Glamping time

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About 7 years ago my wife said she wanted to buy a camper trailer. I looked at the cost of the size of trailer she wanted, plus buying a new truck that could tow it, and I came up with an alternative. I said, ‘Here’s the deal: Any time you want to go camping, we can rent a trailer. I won’t bug you about the price, you can get the camper you want, and we can go as many times as you want’. 

As it turns out, we’ve gone once a year, missing a year, and while the cost of a trailer and a campsite runs about the same as an Air BNB, we get the full glamping (upscale camping) experience of owning a trailer, without the cost of buying and caring for one. 

What’s even better is that we’ve rented the same trailer from the same family for 4 trips now, and we know exactly what we are getting. I really enjoy our camper experience, and I am thrilled that I don’t have to drive towing it, find (and pay for) a place to park it, and do all the upkeep required… And although we might go more often if we owned one, I think we’ve saved quite a bit of money with this approach, and it encourages us to see more of the world on our other vacations. On second thought, when I think of the cost of the other vacations, maybe it isn’t as great a cost savings as I thought, but I still like the decision we made. 

The Wisdom Gap

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It’s easy to espouse and share wise words. It’s much harder to empathetically and meaningfully live by those words.

The gap between saying and sharing insightful thoughts and actuality representing those thoughts with meaningful action is what really matters.

Empty words or words demonstrated? Vapid ideas or insightful endeavours? Wisdom in platitudes or wisdom fully expressed in a measurable way?

How big is the gap?

It’s easy to say the right thing, it’s only when we do what’s right that we truly show how wise we are.

Holiday training

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In less than a month I’ll be ‘Everesting the Crunch’, (follow @EverestTheCrunch on Instagram). We travelled to Kelowna yesterday, and it was a no workout day, so in keeping with my commitment to ‘never miss two days in a row’, I had to get a workout in. I decided a brisk walk up a nearby hill (x4) with pushups at the top and bottom would suffice.

Unfortunately once my heart rate was up, I could taste the smoke from nearby fires, but at least it wasn’t as bad as yesterday, when Kelowna had the worst air quality in the world. And admittedly, I was still feeling the affects of some afternoon drinks at the campsite… but off I went anyway.

Well it turned out to be a full-on 46 minute workout with my heart rate peaking above 150 at the top of the hill all 4 times, while never going faster than a brisk walk. What matters is not missing 2 days in a row, and going up hill to keep the training going for Everesting the Crunch.

~

Dave Sands and I will be going up the Coquitlam Crunch 37 times in less than 48 hours, August 21st & 22nd. That’s 9km vertical, the distance walked (mostly up hill) will be 2 marathons, and it will take over 19 hours of walking time.

If you are local, you can join us for a crunch or two and/or donate to support local mental health initiatives. You can donate here.

So Smokey

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I remember when forest fires were not a factor that disrupted summer holiday plans. However for a few years now smoke has wreaked havoc on our summer vacations. The worst for my wife and I was in Nelson, BC back in 2021, when it seemed the whole province was on fire. I actually tried to do a morning run and learned later that on that morning Nelson had one of the worst air quality indexes in the world, due to nearby forest fires. My breathing felt like I was jogging inside a plastic bag, and I could taste the smoke. I struggled.

Today we drove to Kelowna. We charged our car in Merritt where the air quality was awful. You could see the smoke in the air between you and anything 8-10 feet away or more. And while there were a couple clear patches beyond Merritt, as we entered Kelowna the smoke returned.

So our holiday now starts, and will probably end, in smoke. Exercise might be curtailed, and so too might beach time. We’ll make the most of our time here… but I’m not sure we’ll do this trip again next year if we have to book it months in advance and won’t know the smoke conditions.

We are fortunate that the smoke seldom heads to the lower mainland, where we live. I have a lot of empathy for people who deal with this all summer long, and also face the threat of fires affecting their lives more personally. It’s one thing to be upset about smoke filled air on your holidays and a whole other thing when it affects your everyday life.

