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* A display of USA founding and significant historical documents including the Constitution, Declaration of Independence and other historical documents.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.

Day 162 of 365…

This Saturday the 31st of July is the annual Clark County All Church Picnic at Pearson Air Museum. This is a huge event that is FREE for everyone. It runs from 11am to 3pm and will feature live music, pony rides, bouncy inflatables for the kids to play on. You’ll find potato sack races and slip-n-slides too. The main speakers are Pastor H.B. London (VP, Focus On The Family) and Pastor Mike White (Hockinson Community Church).

According to All Church Picnic website your best bet for parking is to park at Hudson’s Bay High School and they’ll be running shuttles back and forth. You can bring your own picnic food or there will be several food vendors on-site that you can buy your lunch from. Did I mention the airplane rides? I believe you will be able to pay to take a ride in a plane even.

As I mentioned the Clark County All Church Picnic takes place at Pearson Air Museum and field and is FREE. You can also connect with Clark County All Church Picnic on Facebook too.

Here is their promo video for this event.

Day 160 of 365…

Today I finished up on an appointment by NE 162nd Ave and Padden Parkway and thought I should take a quick drive out to Hockinson. I always love it out there and figured it was time to share with everyone the Hockinson Market! The Hockinson Market has been a staple of this tiny community for over 100 years and is still going strong.

You might think you have to “head into town” to get some normal conveniences but you’ll be shocked at how much they carry in this store. You can fill up your gas tank, rent a DVD to watch, get yourself an Umpqua ice cream cone, have a deli sandwich, buy Lotto & scratch tickets, tons of micro-brew beers, wine, food and the list goes on and on. You’ll also find good old fashioned CUSTOMER SERVICE too. Everyone is super friendly and also knows the locals. Upon entering you’ll instantly realize you aren’t in just any old “market”. They care about their store and community.

Hockinson Market is located at 15814 NE 182nd Avenue, Hockinson, WA, 98606 and can be reached at 892-1054. They are open Mon – Fri: 6:00am – 10:00pm and Sat – Sun: 7:00am – 10:00pm. You can also find Hockinson Market on Facebook. They have an awesome Facebook presence and have even created custom tabs for their Deli and Ice Cream, New Release Movies and Wine and Beer. Nicely done!

Day 159 of 365…

It’s finally hot outside. We’ve finally reached the right temperatures to hit an outdoor swimming area. Today I’d like to introduce you all to the Camas Swimming Pool located in Crown Park. This community pool has been serving Camas, WA and the east side of Clark County since 1954! That’s a lot of generations of swimmers!

You’ll find the Camas Pool open from 1PM until 5PM Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 1PM until 4:30PM. Tuesdays and Thursdays from 5PM until 7:30PM are Family Swim nights. All children 15 and under must be accompanied by an adult during family time.

You can buy single swim passes for each visit or buy Punch Passes in blocks of 10 or 25. They have three different pools. The main pool ranges from 3.5 feet to 10 feet deep. They have a junior pool that ranges from 2.5 to 3.5 feet deep and a baby pool that ranges from 2 inches to 18 inches deep. Something for everyone! Camas Pool also offers a full series of swimming lessons for those wanting to learn to swim.

Camas Swimming Pool is located at 120 NE 17th Avenue (Crown Park) Camas, WA 98607 and can be reached at 360-817-1556.

Day 152 of 365…

Ah, Sunday in the park… If you live in the Vancouver Heights you most likely know about Father Blanchet Park. If you don’t, allow me to introduce you. This 2.5 acre park is nestled amongst the mid-century homes located in this great Heights neighborhood. You’ll find wonderful open space to run and play plus picnic tables, a softball backstop and a wonderful new play structure.

Father Blanchet Park is located on Birmingham Way & Louisiana just off of MacArthur Blvd, Vancouver, WA 98664.

Day 148 of 365…

This particular “thing” to do in Vancouver is closer to me than anything else. You see, I am a cancer survivor and I’ve lost dear friends and family to this horrible disease. I don’t know anyone in the world who hasn’t lost someone near and dear to them due to cancer.

This Saturday and Sunday is the annual Relay For Life of Vancouver at Columbia River High School. It begins at 10am with a Survivor Lap (yes I do this every year). This event is open to the public and it’s a great way to support and help raise tons of money to battle cancer. There are around 150 teams and each one does creative things to help raise money. You can buy raffle tickets for all kinds of great prizes, root beer floats, play bean bag toss or tons of other little games. What ever the teams do it’s all to help raise funds.

