Dawn of Summer 2026

 Summer is in full swing.

Summer 2026 is off to a blistering start. The wife and kids are down in Orlando at a camp, and I will tag in next week as I start my camp. Praying that all goes well, now and then. Camp Ithiel is a very near and dear place for my family, and I myself have ties to it since I was a toddler. I've camped, RV'd, counseled, "deaned", and been married there. It truly is a special place.

We will have a small span between that camp and our next adventure, a good long trip to north west North Carolina. We missed out on a good family trip last year, so we made sure to head up this time and make some memories. 

After that, each of the boys has their own additional camp they will be attending. One will head to Tampa with our church, the other will head back to the North Carolina mountains with the Orlando camp.

I'm sure there will be little adventures here and there, and I hope to hit the beach at least a few times between travels. I do not think we went once last year.

I really need to do some heavy yard work around the house, but just do not have the desire to. I am afraid I have become, "that yard". Oh well... I'll get to it at some point. Dirt wont mow itself.

Well, that's just a brief overview of the summer, and I hope to fill you all in as we go.
Fingers crossed!

Changing of the Guard.

 The Passat is gone... Enter the Accord

Yesterday we said goodbye to our Volkswagen Passat, the noble steed that carried the family for 11 years. We reached the point (136,000 miles) where the money spent in maintaining the old girl was getting too much/would be better off going towards a down payment for a new vehicle.

We were blessed with my Grandpa's 2003 Toyota Tundra (future posts on that) a few months ago, so I started driving that while the Tacoma went to my wife. 

After we saved up a good chunk of change, the search began, and we landed on a 2026 Honda Accord Hybrid EX-L. Price was... ok... (it is not a good time to buy a car... well... is it ever?)

We initially looked at a Toyota Camry SE or XLE, but deeper research between the two pushed us towards the Accord. I can say we are super happy with our purchase. The car suits us perfectly. I'll give a more thorough review post later, but off the bat the interior room is huuuuuuge. Like minivan big. 

So while we fondly remember the "Battle Sedan" and a manual transmission, we look forward to the future with this new car.