Taking off!

At 7:30 a.m., after checking and rechecking provisions, last-minute bathroom breaks, and Katherine closing her skirt in the door as a sort of farewell gesture, we left the house right on time.

At 7: 32 a.m., we reached the entrance to our subdivision, the tire pressure light came on, and we returned to our home, where Chris aired up the problematic tire.

At 7:35 a.m., we experienced Departure 2: This Time for Reals.

The morning part of the trip was uneventful, though we did stop for a restroom break at a gas station that was committed to doing more than the bare minimum: sure, the bathroom was grimy and might not have been dusted since Clinton was president, but they had used electrical tape to hang a tree-shaped air freshener from the ceiling tiles. It's the little things.

At 9:26, we spotted an unsung large fiberglass cow in someone's pasture.