Lifesyle

I would say today lifestyle is something big today. I did not really think much about it when growing up in Gig Harbor. Though Gig Harbor is still considered a small town it is two or three times bigger than when I was a kid.

We did not have a lot of things to do growing up; we basically made things up ourselves.  Spent a lot of time with friends, and going to the local park where we had our little league home baseball games at. Also, we played a lot of sandlot football as well. My brothers and I would sometimes play tennis at the park too. My friend Gary and I would spend hours in his tree house exchanging baseball cards. Also, we would play baseball just the two of us in his yard. We sometimes played in our yard but we did not have the room he had in his yard. Another friend Bob, we often went to the sand spit at the head of the harbor. We played a lot there including one on one football. Those were great times.

Gig Harbor now is looking at building another shopping center up by highway 16. It will be the fourth shopping center on that road. The grocery store on the other side of the highway will be moving over with a bigger store, along with a restaurant, entertainment center, and bowling alley. When I was a kid there was a bowling alley downtown, however, there has not been one for many years. For many years there were a couple car dealerships where the shopping center will go in.  Most recently there has been a RV dealership. I would say I am not a big fan of the RV dealership.  I am not sure about another shopping center; however, I knew it would be coming because when the car dealerships sold their property it was to the people who own the shopping center on the other side.  Not sure what they will do with the current location of the grocery store.

Last Saturday when I went to visit my cousin Bronwen in Puyallup I saw more shopping centers as well. Puyallup always has been larger than Gig Harbor, but, it is considered a small town as well.  Most small towns in Washington State have added more shopping centers in the last twenty years. Bronwen and I went out to lunch at a new burger type restaurant in Puyallup.  There were so many choices of burgers I decided to have French dip instead.

Life style has changed where everyone does everything at a faster pace. So instead of eating at home most of the time most of everyone eats out at least once a week or more often.  Gig Harbor now has several fast food joints where we had none when I was growing up.  I don’t mind eating at a fast food joint once in a while I am now looking at much better diet, and more exercising. I know there are others doing the same thing, but more people need to change back to the good old days. I guess we will see what happens but it may take another ten years for it to happen.