and marathons. When I run the waterfront I like to lollygag, but I needed more distance. This last stretch looks really well kept and I’m looking forward to running.

A. (Ciara) I actually think it’s really pretty. It looks like this area is going to be really nice when they finished it. We just got done looking at the distance from UW Tacoma, so I might try to run from school to here also. I actually like how quiet it is down here. I’ll probably come back to read a book on a nice sunny day.

A. (Joseph) I didn’t know about this new area at all. We just walked the whole area and it looks like I’m going to have to bring Ciara back for romantic walk. It’s coming upon sunset and the sky is looking great. I agree with Ciara; it’s really quiet.


Q. OK, that’s good. How about the trellis we just posed at and the new attractions around here.

A. (Joseph) Yeah, I really didn’t know these views were down here.

A. (Ciara) I saw quite a few spots that I’m going to have to read at. The trellis has an awesome view of Mt. Rainier, so it’ll be nice to look up from my book and see that.

A. (Tyler) It makes it much better when I’m running to have good scenery. I mean usually I don’t have much to look at when I’m running so I like down here specifically because everything down here is so nice looking.


Q. I just got done telling you about all of the new things coming in; out of everything I listed what do you think you’ll come down here to see?

A. (Joseph) The movie theater! That’s so cool.

A. (Tyler) The 24 hour gym in the Winter. But you have a good point about getting in now because they have “founder’s” rates.

A. (Ciara) It all sounds pretty good. I can come down here and shop, or watch a movie, or enjoy the outdoor stuff.


Q. Do you think you’ll come down here more often now that you know about everything?

A. (All 3) Yes!

A. (Tyler) I’m probably going to make this my new running route when I get off of work.

A. (Ciara) I can’t wait for everything to be done.

A. (Joseph) I was serious. I’m going to take Ciara down here this weekend. And if you win the apartment we’re going to be down here all of the time!

A. (Tyler) Haha, yeah you can count on that.


Q. Speaking of that, if you were to live down here how do you think it would change your everyday life?

A. (Tyler) It’s going to be hard to really come up with my own answer because you’ve been talking about this for a few weeks now. What you said makes sense. But if I lived down here I would probably run even more. I wouldn’t have an excuse not to go out.

A. (Joseph) I like what you said and chilling on the back porch reading the newspaper in the morning. I guess that kind of routine would give me more perspective on my day so I could be happier every day.

A. (Ciara) I think I would be more physically active and mentally grounded. Just the view would keep me in a calm place.

August 19, 2013 A Little bit of History

My brother was leaving town tonight on a Greyhound, so I took him all around the area. We drove the 5 mile drive. We took a few photos in the park: Owen Beach and the Mountaineer Tree (the tree is over 450 years old!) for his dad and my step-dad, Don. Don came to Washington almost 20 years ago from New Jersey. He really loved the Point Defiance area. I'm not sure that the park has changed all that much, but I know the Waterfront has! The waterfront hadn't changed much until this whole new area came in. When I think about the history of Tacoma in general I can think of all of the major and subtle changes. Downtown and Hilltop was a huge crime area just 20 years ago. Safe Streets, a nonprofit, was largely responsible for the clean-up in the area. As for the waterfront area, I'm sad to see the tunnel is closed off. I think it would have been cool if we could at least walk through the area.

Chris and I stopped down at the waterwalk. He was so impressed with the views and really liked all of the attractions. I wish he would have seen the area before so he would understand what a huge undertaking it is to add all of these magnificent things. When he comes to visit next year he is going to be so impressed with the retail shops and additions.

