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.
