Finally...Music...Kinda

I wanted to get really good at doing html so I could add music to the site. Well that takes more time and patience than I have at the moment, so I'm settling for Amazon's MP3 widget. I've selected tunes that we actually listen to when we go out on a find. Hope you enjoy them while you're reading our latest ramblings.

Creedence happens to be a top selection for multiple finds as it doesn't matter how many times the CD repeats as we get in and out of the Tacoma.

U2 and Talking Heads speak for themselves. And there is a fun little ditty specifically about geocaching. Our top ten, I guess you could say.

If you think of some other good tunes, let us know.

Dragon

June's Cool Cache...Its a Bug's Life

I've decided that we'd offer up pics each month from cool caches that you find.

This month goes out to my sister and her hubby (2andDuke) for the It's a Bugs Life cache they found in Largo, FL.

Yes, of course there is a token of appreciation that will be sent if we decide to use your pics. You can email pics to dragonox09@yahoo.com. One submission per month allowed. Be sure to include your snail mail address if you'd like to receive a DragonOx Pathtag for your efforts. A picture of your team is also welcomed. There are no other official rules, because this isn't really officially anything other than an excuse to post cool pics of cool caches.

Happy Caching!

~Dragon

Beth's Perspective On.....Teaching Dads!

When my brother called to ask what I was getting Dad for his birthday and fathers day, I had no idea. He said he had gotten a good deal on a Nuvi 250, we could split the cost three ways and make it a joint gift. This sounded good to me since both my sister and I were out of work and lil brother was on verge of layoff. Big Sis got the case and Brother and I split the cost of Ms. Garmin. Now all he had to do was ship it out from Oklahoma to Virginia. This doesn't sound like a big deal, but my brother has a problem with sending stuff out, just runs out of time during the day.

Well she arrived on time for the birthday party. Dad has been saying he would like to get a GPS for all the traveling he does with Mom's business. She manufactures her own line of square dance clothing. The only problem I saw with this is that Mrs. Garmen doesn't know just how big Dad's vehicle is. Dad drives at sixty five feet long, motor home and trailer. I have encountered some roads that we are directed onto that there is no way dad can take them. I wasn't sure I wanted to take my little Toyota on some.

"Oh Boy!!!" says dad as he opened the box. He got a strange look on his face when looking at this little screen in his hands. I then realized he didn't know anything about this strange woman about to embark him on his next trip, which was in only three days. I took her out to the vehicle to charge a while then brought her back to his capable hands. He had no idea. I proceeded to show him the different icons to choose from and how to enter a name of a store, Wal-mart of course, mom could not live without this store, but that is a whole other blog. He said he understood just fine.

The next few days I kept asking if he was using his GPS, the response was, "no I know where I am here at home." Ok dad, but you should have practiced with this woman before hitting the road.

Mom called to say they were using Mrs. Garmin and what " a delight she is, we found Wal-mart parking lot just fine to camp for the night." They often stay overnight at these lots. When they got to the city for their convention, they needed a post office. So Dad looks up post offices within a certain distance from where they are staying, picks one and tells Mrs Garmin to "GO". Mom said they were driving and she lets them know that they are arriving at destination on right. They see a few buildings but no post office, the flag was for the small Fire House. Dad keeps driving while Mrs Garmin recalculates. After a few miles Mom says "just get turned around, we have missed it somewhere." Lo and behold, "arriving at destination on left." Dad slows and sees a little store and the Fire House, but no post office, so he keeps driving while Mrs Garmin recalculates. He sees a woman on the street and asked her where is the post office? Guess what, Mrs Garmin was right, "it's at the Fire House" the woman informs him. So not only does he have to listen to Mrs Garmin recalculating but now he has to listen to Mom.

He has since found that she doesn't like to stop for lunch, or gas, or just to pull off the interstate to stretch a while. But she does get him where he needs to be. One of these days dads will learn to listen to us women, whether in live version or through Mrs Garmin. Happy Fathers Day to all those dads who read this.

