To be fair, I was battling through a cold and flu at the time, but that's still no excuse to drive away from my mom's house with 3 bags that aren't my own.  I actually blame it on a combination of illness, lack of caffeine, no daylight and rain.

We've got a nephew down! My nephew, Zach, didn't make it long into the road trip before sacking out. Photo by me.
We've got a nephew down! My nephew, Zach, didn't make it long into the road trip before sacking out. Photo by me.
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I love the challenge of loading a vehicle for a road trip.  Compared to our days of sedans and lots of stuff to transport, having a minivan almost takes the fun out of packing for a vacation or road trip.  I used to take on the challenge and could piece together a trunk that would hold twice as much as it would if my wife packed it (that actually says as much about her packing skills as it does my own).

Packing a trunk and a back seat is all about sheer volume.  All you have to do is fill the cube with as much stuff as you can.  I'd find nooks and crannies for everything.  I once packed everything we owned into a Ford Focus and a Dodge Durango (including an antique armoire stuffed with clothes and boxes) and drove from Alaska to Texas.  It was a thing of beauty.

Whereas packing the trunk is about volume, packing a minivan is more like a game of Tetris.  I must admit that I've yet to completely perfect the art of packing the back of a minivan.  I lost not one, but two, TWO! bottles of Corona on the drive back from Oklahoma.

I couldn't figure out how, despite numerous gifts we didn't have on the way TO Oklahoma, the back was overflowing to the point of losing a bottle of Corona every time I opened the back of the van.  I only figured it out when my sister started texting and asking if I'd accidentally grabbed her luggage.  Save your jokes about an Okie grabbing his sister's luggage, I'm not in the mood.

Included in the bags I'd taken were work uniforms, mail, coats, shoes, Christmas gifts and more.  For standard shipping it cost $40.  That's a $40 screw-up on my part, but I still blame lack of caffeine and being very ill for my epic fail.  At least I mailed the package, and did it on the first day after Christmas.  I still have birthday cards in my truck for various family members that I never mailed.

 

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