A Day in the City . . . Walk in the Park

Bill and I broke the routine yesterday and spent a day in the big city.  

Thanks to Willie's coming over to let our dogs out for a run, we were able to pull off this brief but fun getaway.

Our goal involved two stops in Spokane:  the Japanese Gardens at Manito Park and the Museum of Arts and Culture where a traveling exhibit of Titanic artifacts is continuing for the next few weeks. 

Plus, the unspoken but mutually understood aspect of the trip involved a trip to DICKS Restaurant. 

For those who've "been there done that," you can muse with the jaw dropper that Marianne and Bill had never been to Manito Park. 

So, the experience turned out to be an adventure for us, as we parked and walked from the lot to the Japanese Gardens, which had just opened a few days ago. 

To be walking through new territory for us, whether it's on some mountain or in the big city, is always a satisfying and interesting experience. 

We both concluded that yesterday's brief walk through a portion of Manito planted a seed for further visits.  These will most likely occur at times when the lilacs are in bloom or when the whole park is alive with spring, summer and fall beauty. 

Once again, the sheer enjoyment of walking on dry ground in dry weather more than made up for the fact that there's not yet a lot of color in the park.  It's ready to burst out, though. 

Our leisurely stroll past the lilac garden and through the Japanese Gardens was both relaxing and invigorating, simply because it provided us a very different change of pace. 

No cameras were allowed at the museum visit, so I just snapped a couple of photos outside.  

Having been to Belfast in 2011 where Annie and I saw another museum devoted to the Titanic (the ship was built there), I enjoyed connecting some more dots in the Titanic story. 

The MAC exhibit provides of phenomenal summary of the ship's story from beginning to end and some fascinating anecdotes about several passengers.  

Displays included viles of perfume recovered from an inventory a salesman brought on board, a bar of soap which had survived the ravages of the sea for decades, depictions of living quarters and dramatic images portraying the moments the ship met its demise.

Visitors were each given a card with information about individual passengers and encouraged to check the displays of names of those who survived and those who did not.

My passenger, a newlywed from Spokane named Chapman, did not survive. 

As a member of the Brown clan, I was fascinated with the story of Margaret Brown who had married a Tobin from Ireland. 

Once again, for those of you who have been there, know that, until yesterday I had never connected the dots of The Unsinkable Molly Brown with the Titanic. 

Duh!

I know!

Turns out that Margaret Brown, so dubbed "unsinkable" and "Molly" by Hollywood, was quite a shaker and doer, including her saving of several Titanic passengers. 

We Brown ladies certainly have an impressive role model to emulate. 

Bill and I enjoyed our time spent at the MAC, including a few minutes in the gift shop, thumbing through a beautiful coffee table book about horse-hair bridles.

Since our family owns a horse-hair bridle crafted by a prisoner at the Montana State Prison, we looked to see if there was information about the prisoners.  

Sure enough, several pages were devoted to the story of the  warden who wanted to keep his prisoners busy, so they made bridles, spending as much as six weeks with about $10 worth of materials creating each bridle.  

Nice to know such lore, especially when you have a tangible connection. 

As I mentioned earlier, twas an unspoken understanding that Ma and Pa Love would stop off at DICKS for a late lunch.  

As we walked through the parking lot back to the car, Bill was the first to utter the word "DICKS."  

No arguments from me.  I enjoyed my chocolate shake and Whammy while Bill savored his fish and fries. 

We were home by 4 and in time for greeting the doggies and turning on the Mariners game to watch Felix pitch. 

Ouch!  The King seemed to have lost his magic touch, big time!

We tried watching the game but changed channels often. 

Except for that miserable Mariner loss, yesterday turned out to be a "Thanks, I Needed That" kind of day, especially the part where we'll be making our way back to Manito Park when we plan a future brief escape. 

Happy Thursday. Enjoy the photos. 

The Grand Finale . . . .