King Family Fun Center (formerly Tiffany’s Skate Inn) has reopened their super cool mini golf in Puyallup with special safety measures.

They do have times on the 4th, so if you’re looking for something to do with the kids on the 4th of July, it’s an option!

While you can walk up and, “Stand by,” for a tee time, you’re encouraged to reserve your tee time online in advance. When you do, you’ll get a bonus 5.00 gift card to use at the arcade when their indoor attractions reopen.

They are taking a bunch of precautions to keep things safe and in line with the Governor’s directives related to Covid. You can read all about them here.

Keep in mind that if there are more than 5 in your group, you’ll need an additional reservation, and a maximum of 5 folks can be playing a hole at any time. We haven’t had a chance to go back yet, but we’ve heard from site friends that they felt everything was super clean, and that it wasn’t hard to socially distance. If you go, we’d love your review, too!

If it looks like it may rain before your time, do check their Fb page for weather closures. They also do fun updates and deals and giveaways there, so it’s a good one to follow if you’re a fan.

A quick update that Spanaway Lake is currently closed (today is July 2nd, 2020)  for water activities due to toxic algae.

I know-yuck.

I will update this post as soon as I see an update, but you can always check in with Pierce County Parks.  I tend to find their quickest updates on their Fb page.

Have you heard that select Walmart Supercenters will be hosting drive-in movies? It’s true! Starting in early August, socially distanced drive-in events may be in the parking lot of your Walmart Supercenter.

If you’re looking for fun things to do with the kids around here over the 4th of July, you’ll want to head to the beach! The lowest low tides of the year will be over the 4th of July weekend this year.

If you time it right you can be tide pooling and exploring during the best low tides of the year over this 4th of July weekend.

Photo Courtesy Seattle Aquarium

There will be a low of -2.6 around 10:15 AM on Friday the 3rd and a low of -3.0 on Saturday the 4th around 11AM. There is another -3 around 11:45 on the 5th, and a -2.7 on the 6th around 12:30.  and a -2.0 on the 7th around 1PM.  *These times are for Commencement Bay. You can use the Tide Tables to find the exact time for your beach of choice.

If you want to see sand and sea creatures at low tide, you need a MINUS tide, and the bigger the number the more sand you’ll see. A -3.0 is really good, and these are the lowest tides of the summer.  Yes, I checked the tide tables for the whole summer. Most tide pooling pros recommend arriving at your beach of choice about an hour before the low.

For beach recommendations and more about low tide exploration, see our post here.

You can also go straight to the tide tables to find the low tide time for the day and beach of your choice. Basically, you just need to pick a beach and then show up at the right time. If you go at just any random time, this won’t work because you’ll just see rocks and water. Same if you go at a low tide that isn’t a minus low, at most beaches.

Welp. The Taste of Tacoma has joined a long list of events that have been forced to cancel this summer. 

This Tacoma area food festival has a special place in my heart. One year I even got to be a judge, which was pretty much the most fun ever.

If you’re determined to get that elephant ear, or just anything you can eat on a stick, your best option might be to check out the Fair Food Drive Thru Food To Go event in Puyallup.

Update/Note from SFM: It sounds like the first days of this event have been a bit bumpy with some folks reporting REALLY long wait times-like five-eight hours. What, now?? It does sound like they’re working on making the procedures a bit better/clearer, but you may want to check out what folks are saying on their Fb page and go prepared.  Please do be nice to the workers.

If you’re looking for a Tacoma area fireworks show this year, there just aren’t a lot of options. Because of Covid related crowd size restrictions, nearly every show we checked has been cancelled or postponed.

One exception is the new Drive Up event in Puyallup. Another is the traditional July 3rd fireworks show at Cheney Stadium.

The Tacoma Rainiers have announced that there WILL be fireworks on July 3rd. However, the parking lot and the stadium will be closed to the public.

So, if you want to see them you’ll need to find a nearby friend’s house, or watch via their Fb channel from your couch. From the Rainier’s page:

July 3rd is the biggest day of the year at R House, and it wouldn’t feel right to let it go by without blasting a bunch of fireworks into the night sky. So, at 9:45 p.m. on Friday, we’re shaking the Sound with our annual 3rd of July fireworks show. Our stadium and parking lot are closed, but we’ll be streaming the display LIVE on our Facebook channel.

