Do I need to write more?

We have been packing up the car a little at a time while we have sunny dry days.  Perhaps a better way to put it is we have been packing and REpacking the van.  I’ve been taking into consideration everything we need to bring, how frequently we will need to access each item, and how to effectively use the space we have and still keep it livable and efficient.

This means the last few days I’ve been hanging out with all the doors of the van wide open in the driveway.  All the boxes of stuff we plan to bring have been sitting out while I rearrange things in different totes or locations in the van or upper clamshell storage.

Last night Mellie and I slept on the Roadloft out in the drive.  She and I have slept together on trips before, but as both of us are multi pillow sleepers and it’s a smaller space than we have shared before, we are trying to ‘practice’ what will work best for us in the space for the next two months.

Tonight Zack set up his airbed across the front seats to sleep out here with us.   As usual, he was the first to go to bed, and I came out after my shower to join him.  Mel was finishing up a TV show so she was still in the house.

It’s still pretty light at 10 pm here, so we have put the heat/light shielding inserts into 6 of the 8 windows.  Only the sliding doors have light coming in at the middle of the van.  As a result, our heads are not near any of the uncovered windows.

I hadn’t locked the doors yet because we knew Mel would be down soon.  I was getting settled toward the back of the van.  Zack was nearly asleep, with his head by the driver’s door.

Suddenly the driver’s door came open.  

“Why are you getting out?” I said.

“What are you doing?!?!” he said.

“BEAR!  IT’S A BEAR! A BEAR OPENED THE DOOR!”

“A bear???”

“It’s a bear!  He’s right there!”

I sat up to look out the window.  There it was, right by the driveway.  I opened the sliding door to yell at it.

Zack started honking the horn.

“GO ON, YOU BEAR!” I gruffly admonished it.

It didn’t seem to care a lot about my opinion.  The honking seemed more persuasive though.

Zack’s mattress leans onto the driver’s door.  He was having trouble getting his door shut.  I realized I didn’t really want the sliding door open either while I’m yelling at a bear in my undergarments.

The bear started across the dry creek bed that goes under our driveway, toward Kyle’s truck and the street. I couldn’t see it anymore because of the blocked windows.

After a little fumbling, we got the doors shut and locked the van.

I called Kyle, who was inside the house, from my cell.

“Hey, uh, can you come out and shoo the bear in the driveway?  He just opened Zack’s door.  Also, you might want to walk Mel out when she comes to bed.”

The bear was out in the trees by the mailbox, trying to figure where to go next.  Kyle went and yelled at him and he crossed the street into the bushes toward the main road.

A few minutes later Mel came out to bed.

Time for sleep!