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5025 Meridian Road NE, Olympia, Washington, 98516, United States
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Foggy and snowy AM
Middle Tumwater Falls
Capitol Building
Washington's State Capitol
Unless we are in the middle of an unexpected drought, you're going to want to bring rain gear. We get a lot of the wet stuff. But we're also rewarded with a lot of green vegetation and really great sunsets every now and then. Like this one.
Besides Happy Teriyaki, here are some good places to try:
Italian: Brewery city Pizza (off of Harrison)
Sandwich: Maconi's (Lacey Blvd)
Chinese: Main China Buffet (off of Martin Way in Shopko plaza) Brewery City Pizza: has a good garlic chicken pizza they serve.
OLYWA is near Mt. St Helens, Mt Ranier, and are on a very nice port. Great hiking, climbing, biking, and backpacking opportunities are within the area. There are excellent places to dock if you are sailing along the Pacific Coast.
The site of Olympia was home to Lushootseed-speaking peoples for thousands of years. The abundant shellfish in the tideflats and the many salmon-spawning streams entering Puget Sound at this point made it a productive food-gathering area. Many tribes shared access to these resources, including Squaxin, Nisqually, Puyallup, Chehalis, Suquamish, and Duwamish.
In the 1830s the Hudson's Bay Company established a trading post at nearby Sequalitchew Creek (now Dupont) In the 1840s Catholic missionaries established a mission and school at Priest Point near the future townsite for the conversion of natives to Catholicism.
American settlers came to the area in the 1840s, drawn by the water-power potential of Tumwater Falls and established nearby "New Market," now known as Tumwater, the first American settlement north of the Columbia River.
Edmund Sylvester and Levi Smith jointly claimed the land that now comprises downtown Olympia. Smith's untimely death in 1848 left Sylvester the sole owner of the land on which he platted the future townsite. In a time when water travel was the easist form of transportation, Olympia's location on the main north-south route through the region made it a crossroads for regional trade. The site was the northern end of the "Cowlitz Portage," the overland trail between the Cowlitz River and Puget Sound.
A campaign by settlers to create a separate territory from Oregon resulted in Congress creating Washington Territory. Isaac I. Stevens served as its first governor. Upon his arrival in Olympia in 1853 Stevens declared it capital of the territory.
In 1873, the Northern Pacific Railroad bypassed Olympia, choosing Tacoma as its west coast terminus. Shaken by the slight, Olympia residents set to work building their own spur connector to the main line at Tenino. It was completed in 1878 and served as Olympia's only rail connection until 1891.
After Washington achieved statehood in 1889, Olympia continued to serve as the state's capital city. Construction of the current Washington State Capitol began in 1912, with the prominent Legislative Building completed in 1928.
Aside from its role as the seat of state government, Olympia was a fairly typical Pacific Northwest town. Early on, extraction industries such as logging and oystering were the basis of much of the economy. By the twentieth century, sawmilling, fruit canning, and other industrial concerns comprised its economic base. Olympia also served as a shipping center for materials produced from the surrounding countryside, including sandstone, coal, and agricultural products.
A significant earthquake in 1949 damaged many historic buildings beyond repair, and they were demolished. Others were retrofit with new facades to replace the damaged Nineteenth Century wood and glass storefronts. Subsequently, much of Olympia's downtown reflects mid-twentieth century architectural trends.
In 1967,the state legislature approved the creation of The Evergreen State College near Olympia, mostly due to the efforts of Progressive Republican Governor Daniel J. Evans. Evans later served as president of the college, leaving Evergreen in 1983 when he was appointed to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by Sen. Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson's death.
Because of the college's presence, Olympia has become a hub for artists and musicians (many of whom have been influential in punk, post-punk, anti-folk, lo-fi and other music trends (see Olympia music scene)). Olympia was recently named one of the best college towns in the nation.
Olympia hosts the state's largest annual Earth Day celebration, Procession of the Species, a community arts-based festival and parade. Olympia is also known for its farmer's market, the second largest in Washington as well as the Washington Center for the Performing Arts.
Created by the community for the community the Procession of the Species Celebration is a joyous, artistic pageant, embracing the languages of art, music and dance to inspire learning, appreciation and protection of the natural world. The intent of the Procession is to elevate the dignity of the human spirit by enhancing the cultural exchange that we have with each other and with the natural world... and to do that through imagination, creation, and sharing.
Check out more of this outstanding celebration of earth at http://www.procession.org/index.php
The Washington State Capitol stands on a hill overlooking the southern tip of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, for which the city was named. Designed in a mixture of Roman, Greek and neo Classical style made popular by the "City Beautiful" movement of the late 1800's, it is often compared to our nation?s Capitol. Constructed between 1922 and 1928, the Capitol Building houses the Washington State Legislature as well as the offices of the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, and Treasurer.
Public tours
Visitors are invited year round to visit the Capitol Campus and enjoy the more than 30 landscaped acres decorated with seasonal floral displays.
Guided tours of the Legislative Building are offered seven days a week, every hour on the hour between 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. with the exception of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Brochures and self-guided materials are available at the Visitor Information Center and at tour information desks located on the 1st and 2nd floors of the Legislative Building.
For tour information you can refer to the Washington State Visitors Bureau at http://www.experiencewashington.com/
I flew to Seattle in November 1999. I was visiting my friend Libby there. Well, this is a cute story in fact because before we met each other we had been penpals for some 9 years..so we were both excited about this visit. It turnd out that Libby is a wonderful person, sweet and kind - we had a good time together. And the best thing is that we have seen each other a couple of times in Poland after that...
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Q: How far from the capital to Olympia? "Hi there, I am from New Zealand and was wondering how long does it take to drive from Washington D.C to Olympia? Thanks"
A: "It's 2800 miles (4700 Km)and would take about 45 hours of driving time."
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