If you want to read about the option in Puyallup, head here. Note that that one is a ticketed event.

 I’ve gotten so many questions about what playgrounds are open! If you’ve been anxiously checking for whether playgrounds at Pierce County Parks are open, we have big news about the playgrounds operated by the Pierce County Parks Department.

Just today, June 21st, The Pierce County Parks Department announced that their playgrounds are now open.

Note that there is a limit of five children per structure, and parents are asked to help their kids keep a distance from each other. How is that going to work? Honestly, I don’t know, except I think it’s a good chance to model cooperation and flexibility for your kiddos. In other words: Have a back up plan!

Now, I want to be super clear here: Not all parks in Pierce County are run by the Pierce County Parks Department. For example, playgrounds run by Metro Parks Tacoma or the City of Puyallup, are separate and not yet open, as of this writing.

This opening applies to all playgrounds that are Pierce County Parks Department playgrounds, but that is NOT the same as all playgrounds located in Pierce County. 

Here is the wording from today’s announcement from Pierce County Parks.  You can also see it here on their Fb page.

🤸‍♀️ Playgrounds will reopen with posted guidelines of no more than five children on each structure and supervised parental support to keep six feet apart. Be sure to bring sanitation supplies to comply with safe use guidelines.
.

I know that’s kind of confusing, so here is the list of playgrounds and parks run by Pierce County Parks.

As of now, other open playgrounds I know about include those run by the City of University Place, the City of Orting, and the City of Auburn. I am hard at work checking on others, and I will update you just as fast as I can.

Please do consider bringing hand sanitizer and follow other health department guidance to keep your family safe. As always, I want you to make the decisions that work best for your family.

Is your favorite part of The Fair, fair food? If so, you’ll want to go to the fairgrounds during one of the first three weekends in July to get your fair food fix!

Yep, many of the food vendors from the Puyallup Fair aka the Washington State Fair will be open to sell you tasty fair food. The Drive-Thru Fair Food-To-Go-Event will be the first three weekends in July. You’ll be able to enjoy some favorite fair foods safely.

Update/Note from SFM: There were really long lines for this the initial days-with some folks reporting waits as long as five-eight hours. It does sound like they have improved the routes and cut down on the wait time a LOT. It also sounds like MOST of the delay is at Earthquake, so you can probably get in and out quicker if that isn’t on your list. However, this isn’t a traditional fast food drive thru, so you shouldn’t expect that kind of speed.  I would suggest you check their Fb page before you go as it has pretty up to date info. on the line status and wait times. I’d also suggest going with a flexible spirit and maybe a movie or something for the kids.

Basically, you’ll drive right on to the fairgrounds, the vendors will take your order from your car drive-thru style, and you’ll get your fair food fix without leaving your car. I think your kids will think it’s fun to drive right on to the fairgrounds.

What food vendors will be there?

The most important question is whether you’ll be able to get a Krusty Pup or an onion burger, right? As of now, the announced vendors include

• Earthquake’s Burgers
• Brank’s BBQ
• Sale’s Family-Krusty Pup
• Murph’s BBQ
• Impact Concessions (turkey legs, anybody?)
• Fisher Scones
• Duris Elephant Ears

I’ll let you know if they add others.

Here’s the rest of the details straight from the site:

Know Before You Go

• Enter near the Agriplex Building off 15th Avenue SW at the 5th Street Gate, SW side of Fairgrounds (view location on Google Maps).
• Food service is drive-thru only. Food vendors will take your order while you remain in your vehicle and deliver it to you.
• Credit or debit card preferred.
• All food vendors are following health and safety guidelines set forth by the Washington State Department of Health’s Safe Start Plan.

3 Weekends Only!

July 3, 4 & 5
July 10, 11 & 12
July 17, 18 & 19

Fridays: 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Saturdays & Sundays: 11:00 am to 7:00 pm
Credit or debit card preferred.

To see this on a map view, download our Mobile App and search for “Food To Go” or download the pdf map to see the driving route through The Fair.

You can get more information here.