After all of these years, I’ve never decided whether packing or unpacking is the hardest work. While I pack, I make lists of all of the things I think we might need. Then comes the challenge of finding a place to put those items in a small van that already has all of the essentials. If we ever need any of those items, I have to remember where I stored them. When we made our first trip to Alaska in our old van, I actually made a map of the storage places and the things stored there! This van has more open storage, but things do seem to hid when I want them.

When we arrived home, hot and tired, unpacking was the farthest thing on my mind. Walking the dogs, getting fresh water for both dogs and cats, and falling into bed was most important. We’ve been home for four days. 90% of the laundry has been done, suitcases have been unpacked, van refrigerator food has been brought in and beds have been stripped. I still need to clean that refrigerator and sweep out all of the pet fur. The good thing is that I don’t need to do it all at once; the bad thing is that it hangs over my head. Maybe I need to make a list of what still needs to be done? No – I think I’ll get my kayak ready to go out tomorrow instead.