The First Day

2025-08-30
PA

The trip was supposed to start today. Spoiler alert: It didn't. I simply didn't get done in time. Also my prescription wasn't ready until 2:30 PM so that was the earliest I could leave, which is hardly worth it. Today I ran around trying to do everything on all my old lists (pro tip: keep lists from all the last trips to seed this one!) as well as pack and load the car with Val's patient help.

Another innovation occurred to me on my last trip. If you look back to my first trip, you'll see that the sleeping platform I built is notched to go over the folded back seats. A simple design. However, it seems like it would be better to just remove the rear seats. They take up space that could be used for other junk, um, I mean valuable supplies. Surprisingly, there doesn't seem to be much talk about this even on road trip forums.

Also a surprise is that there isn't a good step-by-step video on how to remove the seats for a Subaru Outback, the quintessential road trip car. I found a video for a Forester which used the old bracket (mine is the new one) and didn't have the seatback protector or the cables for the rear release or the seat warmer and apparently my rear seats actually recline a bit? Hmm, I guess the only thing it had that matched mine was hinge pins and foam cushions. Well, it was enough. With some help from Val I was able to remove the pieces. Of course, as is always the case with cars, the proof is in getting all the pieces back together and making it work again. But that's a problem for another time. Right now I'm luxuriating in all this extra space, with room for 6 gallons of water as I head into the desert!