August 8th: Bird's Nest

I intended, the night before, to pack for the trip. That way in theory we could just wake up, change clothes, and drive. No need to shower; we were just going to be in the car together all day. Besides, on vacation you can look like shit and it doesn't matter because we'll never see any of these people again in our lives. Most of them look like shit as well.

Then China happened. The opening of the olympics--I wanted to ignore it. I TRIED to ignore it. Yet, it was such a spectacle, I couldn't turn away. It was like a car wreck, a zamboni, a marching band, and Tammy Faye all wrapped into one.

The packing didn't get done. I got as far as doing the laundry, but no further.

August 9th: Change of conveyance

Clark and I discussed it, and we decided that we'd be driving the PTLoser. The Loser gets much better gas mileage, plus the convertible top is great for sightseeing at moderate speeds. I'll also say that I feel more comfortable driving it than I do the UrbanTruckster.

It only took me about an hour to pack on Saturday morning. I'm actually pretty good at packing. Once I packed for spring break with about 10 minutes notice, and it was the best packing job I ever did.

We were starting to fill the "trunk" of the Loser, which is tiny and so I'd packed accordingly. One soft bag each, plus the electronic doodads Clark always brings. All together, it would have filled the back about 2/3 full, even including the kids' pillows and blankets.

Clark was standing in the driveway, looking at the Loser, then at the Truckster. Loser, squint, Truckster. Loser, squint, Truckster.

"What?"

"I'm having a change of heart about the cars. There's so much more room in the Truckster, and the seats are much more comfortable," Clark said.

I sighed inwardly. Sure. Fine. That week I had taken the Loser to have the oil changed and have it washed--the bugs from the Minnesota trip were still stuck to the grill--and then I'd vacuumed it and even wiped the inside down with those neato Armor All wipes. The appropriate chargers and inverters and maps were already neatly stowed; in the Loser, you've got to do it neatly because anything slightly out of place quickly becomes largely in the way. Hell, I even remembered to have the safety inspection done and had the rock chips in the windshield fixed.

We always seem to come back from Minnesota with rock chips in the windshield. Hmmm.

The oil change in the Truckster was months overdue, but about 1,000 miles under the 3,000 mile recommendation. We don't drive it much, particularly in the summer. When we sell it, it will be the ultimate "low miles/oil changes done religiously" used car. It also needed to be washed and vacuumed and Armor Alled, but at least the inspection was up to date.

"If you want to take the Truckster instead of the Loser, I'm fine with that."

So we switched. We vacuumed, but didn't dust, wash, or get an oil change. It only took us about half an hour and most of that was Clark vacuuming.

Finally at 9:30, we were on the road.

Cue song.