Friday, September 09, 2011
Tuesday, September 06, 2011
Favorite Cache of the Week / August 29 - September 4, 2011
It's miserably hot here at home in Phoenix or as Tim likes to say THTC (too hot to cache) still. So he picked up a long (37 hour) layover in Calgary and off we go on my first visit to Canada!
We concentrated on the Legacy Trail caches put out in conjunction with the Best of the Bad Mega Event.
We concentrated on the Legacy Trail caches put out in conjunction with the Best of the Bad Mega Event.
Favorite Cache of the Week / August 22 - 28, 2011
Alien Search Party - The 2nd Invasion! Oh my, what an adventure! Will write later about this incredible experience.
Favorite Cache of the Week / August 15 - 21, 2011
Okay, so now that I am more caught up I'll allow myself to return to a 'weekly' theme. August was such a busy, busy month.
On August 20th Groundspeak held a Geocaching Block Party in Seattle. The event was very (almost exactly) like the event they held last year after GeoWoodstock. The only major difference was the addition of 'challenges' to get the puzzle piece souvenir. Challenges don't interest me at all but icons do. I want the icon.
So, Tim took me down to the airport early Saturday morning and I got on the flight just fine. Took the Seattle light rail to a bus and voila! I'm at the party. Mingle around a little bit, see a few people I know, checked out the challenge thingee, sign the log book and back on another bus and the light rail again. Easy peasy, right?
Except I get bumped from the flight home. (My flight benefits are for standby status.) Then I try for a flight to Charlotte and one to Philadelphia. No go. It's a long night on a Sea-Tac bench for me. It wasn't too bad but by no means great either.
I get checked in for the 5:30 a.m. flight to Phoenix and it doesn't look good for anyone. I didn't get on and a bunch of other stand-bys didn't either. I'm starting to think it could be a looong time before I get out of Seattle. But the next flight to Phoenix I was very, very, and I mean very lucky and got home.
The icon was worth it.
On August 20th Groundspeak held a Geocaching Block Party in Seattle. The event was very (almost exactly) like the event they held last year after GeoWoodstock. The only major difference was the addition of 'challenges' to get the puzzle piece souvenir. Challenges don't interest me at all but icons do. I want the icon.
So, Tim took me down to the airport early Saturday morning and I got on the flight just fine. Took the Seattle light rail to a bus and voila! I'm at the party. Mingle around a little bit, see a few people I know, checked out the challenge thingee, sign the log book and back on another bus and the light rail again. Easy peasy, right?
Except I get bumped from the flight home. (My flight benefits are for standby status.) Then I try for a flight to Charlotte and one to Philadelphia. No go. It's a long night on a Sea-Tac bench for me. It wasn't too bad but by no means great either.
I get checked in for the 5:30 a.m. flight to Phoenix and it doesn't look good for anyone. I didn't get on and a bunch of other stand-bys didn't either. I'm starting to think it could be a looong time before I get out of Seattle. But the next flight to Phoenix I was very, very, and I mean very lucky and got home.
The icon was worth it.
Favorite Cache of the Week August (part 2)
The second weekend in August and Tim really had wanted to go to the Mega event West Bend $1000 Cache Ba$h 2011. We had attended in 2009 and it was a lot of fun meeting new people but it wasn't super high on my list of things to do this summer. As it turned out since I still am not contributing to our financial well-being as much as we would like, Tim decided it would be best to go to work this weekend.
He was able to get a long layover in San Francisco and invited me to go with him. I planned the caching / walking route for us as I wanted to go to Little Saigon to get a Bánh Mì.
We started out with The Transamerica Overpass which we didn't find the last time we were here but I was convinced we would find this time. We did! I was misinterpreting the name and it wasn't that difficult once I just read it correctly. Always good to rectify a DNF and it does have a good over'view' of the Transamerica Building from the over'pass'. Raw Sally was a nano in a super busy spot in Chinatown but Tim found it fairly quickly. Nice hide in a historic alley.
S.F. Cable Car Barn was great! The cache is placed right outside the San Francisco Cable Car Museum and shows that you don't need a virtual cache just because it is a museum. Traditionals work fine! We spent at least an hour in the museum where you can see the winding wheels pulling the cables. It was very interesting to see and it's free.
Now to get to Little Saigon from Chinatown, well... you have to walk through the Tenderloin. I let Tim know in advance we would be going through the 'Loin and it was as bad as we anticipated. We looked for one cache kinda and got through the area without incident.
Tim's sister Karen met us at the Saigon Sandwich Shop and had lunch with us. She lives in Oakland and she was so nice to come into the city today to visit. Karen also joined us in finding a couple more caches before she headed back home.
