Fun on the 4th

Contrary to all our expectations, July 4th dawned clear and cloudless, so DH and I rolled out at 6:30, got breakfast, and drove up to Vancouver, Wa. where we became walkers number 18 and 19   for theFt.Vancouver volkswalk.  When we arrived at the fort we were greeted by the welcome bunny.  FortVancouver was originally established by the British as an outpost for fur-trading, and was a center of civilization for the whole northwest.

 Here I am in front of the re-built original fort, in the kitchen gardens.  When the Oregon Territory fell to the Americans, the fort became an important center of military operations.  You see those Westerns where the fort is a desolate outpost in a stinking desert?  Well Vancouver wasn't like that at all. It's lush and green here because it rains all the time.

About the time of the Civil War, the army built a number of splendid homes for the officers on the ridge above the old fort.  I think this one was built in 1865.  Now, several of the old homes are restaurants or offices for real-estate companies or lawyers.  The NCO housing is a cluster of charming old brick duplexes further down the hill, but still uphill from the enlisted men's barracks. It's occupied by officers, because Ft.Vancouver is still an active military base.

There was another surge of construction during WWI, with artillery barracks and a 3 bay motor-pool built in 1916, and stacks more barracks, all vacant now. Wonder if someone could lease those vacant barracks to provide housing for homeless veterans?  Maybe a return to military discipline and structure would be a good thing for some of those folks.  They would know what to expect and what was expected of them.  They could earn their keep by doing grounds maintenance and by rehabbing the old buildings.

After the walk, we stopped by Salt and Straw, a new ice-cream shop in the chichi NWneighborhood, and treated ourselves to strawberry/coconut sorbets.  I was savoring mine, licking the ice-cream very scientifically to keep it in the cone, and remarked that I was very sorry for people that were too proper to enjoy an ice cream cone.  DH had never imagined there were such people.  But why else would they  offer a choice of cone or dish?  When I was in boarding school, there were several house mothers and teachers who would never have eaten an ice-cream cone in public.  publicly exposing your tongue like that?  It's indecent. And messy.

Do you prefer a cone or a dish for your ice-cream?