Well, most of the Trail family is going on vacation, anyway. Good ol’ Dad is once again a mere bit player, here to see off the stars of the family and sit in continued loneliness. Doc. Davis will stay in what appears to be a much more shrunken house than they’ve had in the past. And pancakes continue to be the new running gag.  Cherry shouldn’t worry about Doc “holding down the fort”, since she and Mark are away from the house much of the time, anyway.

On the aesthetic side, Rivera’s nicely organized scene in panel 1 reinforces the running dialog. Neither Mark nor Rusty offers any conversation as they walk away from the primary focus of today’s strip, Dad and Cherry. So, I wonder if Rusty will bring along that crazy doll somebody shipped him from Mexico? It might come in handy against that specter guy. Okay, cue Willie’s song….