Two more caches I really enjoyed finding on our way back to the hotel were Throw It Out! and Bamboo Alley. Throw It Out! is hidden on a installation named Defenestration. Wonderful! Like the neighborhood the artwork resides in, it is in need of restoration and I'm glad I got to experience it today. Bamboo Alley is a mystery/puzzle cache which I usually ignore but this one was so interesting I added to the route. The cache is a series of watercolors painted by the cache owner which guide you along like a visual multi-cache to a camo'ed Altoids tin. Something that could have been so ordinary transformed into extraordinary.
If you find yourself in downtown San Francisco for any reason and have a few moments to find a cache there are many wonderful ones to find. I hope to return soon.
He was able to get a long layover in San Francisco and invited me to go with him. I planned the caching / walking route for us as I wanted to go to Little Saigon to get a Bánh Mì.
We started out with The Transamerica Overpass which we didn't find the last time we were here but I was convinced we would find this time. We did! I was misinterpreting the name and it wasn't that difficult once I just read it correctly. Always good to rectify a DNF and it does have a good over'view' of the Transamerica Building from the over'pass'. Raw Sally was a nano in a super busy spot in Chinatown but Tim found it fairly quickly. Nice hide in a historic alley.
S.F. Cable Car Barn was great! The cache is placed right outside the San Francisco Cable Car Museum and shows that you don't need a virtual cache just because it is a museum. Traditionals work fine! We spent at least an hour in the museum where you can see the winding wheels pulling the cables. It was very interesting to see and it's free.
Now to get to Little Saigon from Chinatown, well... you have to walk through the Tenderloin. I let Tim know in advance we would be going through the 'Loin and it was as bad as we anticipated. We looked for one cache kinda and got through the area without incident.
Tim's sister Karen met us at the Saigon Sandwich Shop and had lunch with us. She lives in Oakland and she was so nice to come into the city today to visit. Karen also joined us in finding a couple more caches before she headed back home.
Two more caches I really enjoyed finding on our way back to the hotel were Throw It Out! and Bamboo Alley. Throw It Out! is hidden on a installation named Defenestration. Wonderful! Like the neighborhood the artwork resides in, it is in need of restoration and I'm glad I got to experience it today. Bamboo Alley is a mystery/puzzle cache which I usually ignore but this one was so interesting I added to the route. The cache is a series of watercolors painted by the cache owner which guide you along like a visual multi-cache to a camo'ed Altoids tin. Something that could have been so ordinary transformed into extraordinary.
If you find yourself in downtown San Francisco for any reason and have a few moments to find a cache there are many wonderful ones to find. I hope to return soon.
Favorite Cache of the Week August (part 1)
Well here it is already September! We started out August with a fantastic weekend in Big Bear, California with friends Lori (LovOrca) and Robert (tartanite). Unfortunately Tim (JohnnyCacheAz) was unable to take the time off of work and we had limited funds at the beginning of the month. I am so thankful for him everyday and I missed him terribly that weekend.
I flew into Orange County Thursday night and Lori picked me up at El Torito across the street from the airport. She remembered that she had placed a cache at the restaurant next door a year ago but never published it. We went over to see if it was still there and it was! Took some fresh coordinates and it went live that night: Gulliver's Travels. It'll be a good one to get next time on a SNA layover.
Spent the evening visiting and in the morning packed up and headed off to the mountains! We went up to Big Bear on State Route 38, a very pretty road I had not been on before. We went over to the home of friends of Lori's who had done a beautiful job remodeling a old house in Big Bear City. After a tour of their home we went out to lunch at B J's. Found a couple of caches after lunch and got over to the cabin that Lori had so graciously invited not only me, but Marsha (Smoochersmom), her husband Jeff, and Julie (IWillFindIt!!) to stay as well. Got unpacked, settled in and off the the event - Black_Cat's 15,000th Cache Celebration!
I was so honored to have a friend like Lori throw an event for my milestone! It was her first event held and everything turned out so perfectly. The restaurant, Sonora Cantina, had reserved the patio for the party and set up a yummy taco bar right outside for the guests. Bunches of people showed up and I had great time. Thank you again Lori and Robert for making the entire weekend so special!
The next morning Julie arrived and we all went to the Big Bear Airport Air Fair (except Jeff who played a round of golf) and it was a huge event. Hundreds of planes and vintage automobiles. Julie and Marsha even got to take a ride in a biplane! Airshows and fairs always remind me of my grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Walton and how much he is missed. Admiring so much aviation made me also miss Tim even more.
