Pew - awl - ep

Puyallup, Washington is about 35 miles south of Seattle.  Pew-awl-ep is also where I spent my Thanksgiving.  I was visiting my aunt, my father's sister, and her chldren who also live in the Seattle area.  I've been out to Seattle a few times either for work or to visit the same family. 

This time, I fnally asked my aunt the question I've been wanting to ask her forever.  How in the world did you get way out here?  She was born and raised in North Augusta, South Carolina and went to college a few miles away at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia.  Five of  her 7 sibblings got up out of the South to continue their education and in search of job opportunities that just weren't possible in the South.  So they ended up in New York, Maryland, Indiana and Pensylvania. 

Aunt Olivia met her husband James while at Paine College.  After school, they married in New York.  And your parents gave me a wedding reception.  Did you know that?  Yes, they did...says Aunt Olivia proudly.  That was very interesting to me as I did not know this about my parents.  Uncle James joined the military and at some point was stationed in the Seattle area.  The rest is history.  They raised their three children in Tacoma, Washington and now they have their own families and live in the greater Seattle area.  This was a rather practical explanation that I had not considered. 

I mentioned to my cousins that I wanted to check out downtown Puyallup.  They all laughed me under the table.  There's nothing there!  In fact, these cousins of mine chuckled about this request from the time of my arrival on Tuesday until my departure on Saturday.  However, my cousin Alicia fondly remembered having half days at school and getting tickets to the Puyallup Fair.  Her fiance' once took her to the library for a date.  She also admitted that there is a really nice farmers' market from April to October in Pioneer Park.       

Of course, on the day of my visit to downtown Puyallup, the weather was rainy and overcast.  The Pacific Ocean is the source of so much moisture.  After doing a little research, I was surprised that the Seattle area actually has less rainfall (inches per year) than many other cities.  However, the average number of days of precipitation is very high at 157 days a year.  On a similar note, there are about 226 cloudy days a year which would severely impact my happiness quotient. 

In spite of the weather, and nary a farmers' market nor fair, I found downtown Puyallup to be quite interesting.

 

 

The location of the farmers' market and Native American art...

Puyallup Public Library...

The streets...