For those of you that are kind enough to read this blog, whether daily or once in a while, you may remember that recently I told you Krise is pregnant and due in mid July. Today we went up north to Tacoma to have breakfast with my Mom and then do some shopping. Before heading back south to Olympia my wife wanted to make one more stop. This place is unbelievable. They don't just have one of everything, they have ten. It makes your head spin. We ended up leaving without buying anything, but I have the feeling I'm going to be back.

Clouds over the historic Olympian Apartments in downtown Olympia.

For more Skywatch Friday photos click the link below.

I think this is going to be the last in the series of colorful downtown walls for a while. This bright display of artwork adorns the wall of the China Clipper Club Cafe.

For today's post let's step into the time tunnel. Way back in May of last year I posted a week's worth of signs. One of those signs was this neon pig. At the time I didn't show you the rest of the building, but this is it. Southbay Dickerson's BBQ, one of the best smelling places you could ever drive by. There are large sliding doors just out of frame to the right that they open in the nice weather. If you'd like to see their simple but tasty menu click here.

Ladies and gentleman, continuing our tour of downtown Olympia and all it's colors our next stop is The Fishbowl Brewpub. Now, I'm going to show you something that should look familiar. When I took this shot I was standing right in front of this building. Coincidence? I think not! There's a reason these two aquatic themed buildings are neighbors. They're one in the same. Click here to check out their website and a little background on one of our areas breweries.

I think it's about time to show you some more of the colorful side to downtown Olympia. Now, let's look back for just a minute. Going clear back to August of last year I showed you the Hidden Zoo. Then in November it was the Olympia Rafah Mural Project on the side of the Labor Temple. The most recent addition were these blue salmon on the side of a local brewing company. Continuing on with our tour our most recent find was on the wall facing the alley at the Mini Saigon restaurant. I've got to say, there are some pretty talented artists helping these various businesses be seen. Oh, and don't worry, we're not done. There will be more.

Today it was time for another road trip south to Portland Oregon. Our oldest daughter had never been to Powell's City of Books, the bestest book store in the northwest. She was amazed to say the least. This shot was taken on the top floor of Powell's parking garage.

Or should I say WPPSS which stands for the Washington Public Power Supply System, one of the most expensive undertakings and failures in public power history. This is or was the Satsop Nuclear Plant located in Elma Washington which is 30 miles west of Olympia. We pass this every time we go to the ocean. No matter how many times you travel this road it's still something to see those two huge cooling towers with their blinking lights atop. For the short story on the rise and fall of this plant and WPPSS click here. For a more detailed description of the plant and what it's being used for today click here.

Pigeons on their way to roost on the ledge of the arches that make up the 4th Avenue Bridge in downtown Olympia.

Click the link below to see more Skywatch Friday shots.

As requested here's another one dug out of the archives. As I mentioned in a previous post I was born in Spokane, Washington. Late in 1962 we moved to Tacoma. The timing was pretty good as the Seattle World's Fair was in full swing. During the next summer, August to be exact, we took a drive to Bremerton where the USS Missouri was being kept after decommission. At the time of this photo I was either 5 0r 6 depending on when in August this was taken. For those of you that aren't familiar with the significance of the "Mighty Mo", or wonder what happened to it click here for the rest of the story.

Oh, and look Mary Beth, I wasn't in diapers.

For Watery Wednesday this was our view out the upper level of The Athenian restaurant while visiting Pike's Place Market in Seattle. A peaceful view while having lunch.

For more Watery Wednesday shots click the link below.

I told you in yesterday's post that we went to Seattle for the day. As we were walking back to our car to head home we walked through an alley where I spotted this pipe. I'm not really sure who Greg is or how he decided that this was the place to leave his mark, but whether he knows it or not he's now a part of Ruby Tuesday.

To see how others leave their mark click the link below.

Neither my wife or I work on Mondays. Today we decided to take our youngest daughter with us and head on up to Seattle and the Pike's Place Market. Not only do we enjoy spending the day there, but we also had the privilege of meeting Chuck Pefley of One a Day - Mostly Seattle. Chuck is a talented professional photographer. He has had a stall at the market for years where he sells his wonderful photos. After my wife, daughter & I had a delicious lunch at the Athenian, a restaurant in the market where we sat at a window booth upstairs overlooking the water we caught up with Chuck. He was gracious enough to take the time to go have a cup of coffee with us and chat for a while. Thank you Chuck. It was a pleasure meeting you. Next time we head up that way lunch is on us.

