tasty falls.

on day two of our extravagant vacation weekend we went to multnomah falls. we thought it would be all hiky but it was disneyland. it was a beautiful waterfall though. we got a lot of pictures. but we ended up going past the main fall and hiking for 2.5 hours along the colombia river toward horsetails falls. so magical and good. on the way though we stopped at 'tasty falls' appropriately named by me as that is where we stopped to drink. i followed the girl scout rules of drinking only running water and to catch it running off a rock. it was sooo good. so cold and clear and delicious! especially since it was 97 today. it was real mountain spring water...not from a water bottle. at horsetails we drank the water too. it was the best ever. it was a rushing river that would send you flying off the cliff if you fell in, so were careful to not...fall in that is. 

after that we headed back and realized we'd have to walk another 2.5 hours to get home and we were quite tuckered. so we decided to hike down to the road and walk back to where our car was. at first it was fine because it was shaded but then it got sooo hot and there was no where for us to walk so we walked on the side of this bridge and prayed that cars wouldn't hit us. it was scary and so very hot. but we finally made it. i was so dirty and sunburned but it was a beautiful day. 

after coming home i was quite fatigued and laid down in the hallway because i was too dirty to lay on my bed. then i took a shower and went to my room where i found a wonderful* surprise. i got a bill for $473 from northwestern hospital saying that i have to pay them for my emergency room visit..... from march...when i lived in chicago and was under the insurance of the school....and after i already got a statement saying the school paid for everything. when it rains it pours. i understand today that i'll never be on top again. there's no possible way for me to ever save money and i'll live paycheck to paycheck until i die. but there are things to be grateful for. i do have a job, i do have income (however small it is), i have wonderful** roommates, i live in beautiful portland, i'm having a great time, i've never gone hungry. things could be worse, i know. i just get mad at insurance companies. i think they're just looking for me because they know i'll just cry and pay them. money is so messy. i wish i could barter for food. 

*not wonderful at all. 

** actually very wonderful.

speaking of bartering ....

www.peoples.coop.org

i'm into this. i'm also into the chinese food that the boys are bringing home. life is not so bad if you have chinese food. 

keighty