How a Bridge Connects Us

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Sac State's Guy West Bridge

“Think about the things, places, or people that connect us.” I like this idea as it relates to the theme of Bridge.

I share several angles of the Guy West Bridge that spans the American River from the Sacramento State Campus to the community of University Village/ Campus Commons. This bridge is also right off the American River Bike Trail.

Built in 1966 to link the campus with the then-new, Campus Commons college-community development, the 1,144-foot-long, 16-foot-wide pedestrian bridge is officially known as the Guy A. West Memorial Bridge. Dr. West was the first president of then Sacramento State College.

I teach a general education course on Friday mornings called “Leisure Lifestyle Development.” Taught in a large lecture hall seating 80-plus students, I keep them busy learning how recreation and leisure are essential in their lives.

Each semester, after a lecture on various play theories, I take the class outdoors where we walk the short distance to the Guy West Bridge and blow bubbles.

We get a few quizzical stares, but my favorite question from a man on a bicycle was, “What class is this?!” Of course, I’m happy to tell him!

Guy West Bridge at Sacramento State University

A bridge that is a mini-replica of the Famed Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco indeed connects university students with the surrounding communities and a sense of fitness and leisure through walking and cycling.

How a Bridge Connects Us

How do bridges in your hometown connect the community?

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24 responses to “How a Bridge Connects Us”

  1. What a fabulous idea! A class on leisure. I think Americans can use that more than ever. I love the Sacramento area, but have never seen ‘your’ bridge. I lived in the SF bay area for 20 years, and the last five of them had a gorgeous view of the GG Bridge. I have a love/love relationship with the Golden Gate, and even see it in my dreams at times, particularly now that I live in the Boston area. ;-0

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    1. Thank you! The Guy West bridge is just a little gut compared to the golden gate, but we like it.

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  2. I am picturing you and your class blowing bubbles on the bridge. I love it! I don’t love bridges- they used to scare me as a kid. I never feel safe on a bridge, and I drove across the bridge from Wisconsin to Iowa every day for 20 years! Maybe if I had experienced some fun on a bridge….

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    1. I just had a flash of you blowing bubbles out of your car window on that bridge 🙂

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  3. Blowing bubbles sounds great fun, Terri. When I lived in Earls Court in Central London (1987 – 1989), I lived next door to a house that had a bubble blowing machine that constantly blew bubbles across the street from a downstairs window. It certainly made people smile, even on wet cold mornings.

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    1. Wow, how cool was that! Someone had some imagination and humor!

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      1. Strangely enough, I never saw who lived next door. That’s one thing about living in London. You rarely meet or get to see your neighbours.

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  4. You sound like such a fun and creative teacher, Terri, I love the idea of blowing the bubbles on the bridge! 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Judy!! After 20+ years of others teaching this course, I’m the first to offer bubble blowing 🙂

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      1. Well that is what makes you unique and memorable, not to mention fun! 🙂

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  5. […] Second Wind Leisure Perspectives How a Bridge Connects Us […]

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  6. I would LOVE to take that class…and walk across that bridge!

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    1. Thanks, Donna, it’s a fun class to teach!

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  7. We have three bridges in Brisbane, Terri that link the CBD with our Southbank Parklands. I love running over them each week and feeling the connection between work and recreation. Thanks for linking up at #BloggersPitStop

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  8. I really enjoyed hearing about your class and the campus, Terri.

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  9. I’m a big fan of bridges! I have never heard of the Guy West Bridge, but have been over the Golden Gate Bridge many times.

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    1. I read there is a really cool footbridge there in San diego that spans one of those canyons. Perhaps you’ve heard of it.

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  10. I also like the symbolism of bridges. When I taught high school art, one assignment was to paint a bridge and describe the connection possibilities. The student paintings were wonderful; better were their developing understandings of how people bridge differences or to history. Would love to walk this bridge with you.

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    1. That is so cool, Sharon! People don’t always think of the connections other than “why did the chicken cross the road…” I read this bridge was the longest pedestrian bridge of its kind in the country when it was built in the 60s.

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  11. What a fun way to teach, Terri!! Bridges connect us kinda like blogs do!!
    Jodie
    http://www.jtouchofstyle.com

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  12. Wow, now that’s a class I would have enjoyed “back in the day”! How fun 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Tina! It’s a big class with lots of students, but one of my faves! The department offered the class 20+ years ago to expose students to the Rec and Parks major. Something is working now as there are 30 part-time lecturers like me and over 500 students in the major.

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About Me

I’m a former university adjunct Professor and retired recreation & parks practitioner living in North-Eastern Washington State near the Idaho border. Second Wind Leisure Perspectives is my blog about living a leisure lifestyle, including photography, friends, fitness, and fun.

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