We went for the EV

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Just yesterday we went looking for a car and we were told  that there was about a 6-month wait for the car we wanted. It was closer to 3 months (October) before the next shipment was going to arrive, but a wait nonetheless… Until my wife contacted one of the managers of the dealership, who had sold her a car at another dealership. He offered up the floor model, saying they could use the demo car as their floor model until October.

So, about 24 hours after walking into the dealership last night we walked out with our brand new Electric Vehicle. We chose the Subaru Trailseeker. The mileage per full charge is 444km, and it has all the features we were looking for in an EV.

We still have to buy a charger for our home, but we were smart enough to set up the wiring for it when we did our last renovation. So, it won’t cost more than basic installation once we choose our brand. I’m interested to see how this will affect our electricity bill, but I’m sure it will cost a lot less than the gas for my gas van we just got rid of.

It has been a good 20 years or more since we bought a new car as opposed to a used one, and so it feels like a real treat. We figured the advancements recently have been too great to choose a used EV. I feel good about moving to a fully electric car, and I’m also specifically a fan of the car we just bought.

Kaput car

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Recently, my car died one hour south of the border. We had to have it towed to a shop while my family was picked up by my sister-in-law, who drove us home. This was a very kind act, which involved her driving for over two hours to help us out.

Then I had to get back to my car the following weekend… and pay a hefty repair bill. My car is old and I was considering getting rid of it this year, but decided to wait until next year. My car has a different agenda.

Recently the power steering has been acting up and so we took it to our usual mechanic to have it checked out. The news wasn’t great. The repairs needed were going to be as much as I just spent a few months ago again. The only good news is that our mechanic didn’t charge us for the inspection. They also told me it was too much to spend on a 19 year old car, and I agreed. They also said it would be fine to drive around town but didn’t recommend long highway drives like the one we have coming up in a few days.

I have to say that my current car has served our family well. It’s a 2007 that we purchased, with very low mileage, in 2011. 15 years of good service from a 19 year old car is definitely a purchase we got a lot of value from.

So, it’s time to buy a new car. Except, the one we want has about a 6-month wait for arrival. Will my car hold out that long? I really don’t know, but it’s only going to be used for small in-city trips from now on, and hopefully it won’t go kaput before we get a replacement. 🤞

My first phone

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It’s hard to believe that I’ve never owned my own phone. I’ve been an administrator since the mid 2000’s, and the job came with a phone. Before that my wife and I shared a phone… Why would we have needed our own phones?

With the end of the month retirement deadline looming, and a holiday to the interior on our agenda, it was time for me to head to the store and buy a phone in my own name. It’s seems rather odd to be saying that for the first time in 2026. Just think of all the changes that have occurred since I shared a flip phone with my wife.

How different are our lives? How much more focused on our phones are we? How much more do we rely on them for information, banking, entertainment, direction, and of course, communication?

I couldn’t imagine sharing a phone today… I’m having a hard time remembering how I did it 20 years ago!?!

Teamwork exemplified

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I’m not a huge soccer fan, but I have to say that it was a pleasure to watch Spain’s offence in the final today. It was one of the beast examples of teamwork I’ve seen on any sports field. The team moved together, the players understood their roles, and yet they were fluid, not robotic.

They played an elite team game. They demonstrated their skills, and their ability to work together. They understood the assignment and everyone played their part.

That game wasn’t won just today. It was won through the building of a team culture, countless hours of skills training, and a strategy that relied on everyone being part of what they built. The level of domination they demonstrated on the pitch, when it comes to control of the play, probably sits so far above the statistical norm that I’d question if a final will ever be so one-sided again.

It truly was a pleasure to watch them.

_____

Update: Check out these stats!

Ultimate game

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My youngest daughter is dating an Ultimate (frisbee) athlete who plays for the Seattle Cascades Ultimate team. He’s a defensive specialist currently leading the league in blocks, heading into his final game of the year… which is fantastic for his rookie year as a professional.

Today we drove down to Seattle to see the game. Ultimate is a great game to watch, it’s high scoring and fast paced. The athleticism shown by these top players really makes the game a joy to watch. 

((Video: Great defence!))