Beth's Perspective On ........Teaching The Young'un

Saturday my daughter had to be out of her house due to decorating for a baby shower. Why do they call it a shower,? Nobody took one yesterday. Oh well, back on track here. We decided to go caching so she could learn how to use her new GPS that her grandmother got for her. I had Pippa load seven caches that we had already found in the Giles area that would not endanger a eight-n-half month pregnant woman. We took off and went to the hardest one first, " Come On In Yall", but because of the very tall weeds and grass I did give a small hint. She searched about twenty min. and found it. The expression was priceless, "that's it?"

We went to two others close by and in no time she had found them. I was a little jealous because it took us longer. I can see a slight problem for her though, she doesn't like spider webs. She has a good sense for clues and direction, ha ha, as she followed the little feet on the screen. I think she was even trying to take very little steps to match those on the screen.

OK now she had five under her belt all her own, back in to town for the last two. "This is fun!" she exclaimed, it didn't take long to find those at all. I think that was a jab since I had already told her how long it took us to find them. She had a satisfied smile on her face as we went to the next location. Even though I knew where we were going, I still made her use the system. OK what was the clue here? My response was "look it up, I am not here." That drew a strange look from her and she went back to the truck to get Ms. Garmin. No problem here either, so off to the next. Oh no! road construction, detours, Ms. Garmin was going nuts. The last cache was the one we had set out, "Bidding U Happy Caching." Here we ran into lots of muggles. She stood there at the truck and watched as they walked and drove by, quickly going for it, she grabs and comes back to sign in. "Why would you put it where there are so many muggles", she asked. My response: "that makes it all the more fun, trying to get the cache and not be seen."

Watch Marie's Very Own Music Video (she's gonna kick Pip's kester for this)

All in all she had a full day of caching and a good time, and I got to spend some time with my oldest child. Oh, the shower was fun too. Happy Caching Y'all.

~Ox

The Geocachers’ Creed

When placing or seeking geocaches, I will:

1. Not endanger myself or others
2. Observe all laws and rules of the area
3. Respect property rights and seek permission where appropriate
4. Avoid causing disruptions or public alarm
5. Minimize my and others' impact on the environment
6. Be considerate of others

7. Protect the integrity of the game pieces

Further Explanation: Following are examples of how to apply the Creed. These are only examples and not part of the Creed - not every contingency can be spelled out. If something is not specifically listed in the examples, you should consider the intent expressed in the main tenets in making a decision.

...Not Endanger Myself or Others
Like any outdoor activity, geocaching involves some inherent risk and many geocachers enjoy manageable risks. Minimize inordinate risks. When creating a cache, describe any hidden dangers and, if possible, arrange the hunt to minimize these dangers. When seeking a cache, know your limitations and be aware of your surroundings. Don't attempt anything beyond your abilities. A cache you own, or one you're trading out of, could be found by children or even a prisoner work crew - consider the location of the cache and those likely to find it when deciding what to leave as a trade item.

...Observe All Laws and Rules of the Area
Don’t break the law or rules of an area, or encourage others to do so, when placing or seeking a cache. Don't leave illegal items in a cache.

...Respect Property Rights and Seek Permission Where Appropriate
Check if permission is required before placing a cache on private property, and respect the landowner's wishes. Check if public land has a geocaching policy and respect existing policies.
Promptly remove your cache if the land manager or steward asks. Do not damage, or interfere with the function of, buildings, structures, or signage.

...Avoid Causing Disruptions or Public Alarm
Don’t place a cache near schools or government buildings unless the administration and staff are fully aware of the placement. Use caution where children play. Parents are understandably concerned when strangers are near their children. Don’t place a cache near critical infrastructure that might be considered a terrorist target, or create a cache that could be mistaken for a terrorist device (e.g. a pipe bomb).

...Minimize My and Others' Impact on the Environment
Follow Leave No Trace ethics whenever possible. When seeking a cache, practice "Lift, Look, Replace" - put all stones or logs back where you found them. Leave the area as you found it or better (e.g. pick up litter). Obtain the best possible coordinates for your cache to reduce unwarranted wear on the area. Recheck and correct your coordinates if finders report significant errors. Do not abandon a cache. If you stop maintaining a cache, remove the container, archive its listing and explain the disposition of the cache in your archive note, or put it up for adoption or rescue. If you de-list a cache on one host, but keep it on another, make sure you mention this in the archive note to prevent rescues of active caches.

