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I have four bug bites on my face right now, and that's not counting the ones on my ears or my scalp. As a general statement, I would call it a thin coating of bug bites spread over most of my body, making me basically a giant bug bite with black wavy hair.

Overall, driving all day and sleeping in the trunk at night has been our chosen mode of transportation, and we've begun to eye RVers with a touch of envy. "Our entire car would fit into that luggage compartment," we'd say. Or "that one is bigger than our apartment!"

When we want sleep at night, we begin by shifting all the contents of our trip into the front of the car, squeezing them one by one either onto the dash or below the glove compartment. There isn't space on the front seats since we have to lean seats all the way forward to make room to sleep in the back, which somewhat explains the lack space for matches. Then, since we both need to breathe, we crack each of the windows slightly, and painstakingly rub drops deet across each window seam with a moistened Q-tip in an attempt to prevent bugs from flying in to eat us. This bug repellent, of course, washes off immediately after it is applied since it is pouring rain outside, but it does make the puddle of rainwater that gets into the bed overnight smell nice and chemically. At last, I crawl into bed -- and I say 'crawl' because there isn't room to sit up -- and sleep until a few hours later when I wake up with more bug bites on my face.

Despite some difficulties, I've started affectionately referring to the Subaru as our own recreational vehicle -- at one point, I even accidentally called it 'home.' Now in the Alaska, Home is much easier to drive because the Alaska Highway is traveled often enough to merit painting lines on the road, such as a central divider. On the other hand, Alaska is not a particularly balmy vacation spot --I am wearing all the California winter clothes I own right now, and it's the height of summer. According to our guide book, the first frost in this area occurs on or around August 19... it was right on schedule.