This shot was taken looking down the main walkway of the market. Even in black & white I think you can tell the lighting is eye-catching.

Visit the Monochrome Maniacs by clicking here.

8 TV shows we watch on occasion:

1. House (our weekly date night)

2. Diners, Drive-in's & Dives

3. Man vs Food

4. Kitchen Nightmares

5. Hell's Kitchen

6. CSI Miami

7. Dirty Jobs

8. How it's Made

8 favorite places to eat & drink:

1. Bennett's (yep the one we've posted about)

2. Cattin's

3. Plaza Jalisco

4. Red Robin

5. Bur's (local old school diner)

6. Emporer's Palace

7. Home

8. Grandma's (yum)

8 things I look forward to:

1. Coming home from work

2. The birth of our baby later this year

3. Walks with my wife (and sometimes the dogs)

4. Trips to the beach

5. Going to Powell's Books in Portland

6. Photo op's. (never enough of them)

7. The days where our two daughters get along

8. The day where our son's life gets a little easier

8 things I love about winter:

1. Snow, snow snow!

2. Sledding or inner tubing with the kids

3. Lazy Sundays watching a movie.

4. The fireplace

5. Holiday food

6. Gas prices dropping

7. Flannel sheets

8. Egg Nog

8 things on my wish list

1. A happy healthy family

2. The winning lotto ticket

3. A Nikon D90 and more lenses

4. To learn to play the guitar

5. Time to take a few road trips with my wife

6. To visit my Mother's homeland in Germany

7. A Mac Book Pro for my wife

8. An easy birth (This one's Krise's)

8 things I am passionate about:

1. Photography

2. Spouse & family

3. The outdoors

4. Bicycling

5. The Lord

6. Music

7. Cooking

8. Reading

8 things I have learned from the past:

1. To never have regrets

2. Look to see if the roll is empty before you sit down

3. Don't let your feet slip off the pedals. (ouch)

4. Your children will never perform when you want them to

5. To always trust the judgement of a toddler or a dog

6. Always be first in line for something you really, really want

7. Someday you'll understand your parents. (then you will become them)

8. Honesty will always be the best policy

8 things I want/need:

1. A new bulb for the big screen TV

2. A Mimosa tree and Red Hot Pokers

3. Wheels for the Cube

4. Our sanity

5. A guitar

6. An obedient teenager

7. A real vacation

8. To catch a halibut

8 people we want to tag:

4 ladies & 4 gents

1. Sheryl at Astoria Oregon Daily Photo

2. Lois at Tallahassee Daily Photo

3. Hilda at My Manila

4. Mary Beth at Small City Scenes of Stanwood

5. Brian at Texas Daily Photo

6. Jacob at Ocala (Florida) Daily Photo

7. Frank at Tampa Daily Photo

8. Steffe at Photos from Haninge

Okay, there ya have it. I hope all of you enjoy participating. We look forward to reading the results.

Today I thought I'd show you another unique old building in downtown Olympia. As you can see, in it's past life it was a branch of the Public Library. Today they call it Reality. If you'd like an explanation you can check out their website by clicking here. The building itself is what caught my eye in the first place.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

If ever there was a time where picking a photo to post made me sweat bullets this was the time. I'm sure you can see my dilemma. The theme is Best Photo of 2009. Now, looking at the two photos above you tell me, how do you pick between your two girls? Both of these shots were taken this past September at Westport, Washington. This is where my wife and I had taken our honeymoon in March of 2008, but this was the first time the girls had been to there with us. We had an absolutely wonderful day filled with kite flying, running on the beach with our two dogs and when we were done playing we headed over to our favorite restaurant and all had a delicious meal before calling it a day and heading for home. Did I break the rules by posting more than one photo? Maybe, but hey do you blame me?

To see other "Best of 2009" photos click the link below.

I don't think this Cormorant has to worry too much about sharing his perch. I don't believe there's room for two up there.

This shot was taken at the same location as this shot. I just moved up to the gate.

For more Watery Wednesday photos click the link below.

Sunday afternoon before the rain set in I had a chance to get out and explore, camera in hand of course. This was taken under the the 4th Avenue bridge. Recognize anything in this photo?

While driving through downtown Olympia the other day I suddenly ran across this place. Imagine that!

Spreading Goodwill to me that is. After dinner tonight my wife, oldest daughter and I stopped by the Goodwill. Of course as soon as we were about three feet inside the door the girls went one way and I went the other. I just couldn't leave without picking up a couple of bargains. On the left a Polaroid Spectra, and on the right a Polaroid One Step. Both are old pack film cameras and at only $3.95 each they should be great additions to my collection.

