In Savanna,IL at the waterfront park where Mom made me sit on this dog statue for this picture.

Mom announces that we are going to buy a new Van. She and Dad talk a lot about how disappointed they had been when they canceled the trip to Alaska after they had to replace the almost new front tires on our old van. A lot of the time we spent in Seattle was in repair shops. Mom said the van was harder to drive after the work then it was before they even started. When we had gotten home, they took the van to have more work done on it. Mom said she could never trust it again.

Mom advertised the old van on the Internet. She often told me about the people who were interested. One day she headed off in the little car to go to the airport in Dallas. She said a woman was flying in to buy the van with a one-way ticket. She told me that on the way back they even stopped at a bank for the woman to get cash to buy a van she had not yet seen. Once they were home, they took the van for a drive around town. The woman gave Mom cash, and Mom gave her paper and keys. Both of them seemed happy. The woman camped in the driveway overnight, and then had lots of questions over coffee the next morning before she drove away. Months later, Mom told me the woman called to tell her how much she loved her van. Mom said she didn’t tell the woman how much she hated that van.

Mom and Dad bought a Dodge Promaster van. She liked that it was so much newer than the old van. Mom said it was an empty shell. She got to work on putting in insulation and then building the bunks and cabinets the way she wanted them. She built a bunk on each side like our old van had that gave room for Fred to lay on the floor. She said she wanted to have a very simple layout. She spent a lot of time working on it. I was unhappy that one of those neighbor cats got to help her, and I didn’t.

Sophia doesn’t understand why we needed a van. Mom spent the last of the spring days, all summer, and early fall getting the van ready for our first trip. I liked discovering all of the places I could sleep besides under pillows. Mom had left open cubbies for their suitcases and other things that were perfect for me. Sophia and I got to spend a full hour in the van on our new leads before they put Fred in before we drive away. Sophia started in asking questions the minute we drove out of the driveway. I told her to shut up before I curled up to go to sleep. I swear she asked questions for a good ten minutes before mom told her we were off to Washington state to see family. I’m not sure she understood but she finally shut up.

The trip, unlike our previous one, was really uneventful. It turns out Sophia likes camping even more than I do. She loved it when our site had dirt or gravel. She would roll in the dirt until all of the white places on her body turn brown. At night she likes to lay on the dashboard. All of that dirt would cover everything. She claimed she was our watchdog. I know I could have done a better job as a watchdog because she isn’t even a dog-cat like I am. I chose to snuggle with Mom all night long. In the morning, Sophia likes to press her nose against Mom’s as she asks for our breakfast early in the morning. I thought it was rather rude, but Mom doesn’t seem to mind.

We got to see both of our human brothers as well as those little girls. The younger of the girls is disappointed that Mom called my sister Sophia rather than Harlequin. She liked that they shared the name. Silly girls.

When we have travel days, we have a routine. Sophie and I wake Mom up. Sophia says we want breakfast, but it is really so we can go outside for a little bit. She really likes that dirt. Mom puts us on our outside leads. She puts Fred on his lead. Then she unlocks the door to let’s us out. Mom and Fred go for a short walk. When they come back she always has a small blue bag in her hand. It smells bad.

Mom does all of this before she makes her coffee. Guess this is her way of showing us how much she loves us. Her cup of coffee seems to be important to her. I’m not sure what coffee tastes like, but she clearly likes it. I like to take drinks from her water glass when she isn’t looking. I may need to try that with her coffee when it isn’t hot. I do want her to know how much I love her.