August 15th, 2013 Been Missing the Waterfront

I never posted my final Forza pic on here so I decided to post today. I haven't been on here for a few days, so even though I haven't been back down to the waterfront I decided to write a bit. I'm 96% done and there are a few glitches I need the back-end people to figure out, but other than that I'm almost done. I'm really looking forward to the last few things. I actually have the interview people figured out. I brought my friends Cassy, Tyler, and Roberto to the new Waterfront area for the first time this past Sunday, so I need to officially interview them soon so I can turn that in.Then basically I will only have the 30 second commercial and 25 reasons to finish. It's been a fun time getting all of this done. I'm grateful for this contest still because it's made my summer more robust. I plan to visit tomorrow and take a few more photos for the 25 reasons collage. I'll post more tomorrow. :)

August 12th, 2013 A Beautiful Night

I went out to visit the waterfront tonight and got some amazingly beautiful shots! I think with the clouds and recent rain it leaves the sky ready for awesome sunsets. I finished the "photo" challenge section, but I will still be filming and taking photos for the "dream" category. I also wrote the review on Google+ to finish up another category. This contest is coming to a close for me because I will have completed everything very soon, but I have been having such a good time going down there I will probably continue to go 4-5 times a week like I have been. The Waterwalk is especially pleasant after the sun goes down. It's like a whole other world. Here are some shots from tonight:

I'll be back tomorrow for the very last official "check-in" on Facebook. Then I will only have a few more challenges to complete! It's hard to imagine not living down at the Waterfront at this point. Good night. :)

August 11, 2013 Sunday Funday

Today was one my favorite days down at Point Ruston. We went to the waterfront in a few different areas to get pictures, but we coordinated friends to come down to do the 9 friends photo. It was fun to show people the new area and talk about the possibility of living down at the water. Though it was overcast, the weather was nice enough to wear shorts and a tank top. I was pretty surprised how clean the area was given there was a huge concert there the day before, but I guess it makes sense that they're on it. It was a happy coincidence that one of the friends that showed up for the picture has a family member doing the contest. She hasn't quite gotten past the trivia portion yet, so she has a lot to catch up on, but after the phone call he had with her I think she will get on it :)

I also attempted to get a cool photo of Jack Hyde Park, but it's not quite good enough, so I haven't turned this one in.

We had a pretty long conversation with a tenant as she was passing by to go home. We got to chatting; it turns out she was the 2nd tenant in the Copperline Apartments. She told us about the improvements they plan to make in the area and the features she's looking forward to the best. I was a bit disappointed that they will only have boutique-type stores in the shopping area. I think it would work with the area if there were a few shops that were priced toward middle-class shoppers. I've seen some really cool shops that were very worthy of shopping in. If the area is only filled with boutiques then it keeps some of the population from being able to shop there. We will see though. I know they have very smart people making sure everything in the area will make sense.

Something cool that she mentioned was the fact that they will be having more apartments on top of the movie theater. The other apartments will accommodate more families as they will have a lot of 3-bedroom apartments. It sounds like 247 Fitness is an excellent deal. Right now they have founder's specials for $19 a month. And if you rent from the Copperline Apartments you get a gym membership for one person for free. That's a pretty good perk. She doesn't know when the Forza will be up and going. The gym and the Forza are the two things I'm really looking forward to at first! One other thing she told us was about the deal they have between the Apartments and the Condominiums. Apparently if you decide to buy a condo from Copperline and decide to rent from the apartments first, they will apply the rent from the apartment to the mortgage to the condo. How cool!

After a few friends left a few more showed up...with like a million kids. :) We played with a volleyball, hacky sack, and rode the long board around. We stayed past sunset, but the kids had to get to sleep, of course, so we didn't stay too long in the dark. It was pretty windy, but the breeze off of the water made it a cooler night than I expected. Before we left we took a fun picture with everyone plus all of the kiddies.

August 9th, 2013 A Day of Sand, Dogs, and Longborders

Have you ever taken note about the sheer number of longborders that pass through the waterfront each day? It's to the point where I think I saw more longboarders mid-day than I did runners and strollers combined! Today we spent the majority of the day down near Marine Park. We took the dogs this time and they absolutely loved it. Daisy, my 7 year-old cockerspaniel mix is a bit of an adventurer so she didn't really like being on leash the whole time. She's a great dog off-leash, but with kids and whatnot all around I wouldn't want anyone to get nervous. Anyhow, River, my friend Tony's Golden Retriever was in the happiest of moods, but he was sad we didn't let him swim when we were down at the beach at Marine Park. We passed about 100 dogs today. I'm so glad to see people taking their dogs out on these beautiful days. We unfortunately forgot the poopie bags, but the waterfront is super stocked with those poo bag dispensers, so we used a few of those. I have so many, I plan to add a roll to one of the dispensers next time I'm there. Pay it forward...

