Sometimes you just have to go to Oregon

We are living in (relative) poverty at the moment. The Husband has been telecommuting since we left the Bay Area, but the company he works for is going through an unusually dry spell at the moment, so he hasn't been getting a full paycheck. He applied for something else, but didn't get it. He has been moping.

We were supposed to go to Portland next weekend to visit some friends over Memorial weekend, but given our dearth of excess funds and my impending trip for the nephew's nuptials (he and his bride-to-be are registered at Wal-mart, BTW), there is no way that's going to happen. So when I got a windfall in the mail today (reimbursement from my flex spending account for some past medical co-pays), I suggested we head up the coast.

We made the two-hour drive to the Oregon border and bought a Powerball ticket and some groceries. Then we stopped at Wal-mart on the way back, but their computer for printing out registry lists was broken. We also stopped at FOUR Indian casinos. One was smoky, but I won $7.50. One was so packed we couldn't even find a parking space. One was so vacant we weren't even sure it was open. And then of course I lost my $7.50 at the last one.

All in all, it was a good day trip. Got Stan out of the house and out of his funk. Got to see three whales playing in the mouth of a river. Got to watch the sunset over the ocean. Reminded ourselves why we love this area.