The planning for our 2026 UK trip began in February in Deep Creek Lake, MD. For Christmas, my gift to the FamilyKoog was a 5 day trip to the mountains complete with skiing, shopping and ice caving. They were only thrilled with the first 2 of those activities, by the way. In true Koog fashion, I was planning the next adventure before ending the one we were on; so Mrs. Koog and I were sitting in the ski lodge at Wisp Resort talking about doing the UK again. She agreed that while our 2023 trip was magical, no one was able to enjoy London because of the exhaustion at the end of the trip and the entire trip was a bit overshadowed by our traumatic return to hear of her breast cancer diagnosis. But, that was 3 years ago and she is back to her healthy and amazing self, Thank God!
Finally finished with their last run, the Twin Koogs found us in the lodge to swindle some cash and returned with their lunch trays packed with 2 large pizzas EACH, copious amounts of fries and the larges bucket of Coke I’ve ever seen. I could have swam in those things! They asked “what up, brah’s?” After rolling our eyes we told them we were talking about our summer vacation in the UK. This is where their personalities differ…
- B-Koog “we are still on this vacation, is it responsible for you to be planning another one? We are going to California and Mexico for spring break. Shouldn’t we financially recover from that first?”
- E-Koog “Yes, this is amazing! The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is happening over the July 4th holiday. Let’s get F1 tickets, yo! I will look it up.”
Clearly E-Koog is a chip off the old the ol’Koog’s block and B is 100% his Mommy. I simultaneously explaining to B the blessing of our vacation budget and that he need not worry about money, E and I were quickly looking up tickets to the Grand Prix and saw they were approximately $1K per person. This really pushed B over the edge and refused to go to the race on principle. You have to respect a man’s principles, right?
Since being with Mrs. Koog for 20+ years, I have learned *some* frugality, practicality and restraint so I opted for only 2 tickets (just E and I are interested) for the F1 race instead of the full $4K. Let’s take a moment and appreciate my frugality, practicality and restraint shall we?
Are you wondering how and why Mrs. K approved this purchase? Well, it was a combination of three things: 1. My unbelieveable good looks, charm and sad, begging eyes. 2. E’s good looks, charm and sad, begging eyes. 3. My ability to select tickets and press the “Order” button on the Silverstone site with the lightening speed of a hungry, hunting cheetah.
I also used a bit of thinly veiled guilt. “Babe, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for E. We CANNOT deny him this opportunity.” She reminded me that “he is ONLY 15 and he has A LOT of time to fund his ‘own once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences.” Well, I had already bought the tickets AND the hospitality AND the “add-ons.” So 2 Koogs were happy and Mrs. K and B just rolled their eyes and shook their heads
In the car on our way home from the ski resort and I told B he should decide on a once-in-a-lifetime experience just for him while we were in the UK. I was shocked that his response was almost faster than my F1 ticket purchasing. “I want to climb Mt. Snowdon and be on the summit for sunrise so you and I can make tea and breakfast at the highest spot in Wales.” Obviously, this was not what I was expecting but I agreed instantly. I also assumed, as did Mrs. Koog, that this would be a much less expensive once-in-a-lifetime experience.
You know what they say about those that assume…
I instantly dove into the two most trusted and reliable sources for information, ChatGPT and YouTube. After no less that 5000 hours of videos on Snowdon, hiking, people dying on Mt. Snowdon, best routes up Snowdon and people eating breakfast on Snowdon in July, I was confident we could handle this 9 to 10 hour round trip hike up the tallest peak in Wales (2nd tallest in UK) without a guide and probably come down alive. Right? I am nothing if not confident in my limited skills.
After I got to the end of YouTube, I hit the ChatGPT hard. That LLM has recommended so many useful things (in my opinion) I am confident in all the gear I purchased (probably upwards of $1K) for B and I to survive this expedition. Things like a Jetboil for that summit tea and breakfast I will make for my boy, a Garmin GPSMAP67i for maps I cannot read and navigation tracking I do not know how to use, Garmin InReach Mini for navigation tracking for B that I also do not know how to use, a Bothy emergency shelter should conditions turn for the worst and resemble Everest; B and I will deploy this giant bright orange bag thing with a cloth chimney and a window to keep us safe, warm and dry until we figure out how to use the Garmin and radio for help or pass away from hypothermia (in July), 2 headlamps and extra batteries to illuminate the trail we are unfamiliar with during the pitch black hours between the start of our unguided hike (1am) and sunrise (4:15am), walking sticks to help keep the Bothy Bag pitched and assist my old knees on the descent, 2 Osprey backpacks for B and I to carry all of the above, a wearable Osprey camera bag, 2 2L water bladders for our Osprey bags, a Grayl water filter for hydration on way down that filters out sheep poo and other unplesabtries from mountain streams and 2 pair of Altra hiking shoes. I know how to use the shoes, though.
