Fort Vancouver (Oregon vacation part 2)

Wednesday, my dad and I took the boys up to Vancouver, Washington, to visit Fort Vancouver and the Pearson Air Museum.

Fort Vancouver (for reference, see National Park Service or Fort Vancouver sites)

For two little boys who love to play Age of Empires II, they thought it was really cool to see the palisade walls, the bastion, and the blacksmith shop just like a life-size model of the game. Shhhh! Don't tell them that it was actually a very educational visit.




Fort Vancouver started out as a trading post for the Hudson Bay Company in the early 1800's. They mainly traded in beaver skins.

YB tries on a beaver-skin hat in the welcome center.

All but one of the buildings were open for visitors, and there were actually a carpenter and a blacksmith on duty working in their shops and teaching visitors about their handywork.

The carpenter showed us how his foot-pedal lathe worked and then showed us how barrels are made. (If you click on the images, they will enlarge.)

Next we went up in the bastion
(a.k.a. "bombard tower" in AoE II).

Lotis the Canine Canonball

After the bastion, we headed over to visit the blacksmith's shop.
(Note the blur of motion as he strikes a nail he is making on the anvil.)

The blacksmith explains how they made the beaver traps and how they worked. It took 18 months to ship the raw materials (iron ore, coal) to Fort Vancouver, but it was better to make the traps there. If they made the traps in England and shipped them to Fort Vancouver, then they would be rusty and break by the time the trappers got them into the field.

Then he gave us a demonstration of how the beaver trap worked. (I didn't get the whole demonstration in the video, but at least the end of it.) Note there are no teeth in the "jaws" of the beaver trap because they didn't want to damage the fur.

Axe Head in the Making

The blacksmith also showed us how they made an axe. A hard piece of steel was put in for the blade and then welded in the soft iron of the axehead. Axe heads were a very popular trade item with the Native Americans. They would trade Native Americans 3 beaver skinds for one axe head. Oh, but they wouldn't give them a sharp axe, they'd give them a dull axe. That way, the Native Americans also had to trade an additional beaver skin for a file to sharpen the axe.

Like the carpenter, the blacksmith was also very friendly and engaging - showing things to the boys, asking them questions, and listening to their questions, too. In this photo, the blacksmith is showing the boys what a whitesmith does.

A whitesmith does fancy decorative work like the notches you see here.

These cannons were cast in 1804...
...the same year Lewis & Clark started their expedition.

3GR = 3 George Rex = King George III

I've never seen a well like this before.

The boys looking down the well.

The boys put me under arrest and locked me up in jail.

There is more to see at Fort Vancouver, and there were lots more photos, but I tried to pick out a sampling here to give you a feel for our visit to Fort Vancouver. Overall, I was very glad we went, and the boys seemed like they had a really good time and learned a lot. My only regret was that I forgot to bring our National Park Service Golden Eagle Pass, so we had to pay for admission. It was only $5 though and went to support a good cause - keeping history alive here at Fort Vancouver.

Christmas Vacation in Oregon - Part 1

My family has returned to Oregon for Christmas.

The last time we were here in the Portland (a.k.a. "PDX") suburbs was in September 2008. Prior to that, we hadn't been back since 2005. Our 2008 visit was a brief stop during our PCS move from Hawaii to DC, so we didn't do much in the PDX area before moving onward. This time we're getting to spend some time seeing the sights and taking the boys to do cool stuff.

We flew in late Monday night after an uneventful couple of flights. Our flight from DC to Las Vegas was delayed, and we were worried we wouldn't make our connecting flight, so we sprinted across the Las Vegas airport dragging two tired boys by the hand in their pajamas. We arrived at our next gate to discover the follow-on flight was also delayed, so we had plenty of time. At least we got some exercise running through the airport, right?


Yesterday (Tuesday), my dad and I took the boys to find a couple of geocaches in Mary S. Young Park nearby. This is the first time I've been back to MSY in a looooong time. In high school, I used to play laser tag there. It used to be just an Oregon State Park, but they have since developed some sort of sharing agreement with the City of West Linn to make it also a West Linn Park.

