This year Washington State enacted the Foreclosure Fairness Act which will provide assistance to those families and individuals who are struggling to make their mortgage. If you have fallen behind or are looking at the need to begin falling behind this video will be a huge help to you. It will explain your rights and the services available through the Foreclosure Fairness Act.

If you live in Clark County, WA and would like additional assistance please feel free to reach out. We’re here to help. While you likely feel like you’re the only one struggling to make the mortgage, rest assured, you’re not. Many times every single week we meet with families and individuals who for one reason or another find themselves at that crossroad of what to do regarding their house payment. Let us help you wade through these murky waters and help you get to the other side as smoothly as possible.

And I’m proud to be an American,
where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me.
~Lee Greenwood

I love this song and the lyrics that go with it. It makes me choke up every time I hear it. Especially if you really stop and listen to what is being sung. This tribute is one of the best I’ve seen to go along with the song. Please watch it all the way through and remember those who’ve given it all for our freedom. Also, don’t forget those who still live while continuing to die a little each day from their service to our country. Hug a veteran!

As a society we remember all those who’ve passed on on Memorial Day but let’s not forget what it was originally established as…

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in our nation’s service.

Rather than go on with words, I’ll share some photos…

To the men who gave their lives in Vietnam November 8th, 1965…

To my dear friend Robb Needham. Your sacrifice and smile will never be forgotten.

It should be no secret by now that I love my hometown of Vancouver, WA. I love everything about Clark County, WA (yes, I also love Clark Co, NV. Viva Las Vegas!).

As I was nearing the “end” of 365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA I decided I should figure out how to expand what I spent a year doing. I wanted to do something that would allow me to continue highlighting great things to do all over town and also re-share all the things I wrote about last year. I want to continue promoting our local businesses, events, parks, trails and activities. I also want to share details about the neighborhoods these wonderful places and events “live” in.

So, today I introduce my next “project”. Beginning on Monday, March 7, 2011 I’ll begin spotlighting a Clark County, WA Neighborhood of the Week. Each week I’ll focus on one particular neighborhood. I’ll share general information, demographic data, school data, etc. about that neighborhood. I’ll highlight local parks, restaurants and activities. I’ll likely share a “Home of the Week” as I preview homes for sale in the neighborhood. I’ll also be creating a map of all the homes for sale in each neighborhood. This map will also include the “365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA” posts I’ve written over the last year. My hope is to create a complete Clark County, WA neighborhood resource guide for those who already live there plus share it with others who might like to make that neighborhood home.

Having listed and sold single family and multi-family real estate in Clark County since 1994, I’ve learned that people buy neighborhoods. This guide will help share the great things about each neighborhood as well as continue to promote supporting our local businesses. We all must work together to help keep our local economy strong and thriving.

This newest “project” will be a constant work in progress. I’m sure as it begins I’ll tweak and modify it as necessary to hopefully make it better each week. Of course, there is also a Clark County WA Neighborhood of the Week Facebook page where each post will be shared with a larger audience. Please feel free to “Like” it.

If you have neighborhood information to share please send me a message through the “Meet Up With Dale” box on the sidebar. I’d love to hear from you. Let’s all work together to make this the best site possible.

See you all 3-7-11!

The Mission: February 17th, 2010 through February 16th, 2011 write one blog post each and every day highlighting something to do in Vancouver, WA (& surrounding cities).

Status: Task completed on schedule. Every single day one blog post was written. Almost every post included a video from on location as well as photos from each location.

All blog posts lived here on the Clark County Real Estate Guide. The permalink to each post was then placed on the 365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA Facebook Page. Over the course of the year the Facebook page grew at a very steady pace. At the end of the 365th day there were over 14,000 “likes”. I’ve been so thankful for the wonderful reception this page got.

67% of the fans are women. The fan base spans over 19 countries all over the world. Approximately 75% of the fan base is from the Vancouver/Clark County/Portland area. The next largest group represented is in Seattle. 83% of the fans are between the age of 18 and 54.

