Back in the Saddle & Defeating a Nemesis

After a blistering summer, fall weather has finally made it to Columbia.  That means geocaching weather!  The little one and I have been "jonesing" for some caching for months.  This weekend, we were able to whet a little bit of that appetite. 

Yesterday, we started at one that I've searched for in the past.  I knew I was right on top of the coordinates and I was pretty sure I knew how it was hidden, based on the clue.  So, the Vivver and I headed over there and once again, it eluded us.  We moved on to one that is fairly new and not far from our house.  As we searched a bed of prickly evergreen groundcover, a cook from a nearby restaurant came out for a smoke break.  He called over to us, "hey, watch out for the rats!"  "Huh??" I called back.  He came over and proceeded to tell us that this bed has a nest of what he called "New York rats."  In case you didn't know, that means big giant nasty rats.  He showed us the "rat killin' box" that I had picked up and looked under.  Okay, thank you very much, we're done here.

So, off we went to the Belser Arboretum.  I have lived in this town my entire life.  In <all> those years, I have never even known that within a couple miles of my house there is a 10 acre arboretum.  I was astonished.  If you're interested in learning about it, check out this link.  So, we found the place and started our search.  Success!  This one had some little kid trinkets in it, so that delighted my partner.

This afternoon, we were on the way home from a little get-together and sitting at the light right across from the first place I told you about above.  One of my two current nemeses.  As I gazed at it I said, "You know, Viv, I see one thing we didn't look under yesterday."  My husband said, "You want to go look?"  This was a surprise because he doesn't really dig geocaching.  So, with a 3rd set of eyes, we stopped by.  I told him how I knew I'd been standing right on top of it both times I'd been there and that I thought it should be <here>.  So, he turned on his eagle eyes and damn if he didn't spot it.  Exactly in the type of hiding spot I knew it would be in.  I was so elated!  This one was really beginning to make me angry.  So, the little cacher and I ran to it, signed the log and we all rode away victorious.  

It feels great to be back in the saddle!

I think Fall may happen after all!

Well, thanks to Hurricane Irene, South Carolina has been a pleasant place to live for the last few days.  I see an end in sight!  Geocaching will re-enter our lives soon, very soon.  :-)

It's Official...I'm in withdrawl

I'm not generally one who complains about the weather.  I find weather pretty darn fascinating actually.  Being from SC, hot summers are simply what I know.  As I get older though, I swear our summers are becoming more brutal.  My mom tells me it was just as hot when I was a kid, but I'm not sure if I buy that.  I mean, we would ride our bikes, fish at the pond, pick blackberries all day, build forts, work in the garden and be outside until my mom rang the "come home" bell...all day, every day.  How on earth did we do it?  

This summer has been 95+ for weeks and weeks now. We've been in the 100's more consecutive days than I can remember.  Some days it's so hot, it hurts to breathe.  Therefore, we haven't spent much time outside, which has sharply impacted our geocaching.  I cruise the website and gaze at the descriptions wishing for the day that I can get back out there and find them!  I'm 100% in geocaching withdrawl.  

Those of you in fairer climates, we are jealous!  Once fall gets here, look out!  We'll be back on the trail with gusto!

Vacation Disappointment

If you read my other blog, Gastronomy (by a Wanna-be Chef), you already know that my cousin and his family were just here from Vietnam.  Thanks to one of my mom's most generous friends, we had a house at N. Myrtle Beach for a few days so we could get our kids together one more time before they all head back to Hanoi.  Not only is Charlotte's house an awesome set-up for a group, it's close to lots of stuff and is only a few blocks from the beach.  Thanks to their ultra-cool, mac-daddy golf cart, we can motor on down to the access point, complete with golf cart parking lot, and voila!  we're on the beach.

I use my iPhone w/geocaching app

One afternoon, I started checking out my geocaching app to see if there were any caches nearby.  What luck!  There was one in a small shopping center parking lot right around the corner.  I knew from the recent logs that a few people had logged frowny faces, but I was still optimistic that WE could find it.  So, my "cousin-in-law" Lisa and I loaded the kids up on the golf cart and went around the corner.  But, you can probably guess what happened...


We were at the right spot, of that I have no doubt.  But it was in a location right off the parking lot, highly visible and has clearly been muggled.  I hope the owner reads the field logs soon and replaces the cache.  But, the best part is that the kids all had fun looking.  My cousin was skeptical that they'd find any caches in Vietnam...surely no one there plays the game?  So, I simply plugged in the word Hanoi into my app then starting asking him, "So, do you know where the National Military Museum is?"  Uh huh.  "How about the Master Pagoda?"  Yes, I do.  "Well, what about "Cuc Phuong?"  Ok, he was getting the idea.  Those came from the first list of 10 that showed up.  So, hopefully, once they make it back home, they might remember geocaching and give it a shot.  I think it'd be pretty exciting caching in another country!