This photo was taken on January 1st 2010. Having no other plans for New Year's Day, and add to that the fact it was raining and windy as heck, my wife and I hopped in the truck and headed for the coast. Why not? The kids were at Grandma and Grandpa's so we can do anything we want! Besides whenever I really want to put a smile on my wife's face I offer to take her to one of her favorite places in the world to eat. Bennett's restaurant in Grayland, Washington which is just south of Westport. She thinks their clam chowder served in a sourdough breadbowl is the best she's tasted. That's good enough for me. Not being a seafood lover I opted for a hefty bacon cheeseburger and fries. For anyone even remotely close let me tell you it's definitely worth the drive. While we were there of course we took a short drive on the beach. They were experiencing a near record high tide so there really wasn't much beach to drive on. Our skywatch that day was wet and gray, but the good food more than made up for it.

For more SkyWatch photos from around the world click the link below.

Okay gang, here we go. Another downtown building. Not as colorful as this one is it? Nope, but it ask just about anyone around Olympia what they think of it and chances are you'll get an earful. Built in 1966 and at that time called the Capital Center this building went through some changes over the years. Eventually in the 1980's thru 2005 it became state offices most notably housing the Department of Corrections. A new building was built for DOC in 2005 or 2006 in Tumwater. Here's where the controversy begins. Check out this rental agreement. How'd you like to be the landlord that worked out that deal? Not to bore you with hours of reading, but if you click here it will fill you in on what's going on now.

Well, here it is again....Watery Wednesday and at some point living here in Olympia I was going to have to show you this place. In the heart of downtown is a Diamond Parking lot, and in this lot is brass pipe sticking up out of the ground with water flowing twenty four hours a day three hundred sixty five days a year. I was really surprised when I took this photo. I think this was the only time I've ever been at the well when there haven't been other people there either filling their personal water bottles, or large jugs, or washing their hair or more. (Interesting part of downtown). This water has been flowing for nearly a century. There actually are a number of artesian wells in the Olympia area however this one is the most popular and most visited. You can click here or here to read a little more about the history and politics of this well.

P.S. I left the photo large, but if you can't read the writing on the wall, it says:

This mural honors the Artesian Well

who's waters have flown freely since 1914.

It is part of an effort to commemorate

and respect this unique Olympian place.

The portraits are of local well-goers.

Please enjoy and respect this urban oasis.

Enjoy many more Watery Wednesday shots by clicking the link below.

Located in West Olympia is Yauger Park, or as we locals refer to it this time of year "Yauger Lake." During the drier weather it is a wonderful recreational park with baseball fields, a very nice skate park, and as you can see on the left side of the photo a frisbee golf course. Besides these activities it is a popular place for walkers, joggers & dog walkers. Most of the area you see flooded here is parking lot, however after heavy rain it extends into the ball fields. It's something you get used to here. When the weather changes and the rain stops it usually only takes a couple of days before most of the water drains off.

Located in downtown Olympia is the Washington National Guard HQS 2D BN 146th FA Armory.

For more Monochrome Weekly shots click here.

Okay, so you caught last night's post. Wild paint job huh? Well, walk about two or three blocks from there and this is what you'll see. Sorrento Ristorante Italiano. My wife and I ran across this place completely by accident one evening last summer. It was very warm out and we had our dogs with us. No problemo! They had tables set up outside. Hook the leashes under the table legs and reach for the menu. The food was unbelievable. Not like your typical Americanized Italian food either, this was the real deal. The owner Franco, yep he's the real deal too. Evidently he's from Sorrento, thus the name and the beautiful mural. He looks like a character right out of a movie. Out he strolls with a bottle of wine in one hand and glasses in the other. What a charmer too. He heads straight for the ladies and proceeds to "turn on the smooth." Over all a very good experience and one more colorful Olympia business.

I've mentioned before that the downtown Olympia area is an interesting place. Diverse to say the least. In the coming weeks I'll do my best to spotlight some of the unique businesses that live and thrive downtown. For today's post I give you the Fish Brewing Company. It won on paint alone!

I'll start off by saying Happy New Year everyone!

When we were trying to decide what to post for this month's Theme Day "Changes" we weren't sure exactly what to post. Looking back through this past year's photos provided the answer we were looking for. What better way to show the changes of 2009 than to share a view through our lens of the four seasons.

To experience more "Changes" just click the link below.