Over the course of the 365 days 8,281,995 post views occurred on Facebook! A post view is defined by Facebook as “the number of times people (Fans and non-Fans) have viewed a News Feed story posted by your page”. This blows my mind!

Approximately 100,000 visitors stopped here at the Clark County Real Estate Guide throughout the year. The most viewed post of the year was Day 295: Magical Lights On 63rd Street with almost 1,200 visitors!

As I mentioned on Day 365, this “project” is not done! There are still lots of wonderful things to share about Vancouver and Clark County, WA. I will not continue daily but will continue regularly. I’ll also be adding content to the site that I believe will enhance and improve upon what is already here.

I’ll be announcing these changes on 3-1-11. Please stop in then to see what is coming and I hope you’ll either subscribe to get these posts via email or via an RSS feed.

If you have any stories of new places you’ve discovered or enjoyed during the first 365 days I’d love to hear about them. I’d love it if you’d leave a comment below. Please share this site with your friends and family who may not be aware of it. It’s a great resource from a native Vancouver guy whose family has been in Clark County since 1893. Remember, you can type anything into the search box on the top right side of the site and it’ll find all posts with whatever keywords you desire (i.e. pizza, wine, hike, theater, etc.)

Day 330 of 365…

This coming weekend (January 15th & 16th) is the Collector’s West Gun & Knife Show in the Exhibition Hall at the Clark County Events Center. If you are a gun and/or knife enthusiast this is the event locally to go to. Make sure to spread the word and let your friends know too. Or, how about you invite them to go with you and make a day of it.

The show is open on Saturday the 15th from 9am to 5pm and on Sunday the 16th from 9am to 3pm. Admission is $7 per person.

Thanks to Keary O for this awesome photo. Used with Creative Commons license.

Clark County Events Center is located at the Clark County Fairgrounds on NE 179th Street at I-5. Their address is 17402 NE Delfel Road, Ridgefield, WA 98642. They can be reached at 360-397-6180. You can connect with Collector’s West on Facebook as well.

Day 320 of 365…

January 2nd, 2011. It’s still early enough you are all still “trying” to maintain your New Year’s Resolutions. I thought I’d share a very cool local resource for Clark County. It is Clark Community Choices and they are here for us, the resident’s of Clark County, WA. According to their site…

Community Choices is the catalyst for change for a healthy, livable Clark County. This data-driven organization serves as a neutral, credible information source to efficiently and effectively drive positive change. Through advocacy and dissemination of information, Community Choices strives to utilize early prevention strategies to achieve a balance of economic vitality, personal health, social well-being and belonging in Clark County.

Clark Community Choices has a great Resource page with tons of wonderful data, presentations and brochures to help aid in healthy living and community information. One of my favorite things on this site is the Clark County Walkaround Guide. This guide highlights 10 great walks around our community. I’m quite pleased to let you know almost every one of the walks highlighted in this report have been featured on 365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA. *pats self on back*

Bundle up, head out and enjoy our beautiful community and all the great trails, paths and parks it has to offer.

Head over to their site and learn more about them. You can also connect with Clark Community Choices on Facebook.

Day 287 of 365…

THIS Saturday, December 4th, 2010 is the 25th Annual Walk and Knock of Clark County. This is a wonderful opportunity for us as a community to come together and do our part to help those in need this season. Their are lots of ways to help with this years Walk and Knock. Check out their Volunteer Page to see what you can do for starters.

Check out what has happened with Walk and Knock the first 25 years. This is amazing…

The first Saturday every December Walk & Knock volunteers go door to door collecting thousands of pounds of food. Walk & Knock began as the spark of an idea by Bud Pasmore and Doug Rae and has grown to be Clark County’s largest food drive, operating more than a quarter century, and collecting more than 6 million pounds worth nearly $8 million dollars.

Of course the key is for everyone to donate! There are lots of ways to donate and you can get all that information on their Donation Page. Maybe you can donate food, maybe money, maybe your labor. Whatever it is, please help. The knockers will be out on the street Saturday from 9am to 1pm so make sure to set your bags out for them.

You can also connect to Walk and Knock of Clark County on Facebook.

