The public transit system here is great. I used the 574 to get between the airport and Lakewood,…read moreand it was great. The bus ran on time and was very affordable, especially considering the same cab ride would have cost 60-80 dollars. I will definitely use the public transportation system the next time I need a ride in the greater Seattle/Tacoma area.

The WA state ferry system is amazing…read more We went on this to the island off Point Defiance. The crew and staff overall were great. Easy on easy off and a great ride. The views while crossing are spectacular and it's a great overall experience. Anytime you can take the ferry you have to because it's a perfect way to enjoy Washington and the islands

This fairy is probably honestly three stars but I have to give it a little extra for the gorgeous…read morePark that is is connected to. If you arrive a little early or you end up missing a ferry, you can just park your car and walk around an enjoy the duck pond or gorgeous scenery. The ride is also very short; only about 15 minutes or so. I appreciate both of those things. In my van, which is under 22 ft, they charge $34 for the vehicle, + $7 per person and I believe they charge my card a payment fee. It comes out to somewhere between $42 and $45 every time I cross, which is worth it in my opinion for the trip. It's probably slightly cheaper in a regular car and definitely a lot more affordable if you're on foot or bike. It's always pre-organized and easy to make the ferry, but people do sometimes get turned around at the road once you enter the park. Just to stay to the right and you will be fine.

Sis and I rode the rails for her work and I gotta say, this was quite a charming way to discover…read moredowntown Tacoma. I stopped at the Thriftway just because there was a stop there and got to buy some nice little snackies. As we rode around, I saw businesses I want to try. I had no idea there was a Melting Pot nearby, so I'm gonna take Mom to the station near the Tacoma Dome, take the train there and have our fondue, then have a little adventure riding the rails. Why not? It's cheap and it's fun.

Everyone knows you head down to Federal Way for Korean food. It's pretty obvious once you start…read moreseeing business signs in Hangul off Pac Hwy. Now you can get here by taking the light rail. The light rail connection from Federal Way to Sea-Tac Airport and Downtown Seattle is a big win for the South End. It's pretty convenient since it's close to the I-5 ramps. I know it'll be a drop off point for folks heading to the airport, work and school. The best thing about the 1 line is that it takes you right into downtown Seattle and UW without having to transfer to other lines. Plus, if you get on at the Federal Way station you'll get first dibs on prime seats. Hi-Five, right? Just like the named art piece at the station. The track feels like the Canada Line SkyTrain from Richmond to Vancouver, BC. No fare gates so fare evasion happens all the time. No platform screen doors like Sea-Tac Airport's underground trains so pay attention and don't fall on the tracks. As for tourism, some people may opt to stay in hotels in Federal Way rather than downtown Seattle or SeaTac. With this new light rail station, it's only a couple stops away from Sea-Tac Airport and less than an hour to Westlake Station/Downtown Seattle. I'm sure hotel shuttles will be a common sight at this station too. I always saw shuttles at the Angle Lake station whenever I dropped fam and friends off. They have public restrooms at this station. Hopefully during Summer 2026 they'll have enough Honey Buckets for stations that don't have restrooms. With all the games, concerts, and special events at the stadiums plus heatwaves there's going to be a lot of beverage consumption. Federal Way doesn't have free on-demand shuttle service like Bellevue. People will still have to use their car to navigate around the business district. As Federal Way grows, I'm curious how the city will shift from being car-centric to pedestrian-friendly. They don't have to reinvent the wheel. They just have to study the growth blueprint of Lynnwood and Redmond, ask them about their successes and failures, then apply whatever fits the needs of this South End community. I just hope Federal Way finds passionate, experienced urban planners who have the best interest for this area. I'm ok if the city takes their time strategically planning growth as long as they're thoughtful about the PNW environment and the people they serve. Anyway, the Federal Way Link Extension grand opening was a fun celebration. Lots of people showed up. Not everyone was able to get on the first NB train though. They had food trucks, activities, and pop-up tents with freebies and swag bags plus they had ST Merch. It was a successful party. Next up? The 2 Line Crosslake Connection.

It's so beautiful from the outside but then on a whole other level once you get inside. As soon as…read moreyou walk in, you will notice a large Chandelier hanging from the center of the dome. It is located prominently in downtown Tacoma, right along Pacific Avenue near the Tacoma Art Museum, Washington State History Museum, and Chihuly Bridge of Glass. From the outside, the building is stately and eye-catching with its large, sweeping arches and brick exterior. From the inside, it's even more beautiful, though, with the largest collection of Dale Chihuly artwork in town - and it's completely free to come in and see it. Photo I.D. is required for entry. Union Station is worth seeing...

