Cooking out by the Stilly!

The Stillaguamish River, just a half a block from my apartment, was the site of the official "Owyhee River Kayaking Trip Reunion Cookout" Woohoo! I got to see seven of the eight kids who went on the trip and our three river guides again...we had a great time hanging out and talking (and eating), and I was just soooo glad to see my three girls again. I mean, we had an amazing week on the river together, and since then, I had only talked with one of them...So I was able to make plans to hang out with the other two this week and next week, which makes me very, very glad....because this follow-up thing is super hard! You get one week with them when they're focused, and then they come home and scatter, and it's a lot harder. I have to be like "So, which day are we hanging out? How about Wednesday? 2pm? Great. I'll pick you up. How about the espresso stand by the highway? Do you want to go there? Great." I feel like I'm selling knives or something, just trying to set up appointments with kids and not taking no for an answer.

So one of the girls and I are going to the espresso stand by the highway today. (Please make a mental note here the Washington countryside is littered with thousands of espresso stands. Every local business sells espresso or has an espresso stand in their parking lot. I think there are approximately 30 espresso stands in Arlington, with only 11,000 people. It's crazy.) We picked this one, because unlike most of the espresso stands (which are basically plywood boxes with a drive-thru window), this espresso stand has an outdoor sitting area, AND, it's shaped like a humongous stainless steel coffee pot! It deserves our business just for being pretty to look at. AND, yesterday, when I got a drink there, a man shouted out to me across the parking lot, "How's your drink?!" So, they're a friendly espresso stand too...