After the air fair it was time to find some caches! Particularly this one: Cattin' Around - Salute to Black_Cat's 15,000. I loved it! Thank you soooo much to Mandy's Mom for helping make my milestone special. Back down to town to attend the Big Bear Cache Bash 6! Tim and I went for the first time last year and it is a wonderful annual get together. The potluck/barbeque/picnic and raffle are among the biggest I have seen anywhere. Perfect weather too!
When getting ready to leave Lori notices a cache nearby called 15,000! Well, there is no way we can pass up that one! Thanks Badgerdawg! Super cute cache and I can post a picture (finally) thanks to Elin (EMC of Northridge, CA) and her fantastic blog:
Socialized a little bit at an after-event party / spaghetti dinner. What a great day with friends!
Next day was off-roading with Lori, Robert and Julie. Very beautiful on the forest roads and superb views of the lake. My favorite caches of the day were Little Croaker by Mandy'sMom and “Can’t grow a Spruce on a Cliff” by pphacker.
Little Croaker is in such a pretty spot, surrounded by flavored pines with a little stream and waterfall running by it. Luckily the cache was in a spot where LovOrca looked as it was no where near where I decided to search :) “Can’t grow a Spruce on a Cliff” is a very well done hide and it's their first. The cache owners have a view of the cache from their patio and were happy to watch us try to find it. Great job and I hope they hide more caches soon.
Had some tasty pizza at the Big Bear Weekend Checkout II held at Village Pizza and it was time to head home. Thank you so much to everyone for making me feel so special! Especially Lori for being such a great friend with whom I hope to have many more adventures!
I flew into Orange County Thursday night and Lori picked me up at El Torito across the street from the airport. She remembered that she had placed a cache at the restaurant next door a year ago but never published it. We went over to see if it was still there and it was! Took some fresh coordinates and it went live that night: Gulliver's Travels. It'll be a good one to get next time on a SNA layover.
Spent the evening visiting and in the morning packed up and headed off to the mountains! We went up to Big Bear on State Route 38, a very pretty road I had not been on before. We went over to the home of friends of Lori's who had done a beautiful job remodeling a old house in Big Bear City. After a tour of their home we went out to lunch at B J's. Found a couple of caches after lunch and got over to the cabin that Lori had so graciously invited not only me, but Marsha (Smoochersmom), her husband Jeff, and Julie (IWillFindIt!!) to stay as well. Got unpacked, settled in and off the the event - Black_Cat's 15,000th Cache Celebration!
I was so honored to have a friend like Lori throw an event for my milestone! It was her first event held and everything turned out so perfectly. The restaurant, Sonora Cantina, had reserved the patio for the party and set up a yummy taco bar right outside for the guests. Bunches of people showed up and I had great time. Thank you again Lori and Robert for making the entire weekend so special!
The next morning Julie arrived and we all went to the Big Bear Airport Air Fair (except Jeff who played a round of golf) and it was a huge event. Hundreds of planes and vintage automobiles. Julie and Marsha even got to take a ride in a biplane! Airshows and fairs always remind me of my grandfather Lieutenant Colonel Cecil Walton and how much he is missed. Admiring so much aviation made me also miss Tim even more.
After the air fair it was time to find some caches! Particularly this one: Cattin' Around - Salute to Black_Cat's 15,000. I loved it! Thank you soooo much to Mandy's Mom for helping make my milestone special. Back down to town to attend the Big Bear Cache Bash 6! Tim and I went for the first time last year and it is a wonderful annual get together. The potluck/barbeque/picnic and raffle are among the biggest I have seen anywhere. Perfect weather too!
When getting ready to leave Lori notices a cache nearby called 15,000! Well, there is no way we can pass up that one! Thanks Badgerdawg! Super cute cache and I can post a picture (finally) thanks to Elin (EMC of Northridge, CA) and her fantastic blog:
Socialized a little bit at an after-event party / spaghetti dinner. What a great day with friends!
Next day was off-roading with Lori, Robert and Julie. Very beautiful on the forest roads and superb views of the lake. My favorite caches of the day were Little Croaker by Mandy'sMom and “Can’t grow a Spruce on a Cliff” by pphacker.
Little Croaker is in such a pretty spot, surrounded by flavored pines with a little stream and waterfall running by it. Luckily the cache was in a spot where LovOrca looked as it was no where near where I decided to search :) “Can’t grow a Spruce on a Cliff” is a very well done hide and it's their first. The cache owners have a view of the cache from their patio and were happy to watch us try to find it. Great job and I hope they hide more caches soon.
Had some tasty pizza at the Big Bear Weekend Checkout II held at Village Pizza and it was time to head home. Thank you so much to everyone for making me feel so special! Especially Lori for being such a great friend with whom I hope to have many more adventures!