New Location Vancouver, Washington

   We are now at Fort Vancouver National Historic Park (FOVA) for short.  Arrived here on Friday the first of July.  Got parked and set up without much trouble.  The drive north from Eugene was uneventful, but very slow going through Portland.  Several factors caused that.   It was the start of the holiday week-end.  The traffic in Portland can be bad at certain times especially if there has been an accident.  ( We did see one just south of Albany on I-5 that had southbound traffic backed up for 15 miles.)  The other problem was caused by the Columbia and Willamette Rivers being high.  This meant that any time a ship passed under any of the seven bridges on the Willamette or the I-5 bridge over the Columbia, they had to stop traffic and raise them.  Can you believe that an Interstate Highway as busy as I-5 has a drawbridge on it?
   Saturday was our first day "on the job".   Having experience in other visitor centers meant that we know the routine.  Every place has different facilities and different people who want things done their way, but the job is pretty much the same.  You are there to greet the visitor and answer any questions they may have concerning the history, things to do, where the bathrooms are, etc.
   With Monday being the holiday, the park was the host site for a huge 4th of July celebration.  The event was organized by the City of Vancouver and seemed to be a great success based on the attendance.  There were several stages, cannon firings, food vendors, tours of several of the homes on officer row, bi-plane rides, kids games, and of course, a fireworks display to culimnate the evening.  The hours at the visitor center were Noon to 8pm for the holiday.  Saturday and Sunday visitor numbers were about 250.  The number doubled for the holiday and people were still hanging around the gift shop and visitor center right up until quitting time.  In fact, I had to annouce that " The visitor center will be closing in xxx minutes" several times to let people know that they needed to leave so that we could close up.
     Vancouver is known for its spectacular fireworks and this year was no exception.  Because we were volunteers, R and I were invited to view them from inside the fort, which we, of course, did.  The pyrotechtics were launched from the adjacent Pearson Air Park so the sights and sounds were right in front of us.  It was pretty spectacular.  I don't know how many times I said "Wow!"
  Then, while everyone else fought the traffic to get home, R and I just walked the half mile back to our trailer and went to bed.  A long but fun day in deed.