Check Out Your Own Backyard

What do you do after you've sat around on call for 6 days? What do you do when you can't stray to far from home? Explore your own backyard! I don't mean literally the space outside your back door, but rather your local community. How many places are there within a 30 min drive of your home that you have never been to? How many little shops, parks, cafe, restaurants, historical sites and the like have you always thought, 'One day I'll check that out'? Well put down your remote and head outside! You can find so much to do and see close to home. For example after my wild Cosmic Bingo adventure Thursday night I was looking for something to take the edge off. I ended up driving 25 miles south to Olympia, WA, the state capital. Yes, its a little bit of a continuation of my grandma-ish week, but I was pleasantly surprised. I learned that if you didn't die of dysentery or drown while fording the river, you may have ended up in Olympia as it was on of the ending points on the Oregon Trail. It is where the state congress meets, the governor lives and its the turn off point to get out to Forks, WA. If you know about Forks, WA then you will appreciate knowing that. Olympia has a pretty water front where you can take a stroll, a jog or a picnic. To continue the adventure, the downtown area boasts many cute shops, cafes, bars and restaurants. Take for example Burial Grounds, a coffee shop in the heart of downtown. I was walking around and of course it was drizzeling rain, and I was in need of a cup of tea to warm up. Across the street I saw and heard a guy playing a banjo. He was good and I noticed he was in front of a coffee shop named Burial Grounds. I thought that was pretty clever and decided to check it out. Once inside I was treated to zombie inspired food and drinks. Try the burial burrito with an ice cold corpse to drink. Or go for the hot Brenda's Brains espresso. Either way it was a treat visiting this clever and electic cafe. Oh, and I enjoyed a voodoo tea latte.
My next stop took me to Archibald Sisters, a novelty store and bath shop. Think Urban Outfitters, minus the clothes, meets Lush/Bath and Body Works. I had to leave to go feed the parking meter and come back there were so many cool, quirky things to look at. I mean who doesn't need a 1950's style tin to hold your drug money? or a collection of clever 1950's style lady's magnets? And of course, the always fun prank, gummy bacon. Well, you can find all this and more at Archibald Sister's.
All in all my afternoon trip, just 30 mins down the road turned out to be a great way to spend the afternoon. I plan to return on a Saturday with some friends to visit the farmers market, take advantage of all day $3 happy hour maragritas at the Mexican place and roam the streets a little more.
Try it in your own 'backyard', you may be surprised by what you find.