At midnight on Saturday they also do a Luminaria Service. This is where they line the track with candles in paper bags with the names of those who have passed from cancer or survived cancer. They turn off all the Columbia River football field lights and we slowly walk to the candle light. It’s an overwhelming experience. This year will not be any exception to that!

You can help several ways. First, come out to Columbia River High School anytime between 10am Saturday and 10am Sunday and buy some raffle tickets, buy some food, play some games and encourage the teams who are walking the track for 24 hours straight. Second, you can always make a donation on my Relay For Life page. Can you give up a coffee, lunch, dinner, show, game, overnight trip? Take that money and give to raise funds to continue finding a cure for cancer. Thirdly, you might like to buy a luminaria for a loved one. You can also do that on my donation page for Relay For Life. Lastly, maybe you can do all of these things. I’d encourage you to do something. It will take help from everyone to continue in the battle.

Now, if you are up for it, please journey along with me on my 2009 11 year cancer free survivor lap. It takes about seven and a half minutes to journey this lap. If you manage to make it to the end of the lap, I apologize for being hard to understand… It’s a bit emotional…

Day 144 of 365…

Today I stumbled upon the location through the most round about of ways. I was on my way to an appointment when a friend checked in on Foursquare letting me know where she was. I happened to be driving right past so I thought I’d stop in to say hello real quick (and scope it out for a future post) . If I would have had time today I would have covered it but I was in need of a slightly quicker lunch. Once leaving I spotted the word PIZZA. Now in my world, this is about as perfect of food as ever created. So I thought maybe they did by the slice so I could grab a quick slice to go. As I pulled up in front, another friend popped her head out the door and waved me down. She and her family were inside eating lunch. So I hopped out to “check it out”. No by the slice but they did have an awesome lunch special of the day. Any two topping personal pizza and soda for $5. Perfect! Plus they could make it up fast for me to hit the road and not be too late for my appointment.

The place I discovered is Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza in Hazel Dell right on NE 78th Street and Hazel Dell Avenue. Apparently they’ve been here a couple years and I’m sad to say, I hadn’t ever stopped in before. I really like this “little project” since I also discover some great new places. Now I have another pizza place on my radar that is worth stopping in for. My friends said they also loved it and they appreciated that it wasn’t as expensive as some other pizza places in town. I was very happy with my lunch special.

The crust was fresh and soft and I had plenty of pepperoni and pineapple on my pizza. The sauce was very good. It was also nicely sized for a “personal” pizza. They also do calzones, salads, and some sandwiches. Maybe you’d like to see Nick-N-Willy’s full menu?

Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza is located at 7604 NE 5th Avenue, Ste. 110 Vancouver, WA. 98665 and can be reached at 360-5-PIZZAS. You can also find Nick-N-Willy’s Pizza of Facebook.

Day 136 of 365…

I mentioned the Big Kahuna of Vancouver 4th of July extravaganza in a post earlier this week. But I also wanted to mention that Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 our very own City of Ridgefield, WA puts on their own all day event that is FREE to the community! They have been bringing this to us for over 100 years!

Between 7am and 10am you can head over and enjoy a pancake breakfast at the Ridgefield Community Center. From there the festivities just keep going. This wonderful little town will be the happening place to be tomorrow. The day will conclude with their own fireworks display at 10pm. If you haven’t been to Ridgefield before and feel like a short drive up I-5 I’d recommend you stop by. This town is very quaint and always a treat to visit.

The entire day looks like this (from their website):

7am – 10am Pancake Breakfast Firefighters Association
Ridgefield Community Center
210 N Main Avenue

8am Fun Runs
10K – $15 / $25 with tech shirt
5K – $10 / $20 with tech shirt
Day of race additonal $5.
N Main Avenue & Simons Street

10am Pet & Kid Pre-Parade
Along the Parade Route
Gather at corner of Pioneer Street & Main Avenue
Free Admission/No registration required

11am Fourth of July Parade (July 3rd)
“Show Your Red, White & Blue by Going Green”
N 4th Avenue & Division to N 8th Street & Pioneer Street

