And now, for something completely different: thoughts from John and I on space travel.

When we leave for our trip, we expect to be gone for about three years.

Our rocket is made of glass, so we can see everything outside.

In the top, pointiest part of the rocket is a bed for Michael (our cat). Since he will be the first to see everything, we will train him to ring a bell in case of danger. We will have to be careful, though. He’ll probably just try to ring the bell to get treats.

Possibly he will have a fish living up there to keep him company. It will be easy to build in a fishbowl, since the rocket is already made of glass.

Underneath Michael, and connected to him by a tunnel or a ladder, is the kitchen. We have a machine in there with a button that you push to get anything you want to eat, including birthday cakes. This machine has really saved us a lot of space, since previously we had to pack many versions of our favorite foods. There’s a kitchen table so we can eat, even though we’re not cooking. Michael will often come to hang out in this area.

Underneath the kitchen: bedrooms. Only John’s room has a basketball hoop. There will need to be special basketballs because of gravity. We’ll take all of our books, including books that John will like to read when he’s nine (since our trip will last that long). We’ll take some playing cards, but puzzles would be difficult to do in space. Daddy’s place may or may not be on this level. He snores.

Bottom floor: games. And some room to run around. It will be warm and cozy down there, since it is very close to the fiery rockets that blast off.

There’s some kind of bathroom in the rocket, but it is rarely discussed, except to note that this part of the rocket should not be made of glass. Because of privacy from aliens.

We have big plans for the trip. We’ll stop off at the moon for a while. We’ll visit all the planets, possibly living there for a few weeks at a time. Maybe even a few months if we find nice places.

When we encounter friendly creatures, we may invite them on board, or possibly they will fly along with us on our visits.

When we encounter unfriendly creatures, we’ll throw very small bombs at them. On impact, the bombs will turn into poisonous berries, which the creatures will eat. And that will be the end of them.

When we get out to Pluto, we won’t mention that people don’t think it’s a planet anymore. No need to hurt anyone’s feelings. Plus, we think it should still be a planet.

The rocket is in the backyard. It will leave at midnight.