...Be Considerate of Others
Treat other geocachers civilly - in the field, in the forums, or wherever your paths may cross.
Don't spoil the hunt for others - allow them to experience the cache as its owner intended.
Avoid leaving tracks to the cache. Do not disrupt the cache area or mark the hiding spot.
Minimize giving unsolicited clues that reveal the cache (i.e. "spoilers"). Don't provide any hints if the cache description asks you not to. In all other cases, be cryptic or encrypt any hints or spoilers you enter in online logs. Edit your log if the cache owner requests that you remove spoilers. Promptly alert the owner of any issues with their cache. Make minor repairs if you can, it will save the owner a trip. Cache owners appreciate feedback - write an online log, send an email, or otherwise let the owner know about your experience with their cache. Only place caches you can maintain and respond promptly to problem reports. If you exchange trade items, trade kindly: Consider what future finders would like and leave something equal to or better than what you take. If you place a traveling item into the game, attach a tag that describes its goal, so that others can help it along. If you pick up a traveling item with a tag describing its goal, move the item toward its goal if possible. Contact the owner if you hold a traveling item for more than a couple of weeks or so. Obtain permission from the originator before copying unique themes and techniques, adding to an existing series of caches, or placing a cache close to another.

...Protect the Integrity of the Game Pieces
The owner entrusts you to not damage or jeopardize the cache. Try to ensure the cache is ready for the next finder and is as good as or better than you found it. Make sure the container is properly closed to prevent the contents from getting wet or destroyed. Be inconspicuous in retrieving, signing in, and replacing a cache to avoid vandalism. Put the cache back where you found it and hide it well. Don’t move a cache - if you suspect the cache is not in the intended spot, hide it the best you can and alert the owner as soon as possible. Don’t collect traveling items meant to stay in the game. This is tantamount to stealing. Don’t tamper with or involve a game piece in "alternate" games without the owner’s permission.

June Housekeeping

We are new to both blogging and geocaching. We are learning as we go....and we are dragging folks along with us (some against their will).
We know you are reading. We can see you....well, not you exactly. We have a stat counter that tells us if anyone checks out the blog. You've been counted. Thanks for tuning in.



Actually, we have several folks reading us that have never read a blog before. That's cool. And a good number reading us that have never geocached and probably never will. That's cool too.


So I thought I'd share a few things with the newbies...those that feel obligated to read...like our families...to make your experience more enjoyable.







First, we welcome questions, comments and snide remarks. Note that each post has a quickie reaction option where you can give us feedback as to whether a post was interesting, funny, cool and yes, even stupid. Or if you're not into quickies, you can leave an actual comment. Post questions here too. Is there some aspect of geocaching you'd like us to address?

Also, if you sign up for Blogger and choose to follow this blog that improves our stats. As our stats improve, more folks check us out. As more folks read and comment, better blogging. Its a wonderful "thang".....so please get involved. There is a small link on the left. Heck, if you like, you can even rate this blog.

And a word about our advertising links. I use them to add variety to the site and keep it fresh looking. But I chose those that I suspect could be of interest or assistance to our readers. If you choose to check them out, that's your business...but we'd appreciate it if you would take a look from time to time.

One of our Link Partners, EDUN is giving away $300. Entry is as easy as clicking on this link and creating a login. Now I don't know a single person who can't use an extra $300, so I'm supplying the link. Its my duty to share the love. Win a $300 Gift Certificate to EDUN!

I've created tags or labels for each post. So if you want to see only the posts about a certain topic, you can click on it...its computer magic. For example, want to read only about Daisy, she's a tag. Want to read only posts written by Beth (purely hypothetical example), she's been tagged too.

There are and will be videos for your viewing pleasure. I'm working on music, that's a bit of a challenge that I'm still enjoying.

Hope you enjoy the blog as much as we enjoy doing it.

Namaste'


Dragon

Another Event...More Friends....