We actually brought a long board as well. I planned to try my hand at longboarding in the new Point Ruston area since it is so well maintained and still a bit of a secret (so there are less people). I'm looking forward to seeing all of the people, retailers, and everything else down at the Waterwalk area, but for now it's kind-of nice. I have my own little mirco-chasm of the waterfront "all to myself". We went down to the second mosaic to check-in as part of the contest. Again, we tried our best to come up with a cool photo to accompany the check-in. And Tony started coming up with creative ideas for the commercial using the mosaics...though I'm not sure we have the technical skills to pull off our grand schemes :)  Here are a few photos from the mosaic:

I think it's really cool about the time and energy it took to build the mosaics. Here is a News Tribune article from 2012 explaining the mosaics' construction. On our journey along the path we ran into a yoga class. There were about 7 people doing yoga at mosaic one. I think that's so cool that the class is on the Waterwalk. It reminded us of those fitness videos where they have like 3 people on a platform over looking water. :)

I decided not to longboard because I was getting hungry and it was decently hot today. We went to the Ram for dinner (on the waterfront, of course). I haven't been there for a while, so I was pretty impressed with the fact that they take your cell phone number down and text you when your table is ready. That means no more waiting around to hear your name. Even those other buzzer things have a proximity issue. In the case that the wait is around 20 mins or more you can take more time to enjoy the waterfront and come within 10 minutes of them texting you. So cool. I recently read in a magazine that they did a study on the happiest people and one common thing was their affinity for trying new things. Since I read that a few weeks ago I have been trying to open my mind to new experiences by trying new dishes at my favorite restaurants and being open to trying new life experiences as well! So, I got the meatloaf dish instead of my standard burger. It was good and hearty and I had plenty for leftovers.

We enjoyed our time sitting on their back deck on the water. The weather was perfect and it was nice to watch the parasailing and sailboats on the water. The sunset was approaching and Tony wanted to try to get some sunset shots from the Dickman Mill Park, so we got the dogs from the car and walked over to the park from the Ram. He had a cool concept for the photos, but it doesn't appear that he got any he liked enough to submit for the contest. I've really started reflecting and realize that this contest has been just what my summer needed! Even if I don't end up winning, I will have still spent more time in an area that I have always loved. I'm trying not to get my hopes up. When I think about the possibility of living at Copperline, I get excited and hopeful, but without the contest I won't be able to afford it just yet. I just graduated from UW Tacoma in June and have some loans to pay down before I indulge. Who knows what the future holds?

Tomorrow is the Underwater Music Festival which will be held at the new Point Ruston waterfront area. The website says there could be over 10,000 people there. They last held the festival in 2010 and there were over 4,000! That's so cool. I have a friend's kid's birthday party to go to though, so I'm not sure that I will be able to make it, but I have sure promoted it on Facebook. That's just super cool and I hope I'm living there next year when the festival comes to my doorstep. We have big plans for Sunday with family and friends down at the waterfront, so if I don't blog tomorrow, never fear, you will hear from me again on Sunday. Good night friends.

August 8th, 2013 A walk in the Sunset

So this post is actually about my time last night on the Waterfront. I don't know how most blogs go, but I always like to take some time to reflect on my day and then post about it the next day. My plan was to get my Forza picture. There are a few Forza's that were my favorite locations that either closed or one in particular that has the same owner, but changed the name to another store in honor of the tragedy of the police shooting. However, having just recently graduated from UW Tacoma I definitely have some favorite Forzas. I chose the in UP that's nearest to a family friend's house. I also like it because the walls are awesomely decorated. The location is also really close to Grandview Drive as well. So, I ended up leaving later than I planned and got there about 10 minutes before they closed. The indoor shot was really not working out, so I was planning to do an outside shot with the door in the background, but the sun wasn't working out. Here are some of the "fails"

             

This was basically the view I wanted to do, but with me in it:

