Puyallup

Wait, what is a Puyallup? It's a place. Pull-y'all-up? Noooo, but I did try to say it that way. Here's a pronounciation guide:

PEW-al-up
pew - as in church; rhymes with 'two'
al - as in short for allen, rhymes with 'pal'
up - as in the English dictionary word 'up' 

 

There's nothing actually special that I've discovered about Puyallup. I was merely amused with it's name. Since I've brought it up, I'll tell you some more about Puyallup.  It's one of the cities of Pierce County, which includes the city of Tacoma.  Puyallup is 5 miles east of Tacoma and is named after a Native American tribe. The name means "the generous people."

Another city I've been to a lot is Lakewood. It's just north of JBLM and the I-5 passes through it on the way to/from base/home. 

Here are some views of these smaller cities.

When the clouds go away, it's gorgeous out!

I see a rainbow every 2-3 days, right after the rain stops.

Trees everywhere!

I've observed a lot of differences between LA and WA. I used to believe that LA has the craziest drivers. I now believe that the craziest drivers come from other states, obtain CA plates, and give LA a bad rep. The drivers in WA speed through parking lots! There are no speed bumps in a multi-level parking facility and these drivers pull in, pull out, and drive off with such great speed that I fear my life. I'm sure they see my CA plates and think to themselves "Californians can't drive." Oh I can drive, just not by your standards.

• People smoke a lot more cigarettes up here.  
• There aren't enough movie theatres.
• There are drive-thru Subways.
• Starbucks, a Seattle based company, and espresso stands in parking lots are big up here. 
• Macklemore is from Seattle. Radio stations play his songs every hour. I've only been here 10 days and am already tired of Macklemore!