Jonesin' for a cache

I am itching to go caching, but it's been so blazin' hot around here.  I am really looking forward to the fall so we can go anytime we wish.  I've been entering the Geocaching.com and Geico sweepstakes, hoping to win one of the GPS units they are giving away.  And, of course, I'd love to find one of those trackable geckos that have been released.  I wonder if any have been found around here?

I am taking the little one to the beach for a few days this week, so maybe we can locate a few that benefit from an ocean breeze.  Cross your fingers for us and happy caching!

Caching in 95+ weather

Well, this headline isn't all that catchy given the fact that we are in South Carolina.  We spend more of our year above 90 degrees than below. Ok, I may be exaggerating a bit, but if you live here, you know what I'm saying.

Today was a perfect day off for me.  Got my sweet little one up and at 'em and delivered her to the most awesome Summer Camp of all time.  Then, I came home and (wait for it, wait for it)...WENT BACK TO BED!  That's right.  You guys were at work and I was snoozing away with no clock set!  Then, I got up and cooked a crab cake while making myself a list of nearby geocaches.  

First, I went back to one in my neighborhood that I hadn't been able to find before.  I knew then that I was right on top of it, but just couldn't put my finger on it.  So, today, I went right back to that spot, wandered around a little bit and bam! there it was!  Good feeling.  

Then, I headed out to a new one that has only been found once so far. It was a killer.  I wandered around in a mini-forest of bamboo in one of our town's nicest neighborhoods. After I actually left the road and climbed into the bamboo, I heard sirens. Getting closer and closer.  Passed this street, but then stopped immediately after.  So, now, I'm waiting for the cops to come up behind me and begin interrogating me as to why I am lurking around in bamboo in the middle of the day.  Dodged a bullet there...apparently there was an actual emergency somewhere instead of Mrs. Cravitts calling the cops on me!  Didn't find it by the way :-(

Lastly, I hit one in the Presidentlal Series by bobandia.  This was one of the toughest for me yet.  I knew I was right on it.  I took my time and put on my eagle vision. I crouched, I looked up, I looked down, I ran my hand along surfaces, I got a nice thorn right in the pad of my finger!  I was about to give up because at this point I think we'd hit 100 degrees and I was feeling a bit toasty.  Then, just as I sighed with frustration, there it was staring right at me!  (Insert maniacal laugh here)

I gotta tell ya, I almost skipped back to my car after this one.  I was so jacked! And, to bobania, that was an awesome hide!  I feel really proud of myself and feel like I'm evolving as a novice cacher.  I'm so glad I got into this cool hobby.  Even though my friend Cannon thinks I'm a cool nerd.

Bringing friends into the fold

Yesterday shaped up to be a great little family day.  We took the little adventurer out to use our www.KidsBowlFree.com membership since we all had the day off and since it was already over 90 degrees at 10:00 in the morning.  In the course of our first game, our friend Mike called and he and his son came to join in.  The kids had a great time bowling and during our time there, the subject of geocaching came up.  

They were intrigued.  It just so happened that I had a list in the car of about a half dozen caches in the downtown area that I had already planned on hitting on our way home.  Now we had virgin partners.  Yeah!

This rocked the Casbah!  First, it was a blast introducing geocaching to friends, especially another child.  Second, it was a daily personal best for us, as we hit 5 in one day.  Third, Mike and Duncan both loved it and I think want to continue on with it.  Frankly, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to play once they learn about it.  

Mama Plover; see 4 well camo'd eggs beneath her!

So, we introduced them to a cool hide on Washington Street, then on to Tunnelvision, then the Secret Garden, the corner of Assembly and Pendleton and lastly right across from the Thirsty Fellow...then of course it was ridiculously convenient to pop in for a snack and a beer.  The coolest thing was an accidental discovery.  As we crossed a now vacant lot, covered in gravel, we came across a mama bird who was clearly trying to distract us.  Neil identified her as a "plover."  And, as we were instructing the kids to move away because she was trying to protect something, we spotted 4 eggs in a "nest" right there on the ground.  The eggs looked exactly like the stones in this lot.  If the mama hadn't been there, someone would have never noticed them or could have even stepped on them.  She's pretty smart to have laid her eggs in such a well camo'd spot. It was truly fascinating to see.  Of course, we continued on our way, and she settled down and sat back on top of her little nest.  It was a cool moment for all of us.

The Washington Street hide turned out to be (literally) right outside the office of a friend of mine.  This morning I texted her that I was outside. Come outta there...she's been accusing me of being obsessed with geocaching, you see.  So, I showed her how my iPhone app works and she discovered the cache.  I think she was impressed to learn that that little container has been hiding there since 2009, right under her nose!  We may have two more caching buddies (K and daughter A) soon!