The Day We Learned About Going Green

Since our Canadian adventure in June was cut short by a sick baby, Kyle offered to take us to Seattle for a fun-filled weekend.  We left after work and drove to Anacortes so we could catch a ferry in the morning and explore the San Juan Islands. 

As recommended for a Friday, we arrived an hour and a half prior to the ferry’s scheduled departure.  It ended up leaving about 45 minutes late, so we had quite a wait.  Fortunately, our van was equipped for such entertainment needs.  Everyone was happily “plugged-in” so we weren’t too busy thinking about anything else.  Then a funny little man (pictured below in the color-block 80’s style windbreaker), came and tapped on Kyle’s window.  Kyle lowered the window and the man politely informed us that our headlights were still on.  We held in our laughter… the power consumption of our headlights could in no way compare to the energy festival that was going on inside the van.  Besides our two cell phones, we had two DVD players running, Katelyn’s iPod touch, and two laptops, complete with a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot.  The kids hadn’t even gotten out the Nintendo DS or Leapster Explorer yet.  He meant well, but definitely picked the wrong family to try to turn “green.”  I cannot imagine how horrified he must have been when he looked inside the van.  We laughed for a really really long time.   

Maybe we should have told him that even though we weren’t being energy efficient, that our behavior was in the interest of public safety.  Without that much in-van entertainment, things might have gotten ugly.  As you can see in the photo of Emily below, things can get pretty crazy when we come “unplugged.”