WOW WOW WOW! This is an incredible wedding venue option. I had a hard time finding a beautiful…read morevenue where I could have a caterer of my choice. This was one of the very few options I found online which allowed me to do this so we came by to take a look. We were blown away by this beautiful building. It is absolutely stunning. The Chihuly is spectacular and with the sun shining or setting, it always looks incredible in here. At first, I thought it was a downside that you have to rent all your own decorations and furniture. But this ended up being a blessing in disguise because it gave me the freedom to choose any type of decorations/furniture I wanted. We had the ceremony and reception, in reception style seating on the main level rotunda. I created dressing rooms on the bottom floor by setting up curtain walls near the back entrance. The balcony we used for taking pictures during cocktail hour. This was very nice because it was extremely hot outside and we were able to stay inside, take incredible pictures by the artwork and view, and be out of the way of the guests by being upstairs on the balcony. The balcony was also used to throw the garter from haha. It was nice for the guests to be able to roam around and view the artwork instead of being secluded in one area like most weddings. The staff here is incredibly helpful! Murray was the coordinator on duty that night and was sooo helpful. One downside is you have to take care of your own trash at the end of the night and he actually helped us load it in a truck since it was very heavy. Def not his job but still so helpful! The security is very friendly. Mary always answered my questions via email right away, as I had very many planning my own wedding. I had the wedding of my dreams, actually above and beyond my dreams here, I highly recommend.

3 new light rail stations just opened up in the South End…read more The Kent Des Moines light rail station is right off Pac Hwy and close to the I-5 ramps. It's up the hill from the Des Moines Marina and up the hill from the Kent Transit Center and ShoWare Center. It's 2 stops away from Sea-Tac Airport so it's a good place to drop off friends and family here as long as they can manage their luggage. Kent remains a car centric city though. It still lacks all-day express buses to and from Seattle and the Sounder train is super flaky. Sure, taking the Sounder is the quickest way to get into Seattle but commuters might opt for the light rail due to scheduling and reliability reasons. People still need to get to work, school, appointments, lectures, and meetings at all times of the day. Also, if this station keeps cars off I-5, it's a win for the environment. Cleaner air for the Puget Sound region? Yes, please. No transit fare gates here. Payment is on the honor system. Security is inconsistent. Sometimes they'll do something about sus characters & sleepers and sometimes they won't. If you notice sketch activity, have the Sound Transit security number saved on your phone or move to another car if you have to. Use your best judgement. Kind of weird they don't have a pedestrian overpass to Highline College. Seattle has overpasses on Aurora at 102nd and 130th. Bellevue has the NE 8th Street Pedestrian bridge at the Wilburton light rail station. Hopefully the traffic light cycle favors pedestrians at the crosswalk. I could see people running across lanes of traffic because they're late to class. If you're a student or faculty member, just be aware of erratic drivers on Pac Hwy. They also have public restrooms at this station.

Awesome tour with Quincy today!! If you want to experience the past and present history of Tacoma…read morethis is the tour for you!! Quincy has a great personality and makes the history of this downtown area come alive. Would highly recommend this experience!!!

Safety In Motion is a very professional place to do flight training of any level. If you're in need…read moreof extra training, an additional rating, or an Instrument Proficiency Check, SIM Flight Center is the place to go! The Cessna 172 is wonderfully equipped with a Garmin 530 WAAS. The J3 Cub is one of the nicest I have ever seen and is the perfect airplane to add a Tail wheel Endorsement to any certificate. The staff is always helpful, professional and very accommodating to changing schedules, holidays, and weekends. The facility is well kept, clean, and has a plethora of training material from Jeppesen charts and approach plates to DVD courses; computer based training and recreational reading materials to supplement course materials as well. If you're looking for a place to do training whether it be ground instruction for a checkride, written test prep, or flight training for mountain flying, instrument flying any type of Garmin training, cross-country training Safety In Motion Flight Center is the place you need to be!