Attended the Roanoke Area Geocachers Grillin, Chillin and Caching Event on Saturday. Excellent Food. Met a few more folks and got to visit with a few people we met at our first event last month.

I had a really good time. The food was awesome. The park was really nice. Weather was perfect. And I guess I was just in a good mood. We heard some cool caching stories, and did I mention that the food was excellent?

We learned more about travel bugs. We took Daisy, and she just loved all the attention she got. We met a little dog, Krammer, who had a travel bug on his harness to be discovered. You discover a travel item and it goes into your stats. Krammer's mom, SnoopinAround, has only been caching about a year and has over 3000 finds under her belt!

Beth and Ms. Garmin participated in a field test to demonstrate the accuracy of different types of GPS's. Now you'll remember I mentioned the bias against highway-type GPS's in an earlier post. I am happy to report that Ms. Garmin did well and she found the coordinates nearly as well as the higher priced units. And for a fraction of the cost! I was pleased.

After the event we attempted a few caches that were placed specifically for the event. We bombed out. I was taken hostage on the Blue Ridge Parkway for several hours. Long story here, which I'll let Beth blog about if she so chooses.

I put together an eleven second video for the group, which if I can figure out how to post it here I will. Technology is great, but there is a learning curve.




Well, back to the work week. GeoCaching back on hold for a few days. Have a good one.

Pip (Dragon)


More pics from the event can be viewed here.

First to Find Goes To....

VT93! Whomever the heck that is.........He found our little cache on 6/5/9. Hmm, sounds like the makings of a new regular pick 3 number. Maybe we are both on our way to a cool million. Yep, I'll just dream on.....

Congrats VT93...glad you enjoyed the cache. And we enjoyed placing it. And we'll continue to enjoy monitoring others finding it. Hopefully our local uniformed muggles will question folks as they attempt to look discreet and we'll get some pics sent to us. We'll see.



Off to Roanokeareageocachers.com geocaching event, Grillin, Chillin and Caching...this will be our second event with members of this group. Looking forward to getting to know them better. Here's a shout out to the WanderWomen, The Moose is Loose, Payne in the Cache and LuvBirds. If the cosmic alignment is correct, perhaps TwistedMystic will make an appearance.



DragonOx (that's us) will be showing with brownies in hand and of course, Daisy is making her debut to the local caching community.
Should be a good day.





Probably will cache a bit on the way back. We have a few unfounds we want to attempt again before moving on.....

Whatever your weekend brings your way...enjoy what you can, say to heck with the rest.

Pip (Dragon)

First Cache Placed

Creating a geocache to hide is pretty cool too. We needed something we already owned due to budget constraints. Wanted a micro, but large enough that we could leave a little token of appreciation to The First To Find (TFTF) cacher. After a little work, Bidding U Happy Caching, was born.

Location was important...someplace different, but interesting, accessible to maintenance.

Then there's all the rules...........Caches cannot be placed in National Forests or on Wildlife Reserves, may not be buried, cannot deface public or private property, cannot cause excessive traffic, cannot be placed close to railroad tracks or military installations, or places subject to terrorist attacks.......whew, maybe I am glad I live in a small town in the middle of no where.

We settled on a broken key chain flashlight we had for the container. Beth got out her big tools to dismantle it. I found one of those fake million dollar bills for the first to find token of appreciation, printed a log sheet and I was ready to hide. Of course, by the time we finished putting it together it was almost dark. I wanted to go hide it right then, but Beth made me wait til the next day. Sometimes she's just too practical!

Our first selection for a hiding place ended up a little deep and could have been easily lost into an abyss, so we went with our second choice. It's actually visible from the sidewalk, but you have to look. We think it will be a pretty easy park and grab cache, but there is a couple of catches to make it interesting.

First of all, the parking lot is not found by most navigation devices. Its in the downtown, so there are back sides to the buildings, and we share the parking lot with uniformed muggles.

We had to wait several days for our cache to be reviewed by the powers to be at geocaching.com, but finally its up and running. Hoping the first finder gets out this weekend so we can get some feedback on it.

It Continues....

