"Our place in Oakland was stuffed with the accumulated detritus that modern life deems necessary, ridiculous luxuries like pillows and laundry baskets and measuring spoons," Unger wrote of his family's California home before their departure for Canada. "All of the arrangements were made. We stopped the mail and canceled the newspapers, emptied the fridge and made peace with the fact that all of our houseplants were going to die. The kids were instructed to ruthlessly choose favorites among their stuffed animals: Brown Doggie was in, but I convinced [his son] Mac that Pink Bear had been plotting against him and didn't deserve to make the voyage."
