It was a beautiful summer day on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Four young girls were wondering what to do today, as their parents were heading down island to visit friends for the night. Elsa, Kamma, Laina and Anja live on a little hobby farm on Vancouver Island just outside the city limits. Seeing they were on summer holidays from school they didn’t have any school homework or other related activities. Once they did their chores around the acreage the rest of the day they were free to do basically what ever they wanted to do. Of course within reason!

It was now 9:00am and their parents were packing up their overnight luggage and loading it into the car. Just before leaving they came back into the house and gave each girl a hug and said “have fun, behave yourself and we will see you tomorrow.” All the girls came to the window and waved Good Bye as their parents slowly drove away.

Then they all headed to the kitchen to make breakfast for themselves. As they were cooking up a variety of morning treats they were discussing what fun activities they might do today. Then Elsa got an idea! “Hey, how about we visit our cousins, Kayley and Hannah up Island today?” Kamma replied, “Great idea, but how would we get there, it is almost a 2 hour drive and none of us are allowed to drive quite yet, and there is no scheduled Bus service either.?” Then Laina said,”I’ve got an idea, how about taking Stan?” Then little Anja asked,” Who is Stan?” Laina then explained, “Stan is dad’s new Self Driving Van he uses for work.” Laina further stated, “Mom and dad took the car and the Van is just outside looking for someone that it could take for a ride somewhere, and well, here we are!” The other 3 girls then all yelled, “YES, Great idea.” Elsa said, “I have rode in the van a few times with dad and basically know how to program it and set a course to where ever we want to go.” Kamma in an excited voice said,”Ok, it is settled then, lets finish our breakfast, clean up the dishes, feed the dog then pack up our things in Stan for a day of fun with our cousins.” Elsa replied, “Ok, lets surprise the cousins by just showing up at their place and not tell them we are coming.” Then all 4 girls high five-ed each other and screamed,”YES!”

Over the next hour the girls completed their chores in the house and outside which included, watering their garden, feeding the chickens, collecting eggs, cleaning the chicken coop, and making sure there was water in their dog’s dish outside. Then they began loading up “Stan” which was waiting patiently outside.

It was now just about noon and finally everything was loaded. They locked up their house and all climbed into the Van. It then became very quiet as everyone looked at Elsa to say something or begin programming Stan for the trip to their cousins place. Elsa was busy nervously looking at the owner’s manual and reading various instructions on programming Self Driving vehicles. She then said, “Well, I have been with dad riding in Stan on a few occasions but have never actually really did any programming, but it can’t be too hard to figure out, especially if I use voice commands.”

Elsa picked up the wireless remote control and turned it on. Suddenly a red light inside the vehicle started flashing and a voice said, “Please fasten your seat belts, you will probably need them, ha ha, just joking but fasten them anyways.” Everyone had a little nervous laugh. Then Elsa pressed another button marked destination. Before she could say anything or enter anything into the computer a voice said, “Relax and enjoy the ride.” Suddenly the Van’s doors all locked and it began to move down the driveway towards the main road. It stopped at the posted Stop Sign then proceeded onto the highway and joined the existing traffic. No one spoke a word inside the Van, they all just looked at each other and outside with a bewildered expression!

About 2 minutes later a voice came on again and said, “Oh ya, where are we going again?” Elsa immediately said.”To our cousins house up island.” Then Stan said, “I may be smart and intelligent but I am not a mind reader, you will have to be more specific with the actual address please.” Elsa then said the address along with the city. Stan replied, “Thanks Elsa, that helps, we should be there in 90 minutes, pending any surprises, ha ha.” The 4 girls now somewhat relieved began to relax a bit and enjoy the scenery out the windows as they traveled along the busy highway.

After about 30 minutes Kamma said, “Elsa, I have to use the bathroom very soon.” Elsa said, “That shouldn’t be a problem, I will just ask Stan to stop at a rest area for you.” Kamma said, “Much appreciated, thanks, sooner the better, if you know what I mean?” Then Elsa said, “Hey Stan, could you please stop at the nearest rest area for Kamma?” Stan then said, “Sure, is she tired and wants to rest?” Elsa said, “No, she needs to use the washrooms.” “No problem then, there are facilities for her in 12 minutes, I will stop there.” said Stan.

Kamma then said, “Thanks Stan.” At exactly 12 minutes after Stan reported a washroom facility, the van slowed and stopped by the much needed structure.

Within seconds of stopping the 4 girls stampeded through the van door and out to lighten their load. After they were all finished they patted Stan on the fender and said “Thanks” as they climbed back inside.

Soon they were back on the road traveling again. Then Stan announced 19 minutes to your destination. The girls all cheered and clapped. Soon they noticed that Stan was slowing down a bit and then he made another announcement. “Well ladies, this is a much bigger city than I expected!”

Suddenly the girls were very quiet except for the occasional oh oh.

