SheSue Experience

The entire park includes:
1. Officers Row – including 22 fully restored homes built for the army officers who served at Vancouver Barracks. Today these homes are used as offices and residences. The home shown here is now a real estate office.

2, Land Bridge – connecting the park to the Vancouver Renaissance Trail. The bridge features native plants an artwork highlighting the Native American’s connection to the land and water.

3. Pearson Air Museum – find a variety of aircraft showing off the lives of barnstorners, experimental aricraft and aces of World War one and two. There is an exhibit of Russian memorabilia from the first trans-polar flight, a movie theater and a replica of a 1913 Voisin Type-3 French Bomber.

4.Pearson Field – one of the oldest operating airfields in the U.S. serving as a landing field for many firsts. Today Pearson operates as a general aviation airport that offers scenic flights and airplane rentals.

5.Vancouver Barracks. – established in 1949 by the U.S. Army who wanted to check on the settlement of the Oregon Territory. This was an active military base for 150 years, closing in 2000. Some of the barracks house Army Reserves and National Guard. Others are in various stages of restoration.

6. The Village represents the home to workers and families who supported the operations of Fort Vancouver. You could find trappers, blacksmiths, carpenters and other laborers. At it’s peak, the village housed over 600 people including Hawaiians, French-Canadians, English, Scottish and more than 30 Indian tribes. A few of the buildings have been restored today.

The Village was where I spent most of my visit. We visited the blacksmith shop where retirees get to demonstrate the trade. The bakehouse where 2-300 biscuits were prepared every day. The chief’ Factor’s house is impressive with it’s beautiful porch and fine antiques inside. Out front is this set of cannons. We also saw a jail, carpenter shop and bastion (built to protect the fort). The funny looking catapult thing is how they drew water from their well.

I admire her big dreams and encourage them all. Here is a great poem I found simply called:

Follow Your Dreams
You must follow your dreams

You must follow wherever it leads.

Don’t be distracted by less worthy leads.

Shelter it, Nourish it, Help it grow.

Hold your dream deep, down deep where dreams grow.

Follow your dreams, Pursue it with haste.

Life is too precious, too precious to waste.

Be faithful, Be loyal in all the day through

the dream that you follow will ultimately come true.

Speaking of graduation, a friend sent me this video of a senior project at Savannah College of Art and Design. The title is Deadline: Post-it Stop Motion. I guess I have to admire the time and commitment that went into the project, but have to wonder what his mother thinks. Just wanted to share it with you.

We spotted birds of a wide variety on land and on the water. At one point, we spotted a large birds nest on top of a pole out in the water. It appeared to have some babies in the nest with the mom flying in and out, we assume to feed the birds. The path meanders along close to the river with numerous spots to sit on a bench and just enjoy the view. You can see Mt. Hood in the distance. Part of the way into our walk, the trail connected with the Land Bridge. This trail connected you to the Fort Vancouver area (more on that later).

This is a beautiful walk. I enjoyed it with one exception: it is right across the river from the Portland International Airport. Now, if you like the sound of planes soaring right overhead, this is the place for you. For me, it was a nice place to visit, but I don’t think I will be going back for that reason.

The circle symbolizes wholeness; the square stability, the triangle goals and dreams, the cross relationships, and the spiral means growth. Angeles also discovered that these shapes stand for a process of human growth. From these studies, she developed the “Preferential Shapes Test” to determine the connection between a person’s preferences for a certain shape and their inner state of growth.

The test is very simple. You draw the shapes on a piece of paper in the order you prefer or the order you feel is important. Then the book describes the meaning based on both the shape and the order you placed it in. For example, I chose the spiral as my first shape. According to the book, this means that “the process of growth is the one you believe to be the most important for you at this time. You want to develop flexibility, to handle situations differently from the way you have in the past, and to implement tangible changes in your life.” This rang very true to me.

Letterboxes are usually some sort of plastic box, one that is weather proof. They are hidden in various locations in parks, forests and cities around the world. Check out the website Atlas Quest to find locations. On the website, you will find a “treasure map”. This map will give directions on how to find the box. You will get directions such as:
go south 1.2 miles or
move 30 paces forward, then turn right or
turn right at the big moss covered boulder or
some are clever. I found one that was done in bunny hops!

So what is the treasure that you find in the box? A rubber stamp and a notebook. If you are really into letterboxing, you will have your own stamp and journal. When you find a treasure, you exchange. You put your stamp in the treasure notebook and write something short about yourself. In turn you put their stamp in your notebook and record where you found it. Sort of like a passport of letterboxes.

This form of fitness started with Sheila Kelley. Starring in a movie that required her to learn pole dancing and strip tease, she found that it toned her body in ways she never new possible. A trained dancer, she combined all her training to form the new fitness craze, pole dancing and strip tease aerobics. Women claim it makes them feel empowered and sensual.