Heading into MSY Park

I don't know whether to give kudos to the Oregon State Park system or the City of West Linn, but they've really put a lot of effort into improving this park. It's always been a nice park, but it was just kinda... there. No signs. No trail markers. Nothing really to learn. Just a nice place to go for a peaceful walk through mossy forest or to play laser tag with your high school buddies.

New bridge and trail signs.

Now, there are signs explaining the history of the park, there are trail markers, nice restroom facilities, bridges, and even trail maps on the website. Plus, West Linn opened it up to geocaching, so there are about 4 geocaches in the park now.

ES at an overlook above the Willamette River

Reflections in the Willamette River

Ahhh Oregon mossy forest

We had dinner at one of my old favorite restaurants, Buster's Texas Barbecue. My love of barbecue really began right here at Buster's. This was the first place I ever discovered different varieties of barbecue sauce and had a choice of mild, sweet, or hot. The Navy has taken me from one end of the country to the other, and I've always tried barbecue restaurants wherever I find them, but Buster's remains the best in my book.

Mmmm, Beef Brisket, Ribs, Henry Weinhards

Cowboy Decor

Coming back to Oregon always brings a flood of memories and flashbacks to my mind. Being sort of an outsider and a nerd in high school, I found my identity and made what friends I had through my taste in music. Monday night as we were driving home from the airport, the song "Home Again" by Oingo Boingo started playing over and over again in my mind. I thought that was pretty bizarre since I couldn't tell you when was the last time I heard that song. It's on an album that I never even owned on CD. I owned it on cassette tape back when I lived here in high school. Then yesterday when I was in the shower, Bjork's bizarre vocals came to life in my mind as she sang "Motorcrash" for the Sugarcubes - from another album I owned back when I lived here in high school. Again, I couldn't tell you the last time I actually heard that song.

Anyway, it's nice to be on vacation and be able to spend time with my family. My thoughts and prayers go out to our fellow servicemen and women who are deployed overseas and unable to spend the holidays with their families this year.

Frivolous Lawsuits & Silly Legal Disclaimers Vol 37 Ed 3

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor any sort of legal expert.

In my layman's understanding of common law, there is a basic principle called nuisance.

In grad school, I took a class called Environmental Security. It was team-taught by three professors, one of whom was a lawyer. One of the legal principles he taught us in that class was the principle of nuisance. It just kinda made intuitive sense to me and has stuck in my brain ever since. One of the key elements of nuisance was that it had to be something new - it couldn't be a pre-existing condition.

For example, consider the case of jet noise from a Navy airfield. Let's say the airfield is already there. Then some dude decides to build or buy a house next to the airfield. In that case, the guy couldn't sue the Navy because of the jet noise being a nuisance. The airfield was already there, and the guy sure as heck knew it was there and knew there'd be jet noise when he bought the house under the landing pattern. If, on the other hand, the guy had been living in his house, and the Navy came in and built a new airfield next to his house that he already owned, then he could sue the Navy for the nuisance of the jet noise.

For a civilian example, consider a tree that blocks or obscures a neighbor's otherwise-beautiful view. If I buy a house, and there's a tree in the neighbor's yard that blocks my view of the sunrise over Mount Hood, then too bad. I can't sue my neighbor to take down the tree because it's obstructing my view because the tree was already there when I bought the house. On the other hand, if I buy a house with a beautiful view, and then the neighbor plants a new tree that obstructs my beautiful view, then I can sue him for the tree being a nuisance. I was there first.

Alright? Make sense? Are you with me?

Now read this.

So lemme get this straight...

1. You researched the colleges in the area.
2. You went and visited the colleges you were most interested in.
3. You applied to the colleges that met your personal preferences and selection criteria.*
4. Out of the 27 institutions of higher learning in the great state of Vermont (or 2,024 universities in the great U.S. of A.), you CHOSE to go to Green Mountain College where all seven dorms (and bathrooms) are co-ed.
5. Now that you're there, you're suing the college because the bathrooms are co-ed????