12pm-3:30pm Chicken & Salmon BBQ Lions Club
Abram’s Park (parking in Abram’s after parade)

12pm – 6pm Kids Day following the parade
Refuge Overlook Park – Pioneer Street & S Main Avenue
Face Painting, Creature Feature, Small Stage Entertainment
Childrens Inflatables
($5 Wrist Bands: includes all activities for all day)
Pie Eating Contest – free to all ages – 4:30 at stage

12pm – 6pm Food, Drink and Craft Vendors
Along city streets and park

6pm – 10pm Street Dance featuring The River City Band
S Main Avenue (All ages invited, free admission)

10pm – Close Fireworks Display – Free
Location to be announced the day of

Day 133 of 365…

Looking for a little luck o’ the Irish? How about some great food? Maybe some drinks with friends? Live entertainment with no cover charge? Then you should head over to Shanahan’s Pub & Grill downtown Vancouver. After being told I really should stop in and visit them I finally scheduled a lunch meeting there today and they did NOT disappoint. This place is one big family. Everyone seems to know everyone. The entire place is very relaxed and the atmosphere is cool. There is the main dining/bar area and two other rooms as well. The first one has several games and a pool table. Behind that is another bar area where they feature live concerts, game nights and open mic nights. There is also an outdoor seating area at Shanahan’s.

I had The Porker sandwich for my meal and it was awesome. Great pulled pork BBQ with slaw on top. The pork was tender and flavorful and there was no shortage of meat in this sandwich. The meal came with a side of ranch beans and fresh homemade potato chips. These chips rocked! I loved them. My friend ordered a Reuben sandwich and it looked great too. I also grabbed a couple of their new sweet potato fries from my friend Michelle (thanks again) and they are great! I will also let you know they have a drink of the day special so check in often and learn what they have. Today was rum and coke for $3.

From their site…

Shanahan’s Pub is a neighborhood bar that tries to offer more than traditional bars do. We offer all the amenities that other bars offer such as pool tables, darts, pull tabs, and games. We also offer a full menu that tries to offer something for everyone. Whether you like fresh smoked BBQ or are vegan.

We have a large outdoor patio for watching the game that is dog and smoke friendly, as well as a banquet room for private parties and live music.

Shanahan’s is more than “just another bar”…we try to be the “best bar” that we can be. With that in mind, come on down and check us out. What you’ll find is a casual, comfortable atmosphere to have a few drinks and a good meal.

I’d recommend you stop in and get to know everyone at Shanahan’s. Definitely a lot of fun and I’m sure they’re always looking to expand their “family”. They are located at 209 W McLoughlin Blvd Vancouver, WA 98660 and can be reached at 360-735-1440. You’ll locate them on Facebook as well. Go ahead and “like” them. All the cool kids are doing it.

DISCLAIMER: Clark County Real Estate Guide and 365 Things To Do In Vancouver, WA makes no guarantee as to this still being “the largest display West of the Mississippi”. That’s how it’s been billed throughout my lifetime. I will say I’ve always had an amazing time each year I’ve attended!

Day 131 of 365…

It’s time once again to descend upon the Fort Vancouver National Historic Site to witness the largest fireworks display West of the Mississippi! Sunday July 4th, 2010 is Independence Day at Fort Vancouver.

2010 will mark the 47th annual fireworks display. This should be the 48th except last year’s show was canceled due to lack of funding. Thankfully this year Bank of America stepped up to make our extravaganza a reality once again. Thank you Bank of America!

This year will be different in a couple ways. They’re moving the launch pad off the barges and up onto Pearson Field. This will make the amazing fireworks even more spectacular! They are also charging actual admission to the festival this year. The gates open at 8AM and tickets will be $7 each on the day of. You can order them in advance for $5 each. Children 12 and under are FREE!

$7 per person is an absolute bargain when you check out this amazing schedule of event! Four stages of performances from noon until just before the fireworks starts at 10:05PM. As nice as it was to have a “free” event all those years things like this take resources and for a potential 13 hours of entertainment and family fun it’s a steal.

If you want an even better viewing experience they will be selling Prime Viewing seats for $25 for ages 6 to 20 and $50 for 21 and over. These will put you front and center to a show that will knock your socks off. You do not want to miss this day!

Special thanks to my Denver Realtor friend Kristal Kraft for the “BOOM!” photo.