But then Stan further stated, “No problem though, I will just turn on my flashing Red and Blue lights and Siren and watch people get out of my way…ha ha, just joking of course, we are now 5 minutes away from your cousins house.” Elsa thought to herself now, not only do we have a self driving van, but also one that is a comedian too!

After about driving for about another 15 minutes Stan made another announcement. “Hey gals, there must be some weird construction or something as my GPS and other navigation systems are overriding my initial coordinates and programming that was set for your cousins house. It just might take a little bit longer to get there, but thanks for your patience?” The girls just looked at each other with puzzled looks? Then about 45 minutes later Anja and Laina said that they were getting hungry as it is well after lunch time now. Elsa called to Stan, “Hey Stan any chance we can stop somewhere for lunch as it might be awhile now before we get to our cousins place?”

Stan said, “Sure, no problem, what do you want to eat, I will check what kind of places are close by, hold on a minute.” Then a few minutes later Stan said, “Ok, we have pizza, Chinese food, hamburgers, chilli, sushi, fish & chips, or a number of variety buffets?” The girls thought for awhile and then Laina & Anja said, “How about Sushi?” Stan said, “You got her, hang on we should be there in about 20 minutes, if I can get my navigation system back working online again, oh Elsa, could you pass me the Owner’s Manuel please?”

After about another 30 minutes of weaving in and out of traffic Stan finally made another announcement. “Sushi Success, oh boy I found a place and we will be there in 3 minutes” said Stan. Right on the 3 minute mark Stan pulled into a little Sushi Restaurant and everyone piled out to eat.

After about 45 minutes of munching and chewing everyone made their way back to Stan. Then Elsa said, “Ok Stan, please continue to our cousins place as it has been now over 4 hours and we still are not there.”

Stan then said,” Sorry about that, I guess we can blame that on the computers, cameras and navigation errors or malfunctions, but hopefully now everything is working again. Estimated time to your destination is now 55 minutes give or take 10 minutes and if I don’t get lost?”

After about riding for 30 minutes Elsa noticed a few things that looked familiar on the side of the road. Her other sisters also commented on the landscape outside as they made their way supposedly up island. All 4 of them were a little tired now after the Big Sushi meal and finally relaxed, closed their eyes and were thinking about how surprised their cousins will be when they suddenly arrive for a visit.

They were all just about dozing off when Stan made the Great Announcement. “Ok, Success, we are here!” said Stan. All the girls immediately opened their eyes and looked outside. Elsa yelled,” What the HECK! we are back home where we started from!, what kind of driving and navigating did you do Stan?” Stan said, “Woops, something is not right, let me check things out, Sorry about that.” After about 5 minutes rebooting the instruments, GPS, navigation aids and emergency back up theft systems Stan realized what had happened.

Stan said,” I know what happened now, your dad programmed an Anti Theft module to override all other features if the van is ever stolen or used without his consent. It becomes active after a certain amount of time after an unauthorized person or persons attempt to drive the van. Once activated it automatically programs all computers and navigation instruments to set a course back to its home base, which I must add that it did very well, Welcome Home.”

All 4 of the girls slowly got out of the van and walked back into their house. Their dog came running up to meet and greet them, but none of them were in the mood for hugs and licks at this time.

It was now 5 o’clock and Elsa said, “Well, I guess we should think about making something for supper.” Laina and Anja went up to their room and laid down on their beds for awhile. Kamma and Elsa just sat in the front room looking at each other and glaring outside at Stan.

Just then the phone rang and Elsa answered it. It was Elsa’s dad. He asked, “How was the ride in Stan?, I hope the sushi was at least good?” Elsa said, “How did you know we went for a ride in Stan and had Sushi?” Elsa’s dad said,”Stan contacted me a few minutes after you left home, as I got an alert on my phone that the van was being operated without my consent. I didn’t activate the anti theft homing module until I knew who all was in the van. I tried to call you to advise you that the van is due for servicing later today and the mechanic was coming to pick it up but part of the anti theft module prevents any incoming or outgoing cell phone calls from the van, so the only way I could ensure it comes back home was to activate the homing module to get the van back home in time for the mechanic to pick it up. Sorry about spoiling your fun visit to the cousins, but maybe after it is serviced you and your sisters could try the visit again.” Elsa then said,“Ok, thanks dad, sorry about the confusion, actually I think the mechanic has just arrived to take the van in for servicing, talk to you later.”

Just then the door bell rang and Kamma answered the door. The man at the door said, “Hello, I was supposed to pick up your dad’s van and take it to my shop for servicing, is it ok to take it now?” Kamma said,” Yes, I will just check to make sure all our stuff is out of it, then you can take it.” The man said, “Ok, Thank you I will bring it back tomorrow, have a good day.”

Then Laina and Anja came downstairs to see who was at the door. Elsa said, “It was the Mechanic, he is taking dad’s van in for servicing.” “Oh by the way Laina, do you have any more great ideas what we could do today?” Laina said,” No, not really, I think we had enough adventure fun for one day.”