*Let's rewind to step 3 above. Shouldn't one of your personal preference / selection criteria have been, "Single-sex bathrooms available"? I suppose when she toured the campus and saw the co-ed dorms and bathrooms, she giggled and girlishly blushed and thought of those times she would accidentally get a peek at some cute guy coming out of the shower. She must not have had any brothers or lived around any guys, because it didn't turn out as sexy and romantic as she thought. Suddenly she finds herself grossed-out by college guys' bathroom cleanliness (or lack thereof), not shutting the door when they pee, or peeking at HER in the shower.

Then again, maybe she intentionally chose this college just so that she could sue them and help pay for the tuition.

Chalk this one up as another frivolous lawsuit to clog our courts and make a laughing stock of our legal system.

I bet the next round of prospective freshmen visiting the campus will discover some silly sign at the front gates, "WARNING: Co-Ed Dorm and Bathroom Facilities. This college is not responsible for any embarrassing or gross experiences related to the personal hygiene of the opposite sex. Because we posted this sign to officially warn you, you can't sue us."

That reminds me... (Warning, tangent ahead.)

When we went to the Kennedy Center on Friday, there was one sign that was duplicated and posted EVERYWHERE. Seriously, there was one of these signs about every ten feet throughout the parking garage. Let's have some fun with this one. I'll pose this as a multiple-choice quiz and see if you can guess it.

What was written on the signs posted every 10 feet in the Kennedy Center parking garage?

A) Speed Limit 5 mph
B) No Back-In Parking
C) Kennedy Center is not responsible for damage or theft of valuables
D) Caution: Speed Bump
E) Absolutely No Drilling in the Ceiling

What do you think? Got your answer? Are you ready?

Friday night was just one of those times when I saw a sign, scratched my head, and said to myself, "Self, I wonder what outrageous and extremely rare alignment of the planets caused them to post THAT particular sign every 10 feet." It's one of those cases where you know they posted the sign because somebody tried it. Otherwise, nobody would have ever guessed that a sign was necessary. The answer was E) Absolutely No Drilling in the Ceiling.

Seriously?

Who could have thought up something like that unless someone had tried it. Why not post signs that say, "No Hitting the Cars with Sledge Hammers" or "No Spray Painting on the Walls" or "No Bazookas Allowed." Actually, I should have included those in the quiz instead. If you had asked me ahead of time, I totally would have guessed "No Spray Painting on the Walls" would be a more likely warning sign than "Absolutely No Drilling in the Ceiling." I would have guessed "No Longaberger Baskets Allowed" would have been just about as probable as "No Drilling in the Ceiling."

Can you imagine the poor guy that says to himself, "Self... gee, what to do on a Friday night? Hmmm. I KNOW!!! Let's go drill some holes in the ceiling of the Kennedy Center parking garage!" Imagine his glee as he put on his toolbelt, grabbed his DeWalt and the drill bits, hopped in his pickup truck and headed for the Kennedy Center. Imagine he was just giddy with excitement as he shelled out his $18 to pull into the parking lot.

Then he read the sign(s).

Imagine his disappointment... the pout on his lips... the slump of his shoulders... the power-drill hanging limply in his hand... It's like they just canceled Christmas.

Now what's he gonna do with his Friday night?

Triangles and Stupid Kevin Tricks

Last night, I went with four friends from church to the National Symphony Orchestra's performance of Handel's Messiah at the Kennedy Center. Overall, it was a wonderful performance, and I tremendously enjoyed sharing the experience with friends. (It's not LW's cup of tea, so she took the boys out to admire the Christmas lights in the nearby neighborhoods.)

I changed into a suit and tie in my office and left my uniform in my office, then headed over to meet my friends for dinner at CPK. We were a little worried at first that the traffic would prevent them from joining me for dinner, but the timing worked out perfectly. They trusted me to order a few pizzas and a salad for us all to share. I ordered, and the food was delivered to the table mere moments before they walked in the door. We had plenty of time to eat without feeling rushed, then drove over to the Kennedy Center.

C, me, and J at Kennedy Center

This was my first time to the Kennedy Center. It's ginormous and spectacular inside and out.


