2026 Debrief

The Buckeye Swoop Group

Before the Advance Party could officially become the Advance Party, the Buckeye Swoop Group made an Ohio pit stop Saturday for lunch at Tony Packo’s in Toledo, linking up with Shelly’s sister and husband.

Packo’s has been a Toledo institution since 1932, famous for its Hungarian-American food and signature Hungarian hot dogs, but Marines of our generation might know the name from M*A*S*H. Toledo native Jamie Farr’s Corporal Klinger mentioned Tony Packo’s repeatedly on the show, helping turn the local restaurant into a nationally known landmark.

Another Packo’s tradition started when Burt Reynolds signed a hot dog bun in 1972. Today the restaurants display buns signed by celebrities, presidents, musicians, astronauts, and others. So before crossing enemy lines into “The Land Up North”, the Ohio contingent fueled up on hot dogs, Hungarian paprikas, and a little Toledo history, a pretty unique way to officially get the 2026 road trip underway.

The Advance Party Strikes First

Some of us arrived Saturday in Vicksburg and managed to establish an important traditional milestone before the actual reunion even began. But before that could happen… supper.

The advance party deserves to remember Neve, the waitress who unexpectedly inherited nearly 20 of us when we walked into a local restaurant in Vicksburg without warning and proceeded to occupy one giant table. The food came out fast, it was good, and Neve somehow provided exceptional service to our entire gang. She was rewarded accordingly by almost everyone.

Almost.

Apparently, one person decided $6 was a sufficient tip.

As the night wrapped up, thinks took a traditional turn. Unknown to us at the time, Hop & Vine has locking bedroom doors, which effectively neutralized Marrapode’s ability for the ass-plant. Unfortunately for one, the Advance Party’s VRBO offered no such protection.

The single guys were all sleeping in the bunk room and Chad made the tactical error of falling asleep first… so Marrapode’s tradition lives on. There is a picture or two but I won’t share them here!

Congratulations, Chad: the one and only ass plant of the 2026 reunion and THANK YOU for buying supper!

Eventually we would arrive at the Inn, discovering locks on the bedroom doors and many of us knew we all would rest a bit easier at night.

Fishing, Golfing & Other Attempts at Recreation

On Monday, six of us headed out for the fishing charter and managed to land eight fish. Those aren’t exactly record-breaking numbers, but eight fish is still considerably more wildlife than we brought home from last year’s hog hunt, so we’ll call that progress.

I can’t forget to thank Marrapode for our special lures! (The captain’s was bigger though)

Chad deserves special recognition here as well. He hooked three fish but managed to land only one. Since we were rotating turns reeling them in, his generosity in repeatedly losing fish also robbed some of us of a second fish.

Again, congratulations, Chad.

Meanwhile, eight others went golfing at what I repeatedly heard described as an absolutely beautiful course. The rest scattered for sightseeing, shopping, or simply enjoyed everything Hop & Vine and the local area had to offer.

Michigan Highlights

There was plenty more packed into a weekend that somehow didn’t feel packed at all. There are way more details than I’ve outlined here so I must apologize for omitting them. Feel free to share your own memories in the comments at the bottom.

• Linda & Mooney successfully defended their cornhole championship, although the Board of Directors turned the final match into an hour of ever-changing rules, including mismatched boards, random bags, halftime, changing sides, switching bags, switching boards, and generally making things up as they went. That debacle deserved its own story, so here’s a link to the full tournament recap.
• The Board of Directors also exercised its executive authority throughout the weekend by banning practically everyone from future reunions at one point or another. The women seemed particularly susceptible to being banned, usually for offenses so serious that nobody can actually remember what they were.
• The Bastard Band, featuring Julie, Michelle, Marty, & Shawn, entertaining us with a live performance…. this year, unplugged. People came from all over the United States to see them perform.
• After years of me claiming the only reason I keep attending these reunions is to earn my perfect-attendance steak knives, Marrapode, Ball, and I finally received them. Thank you, Wendy Ball. I have now attended all 12 reunions and unfortunately need to find something new to wish for. What happens at 20? A watch? A jeweled crown? I’ll figure something out.
• We even had candle sales courtesy of the wife (Sara) of our very own aspiring model (Jason). Nothing says Magnificent Bastards quite like modeling careers and handcrafted candles. Sara and Jason… soo fancy.
• Tina getting caught doing dishes… that’s a no-no ladies!
• Two plastic Adirondack chairs not surviving.
• The scarcity of Captain Morgan despite buying so much.
• And many, many more stories

Awards and Accolades

Hop & Vine Could Not Have Been Better

A huge part of why this reunion felt so relaxed was the Hop & Vine Inn itself. Dirty and Wendy picked a hell of a place.

The hosts seemed to have thought of practically everything at their Inn to make things enjoyable:

• Sound machines in the bedrooms
• Locking bedroom doors
• An enormous kitchen where we could finally cook without constantly running into one another
• Multiple large refrigerators
• Plenty of common areas
• More activities than we could possibly use in our short time there
• One of our ladies (unnamed to protect her identity) was particularly impressed by the combination kid/adult toilet seats, proving once again that everyone has different standards for luxury

Most importantly, the owners and their family treated us exceptionally well. Dan, Amber, Chip, Jet, and Luke, thank you for your hospitality, for sharing your incredible property with our group, for joining us for supper, and the boys’ handmade cards… a gesture that meant a lot to us.

They also gave the group something particularly special: the American flag that had been hanging on the barn behind our group photo.

If you enjoyed Hop & Vine as much as I did, please take a few minutes to leave them a 5-star TripAdvisor review. They earned it. Let’s come together as a group and make it happen!

What’s Next?

The reunion road continues.

The current plan for 2027 is Montana, rather than Arizona as originally discussed, with Gunny Elyea and Netti still hosting. In 2028, Pinkley takes us to New York, and Gauvin has now stepped up to host Maine in 2029.

These reunions require months of planning for a few days that disappear far too quickly. We had people fishing, golfing, sightseeing, shopping, putting puzzles together, throwing cornhole, cooking, drinking, talking shit, catching up with old friends, and doing absolutely nothing when that’s what they felt like doing.

It was relaxed. It was fun. It was therapy. And it was over way too fast.

A special thank-you to Dirty and Wendy for taking on the responsibility of hosting this year’s reunion and putting together an outstanding weekend. Thanks also to everyone who cooked, cleaned, helped where needed, traveled hundreds or thousands of miles, and simply showed up.

For the second consecutive year, I somehow managed to make it home without getting sick.

Thanks for another great one you Magnificent Bastards!