What I did on my summer vacation
No, Miz Re-Usable is not going to bore you with the mundane details of her life as an eco-conscious housewife. Suffice to say, Ruby Re-Usable did not spend all of her time diving in dumpsters around Olympia; the highlight of my summer was spending a week on the San Juan Islands in Washington State with my family.
Visited the dump on Lopez Island TWICE. The residents refer to it as “The Mall,” because not only can you get rid of unwanted junk there, you are encouraged to also take home discards, including clothing, furniture, tools, toys, and other useful items. I deposited some cans and bottles and came away with a slide tray, some wire, and a dancing doll couple from Poland. For FREE. Free junk, the best kind
Also purchased some whimsical recycled art at the Lopez Saturday Market, got a kick out of the fish made from cds at Rosario Resort, and admired the beautiful stained and fuse glass installation by Joline El-Hai at the Fun House on Orcas Island.
Saw orcas when we went out on a whale watch boat, went hiking, biking, kayaking, beach combing, and enjoyed some great meals.
The summer went by too fast; did manage to finally visit the Walker Rock Garden in Seattle and also day tripped to Port Townsend. Want to check out more of the places mentioned in Weird Washington and add a few of my own to the list! But now it is fall and the boys are back in school and I am spending more time in the studio (when I am not on the computer, which seems to be TOO much of the time these days).
Gotta go Make Art Not Waste, love, etc Ruby
They call the dump THE MALL??? Brilliant!
4 realz.
There is only one tiny little thrift shop on the island, a few stores that carry essentials, a few that cater to the tourists, and some restaurants that attract tourists and locals alike, but there is not a whole lot of shops for many other things, and it costs a lot to get off and on the island, so they really really do have good stuff that folks can and do use.
Closing the loop! Wish more transfer stations and dumps allowed folks to do this (here in Thurston County, they actively prohibit you from trying to salvage useful things from the tipping area!)
One of my fav pics about the Lopez Island dump is from Caffe LaBoheme
We just got back from the San Juan’s last month.
I forget the name of the island, but it was a good time.
Looks like you had a whole lot o’ fun. I live in West seattle and have nver been to the Walker Rock Garden, weird huh?
OMG, Jenny, you MUST check out the Walker Rock Garden, renew your wedding vows there or something!! It really is an amazing space, you will LOVE it.
I am trying to make it my mission to discover the wonder in my own back yard: find the unique in Olympia, appreciate the kitsch of Tacoma, and of course, see Seattle before it is all torn down and turned into condos (RIP Ballard), celebrate the funkiness of the Northwest!
Weird Washington is just a good start, but I think there is MORE out there to be documented (I post a lot of pics on flickr