Of course, anytime you attend a live performance such as this, there will be little differences in how they present it to make it their own. For example, one section I'm used to hearing sung by the soprano was sung by the baritone. Another part that I am used to hearing done by the brass section was done by the wood-winds, and the wood-winds have never stood out in my mind as a prominent feature of previous Messiah performances. Those differences are easy to adapt and enjoy. However, there was one key difference that really threw me for a loop.

Before the performance, I was reading the program and noted the list of instruments included. Among the list of the usual violins, cellos, french horns, trumpets, and trombones, there was listed one triangle. I laughed, leaned over to my friend M sitting next to me and said, "There's a triangle down there somewhere." We spent a few moments scanning the orchestra trying to find the triangle. M guessed that it would be in the percussion section. (She was right, BTW). We joked about how we wouldn't be able to hear it over the rest of the orchestra, so why bother with it?

On went the performance, and when we got to my most favorite part...

And the government shall be upon his shoulders And his name shall be called

BRRRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNGGGGGG!!!!
Wonderful counselor, Almighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace

It sounded like someone wheeled in a 2-ton version of the classic alarm clock with the two dome-shaped bells on top and was wailing on the bells with a sledge hammer at the speed of a hummingbird's wings. There in the percussion section of the orchestra stood a man who must have been a professional body-builder by day in order to lift this very manly triangle. Ney, not a triangle. It was a

It would be inappropriate to use lower-case letters to describe this TRIANGLE. It had the diameter of a steam-roller. I think it was made from some recycled battleship gun barrel. Even from our seats up in the nose-bleed section, we could see the guy's rippling muscles as he lifted up that TRIANGLE.

Each time the chorus got to my favorite part, he beat the holy crap out of that darned TRIANGLE so hard that the echos of it ringing reverberated through my skull for several moments after the percussionist had set down his monstrous instrument, turned the page of his music and taken his seat.

After he did this the first time, M and I turned and looked at each other and laughed out loud at how wrong we were to assume that the TRIANGLE was such an un-manly instrument or that we would never notice it in the performance.

Stupid Kevin Tricks Vol 37 Ed 342

For those of you who aren't in the DC area or didn't notice in the news, the weather forecast last night was calling for heavy snow starting last night and throughout the day today. During the intermission, we stepped outside briefly to see the first snow starting to gently fall. It was very surreal and beautiful out on the terrace outside the Kennedy Center overlooking the Potomac River as the snowflakes slowly fell - only visible in the shafts of light from the spotlights under the evenly spaced trees on the terrace. After a short while, the house lights flicked on and off and signaled that it was time for us to return to our seats.

When we came out of the Kennedy Center, the roads weren't too bad, but they were a little slippery and traffic was already a mess with more traffic accidents than the emergency crews could keep up with. We left just after 10:30 p.m. and proceeded to creep home on I-66 in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

It was quiet initially in the minivan as we all had our cell phones open - texting and facebooking our experience at the Messiah performance while our driver listened to the traffic on WTOP. As time ticked on, the conversation in the car picked up as one-by-one, each of our cell phone batteries died.

Two and a half hours after departing the Kennedy Center, we finally arrived at my car in the Dulles North commuter parking lot where I had caught the bus to work that morning. I geared up - gloves on, hat on, backpack in hand, braced for the cold, got out of the car and trudged through the few inches of snow on the ground to my car. Brushed snow off my windshield, headlights, windows, then tried to open my car door... nothing.

You see, my car has the RFID keyless entry system where I just have the keys in my pocket and it senses that I'm there and allows me to open the door and start the car. I never even think about where my keys are, because they're always just in my pocket.

Yyyyyeah, not so much.

The keys weren't in my pocket. They were in the pocket of my uniform back in my office in Crystal City.

Me and that tall pointy-hat that said "DUNCE" on it got back into the van to humbly ask J for a ride home because I forgot my car keys. We made three stops to drop people off at their various homes, and then J took me to our house. I figured he would just drop me off and I'd worry about getting my car later. He insisted that I go in and get the spare set of keys and that we go back and get the car immediately before conditions got any worse.

