A Lil Bit of Random Ramblings...: The Other Vancouver

Some people just can't catch a break. The people of the of Vancouver Washington are a perfect example. Vancouver WA is a gorgeous city but I had never heard of it until my sister moved there last year. Two big reasons; it's literally across the river from the metropolis Portland, OR who steals all their thunder and secondly there is a MUCH more famous Vancouver about 6 hrs north in B.C. But even if we forget all about Vancouver's lil sibling syndrome let's discuss the state of Washington's name issue.

Way back in the day, there was a bit of a tug of war for the area, which is now Washington, between the British and the Americans. In the end, they sided with the Americans and, opting to become another state they submitted their preferred name "Columbia" for consideration, named after the famous river that flows through BRITISH Columbia (get it?) and into the state. Due to the capital of the U.S.A. bearing the name "The District of Columbia", the state was denied the opportunity to be named Columbia as they thought it would be too confusing and instead they were encouraged to pick another name. Their second choice decided to honor the first president and name the state Washington, and all was hunky dory until the capital went and added "Washington" to their name. After all that, the poor state of Washington is still perpetually overlooked for the more flashy Washington D.C. Can't help but laugh at it.

Putting aside all the double name game problems, I love visiting the area. Tamara and Ryan have lived there for a year now and it's just gorgeous. Chelsey and I had a week off so we drove the 12 hrs and enjoyed a week of shopping, good weather and just having a good time. A bonus was that Shawn's sister and brother-in-law lives in Portland as well so I got the wonderful opportunity to see them all again and meet our new niece, Natalie Newton!