konfessions of the Koog

It was big. It was long. It was hard. (Get your minds out of the gutter).  Shortly before Christmas, Mrs. Koog got the 1/31 date for the autologous reconstruction surgery. We were warned to get everything done that needed 2 people because as of 1/31 she was out of commission. Strangely, I took this as a challenge. Here's what we (I) decided we needed to accomplish between 1/1 and 1/30: 1. Clean out garage 2. Order huge new television, 5 speaker sound system with only a notional plan on how to hang it in our family room 3. Due to #2, completely rearrange the family room due to both the new TV, speakers and the GINORMUS lift chair we got to assist the Mrs. after surgery 4. Move B-Koog from his current bedroom, where he and E-Koog share a bathroom, to a new bedroom so he has his own bathroom to prevent more violence due to gross bathroom habits (another blog completely) 5. Buy B-Koog new bed since new room will not fit current bed 6. Paint B-Koog's new room and bathroom...

After taking 3 travel sickness pills last night and sleeping for about 10 hours, I woke up right as rain! We had to meet our tour to Caernarfon Castle at 8:15, so we were all up and ready by 7. Soon after I used the app to get a table for breakfast, I was notified our table was ready and we headed down and ordered. The waiter misunderstood my order and brought me a single banana. Oh well. We finished our breakfast and headed to the meeting place for our excursion. I have to give Carnival props for their level of organization. We were checked into the holding area, the large theater, and given a number for our bus/tour. Then they called the numbers and we all walked to our buses and boarded. Orderly and organized, just as I like it! We were the first ones to our bus and were able to get the front seat as B and I were still on the razor's edge of motion sickness. The entire bus was delayed for 2 stragglers. As they got onto the bus, the elderly woman made a snide comment about me...

Everyone was up early this morning to pack our clothes, car and memories from our amazing visit to North Wales and head north to Liverpool. Mrs. Koog and B-Koog again made breakfast for us to use the remainder of our eggs and bacon rashers. We finished breakfast, finished packing and loaded the car for a quick stop in Conwy. I needed Welsh whiskey (don't judge me) and wanted to get freshly baked Welsh Cakes for the road. There was agreement from the boys to stop back inside the castle walls because they needed one more pass through...wait for it...The Knight Shop. I prepared them and Mrs. Koog (not that I needed to tell her how to say no) that under no circumstances was a purchase of a Katana, suit of armour or marble statue of a wolf approved. I headed down the street to the Crafts Cymru store to grab Pendaryn Whiskey samplers. The shopkeeper was such a nice lady. We talked for several minutes and she said she grew up in a small house inside the castle walls and has never left...

Today we leave North Wales. They say you should never meet your heroes because they will always disappoint. I was anxious that this place I've always wanted to visit and built up in my head would somehow let me down. It did not. In fact, it was quite the opposite, I'm more enammored and in love than before. For those friends that had a glimpse of our itinerary, there was concern it was too aggressive. You were correct, it was. But as I sit here this morning reflecting on our time spent, I find myself focused on each experience we enjoyed without a thought of the items on the list we couldn't see. I think of all the people we met and all the beauty we've been so blessed to see and experience. It's only added to the love I have for Wales and the Welsh people. As we were finishing our hike from Aber Falls yesterday, B-Koog captured my feelings perfectly. "Everyone here in Wales is so happy. I know why they are happy, look around here and see all the beauty they li...

This morning we slept in a bit. I didn't get up until 7. I'm not usually a morning person, but I haven't wanted to waste a moment of time here in North Wales. Even having morning tea and hearing the sea gulls seemed like an event to be witnessed. Today we got a bit of a late start as our tickets to Halen Mon were not until 11am. It's about a 40 minute drive along the coast and across the Britannia Bridge on the Isle of Anglesey (Ynys Mon in Welsh). Halen Mon is a sea salt company that takes water from the Menai Strait and through science-y processes makes fantastic sea salt. After a beautiful drive along the coast of the Irish Sea, through a mountain tunnel and, of course, Wales' single track yet 2 way streets, we arrived at Halen Mon. https://www.halenmon.com I had heard about Halen Mon from a podcast called "Adventures in North Wales" with Megan Llyn. She had done 2 of the things on our itinarary today. Check out the Podcast, I really enjoyed it. I w...

We started the day very close to our house, Conwy Castle. Morning: We decided (it was too late last night to drive to Tesco) the night before to have breakfast in town. While we are close to the Castle, we decided to drive to the Castle car park so we'd save time on the back side of the day to head to Llandudno and the Great Orme. So, I've lost 50lbs (50 US lbs, lol) since November. I'm thrilled about this but my shunning of most carbs makes it hard on the Koog family when it comes to finding a spot to eat. I'm sure this goes without saying to most, but Conwy is not at all like NYC. There was no diner to pop into with a poster-sized, 30 page menu. Our breakfast dilemma would not have been an issue if I were still eating everything. There were at least 5 local bakerys that had the most delicious looking and smelling pastries. Before anyone assumes I pulled the kids and the Mrs. out, I didn't. I was happy for them to eat at any or all of the bake shops. They did...

A quick note: The water pressure in North Wales is amazing. I mean, I need a Welsh plummber to come to Maryland and perform their magic in our home. Accomodations in Conwy: We checked into our accomodations in Conwy the afternoon of Day 2. What a nice place! Besides it being on the narrowest street with bi-directional traffic and cars parked on the left side of the road, it's really awesome. You enter into the family room with a fireplace and comfy couch and chairs. The eat-in kitchen is pretty spacious and has everything a family of 4 needs to feed itself. And it has an electrtic kettle for me and B-Koog to make our morning tea. Going up the very narrow, winding and steep staircase is the master bedroom. Perfectly appointed for me and Mrs. Koog and the bathroom. Again with superior water pressure and radiant heat floors. The only downside, it is the only bathroom. Going up the most narrow staircase you find the loft with 2 twin beds for the boy koogs. Morning at the Conwy ho...

While the saga to get to the apartment we rented in Bath was drama filled, I can honestly say it was worth the struggle. Perfect location, perfect size, excellent water pressure and radiant heat in the bathroom floor. We slept with the windows open as it was a perfect 60 degrees outside. The amount of sea gulls in Bath is almost equal to the amount of sheep in Wales. A lot. They made their laughing noise all night long and surprisingly, I didn't feel like hunting them! It was cute and nearly endearing but I had not forgiven nor forgotten that one of their brethren made multiple attempts to steam my Cornish Meat Pie. After my appropriately pressured shower, I got dressed and packed up as much as I could with out waking Mrs Koog and the kids Koog. I blogged and checked work email (don't judge me) and sat in our apartment enjoying the sounds of 3 snoring Koogs, laughing Seagulls and the dragging of barricades across the street we were staying on to re-close it for the day. Appa...