As I watched these YouTube videos and queried ChatGPT, I got an email that would change the way I was planning my summer and bring me closer to these two most trusted sources of information. Stay tuned for that, it’s a very pleasant shocker…
Finally finished with their last run, the Twin Koogs found us in the lodge to swindle some cash and returned with their lunch trays packed with 2 large pizzas EACH, copious amounts of fries and the larges bucket of Coke I’ve ever seen. I could have swam in those things! They asked “what up, brah’s?” After rolling our eyes we told them we were talking about our summer vacation in the UK. This is where their personalities differ…
- B-Koog “we are still on this vacation, is it responsible for you to be planning another one? We are going to California and Mexico for spring break. Shouldn’t we financially recover from that first?”
- E-Koog “Yes, this is amazing! The British Grand Prix at Silverstone is happening over the July 4th holiday. Let’s get F1 tickets, yo! I will look it up.”
Clearly E-Koog is a chip off the old the ol’Koog’s block and B is 100% his Mommy. I simultaneously explaining to B the blessing of our vacation budget and that he need not worry about money, E and I were quickly looking up tickets to the Grand Prix and saw they were approximately $1K per person. This really pushed B over the edge and refused to go to the race on principle. You have to respect a man’s principles, right?
Since being with Mrs. Koog for 20+ years, I have learned *some* frugality, practicality and restraint so I opted for only 2 tickets (just E and I are interested) for the F1 race instead of the full $4K. Let’s take a moment and appreciate my frugality, practicality and restraint shall we?
Are you wondering how and why Mrs. K approved this purchase? Well, it was a combination of three things: 1. My unbelieveable good looks, charm and sad, begging eyes. 2. E’s good looks, charm and sad, begging eyes. 3. My ability to select tickets and press the “Order” button on the Silverstone site with the lightening speed of a hungry, hunting cheetah.
I also used a bit of thinly veiled guilt. “Babe, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event for E. We CANNOT deny him this opportunity.” She reminded me that “he is ONLY 15 and he has A LOT of time to fund his ‘own once-in-a-lifetime’ experiences.” Well, I had already bought the tickets AND the hospitality AND the “add-ons.” So 2 Koogs were happy and Mrs. K and B just rolled their eyes and shook their heads
In the car on our way home from the ski resort and I told B he should decide on a once-in-a-lifetime experience just for him while we were in the UK. I was shocked that his response was almost faster than my F1 ticket purchasing. “I want to climb Mt. Snowdon and be on the summit for sunrise so you and I can make tea and breakfast at the highest spot in Wales.” Obviously, this was not what I was expecting but I agreed instantly. I also assumed, as did Mrs. Koog, that this would be a much less expensive once-in-a-lifetime experience.
You know what they say about those that assume…
I instantly dove into the two most trusted and reliable sources for information, ChatGPT and YouTube. After no less that 5000 hours of videos on Snowdon, hiking, people dying on Mt. Snowdon, best routes up Snowdon and people eating breakfast on Snowdon in July, I was confident we could handle this 9 to 10 hour round trip hike up the tallest peak in Wales (2nd tallest in UK) without a guide and probably come down alive. Right? I am nothing if not confident in my limited skills.
After I got to the end of YouTube, I hit the ChatGPT hard. That LLM has recommended so many useful things (in my opinion) I am confident in all the gear I purchased (probably upwards of $1K) for B and I to survive this expedition. Things like a Jetboil for that summit tea and breakfast I will make for my boy, a Garmin GPSMAP67i for maps I cannot read and navigation tracking I do not know how to use, Garmin InReach Mini for navigation tracking for B that I also do not know how to use, a Bothy emergency shelter should conditions turn for the worst and resemble Everest; B and I will deploy this giant bright orange bag thing with a cloth chimney and a window to keep us safe, warm and dry until we figure out how to use the Garmin and radio for help or pass away from hypothermia (in July), 2 headlamps and extra batteries to illuminate the trail we are unfamiliar with during the pitch black hours between the start of our unguided hike (1am) and sunrise (4:15am), walking sticks to help keep the Bothy Bag pitched and assist my old knees on the descent, 2 Osprey backpacks for B and I to carry all of the above, a wearable Osprey camera bag, 2 2L water bladders for our Osprey bags, a Grayl water filter for hydration on way down that filters out sheep poo and other unplesabtries from mountain streams and 2 pair of Altra hiking shoes. I know how to use the shoes, though.
As I watched these YouTube videos and queried ChatGPT, I got an email that would change the way I was planning my summer and bring me closer to these two most trusted sources of information. Stay tuned for that, it’s a very pleasant shocker…
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