Tomorrow is vacation. We are going camping at Clifty Falls State Park for the week, and visiting the Boschains while we're down there. Most of the week has been spent getting ready. We've already got the A/C installed on the camper, which seems to work really well in tests I've done in the driveway, we've overshopped for groceries (even though we're going to buy most of the fresh stuff after we get down there), gotten haircuts, and we've made all the plans we can, I think. A lot of things are going to be unavailable to us, closed due to the pandemic. Such as, most importantly, the pool. The pool at the campground will be closed, and there is no lake. So we're not exactly sure what we're going to do to cool off, since it's supposed to be awfully hot.....I got the van in to Ab & Tom's again for service, this time for the clunking and creaking and groaning and snapping noises that it has been making for some time now, and seem to be getting worse. It went in on Wednesday, and they determined that the problem was the steering rack and tie rods. They got the parts Thursday, and finished the work at the last minute today. It drives much better now, which is good because we decided to take both vehicles on the road trip (since we'll be driving around quite a bit, it's much better in the van). So another $948.50 to get the van in shape (after the diagnosis, they recommended we do not drive it much longer without getting it fixed!).....While they were fixing the van Friday, I took Alex downtown to have his drivers' road test done at a driving school, instead of waiting for the BMV to schedule him in. We should have done it long ago (although I don't know if we could have). BMV told us that they would be doing make-up road tests the week we'll be gone on vacation (and only that week!), and since he'll miss it we would have to schedule one when they start doing them again. With no indication when. So, plan B for that was to do it at the driving school, much easier to schedule. They also told us to make sure that his permit wasn't expired, and a good thing they told us that, because it was. We had to get him in to BMV to have it renewed. And of course, nobody at BMV knew how to renew a permit. Eventually they decided he needed to re-take the test, which he didn't pass and so we had to go back the next day and try again. Success the second time, and a new permit. So Friday he took and passed the road test, only being dinged on parallel parking, stopping beyond a stop line, and stopping too close behind the car in front. Now we just have to get down to the BMV again to get his license, as soon as possible after we get home.....