After supper the girls cleaned up the dishes and then went and relaxed in the living room. They were all very disappointed they never got to visit with their cousins for the day. It was now 8:30pm and slowly starting to get dark outside. Their dog, “Milly” was making her rounds to each girl to collect a little snack and hug. But even a hug and cuddle from Milly wasn’t enough to cheer the girls up. As the time approached 9:00 o’clock Elsa said,” Well, today has been a very strange day and I think everyone is tired so maybe I will head to bed.” Laina, Kamma and Anja agreed and slowly followed Elsa upstairs to their bed rooms. They turned off all the lights, locked the doors and got ready for bed.

It was now 9:45pm and all was quiet except for the occasional little yawn or snoring sound from the bedrooms.

Then it happened! HONK!, HONK!, HONK!, Flashing Lights outside in the driveway and it woke everyone up. They all woke up and ran to the upstairs window and looked outside. Elsa Screamed, “It is STAN, what the heck is he doing back here, especially now?” No sooner did she say that and the van doors opened and out came their cousins, Kayley and Hannah. “Holy Moly” said Elsa as she ran down the stairs to open the front door. The other 3 girls followed frantically. Elsa flung open the door and immediately hugged Kayley and Hannah and said,”Where the heck did you guys come from?” Kayley explained, “Early this evening my mom got a phone call from your dad asking if it would be ok if Stan came and picked them up and take them for a surprise sleep over visit to their cousins place, mom said sure, we packed some overnight stuff, loaded it in Stan and the rest is history, we are here!” All the girls together now hugged each other and made their way into the living room, turned the lights back on and tried to comprehend this amazing turn of events.

Kayley further said,”Elsa’s dad was planning on having Stan serviced tonight but changed his mind after hearing how disappointed everyone was about not getting to have a cousin visit, so he rescheduled the service appointment, programmed Stan to drive to our house and bring us back to your place for a surprise Visit.”

“Wow” said Elsa, “And a Big Surprise it was!” Just then everyone heard the Honking of Stan’s horn again. Then heard,”Hey, I love Pizza but there is too much for me to eat all by myself, so please come get it before I eat too much!” said Stan over a loud speaker. Hannah then said,”Oh ya, we forgot to mention we stopped halfway down and picked up up a couple of pizzas for our bedtime snack.” Laina, Anja and Kamma ran outside and got the pizzas from Stan and brought them into the house. Just before they closed the front door they heard Stan say,”Would you mind opening the garage door and letting me sleep inside tonight, as I am a wee bit tired from all the driving tonight.” Elsa said,” Sure, no problem, you did have a busy day and night.” Kamma then went and opened the garage door and Stan let himself in and the door closed behind him. Just before Kamma left the garage she said, “Thanks Stan for bringing our cousins safely down for a visit. Is there anything else we can do for you before we let you have a well deserved sleep?” Stan said, “You can plug me in and bring me a virtual slice of pizza.” Kamma patted Stan on the roof and said, “Good Night Stan, have a Big Sleep.”

Kamma then went back into the house and joined the Pizza party with the rest of the girls. They all chatted, pounded down pizza and drank fizzy drinks for the next hour. Then everyone became a little tired and it got real quiet except for some faint music and singing coming from the other end of the house. Laina asked Kamma, “Did you leave the radio or TV on?” Kamma said,”No, I don’t think so.” Then all the girls got up and walked to the end of the house. As they got closer to the garage area the singing and music got louder. Elsa opened the door to the garage and they found the source of the sounds. It was Stan singing, his front fender was moving up and down in time to the music. As soon as he saw all the girls looking at him he immediately stopped and said, “Oh, sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you, but sometimes after I have had a busy day and can’t sleep, I like to sing a bit as it helps me to relax and get to sleep better. I downloaded some music off the internet and saved it on my computer. It is just the music to my favourite songs and then I sing the

actual words to each tune. Sort of like my own private Karaoke party.

Then Kamma said,”Stan, you have a very lovely singing voice.” Stan replied,”Thanks Kamma, I was thinking if I didn’t make it in the Driver-less

Vehicle industry then maybe I could look into the music and entertainment field. Now a days there is becoming a lot of opportunities out there for a guy like me with AI experience.

All the girls patted Stan on the fender and said “Good Night” then headed back into the living room. It was now nearing 11:00pm and all the girls were yawning big time. Then Elsa said, “Well I think it is time we all head for bed, I will sort out the sleeping accommodations when we get upstairs. We have a full day of fun tomorrow so we better all get a good nights sleep. I don’t hear anymore singing in the garage so I think Stan has finally shut her down and went to sleep.”

Everyone slowly headed up to the bed rooms and Elsa locked all the doors and turned the lights off downstairs. Once upstairs she turned on a little nightlight in the hallway so the surprise guests could find their way around once all the lights were turned off. Soon everyone was all washed up and snuggled in their beds.

Then Elsa turned off the last big light and said,

“NOW YOU HAVE MET OUR STAN, THE SELF DRIVING VAN.”