Here is a list of all the local drop-spots that you can give. These will be open until December 11, 2010.

AHA 415 W 6th St Ste 605 Vancouver
Big Als 16615 SE 18th St. Vancouver
Clark County Fire and Rescue 911 N. 65th Ave. Ridgefield
Fire Departments:District 12 414 E Cedar Ave La Center
Fire Departments: District 3 17718 NE 159th St. Hockinson
Fire Departments: District 6 1200 NE 134th Salmon Creek
Fire Departments: District 6 8800 NE Hazel Dell Ave Hazel Dell
Fire Departments: District 6 1150 NW Lakeshore Dr. Vancouver
First Indy Bank 601 W Main St. Battle Ground
First Indy Bank 2515 NE 134th St. Salmon Creek
First Indy Bank 8015 NE Highway 99 Hazel Dell
First Indy Bank 1220 Main St. Vancouver
First Indy Bank 10705 NE 4th Plain Rd. Vancouver
First Indy Bank 228 Simmons St. Ridgefield
First Indy Bank 11515 SE. Mill Plain Blvd. S#100 Vancouver
First Indy Bank 1408 SE 164th Ave Vancouver
Firstenburg Center 700 NE 136th Ave Vancouver
La Center Schools Elementary School, 4th St. La Center
La Center Schools Middle School, Front Ave La Center
La Center Schools High School, Highland Rd. La Center
Legacy Hospital 2211 NE 139th St. Salmon Creek
Les Schwab 1719 W Main St. Battle Ground
Les Schwab 917 NE Minnehaha Hazel Dell
Les Schwab 2420 NE Andresen Rd. Vancouver
Les Schwab 11804 NE 78th Way Vancouver
Les Schwab 216 SE 118th Ave Vancouver
Les Schwab 2375 SE 8th St. Camas
Les Schwab 192nd Ave & 34th St. Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants 710 NE 98th Cir. Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants 7010 NE Hwy 99 Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants 15811 NE Fourth Plain Blvd. Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants 2400 SE 165th Ave Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants 2814 NE Andresen Rd. Vancouver
McDonald’s Restaurants Walmart NE 192nd at Mill Pl. Vancouver
Rapid Print 6202 NE Hwy 99 #2 Hazel Dell
REMAX 1301 SE Tech Center Dr., Suite 150 Vancouver
Riverview Bank 15 NW 13th Ave Battle Ground
Riverview Bank 800 NE Tenney Rd. #D Salmon Creek
Riverview Bank 1220 NE 88th St. Hazel Dell
Riverview Bank 900 Washington St., Suite 100 Vancouver
Riverview Bank 915 MacArthur Blvd. Vancouver
Riverview Bank 11505-K NE 4th Plain Road Vancouver
Riverview Bank 1901 NE 162nd Ave Vancouver
Riverview Bank 320 SE 192nd Vancouver
Riverview Bank 700 NE 4th Ave Camas
Riverview Bank 3307 Evergreen Way Washougal
Riverview Bank 17205 SE Mill Plain (Center) Vancouver
SW WA BLOOD 9320 NE Vancouver Mall Dr. #100 Vancouver
Treasure House 91 “C” Street, Washougal Washougal
Waste Connections (CRC) 501 SE Columbia Shores Blvd. Bl#350 Vancouver
YMCA 11324 NE 51st Cir. Vancouver

Day 271 of 365…

I can’t believe I’m typing this on November 14th but I am… The holidays are upon us!

This coming Friday through Sunday is the Annual Clark County Holiday Gift Fair at the Clark County Events Center at the Fairgrounds. It begins at 10am November 19th and runs until 6pm both the 19th and 20th. On Sunday November 21st it runs from 10am to 5pm. Admission is $6 per person and children 12 and under are FREE. Parking is also free for this event.

You’ll come away with thousands of great gift ideas, gourmet food items, tons of free holiday entertainment plus daily visits from Santa. They have a kids activity area and a holiday mini-petting zoo.

The Clark County Holiday Gift Fair happens at the Clark County Events Center at Exit 9 (NE 179th Street) and head West on NE 179th Street. Follow the signs to the Event Center.

