!–paging_filter–pstrongWHERE:/strong The Museum of Glass in Downtown Tacoma strongWHY:/strong For the rare exhibition Chihuly’s Irish Cylinders (10/26/13–9/1/14. Prices vary. Museum of Glass, 1801 Dock St.; a href=”http://www.museumofglass.org” target=”_blank”museumofglass.org/a). WHAT: Hand-blown in 1975 by glass artist Dale Chihuly—long before he was world-renowned—this rarely seen and little-known collection of 44 milky-green glass vessels features glass drawings depicting Irish emblems and characters from James Joyce’s Ulysses. strongHOT TIP:/strong Enjoy free admission to the Museum of Glass and the Tacoma Art Museum during third Thursday “Art Mingle” events (11/21, 5–8 p.m. a href=”http://www.downtowntacoma.com/events” target=”_blank”downtowntacoma.com/events/a). strongWHILE YOU’RE THERE:/strong Hunt for treasure in Tacoma’s best vintage shops, including the well-edited collection of gently worn designer clothing at London Couture (746 Broadway;a href=”http:///www.lcvintage.com” target=”_blank” lcvintage.com/a), sleek midcentury modern furniture at Midcenturyville (938 Broadway; Facebook.com, “Midcenturyville”) and one-of-a-kind, rustic-chic home furnishings at Poppy Co. (765 Broadway; a href=”http://www.poppyandcompany.blogspot.com” target=”_blank”poppyandcompany.blogspot.com/a). strongGETTING THERE:/strong Head south on I-5 and follow the signs to Tacoma./p