Yakima, The Palm Springs of Washington

Now that I'm thinking about food, catch Santiago's in downtown Yakima; they're listed in the "Northwest Best Places" for their excellent Mexican food. Of course, we tried it! Yum! Bring a big appetite, folks.

We also managed to catch a great meal at Marti's Restaurant, Bakery and Spirits by the Inn overlooking the Yakima River. It has an in-house bakery, an excellent Sunday brunch, a shining salad bar and delicious food. Busy place. For fast-food afficionados there's a McDonald's in WalMart nearby, and a Burger King.

Anyway, moving on out into the community, there's a lot to see.

HISTORY AND CULTURE

To learn history, visit the Yakima Valley Museum, http://yakimavalleymuseum.org/ , downtown. It contains the largest exhibit of wooden wagons west of the Mississippi and an operating 1930's soda fountain. Sunset Magazine voted it in the top ten soda fountains on the West Coast. Visit the historic Gilbert Homeplace. The museum also contains Native American and natural history to boot. See Yakama Indian artifacts, baskets, beadwork and clothing. There's also a Children's Underground Hands-om Activity Center. Sounds like a few hours or longer visit to me!

The Yakima Airport (a small one, folks) is home to the McAllister Museum of Aviation, founded by Charlie McAllister (1926-1988), a well-know pioneer aviator. Orville Wright signed McAllister's original pilot license; he also knew astronaut Bonnie Dunbar from Sunnyside nearby.

The Capitol Theatre, originally billed as "Washington's Home for the Arts" opened in 1920. As the largest theatre of its kind at that time, it hosted vaudeville and traveling shows. It met with bad times, was gutted inside by fire, but has been reclaimed, restored and added to the National Historic Register. It once again hosts plays for the community.

We didn't have time to take in the Yakima Area Arboretum, http://www.ahtrees.org , the "tree museum" which houses more than 400 plants and trees from around the world on the corner of Nob Hill Boulevard and Interstate 82. It's a wonderful drive-by site if you can't stop. There's a visitor center and a self-guided tour for garden and tree lovers. It has one of the area's few Japanese Gardens, a marsh garden, etc. There are pictures, a map of the garden and a sighted-bird list at the site.

Yakima has lots of celebrations and festivals. The Agro Art Festival is across from the theatre in the summer. It features an art made from fruits and vegetables. The colorful, nearby Farmer's

Go To Page: 1 2 3

Articles in this Topic    Discussions in this Topic