Day 206 of 365…

Do you wish you could get home improvement supplies at a discounted rate? Do you ever have extra supplies that you wish could go to good use? If you can answer yes to either of these questions then have I got the place for you. Down on 4th Plain just off of Stapleton Road you’ll find Clark County Habitat for Humanity ReStore. This ReStore is open to the public and sells a variety of good quality building materials, appliances, furniture and other home improvement products at a fraction of retail prices. They have a large selection of tiles and flooring as well. The store is run by volunteers who desire to give back to the community and support Habitat for Humanities vision…

Our vision: A community where everyone has a simple, decent, affordable place to live; and where poverty housing is unacceptable.

They are always looking for more volunteers, so check this out. It’s really hard to describe everything in the ReStore (since it’s a constantly revolving inventory) so the best thing to do is head down and check it out. They are open Tuesday through Saturday. All donations get dropped off around the back of the ReStore.

Clark County Habitat for Humanity ReStore is located at 5000 E 4th Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98661 and can be reached at 360-213-1313. You can also connect with Clark County Habitat for Humanity ReStore on Facebook.

BONUS “Thing To Do” Empower Up (inside this same building):

Day 168 of 365…

Starting Wednesday August 4th, 2010 Clark County, WA (and beyond) residents will have an opportunity to visit the American Veterans Traveling Tribute which will be in La Center, WA for 5 days. Between Wednesday and Sunday the traveling Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be open 24 hours per day allowing everyone ample opportunity to visit it in their own personal way.

The official journey to La Center will begin at 2pm on Wednesday with several hundred motorcyclists escorting the “wall” to Holley Park. Once it arrives it will take about 4 hours to get it all set up. The whole experience will be open from 6pm Wednesday until 5pm on Sunday.

This certainly will be a most emotional exhibit and time (I know I’ve teared up while reading about and researching this). I’ve lost dear friends who served and sacrificed the ultimate price and have many loved ones who have served (and sacrificed in other ways) our country through every major conflict back to World War II.

The following is a brief description of what to expect as identified on their website:
Our traveling tribute is a true depiction of the great sacrifices made throughout the history of our country. It consists of:

* Displays representing statistics from every war/conflict that the USA has been involved in.
* A series of World War II panels portraying the entire timeline of events.
* A Korean War tribute representing the timeline of the entire conflict with corresponding battle maps and photos.
* The Traveling Vietnam Wall – 80% replica (largest replica) of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC. The “wall” stretches over 380 ft long from end to end and contains all 58,253 names. The “wall” is current through 2009 and is constantly being updated to accurately pay tribute to those who died during the Vietnam war.0
* A timeline, series of facts and figures, and a display of art from Vietnam veteran artists depicting patriotic and veteran themes.
* A display of USA founding and significant historical documents including the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and other historical documents. (and even more…)

My Vietnam Veteran… My Dad!

I love you and thank you for all you gave for me to have the freedoms I do…

The Vietnam Veterans Memorial will be set up at Holley Park located at 1000 E. Fourth Street, La Center, WA. You can also connect with La Center Honors Vets on Facebook.

Day 166 of 365…

Since 1987 Juliano’s Pizzeria has been serving some incredible pizza and atmosphere. I remember when they first opened and was shocked at the amount of toppings you would get on your pizza. When you ordered meat, you got meat! Looking for veggies? They load em up. They do not cut corners on the quantity of toppings or quality of pizza.

Juliano’s Pizzeria offers hand-tossed dough, piled high with high quality toppings, cooked to perfection in a unique 3-tier rotating oven.

Juliano’s classic rock decor with a focus on the Grateful Dead is relaxing and fun for everyone. They also have several video games and pinball machines for the kids (and big kids) to play. In addition to serving wonderful food the owners of Juliano’s have always been good at supporting local charities. I know I appreciate their support for my efforts with the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.

Juliano’s Pizzeria is located at 15606 SE Mill Plain Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98684 and can be reached at 360-254-1286. You can also connect to Juliano’s Pizzeria on Facebook.