July 2026 Wrap-Up

I barely worked in July which made it a really great month. We ended up taking two weeklong vacations, one back to visit family and friends in Syracuse and the other to visit family in North Carolina. When I was at work, I was grinding through provider validation, among regular work duties, ahead of my annual conference in Rockville later this month. 

Some of the highlights of our Syracuse trip were visiting Little Ray's Nature Center, getting to play disc golf with my friends, and seeing Minions & Monsters in theaters. In between our trips, Christine, Grace, and I went and saw The Odyssey. This year's North Carolina trip started with some car trouble right when we arrived but despite the cost, it didn't really affect the trip. We got a lot of sun on the beach and at the pools, did our annual ice cream competition each night, and just had a great time relaxing.

Blah Blog Log

I was barely home in July so there was just the one post.

• June 2026 Wrap-Up - a lot of family experiences and work events, some really great food, and plenty of gaming.

Bored Board Games

I predicted that there would be a drop off in plays due to being away from home for a lot of the month, but I also started playing the mobile games Angry Birds 2 and Golf Clash. So between those and reading more there's been less time for games. Either way, there was still a pretty decent amount of gaming done. I logged 114 plays across 24 games, with 5 of them being new to me. 

• The 100 Games 100 Plays List gained one new member with 7 Wonders Duel breaking the 100 plays mark and being the third game from that series that has made the list. This brings me up to 33 with a few lingering in the 80s that could join soon.
• Unfortunately there weren't any sales or games that left the collection, but I'm going to try and get up to Days of Knights to get store credit by the end of the month.
• Three games were added to the collection. Two games came in from Kickstarter: Cascadia: Alpine Lakes - the more complex successor to one of my favorite games Cascadia. Also, Forage - a roll and write game from the designers and developers of the Cascadia series and many other games in my collection. Then the score of the year was found by Christine at Goodwill, Klask 4 for only $7.25 . . . it retails for $109.99 brand new.

The Game Makers was the standout game that was new to me in July that I can't stop thinking about. Another person from my game group brought this and I knew little very about it before they taught what is probably the most meta game about board gaming that I've ever played. From BGG: "players are board game manufacturers racing to build the greatest collection of classic modern board games."

The game is an absolute table hog and beautifully produced. From the giant square box, huge central rondel board, two player boards per player, hundred of cards featuring all of the best games, and so many bits, the game has such a presence while on the table. If that wasn't enough, the gameplay makes your brain need to be on point and be able to plan many turns in advance as you try to collect the workers, resources, dice, and cards you'll need to build the best display case.

There's just so much going on with this game and so many ways to score that you always have about a half dozen decisions to make every single turn. And since everyone is taking their turns simultaneously, it's quite chaotic. You can't really focus on what anyone else is doing and because there isn't any true player interaction, this is kind of multi player solo with no down time. There's also a lot of combo action which just adds to the excitement. I can't wait to play this again. 

Enjoyable Eats

As mentioned in the foreword, we did our annual ice cream competition in North Carolina where we visit a different ice cream place each day and everyone scores across three categories. For the first time, the adults and the kids agreed on the winner. The two time champion, based on the kids' votes, Seaside Mermaid finally fell in a close scoring to the new winner Celtic Creamery.

A new location in Southport for this North Carolina based chain right across the street from a restaurant we really like made it a perfect candidate for the competition. They had a great selection of unique flavors, like the one I chose and thought was fantastic, "From the Sea and Bee" which is sea salt, caramel, and honey. The base was really creamy and the combination of sweet and salty was perfect. I look forward to next year when we get to return and see if it can retain the crown against another group of challengers.

I'm Watching 👀

Summer time usually means at least a few trips to the movies, a pastime that Christine enjoyed sometimes as often as weekly during the early years of our relationship. Now that the kids are older, we've started going back more often. As mentioned earlier, we saw two movies, Minions & Monsters and The Odyssey. 

We all love the Despicable Me/Minions universe and have seen all of the movies in theaters. This one was nearly as good as the original movies from each series. There was a return to the history of the Minions and the various despicable masters that the served . . . and often maimed and/or killed accidentally. I love world building and background, so while the action and jokes were enjoyable I appreciated "learning" about their history even more. I expect there are at least a handful of Minion related films still to come and we'll be there to watch them.

Having an English teacher and general lover of literature for a wife (whose favorite director also happens to be Christopher Nolan), there was no way we weren't going to see The Odyssey in theaters. Grace has also read and learned some of the stories so the three of us left the boys, who weren't interested in this nearly 3 hour epic, at home with my dad and watched it together. Straight out of the gate, I don't really understand all of the outrage over the "woke" casting for a story that doesn't depict real people. The casting didn't take away from the stories in any way. I thoroughly enjoyed the journey that the film takes you through and understand why it has been so successful. That being said, The Odyssey wasn't my favorite Christopher Nolan movie. I think some of his other work, while sometimes not even as polished or content heavy, just hooked me better. The Dark Knight, The Prestige, and Inception all come to mind. However, it was definitely still worth seeing in theaters. 

Reading Ramble

I finished Severance while on vacation in North Carolina but really didn't want the book to end. I would love to see it turned into a series that follows the protagonist through her journey. However, the ending was really well done and I liked the time jumps back and forth from present day to the past prior to her joining the group she's traveling with. 

Next on the reading list is Pillar to the Sky from William R. Forstchen. His most popular novel, One Second After, is an exciting read and the first book in a series that I definitely have plans on reading soon, so expect to see the rest of those in this space in the future. I've had Pillar To The Sky since before we moved into our current house and it's about time I cracked it open. I'm only a couple of chapters of this story about "skyrocketing oil prices, dwindling energy supplies, and a devastating drought which has led to wars over water threaten the planet. Four people strive to prevent global chaos...the journey to the stars will not be easy—a tumultuous struggle filled with violence and heroism, love and death, spellbinding beauty and heartbreaking betrayal. The stakes could not be higher. Humanity's salvation will hang in the balance." -from Goodreads.

Sweet Chain Music

I had my best month of disc golf thanks to getting to play two new courses while on our two vacations. First,  I got to play the 9 hole Heritage Park course twice through with a few of my friends after our yearly 4th of July get together. I really liked being able to play with people who have more experience so I can watch and learn as I try to improve. The course is right down the street from family in North Syracuse so I wanted to bring the kids to play but it rained for the majority of our trip. The nice thing is that we're normally up three times a year so we'll have plenty of opportunities during future trips.

The other course was at Bill Smith Park in Southport, NC (pictured above). The boys weren't up for it for some reason but Grace was more than happy to join me. It's a short 9 hole course that we blew through in less than an hour. I played less than optimal but I did have a few pars and a couple of really good looks for birdies that I should have converted. Grace hit a great putt for par on the second hole which made her whole round. There were a lot of trees on each hole which we both hit often. We'll definitely go back next year and hopefully check out another course that's in the area.

Whatcha Snackin?

On our way back from Baltimore in June, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for breakfast and I picked up a bag of their limited edition Campfire Potato Chips because of an advertisement I had seen online but then again at the table. They're an extra-crunchy kettle-cooked chips coated in the restaurant's signature smoky, peppery campfire meal seasoning.

If you're a fan of pepper, these are definitely for you. There is a visible blend of smoky paprika, black pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and red bell pepper powder all over them, with the black pepper really standing out. I don't think they'd rank in my top 10 favorite chips and are certainly not My Favorite Potato Chips, but they would be great for those who like pepper spice without the heat.

Wrap It Up

Please comment below with any thoughts or comments on anything I've covered. Thanks for reading!