Let's do a long lunch: three destinations

Money is tight all over, so maybe your out-of-town vacation is on hold this year. But we all still need a break from the routine now and then. And everybody has to eat lunch.

TACOMA — Encased in the wide end of a stainless-steel cone that stretched upward some 90 feet, teams of artists in synchronized movement turned wads of molten glass into pieces of art in the same time it took those of us watching them to finish our box lunches.

It was Hot Lunch Friday at the Museum of Glass (1801 Dock St., 866-468-7386, www.museumofglass.org). This weekly event, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m., features artists blowing and pulling glass, the intricacies highlighted on a big screen above the work floor of the Hot Shop amphitheater while guests watch and munch on pre-ordered $10 box lunches from the museum's Gallucci's Glass Café (253-572-9593).

Tacoma's Museum District was one of three "long lunch-hour" destinations we visited this fall. The short but unhurried getaways were accomplished by tacking a bit of vacation time to a lunch hour. An island escape and a trip to the country rounded out the jaunts. Each included a lunch stop and was completed in about four hours or less. Here's what we did:

Tacoma's

Museum Row

Parking ($2/hour) in the public lot to the east, we strolled to the Museum of Glass along the Dock Street Marina on the Thea Foss Waterway, once a narrow channel of industrial waste, now an upscale home to pleasure craft. The museum's gift shop at the entry — a showcase of all things glass — set the stage for the visit. Just beyond it, we paid admission ($10 adults/$8 age 62+), picked up our lunches and headed to the Hot Shop.

An hour later we were exploring featured gallery displays. Then up to the 500-foot Chihuly Bridge of Glass, a pedestrian walkway over Interstate 705 leading to the Washington State History Museum (1911 Pacific Ave., 888-238-4373, www.wshs.org) and the U.S. Courthouse at Union Station (1717 Pacific Ave.).

The walkway's Venetian Wall, Crystal Towers and Seaform Pavilion showcase the work of Tacoma's internationally recognized artist, Dale Chihuly (www.chihuly.com), with more than 2,000 glass art objects.

Saving the history museum for a future trip we admired the elegant Beaux-Arts architecture of the 1911 train-station-now-courthouse. Entry is free but government-issued photo identification (driver's licenses OK) is required.

Maltby

The silence of the crisp autumn day was broken by the rhythmic slap of water from the wooden water wheel in the parklike setting. I strolled on the gravel path bordering its large pond then crossed the street to where cages and coops house and display chickens, peacocks and guineas; goats played in a nearby corral.

I was at Flower World (9322 196th St. S.E., 425-481-7565, www.flowerworldusa.com), a sprawling 15-acre plant retail business less than two miles from Highway 522 in Maltby, for a country getaway. With about three acres of plants on display undercover, it's best to pick up a map at the entrance to guide you through the sweeping maze of greenery punctuated with bursts of blooms in seasonal colors. There are special displays of lights, greenery and poinsettias for the holidays.

The Maltby Cafe (8809 Maltby Road, 425-483-3123, www.maltbycafe.com), only five minutes away, operates in what was once a gym and cafeteria of the Maltby School. Known for its award-winning breakfasts, the place also serves hearty country-style lunches from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily (you'll likely need a leftovers box).

For a shot of aromatherapy, take a deep breath as you walk into Charlene Feetham's store, Running Wild Spirit (8731 Maltby Road, 425-485-9094, www.Runningwildspirit.com), across from the cafe in the 1911 Maltby School. For 14 years she's been making bath and body products in her barn just down the road.

Bainbridge Island

From the deck of the Washington State ferry (www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries, 888-808-7977), a midday fog turned the Seattle skyline behind us and Winslow ahead into hazy images, making it feel like we were traveling farther than the 40-minute sailing was taking us.

We'd left the Pier 52 ferry terminal in downtown Seattle at 10:35 a.m. Our $6.70 round-trip walk-on ticket made for an inexpensive island getaway.

A five-minute walk from the ferry dock along Winslow Way took us to a shopping bonanza of one-of-a-kind downtown stores offering clothing, art, jewelry, books, wine, kitchen gadgets and travel gear. We headed back to the water at Madison Avenue and took a right on Parfitt Way Southwest, arriving at the Harbour Public House (231 Parfitt Way S.W., 206-842-0969, www.harbourpub.com) for a fish-and-chips lunch. Heaters and a large umbrella make the deck an inviting place even in inclement weather, with expansive views of the marina, Eagle Harbor and the Seattle skyline.

After an unhurried lunch we could have caught the 1:10 p.m. ferry. But we opted to dawdle. Ferries run all day.

Kirkland-based freelancer Jackie Smith is a regular contributor to NWWeekend.