Slight Detour: New Wheels, Baseball Star, Annie's Travels

It was good bye to the forest green and hello to the sky blue yesterday.

Good bye, Subaru Outback.

Hello, Chevrolet Equinox.

I loved the Subaru, which we had owned for 12 years, but Bill wasn't liking the increasing needs for maintenance. Plus, he had just paid off a vehicle, so thought it was time to buy a newer car.

This one is used with just 9,500 miles on it. We looked at a brand new Equinox but felt much more comfortable driving the 2024 model.

Fewer bells and whistles and felt very similar to driving the Subaru.

So, we're hoping one good car has led to another.

Have I said that I rather like the color. It's kinda neat because Shawn and Becky next door have a pickup the same color.

So, we have matching orange Kubota tractors and matching vehicles.

My first major drive in the Equinox took me to my friend Mike's house to drop off reunion registration forms.

Then, it was on to the Super 1 parking lot where Debbie and her team were engaged in a "Christmas in July" fundraiser for the Bonner Community Food Bank.

They were really excited because one donor dropped off a hundred dollar bill and then came back with another and another and, finally, an additional donation of $1,000.

The group was having a great time, and Debbie had even more fun when I gave her the key fob to the Equinox and told her to take it for a spin.

She highly approves of the car.

Next-door neighbor Shawn was thrilled that he was one of the first to inspect the new blue car.

💙💙💙💙💙💙

~Exciting news for some Sandpoint grandparents~

The Cincinnati Reds took Oregon outfielder Mason Neville with the 114^th selection in the 2025 MLB Draft.

Neville made first team All-Big Ten honors and slashed .290/.429/,724 with 42 exta-base hits and nine stolen bases in 57 games with Oregon in the 2025 season.

~~~~~

From Jessica Parkins Neville, about her son. Proud grandparents Jack and Sharon Parkins live in the Sandpoint area.

A dream that’s been in the making for 21 years came true — our son, Mason, was drafted by the Cincinnati Reds to begin his journey as a professional baseball player. ⚾️❤️

From the very first time he held a bat, baseball captured his heart — and from that moment on, he gave everything to the game.

We’ve watched him grow from a little boy with big league dreams into a young man who never stopped believing, working, and pushing forward — even when the road was hard.

But this moment isn’t just his — it belongs to every coach who challenged and believed in him, every teammate who became like family, every friend who cheered him on, and every relative who sat through doubleheaders in the blazing heat just to be there.

It took a village — and we are forever grateful to every single person who’s been part of his journey.

This next chapter is a dream come true, and we know the best is yet to come. Mason, as always, remember your last name — and carry it with pride.

Let’s go, Reds! ❤️

https://www.si.com/mlb/reds/news/cincinnati-reds-select-college-baseball-s-home-run-leader-with-114th-pick-in-mlb-draft-01k04tjxz7qa

Segment from a story by Greg Kuffner

The Reds actually had selected Neville in the 18th round of the 2022 MLB Draft out of high school, but he elected to go to Arkansas before transferring to Oregon.

"Neville has long intrigued scouts with his overall athleticism and offensive potential from the left side of the plate, reminding some from his high school days of a young Cody Bellinger," MLB.com wrote.

"The raw power is very real, and a year after hitting 16 homers with a 33.5 percent strikeout rate, Neville has jumped up boards by greatly cutting down his swing-and-miss, allowing him to get to that pop even more consistently for the 26 homers that tied for the NCAA Division I home run title.

He can drive the ball gap-to-gap with plenty of pull power. He punishes fastballs and still struggles against softer stuff, but scouts are much more bullish overall that the bat will play at the next level."

Congratulations to Mason and all of his proud family members. And, good luck. We look forward to watching you on TV.

👍👍👍👍👍

Annie's Trip Photos: Another bucket list item done.

Plitvice Lakes National Park (in Croatia) is incredible!

from Annie: I did A LOT of driving today, but it was worth it for the views along the way and for accomplishing all I wanted to today.

One of the unexpected highlights that I found out about from Slovenian cachers, was Željava Air Base in Croatia.

One geocache was at an old plane and another took you inside the airbase inside a mountain!

Would have been so cool to see planes coming out of a mountain straight onto the runway I got to drive on today!

I got to put my feet in the Adriatic Sea, and wait in a slow line at the Bosnia border (both ways) so I could light up another country on my caching/travel map.

I also added a couple photos from the geocaching event I hosted in Slovenia last night. Such a great turnout with a very nice group of people.