To say the least, I have been in a deep funk since the presidential election in November 2016 which saw Donald Trump elected as president and Republicans gain a majority in both houses of Congress. Today, April 3, 2017, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to send Judge Gorsuch's Supreme Court nomination to the full Senate. I am disgusted that Republicans would not even hold a hearing on Judge Garland, the man nominated by then President Obama. I am disgusted that not a single Republican is opposing Gorsuch's nomination. This causes me to think that my funk of the last five months may continue. In any event, here is some of what I have been doing since Helen and Phil's 50th anniversary party the week after the election. This post is for the rest of November 2016.
As I walked the neighboring streets, I saw that I was not the only one upset with the election.
We found some new places to hike in Tualatin.
I bought and wrapped Christmas cards and gifts for Megan and Jon, then wrapped the gifts and sent them off to Antarctica.
One day earlier in the fall, Patty and I were hiking at Fort Clatsop, en route to our visit to Fort Stephens (Fort Stephens borders both the Pacific Ocean and the south shore on the Oregon side of the Columbia River). We met a couple who were there with their grandson; they suggested we explore Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The first thing I visited at Fort Vancouver was the 1970s recreation of the fort that had been built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1840s - not built to protect people in the area, but built to protect all the precious material goods that were bought, sold and traded there.
After a cursory view of the exterior of the fort, I went to the visitor center for the entire area, saw a short video, and learned about the Japanese cargo ship that sailed to Oregon in 1832.
Then a quick visit to the Pearson Air Museum that is also on the site.
One of the old army buildings on Officers Row (the street where the Army officers lived with each house looking out on to the large parade grounds, a common layout of US Army forts) has been rehabbed and is now the Grant House Restaurant. While Gen. Grant was stationed at the fort, he did not live in this house; nonetheless it is named in his honor and it is now a very nice restaurant where I had lunch.
It was a cloudy, grey, rainy day, but I persisted and headed off towards the land bridge. This bridge was partially designed by Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. The bridge takes you up and over the local highway and has things to commemorate the natives who lived in the Columbia River valley.
Once on the other side of the highway and railroad, the trail connects you to the waterfront path along the Columbia. There is also the region's oldest apple tree.
I went back over the land bridge to the portion of the historical site dedicated to the people who lived and worked outside of the fort in the 1840s and 1850s.
On another day, I found another nice park to hike, Tualatin Hills Nature Park.
November continued to have lots of rain. We continued to enjoy life in Portland with Ben, Martha and Mr. Shadow. And many blossoms lasted much later into the fall than I expected.
As I walked the neighboring streets, I saw that I was not the only one upset with the election.
We found some new places to hike in Tualatin.
I bought and wrapped Christmas cards and gifts for Megan and Jon, then wrapped the gifts and sent them off to Antarctica.
One day earlier in the fall, Patty and I were hiking at Fort Clatsop, en route to our visit to Fort Stephens (Fort Stephens borders both the Pacific Ocean and the south shore on the Oregon side of the Columbia River). We met a couple who were there with their grandson; they suggested we explore Fort Vancouver National Historic Site. The first thing I visited at Fort Vancouver was the 1970s recreation of the fort that had been built by the Hudson Bay Company in the 1840s - not built to protect people in the area, but built to protect all the precious material goods that were bought, sold and traded there.
After a cursory view of the exterior of the fort, I went to the visitor center for the entire area, saw a short video, and learned about the Japanese cargo ship that sailed to Oregon in 1832.
Then a quick visit to the Pearson Air Museum that is also on the site.
One of the old army buildings on Officers Row (the street where the Army officers lived with each house looking out on to the large parade grounds, a common layout of US Army forts) has been rehabbed and is now the Grant House Restaurant. While Gen. Grant was stationed at the fort, he did not live in this house; nonetheless it is named in his honor and it is now a very nice restaurant where I had lunch.
It was a cloudy, grey, rainy day, but I persisted and headed off towards the land bridge. This bridge was partially designed by Maya Lin, designer of the Vietnam Memorial Wall in Washington DC. The bridge takes you up and over the local highway and has things to commemorate the natives who lived in the Columbia River valley.
Once on the other side of the highway and railroad, the trail connects you to the waterfront path along the Columbia. There is also the region's oldest apple tree.
I went back over the land bridge to the portion of the historical site dedicated to the people who lived and worked outside of the fort in the 1840s and 1850s.
On another day, I found another nice park to hike, Tualatin Hills Nature Park.
November continued to have lots of rain. We continued to enjoy life in Portland with Ben, Martha and Mr. Shadow. And many blossoms lasted much later into the fall than I expected.
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