By the time I got back to my house for the last time, it was 3:30 a.m. I didn't get out of bed until about 9 a.m. When I did sleepily stagger down the stairs, I was glad J took me back to get my car last night. There was 11 inches of snow on the back deck when first walked into the kitchen and measured it. As I write this on Saturday afternoon, we now have 21 inches of snow on our back deck, and it's still coming down hard.


I hope you all are safe and sound and enjoying some quality time with your family over the holidays - whether you're snowed in or not.

THULE Kayak Rack

I meant to post this back in August when we were in New Hampshire. Now, with Christmas fast approaching, I figured I'd go ahead and post it for anyone who needs to find a present for the kayaker in their life.


My wonderful wife bought me a THULE rack (model 883 glide and set) for carrying my kayak on the roof rack. It consists of two front and two back pads on which the kayak rests.


The front two pads are a type of rubberized non-skid material that prevents the kayak from sliding forward or aft.


The back two pads are have a type of felt-lining, so the kayak slides smoothly across these pads.


However, the back pads also pivot. If you pull down on the back of the kayak, then you lift the bow up off the non-skid front pads and can slide the kayak on or off the top of the car.

Tilted up off the front pads.

Down and resting on all 4 pads.

This is a GREAT present for someone who goes kayaking solo (or with small kids) and doesn't really have anyone to help put the kayak on top of the car. Back when I rented the same model kayak in Hawaii and was trying to put it on the car by myself, I imagine it was comical to watch me getting the kayak on the car. I would lift the bow up onto the back of the car, then go back and try lifting the back end and pushing it up on top of the car, and it was very tricky trying to keep it from just sliding off one side of the car or the other.

Not so with this THULE rack. Now I lift the bow up onto the back of the car, and when I go back and lift the back and push it onto the car, the back felt pads guide the kayak into place and keep the kayak from sliding off either side of the car.

We bought my THULE rack at EMS in Dulles, VA, and the staff there were very friendly, professional, and helpful. After we bought it, they came out and installed it on our car for us. Plus, they taught us the trick of twisting the straps.

There is one lingering question in the back of my mind: What will I do when my boys are old enough to have their own kayak and we need to carry more than one kayak on top of the car? I suppose then we'll have to shift to something more stackable that holds the kayaks up on their side, but in the meantime, I REALLY like my THULE kayak rack.

Two DC

For folks in the DC area, I'd like to give a shout-out for a new addition on my blog roll.

Two DC is written by a young married couple from southern California who recently moved to DC and started a blog to document their adventures around town.

I love the "Two" theme they've creatively woven into their blog. For example, you'll notice on the top right side of their blog they have links for "Food for Two," "Fun for Two," and "Life as Two." Below that you'll also see their "Two Do List" with places they want to visit (or revisit) in the future.

If you scroll back through their blog, you'll see a majority of their recent posts are about food and restaurants. I must admit that am envious that they are able to take photos of each course of their meal. Whenever we go to some new and interesting restaurant, I am always tempted to take pictures of the food to post on my blog, but it embarrasses my wife and kids, so I don't do it very often. :-)

In addition to their great posts about food and restaurants, they also have great reviews of attractions and things to do in the area, too. You can find most of those non-food-related posts by clicking on the "Fun for Two" link.

From reading through their blog, I feel like we have a bit in common - a rather obvious appreciation for food plus an affinity to getting out of the house and exploring the local trails and historic sites on foot or bike or paddle. Like me, it doesn't sound like they're experts in any of those categories, just looking to get out and have some fun, and they enjoy sharing their experiences with others via the blogosphere. For example, they did the Jack's Boathouse kayaking tour on the Potomac just a week before we did in August.

Aside from the fact that they are local, they are both very talented and creative writers. You'll note that both B and J write in every post. One of them will start and then somewhere in the middle of the post, they'll switch seats and the other one will offer counter-points or additional insights. It doesn't matter what they are writing about, I enjoy reading it just for the style of their writing and the funny quips contained therein. Going back to the same example as the previous paragraph, their write-up of their trip with Jack's Boathouse was fabulous, especially B's last paragraph about what they saw on Roosevelt Island (the last paragraph before turning over the keyboard to J - I don't want to spoil it here, so go read it.)

