A Solo Day Trip to the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Wash.

I enjoyed my recent visit to the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma, Wash. Photo courtesy of best.king5.com.

I was feeling homesick for Walla Walla recently. I hadn’t been back to visit since our summer weekend in this beloved town.

Darling husband didn't want to leave the house one Sunday. I racked my brain for a fun activity to make me feel connected, so I hopped in the car and took a little day trip to the Washington State History Museum in Tacoma.

I went on a Sunday after church and the museum was quiet. I work in a museum myself and Sundays are pretty mellow in general. Parking was easy! I parked in a small lot to the right of the museum for $4. 

During my visit, the special traveling exhibit was Arctic Ambitions: Captain Cook & the Northwest Passage. It highlighted Captain James Cook, an explorer who mapped out the world. It was fascinating with lots of artifacts and art. 

Walking through the kids History Lab, I made my way to the Model Railroad. It was designed to depict Tacoma and the surrounding areas and was really neat.

I spent about one hour on the fifth floor in these exhibits and made my downstairs to find Walla Walla. I was a woman on a mission. 

I had first visited this museum in the fourth grade. I'm 29 now, so it was a while ago, but I was surprised by how much I remembered! I loved the wagon and Oregon Trail information in the Frontier Towns exhibit in Grade 4 and today.

I remembered this cool Oregon Trail wagon from my field trip to the museum in fourth grade. It's still just as neat! Photo courtesy of PLU.

This visit, I especially enjoyed the Shaping A New World exhibit that showed how major natural disasters shaped special parts of Washington and was a fun road trip through the state. With all of the traveling Darling Husband and I have been doing around the Pacific Northwest, I recognized much more than I would have just a couple of years ago and it brought back many fun memories. 

I found Walla Walla in the Wage Workers Frontier and Modern Washington exhibits. A short video showed the history of wheat farming in that area and I loved watching the progression of the farm technology and stories of a harvest cook. It definitely comforted me and provided me the connection that I had been missing.

I usually visit museums when I move somewhere new to learn about the area and the community. I used to be a newspaper reporter, so I believe this was crucial to understanding my new community and best capturing their stories. This time it was fun to get out of my community and learn not just about the Tacoma area but about the entire state.

Plus, it was an inexpensive, solo trip to enrich my day! Museum admission was $10 with my AAA discount.

Verdict: Visiting a museum that is not in your hometown is a relaxing, budget-friendly solo day trip. Go and enjoy! Learn something new!