Tuesday, September 06, 2011

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!

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