In addition to the talent of their writing, there's a certain aspect of their blog that's very different from many blogs I have read, and I have a hard time trying to name or clearly identify what it is that's different. Call it personal-yet-private if you will. They share beautiful photos of the places they've gone and details of their lives and experiences, yet don't reveal their true identity. They're not like postcard photos that anybody could have taken, they're somehow personal yet lack specifics. For example, the distant photo looking up the aisle at their wedding so you can see two people getting married, but not who they are or what they look like. Not that it matters what they look like. It just fascinates me how they craft their posts as if it could have been your best friends who went on that adventure and posted those pictures to their Facebook account. I suppose their photos and the way they tell their story make it so you can easily imagine yourself in their shoes.

If you have the time, I recommend clicking on the "Life as Two" link and scroll back to their engagement, wedding and honeymoon blog posts. I enjoyed B's commentary on the male perspective of wedding planning. I'm actually still working on catching up reading this section of their blog, but there are some real gems of new-to-DC wisdom in there.

To B & J - Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. You're doing a great job. Keep up the good work, and I look forward to continuing to compare notes with you about things to do in the DC area.

Not-just-Pentagon Gouge: Safe Ride Home

I know I normally do my Pentagon Gouge posts on Mondays, but this is something important to get out sooner rather than later, especially on a weekend during the holiday season. Heads-Up: There are some important phone numbers at the bottom of this post for a FREE safe ride home in the DC area.

As you all go off to your boat or office holiday parties, Army-Navy Game festivities and whatnot, please plan ahead how you will get home safely if you plan to have anything to drink.

Remember that alcohol affects your judgment, so it's not good enough to wait until after you've had a few drinks to "plan" your way home. That's when you find yourself saying, "Oh, I only had a couple, I'll be fiiiiiine." Tweeeeeeet! Flag on the play! Unnecessary Poor Judgment.

Make a plan in advance, before you leave the house or have anything to drink. I think the best plan involves a responsible friend who isn't drinking and agrees to make sure you get home safely afterwards.

As I frequently told my crews on my previous boats at quarters on the pier, I understand that plans go awry. Petty Officer Schmuck said he'd be your designated driver. Next thing you know, you look across the club and see Petty Officer Schmuck doing tequila shots with some girl at the bar. I always told my crew that I would rather they called ME for a safe ride home than have to watch you stand at the green table, or worse - have to identify your body in the morgue after you wrap your car around a tree.

Morbid? Yes.

Necessary to drive the point home? Yes.

The majority of Captain's Mast cases I've attended for DUIs have been guys who "just had one or two" and thought they were fine to drive home. Again - the alcohol impaired their judgment of how much they had to drink and whether or not they were safe to drive.

I'm sure any member of your crew, your chief, your divo, your department head, or even your XO or CO would rather come get you if you've been drinking rather than have to call your family and tell them you're dead or you're in jail, not to mention the fact your shipmate just got bagged with standing your next duty day and can't stay in port for that school he needed because he's gotta be on the underway watchbill now.

If you're in the DC area and find yourself in a spot where you've been drinking and you need a ride home, then please call the SoberRide program. Program these numbers into your cell NOW before you go out.

The Washington Regional Alcohol Program (WRAP) 2009 Holiday SoberRide program will be offered from 2200 to 0600 each night, beginning Friday, 11 December 2009 and ending at 0600, Friday, 1 January 2010. To receive a free cab ride home (up to a $50.00 fare), please call 800-200-8294 (TAXI) or #8294 (TAXI) on your AT&T wireless phone. You must be 21 years of age or older to use the SoberRide service.

http://www.wrap.org/soberride/

If any of you in other homeports have information on local safe ride programs and would like me to add them to this blog post, then please leave a comment or send me an email.

I hope you all have a SAFE and happy holiday season. Merry Christmas!