This is not a good flight school for many reasons. I'll share my experience. I started my inital…read moreflight training in another state a few years ago and was post-solo and post-night cross country. After moving and a couple more years later, I was ready to get back into a plane to finish up my license. I chose Safety in Motion because they were the closest to where I live. After scheduling an enrollment meeting with one of the Chief Flight Instructors and another flight instructor (who ended up being my main instructor), we went over my syllabus and made an estimate of cost and hours needed to complete my license. It sounded good, so I enrolled. That week, I got my login for the flight schedule all set up, so I could schedule a plane and instructor based on availability of both. This was already an issue. This is a very busy school. Their schedule was generally booked out a month in advance, so that made it difficult to schedule one flight at a time. The first thing I noticed on my preflight was how dirty the plane was. I even mentioned it to the instructor, who brushed it off with, "well, they're SUPPPOSED to be doing it every once on a while, but I guess not." We got up in the air and did some basic stuff in the practice area - steep turns, stalls, the usual. One of the things that stuck out on my mind about this instructor was one - how young he was (i don't think he was older than 21), and how he told me he was only after "my 1500 hours so I can get to the airlines." I flew with this instructor 4 times and on at least 3 occassions, he made this very well-known to me. After not flying for a few years, I was excited to get to do some landings and get some pattern work in. My instructor, though, wanted to go the practice area more. So we did - for the first 3 flights. It wasn't until my 4th flight when we finally got to do pattern work. This would be my last flight with Safety in Motion. I logged 5 landings that day, but I couldn't tell you who landed the plane - because from about 600 feet all way to the ground, he'd be yanking and pushing on the yoke over me, making it very difficult to keep the plane flying in the direction I wanted it to go - for every single landing attempt. I can't even begin to tell you how awful those touchdowns were. I was literally fighting for control of the plane AGAINST the instructor who never once made the call to say, "my controls." It was just a fight the whole way down. Very frustrating and SCARY UNSAFE. I went home that day with a lot to process. As someone who likes to give people chances, I texted my instructor and asked him to call me regarding my training. He did, and I asked him if he had any confidence in my ability to safely land an airplane and he straight up said, "no, I don't." Please know that up until I started flying with this school I had almost 100 takeoffs and landings logged, unassisted. He then told me that he thought my additional training in simulators wasn't at all helpful and that my training was going to take along time. I explained my experience of our last flight which he admitted to being "a little" over-controlling when it came to landings. I even suggested doing some ground-effect center line excercises I did with my last instructor to make him more comfortable with my control in landings. He didn't sound too open to it. By this point, his energy had shifted to a negative one, so I knew I needed to ask for a new flight instructor, as this one was clearly not going to work for me. I then sent an email to the school asking for a new flight instructor. I was contacted by the Assistant Chief instructor to call him and let him know what happened. I let him know of my experience, the conversation with my instructor and how I'd like a new instructor. He told me, "it sounds to me like I've got an instructor who has lost track of your training, not realizing how far along you are, and is treating you like a new guy." He then told me that he'd take me on a student himself if he werent so booked up already with commercial students. He did say that he had an instructor for me who was older and would be a good fit (apparently another Marine). I asked if I needed to contact him and he told me, I didn't have to. That'd he'd have him call me. I never recieved a call from anyone. I did get an e-mail from one of the owners, asking me about what happened, which I copy-pasted to him. I did not receive a response from him, either. After not hearing anything from the school, it was pretty clear to me where they stood and the final nail in the coffin of my opinion of this school. Yelling staff, slamming doors, unfriendly front desk staff. The list goes on. Do not recommend.

I went on my first Pretty Gritty Tour a little while back. There are ghost tours and historical…read moretours for Tacoma and a whole other section for tours in the Tri-Cities in southern Washington. I went on a lantern tour at Fort Steilacoom Park which is located next to Western State Mental Hospital in Lakewood. There is a ton of history in this park and the hospital once owned the land. So there are old barns here and a cemetery of patients that died as well as ruins of other structured here. We went through here around Halloween time so best get reservations in as they fill fast and they don't offer many of them. We went by lantern in the dark to the cemetery and learned about some of the patients that lie resting here and then what went on in the ruins when the hospital had the land. It was definitely creepy and grim but fascinating as you learned a lot of history from the guide. When we went here it was raining a lot and that really added to the creepy vibe which was a nice addition to the experience but glad I had an umbrella with me! Looking forward to doing more of these tours in the future. I really liked this particular tour and would love to do a ghost tour sometime.

Got to do the original tour for my birthday on Saturday. Chris was our guide, which I was super…read morehappy about, cause I have watched SO many of his YouTube videos, and even used it as a source in a paper I wrote. He was just as awesome as on his videos, very funny and genuine. The tour was fantastic, I am absolutely going to do all the other tours now. The story of the reoccurring murder had me hooked. It was super spooky to be guided through Tacoma by lamp light. Our group was fun and I even had other birthday buddies who celebrated with this spooky tour. So don't wait, go book, like right now. It's worth every penny.