mile marker 207.

Last night, for my love of youth, I spent six hours at a Rest Area on I-5 with a teenager and my friend, Erin. We were manning the Arlington Free Methodist Youth's Coffee Stand.

Apparently, in the great state of Washington, rest areas often host fundraising coffee stands... at first I found it a bit odd that anyone would encourage spending more than ten minutes at a rest area, but just because Washington loves its coffee, I suppose the tradition is fitting.

It actually turned out to be a lot of fun. We were crammed in a cozy cubby behind a very nice brick wall and deadbolted door under the glow of heat lamps, while we pawned coffee and home-baked macaroons to Washington's travellers. We kept track of the number of shady men that we saw, which in six hours, was actually only two.

And--the youth group made some money for the August trip to a Leadership Conference in Colorado, so all is good and well in the world.

I am spending the next three days at Mt. Baker, which was certainly named after me. I will be with all the YD Staff for a 3-Day Conference, and I am ECSTATIC to go.

Also--keep in mind, that as of today, there are only six shopping days left until my 24th birthday. ;-)