konfessions of the Koog

When we were in the UK for a month in 2023, Mrs. Koog did all the driving. I will admit, she hit nothing and no one. She got us safely from London to Bath to North Wales to Liverpool and all over Scotland until we turned in our car in Edinburgh. And when we turned in that car, it was pristine. No dings, dents, scratches or bumps. As I have written in the past few entries my trip was magical and healing and all those things trips should be. With one exception, driving. I was nervous when I booked the trip that I would forget to stay to the left and cause an international incident on the M4. Apparently, staying to the left would not be the problem. No, my problem was staying too far to the left. For some reason, I completely lost my depth perception on the left (passenger side). This issue wasn’t a real problem on the motorway as there was a shoulder and every time I’d cross the line I was able to correct immediately. The drive from Heathrow to Conwy, Wales was uneventful until I go...

Here are the photo galleries from the trip. Please click on "Read More" to access clickable links. If there are issues with the links please post a comment and it will come directly to my email. I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I enjoyed capturing them. Eryri: adobe.ly/41nT3xu Aqueduct: adobe.ly/4hGOzrQ London: adobe.ly/3DSCfXy

Saturday, I woke up in Wrexham in the beautiful Butler’s Flat at Cefn Park under a lovely down comforter. Remember, yesterday I hiked more than 10 miles up and down a mountain. As I went to get out of bed, my body was like “oh, hell no!”. My legs were like jello. After doing the requisite morning things (bathroom and making tea), I practiced some of the stretches my trainer taught me and took some Ibuprofen which did the trick to get my legs moving again. After stretching and a cup of Earl Grey, I FaceTimed my family to give them a virtual tour of my cozy little place. As I showed Mrs. Koog the view of the courtyard and she asked the rather innocuous question, “is that a dent in your car?”. I said no it was probably distortion since the windows of the place were leaded. Mrs. Koog’s question was movie-worthy foreshadowing… Knowing that my body would be sore, I planned today to be a relaxing day; get gas, get food, and wander around Wrexham‘s town center. I was excited to have dinne...

After a tough go these past few months, I am off on a short solo trip to find myself again. For some reason, I think I may be lost on a mountain in North Wales. Yes, it is a strange place for someone that hates to fly, has a fear of heights and hasn’t really loved the outdoors for the past say 50 years. I am a very, very, very fearful flyer. This trip was strangely different. Sure, it may be the meds but I had almost no anxiety about the flight. This calmness made me nervous. Poor Mrs. Koog had to listen to my nervous banter about being calm for an entire morning. Is this how normal people travel? I must have asked her this question 100 times in 100 different ways. I may have also asked in Spanish, German and Welsh. Anyway, I got to the airport and was able to use my charm, good looks and credit card to upgrade to first class for a couple hundred bucks. I don’t want to discount my charm and good looks, but it seemed the lady was mostly interested in the credit card. The Virgin At...

Hello Koog Fans! It’s been a minute since I’ve posted.Those that actually know me, understand life has thrown a lot at me these past 18 months or so. I think it’s important to be honest about my hiatus, I have been taking care of my mental health. In the span of 18 months, Mrs. Koog had breast cancer and a double mastectomy, I was diagnosed with psoriatic arthritis, Mrs. Koog endured painful reconstruction, then complications with reconstruction and one final surgery on July 5, then Momma Koog got sick, then Momma Koog got sicker, then Momma Koog moved into our family room, then we had our house turned upside down for hardwood floors upstairs and finally we had a chairlift installed so Momma Koog could have an actual bedroom with an actual bathroom. Oh yeah, I also had a full body blister rash that started in October and was not going away in spite of the dermatologist giving me every frickin cream, gel and lotion known to man. And it itched. And it wasn’t chicken pox or shingles, it...