We stopped off at Point Defiance so Tony could do his pagoda shot. What he got was sooo cool! He found this little obscure pond and found the perfect angle to get the reflection of the building in it. I'm not gonna lie, I was a little jealous of his shot, but happy he found it. I like the one I turned it because it shows the beautiful architecture, but his is really creative! I saw the entrance sign at the park and the sun was shining just right, so I stopped to get a photo of that. One of my "25 reasons why I like the waterfront" is the proximity to Pt. Defiance Park, so I will likely use this photo in my 25 reasons collage:

Anyhow, so we decided to do the sunset photos down by the Waterwalk. It was a beautiful night. I checked-in at the Giant Pacific Octopus and took a cool pic and did some effects to it:

We took some photos, but mainly it was about enjoying the night. I'm really getting used to being down in that area. I know winning is a bit of a long shot, but I still like to dream. We saw quite a few families and people hanging around. There was a couple doing a photo shoot of one another. Then they stood together in each other's arms admiring the Olympic Mountains. That inspired me to take the photo I submitted for the sunset. I think one of the magical things about the waterfront is really the opportunity to connect back to the world. We are so busy in our jobs, lives, etc that sometimes we forget to step back and enjoy the day and the world we live in. When I see the couple I saw just kissing and taking cute photos of one another I know that it is a night they will remember. As for me, I will be there tomorrow again doing some photos for the contest, but I also plan to pack a picnic and hang out at Marine Park. That's a great place for a picnic and some Frizbee. I'll see if some friends want to join me as well. OK, well until tomorrow...thanks for reading :)

August 7th, 2013 Why I love the Ruston Way Waterfront

So this is actually a challenge under the ambassador headline. I am asked to write about "why I love the Ruston Way Waterfront". I don't mind because I would love to talk about the Ruston Way Waterfront. I've been doing this contest for a little over 4 days and I've been back to the waterfront 6 times since then. This summer I've probably been there 20+ times. If I get an opportunity to cruise the waterfront I do. I love to see the people walking, biking, rollerblading, falling in love, walking their dogs (sometimes cats), catching fish, playing Frizbee, running, skateboarding, duck gazing, exploring, contemplating life, etc. I've done most all of those things. Does anyone remember the man who was stuck in the early 90s and would play rad old music and wear old school roller skates and dance around all day everyday each summer.

There are so many small changes the waterfront has undergone over the past 14 years I've been coming here. The sundial is such a cool feature because it genuinely tells time. It's also a great photo opportunity. Here's a picture of my good friend Elizabeth partaking in this photo op sometime last year.

I was so stoked when they added the Tacoma Chinese Garden and Reconciliation Park a few years back. I watched it as it was built and looked forward to walking around the beautiful sites. One of my favorite parking spot for the waterfront includes under the bridge where a lot of cars don't park. I like to start at one end of the waterfront and walk all the way down. Here's a fun pic of me and a few friends down there a few months ago.

Last, let's not forget to mention the amazing new addition to the Ruston Way Waterfront- the Waterwalk. This is a picture from the outskirts of the waterwalk from March of this year. Look at the colors!

As you can see I love going to the waterfront to take pictures. I spend most of my time there finding beautiful things. I can wait to go there later today to take more pictures for the contest.

August 6th, 2013 A Stroll at the Waterwalk...

I had a great time strolling the new Waterwalk in Point Ruston this evening. I'm entering the Point Ruston Puget Sound Dream Contest and get to take rad photos as part of the contest. I have to admit before this contest I had taken quite a few photos from this new area already. Though this photoshoot was very specific and I was trying to be creative for the very best pictures. I've been waiting for Point Ruston for some time now. In 2007 I lived in Ruston near Pt. Defiance Park and loved it. I've been in love with the Tacoma Waterfront ever since. I still remember my first time going to Waterfront on my own in 1998. I remember driving through the tunnel when I first got my very first car- a 74 Periwinkle Purple AMC Javelin. The engine roared through the tunnel and a loud honk followed for safety. Then cruising down the waterfront at the very slowest speed I could drive until a car crept up. I love Waterfront cruising. My friends and I would stop at the Marine Park to throw a Frisbee or a football around or just lie on the ground and take in the scenery. Over the years, I've seen the waterfront evolve and grow. Point Ruston is the best thing to happen to our waterfront. With the great additions through housing and retail space the waterfront will be the premier stopping spot very soon.