Back in my own bed. Woke to seeing the sun come up over the trees outside my window. I’ve spent the day lazily but eventually found the desire to get up and go out. Had class at the pool, that was a good workout. While I did some walking and swimming in Ashland/Medford I did find myself feeling a bit out of shape. I need to modulate my diet a bit, I’m sure.

I did find a bit of time to read but not as much. I might take some time before I go to sleep tonight. I’m still enjoying it.

Drove up to Astoria, it had been a bit of time since I’d been up the column before. At least it feels like it’s been several months. Full of tourists but not in the terrible way. You expect them there. I tend to treat the place as more of a public park. And I sat and read in one of their adirondack chairs they have at the top of the hill.

Man every time I look at that hill it takes me back to when I was five. My dad, newly divorced, had his first appartment at that time down a little way from there, I should see if I can find that building if it still exists I remember a rotating murphy bed and a fireplace. It was pretty cool. Well dad liked a good little hike so we’d go up that hill. I don’t know how my little legs did it but I did walk up it. He couldn’t always get me up the column though. The interior of the stairs sounds like a dungeon, seriously spooky. I remember being picked up and sitting on the bronze map and looking at all the geographical features up there.

From up there you can easily see Saddle Mountain, I believe that is right at the border roughly with Columbia, Washington, and Tillamook Counties. Where the native peoples sprung from the eggs lain by a great raven. I’ll need to look that story up again. It’s worth committing to memory. And Tillamook Head not far from where I live and work.

You can see so much of the whole county from there, until mountains obscure things. And to the North the vast Columbia and Washington. I like to think that every where in that scope is home to me.

There were a handful up people up there with their $1 balsam wood gliders. I’m glad people enjoy that. I don’t think they’re a huge pollutor or dangerous in any way. At least I hope so. It seems to provide some innocent fun to the people who want something to do when they are up there. Some people got some impressive flights, one even seeming to go almost as far as the play field next to the transfer station.

I mean, for me, the view is more than enough.

Picked up a few things at the co-op too while I was there. It is rather expensive there, but they do have a good selection of things. Ashland did make me want to think a bit more about how I consume. I want to buy from good suppliers if I can.