So, one of our local TV stations has started airing these little commercials that feature photos from different cities in the area. One night, we’re watching TV and Brian shouts out “Wait!” and pauses the DVR. He has my attention at this point, so we watch this commercial that features photos of Tacoma, where he grew up. One of the photos is of this beautiful, gigantic greenhouse.
“Do you know where that is?” I ask.
“Yeah, that’s in Wright Park. It’s across the street from Stadium” * (Stadium is the beautiful and historic high school featured in the film 10 Things I Hate About You. Brian went to school there. He was also an extra in the film. He can name all of the time codes where he pops up… but I digress.)
“Why haven’t you taken me there on a date? What’s it like? Let’s go!”
“Hmm, I don’t think I’ve actually been there before…” We then get into a discussion of how the place was always closed, and the park was kind of sketchy, and what teenage boy wants to hang out in an indoor garden after school. Meanwhile, I’ve slipped off into an alternate world where I’M the one who got to go to a high school shaped like a castle with an English garden across the street (MY high school was originally built with no interior walls, so the learning wasn’t, like, confined to the classrooms, man. From what I hear it was like trying to go to school in a Costco.)
Anyhoo, I looked up the info and found out that it is called the W.W. Seymour Botanical Conservatory. We visited today and while it was much, much smaller than I imagined, it was a great date. Before we went, I thought I’d enjoy the architecture more, but I actually found the plants themselves to be the main attraction (go figure). We picked up a few plants from the gift shop: Chenille Plant and Coleus. Holy crap, the Chenille Plant may actually take some skill to keep alive. Wish me luck.
*In the name of accurate blog-keeping, the park is not literally across the street from the high school (A fact that I pointed out to Brian. His reply: “Well, yes, but if you said that it was, anyone who’d gone to Stadium would agree.”)
Bonus Material: Brian re-creating a Senior Picture pose:
The Beautiful Castle School:
