Many of my generation fondly recall an early computer game called Oregon Trail. It was a game that was supposed to teach you about the westward expansion of the United States. You had to get your family to the Willamette Valley and along the way you encountered the typical challenges of life on the trail. As a 7
th grader, all I really recall is shooting giant bison and elk only to find out I could only carry 100 pounds of meat back to my wagon.
In retrospect, I realized I knew nothing about what Oregon actually meant back then. Unlike today, Oregon consisted of not only the present state, but also of Washington and Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, and the province of British Columbia. Evidently this territory was at first owned jointly by the Brits and us Yanks. However, it didn't take long for good '
ol manifest destiny to rear her ugly head. Of course it was our land! A treaty was ultimately signed that gave us everything below the 49
th and England everything above, except for Vancouver Island. The boundary would then extend through the middle of the channel between the continent and the island. The problem was, there were two channels and the treaty didn't specify which one. Enter the pig.
It so happens the San
Juan islands are in this disputed territory. Depending upon which channel you use, it belonged to either the British or the Americans. The San Juan's were named after some New Spanish viceroy in the late 1700s because some Spaniard saw it first. By first of course, we mean the first person who didn't already live there. Anyway, it didn't take long for both a British and American camp to be set up on the same island. To make a long story short, an American shot a British Pig, the farmer demanded to be repaid and the American said, "up yours," or something like that.
Despite his tough words, the American citizens called for army protection and in rolls Captain Pickett (later General Pickett for you Civil War buffs). The Brits send in three war ships to try and get rid of Pickett. No one budges, nothing really happens except angry stares and probably some good insults. Finally General Scott arrives and calms down the situation. Eventually, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany settles the dispute and gives the Americans the Islands. Sorry Brits, I'm sure the power struggle in Europe during the late 1800s had nothing to do with the decision.
Today the islands are a top tourist destination. We took a day trip out to the San
Juan Island with our gracious hosts and good friends from the Peace Corps, Adam and Laura Braddock. This island is home to Lime Kiln State Park, which is one of the best places to view
Orca whales from land. While we didn't see any, we still enjoyed the views and got a couple of good pics of the shoreline and lighthouse. The Red
Madrona trees that line the shores are also pretty amazing. It is almost as if the tree does not have bark it is so incredibly smooth.
The ferry ride out to the island was also a great experience in itself. While the weather didn't totally cooperate, it wasn't bad.
Anja seemed to enjoy herself and appreciated all the extra attention she received. She took numerous trips around the deck of the ferry and is getting incredibly close to walking on her own. I hope you enjoy the photos and that you found the short history enjoyable. After all, how many stories are there that include a Spaniard, the Americans, the British, Kaiser Wilhelm, and a pig.
ps. You can download the original Oregon Trail
here. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm assuming it shouldn't be too hard to figure out.
Anja spots her Papa with some string "cheees!"
Anja cruises over to plead for some of his snack (he gave in).
With Peter in March at our place . . . after this picture was taken, he sang the Badger fight song to Anja . . . how sweet! :)
After dinner we took a stroll down River Road. It was a beautiful night.
Here she is being silly with us today. 
Anja walking with her Nuk in hand . . .
Adam's "gift" (that would be the piece of driftwood from the San Juan's) made it home and into her stash of toys! :)
Finally, mama lets me check out the dryer! Look closely, and you'll see a tooth or two.
Cheerios are a favorite snack. Watch out, or she'll grab the entire bowl!
(L to R: Karl, Paul, Hannah, Laura, David, Shana, Erik, Anja and Marilyn)
With our favorite photographer, David.
We stopped at Concordia on the way back from our trip and tried Anja's walking skills out on Olin Hill. Though she didn't take her first steps there, she gave it a great effort. In the past few days however, she has taken several on her own which we're pretty excited about. (Not for long, say the seasoned parents out there!)
Imagine this logo plastered on every cup of Starbucks coffee, it could have been! The above photo is the original Starbucks logo. Undoubtedly, some marketing guru decided this just wasn't going to suit the mass market.The current Starbucks mermaid is a definitely a bit dull compared to this one.
The original Starbucks is located in Pike's Place Market in Seattle, WA. We spent the day touring through the shops and enjoying a great public market. Pike's Place is also home to the flying fish stand. I'm not sure if that's what it is actually called, but many of you may have seen the video segments on the guys who throw fish from one counter to another. It was fun watching them work and you can tell they really enjoy what they do. If you look closely in the photo below, you'll see a crab in mid-flight. The other photos are taken from around the Market and are fairly self explanatory.
Many of my generation fondly recall an early computer game called Oregon Trail. It was a game that was supposed to teach you about the westward expansion of the United States. You had to get your family to the Willamette Valley and along the way you encountered the typical challenges of life on the trail. As a 7th grader, all I really recall is shooting giant bison and elk only to find out I could only carry 100 pounds of meat back to my wagon.
Despite his tough words, the American citizens called for army protection and in rolls Captain Pickett (later General Pickett for you Civil War buffs). The Brits send in three war ships to try and get rid of Pickett. No one budges, nothing really happens except angry stares and probably some good insults. Finally General Scott arrives and calms down the situation. Eventually, Kaiser Wilhelm I of Germany settles the dispute and gives the Americans the Islands. Sorry Brits, I'm sure the power struggle in Europe during the late 1800s had nothing to do with the decision.
The ferry ride out to the island was also a great experience in itself. While the weather didn't totally cooperate, it wasn't bad. Anja seemed to enjoy herself and appreciated all the extra attention she received. She took numerous trips around the deck of the ferry and is getting incredibly close to walking on her own. I hope you enjoy the photos and that you found the short history enjoyable. After all, how many stories are there that include a Spaniard, the Americans, the British, Kaiser Wilhelm, and a pig.
While in Vancouver we spent the better part of a day touring through Stanley Park. This is an absolutely amazing park and we both wished we had our bikes with us or at least the opportunity to run the trails. First of all, Stanley Park is huge! While there are a number of amenities, there is also plenty of forest and natural spaces. While we weren't able to check out the aquarium, the beaches, or some of the great little water parks for kids, we did get to do some hiking through what seemed like typical Northwest forests and along some of the coastal trails.
While I can't speak for the rest of the wildlife in the park, the seagulls are something else. Well at least one was. We stopped at a small cafe for lunch and ordered a couple of panini sandwiches. Shana and I have begun taking turns when eating at a cafe. One of us entertains Anja while the other eats, it works pretty well. In any case, a lone seagull landed near us eying my sandwich the whole way. I shooed it away and thought that was the end of it. I finished a third of my sandwich turned in my chair to take over entertaining Anja and Whoosh! right over my shoulder the seagull struck. I hadn't even left my seat and this seagull had the nerve to snatch a third of my sandwich right under my nose.
Unfortunately we didn't have the best weather in Vancouver. Although the city's tourism literature does its best to reassure you that it is sunny in the summer, we only had glimpses of the sun. However, we didn't let the weather get us down. We spent some time shopping and touring the city. We even picked up a Haida art print called 'salmon people.' The traditional art of the Pacific Northwest is beautiful and we enjoyed checking out a number of galleries. I'll post a photo of our print along with the legend some point in the future.
We also got to check out the Vancouver Art Gallery and saw the exhibit, "Monet to Dali: Modern Masters from the Cleveland Art Museum." Shana and I both greatly enjoyed the exhibit as it followed the historical journey from the original impressionists all the way to the surrealists. The photo to the left is a clock that is outside the museum counting down to the Vancouver Olympics in 2010.