Our attraction to this hobby continues to grow. We have now placed our very own cache out there in the geocaching world. In addition, Daisy Murray Chapman arrived today!

Tonight she is joining us for Eggplant Parmesan. She will attend her first BBQ on Saturday to meet all the cachers that show for the RoanokeAreaGeocachers.com event. Check out Daisy's homepage on geocaching.com.

What else does one do with a nervous ewe? Entertain and Feed....that's what you do with all company, right?

Hey Everyone...Meet Daisy!

We are anxiously anticipating the arrival of our first GeoCoin. Isn't she precious? Now what is the purpose of a geocoin, you might ask? (Play with me here, even if you don't care).

A geocoin is a special coin created by individuals or groups of geocachers as a kind of signature item or calling card. Each geocoin is assigned a unique tracking ID which allows them to travel from geocache to geocache or to be passed amongst friends, picking up stories along the way.

We chose Daisy as our first coin because Beth is a farmer by trade. She has cattle and sheep, a few horses, a herding dog and other critters she tends to...her farming activities sometimes interfere with our caching plans, but hey, there is always something it seems....(pun intentional)...as we may miss a geocaching BBQ event because she has to put up hay.

Our plan is to love on Daisy for awhile, show her to our geocaching friends...all three of them...then send her on a trip to visit Beth's brother in Edmond Oklahoma. And of course, I plan on recording her adventures here as they happen. I think I can upload a cool map that will highlight her location as it occurs. The blogging potential of this gal is massive. Who knows, Daisy might end with her own blog and get a special spot on Anderson Cooper's 360 political analyst panel....hmm...

As much as I'll want to hang onto her, eventually she will be sent on her way. We are considering placing Daisy in a cache while we are "geocationing" in Providence Town, MA this fall. If you have any suggestions for her pre-travel activities...let us know.

Pip (The Dragon)

Heads Up! Father's Day is Coming.....

If you're anything like me, its best that you think about holidays a bit before they actually get here. So, you have less than a month to consider what you're going to do with this one.

Me? I'm going GeoCaching of course! And I'm using the holiday as an excuse...

My dad and his wife live in Franklin, NC. So Beth and I are going to hop into her Dad's truck and head down there for a visit. And, to entertain ourselves and enjoy a little escape time, we will attempt a few caches. We are also going to try out the "Route" feature on geocaching.com. This feature allows you to enter start and stop coordinates, then pulls up caches along the route. Pretty cool, eh? I'll let you know how that goes.

Now about gifting. Dad's can be a little hard to buy for. Well, not my dad. I'm taking him six packs of Vienna Koegel HotDogs which his ex-wife/my mother delivered to me last month. (Wow, I was way ahead of the game this year!) Anyway, these are the dogs used in all the little greasy diners in Flint, Michigan, to create the famous Coney Island Hot Dog. Dad loves them. They provide me a bit of nostalgia from my childhood.

Back to gifting. A GPS could make a nice gift. Prices start at $100 and go up, the sky isn't even the limit for the heavy duty ones. But you could do what Beth and her siblings did, they split the cost on a Garmin Nuvi for Pop's birthday. I'll let Beth blog about how its working out for him, but I thought it was a good gift.




First, you need to ask yourself how the recipient will use the GPS. Does he or she (yes, some father figures are female) travel and will they use it as a highway navigation tool? Will he want to locate points of interest along a route, such as restaurants, shopping, etc.? Then the typical GPS found at WM might just do the trick.

If the giftee is more outdoorsy than that, a more technical type GPS might be needed...a low cost one is the eTrex, by Garmin. I know nothing about this, except the price that I looked up online. So I'm not endorsing here, just throwing out a suggestion. They have golf GPS's too. Again, I know nothing. But they are out there.

Now, let me interject here. Apparently in the Caching world there is a bit of bias about what GPS is used. I'm suspect its some ego related thing, but I'm not really sure as we are basically newbies at this hobby. My suspicious arose when we were at the Roanoke Event and someone complained that a flyer for an educational program pictured a Nuvi. My not-so little ears latched onto that. I didn't ask questions, as I basically don't care because we love our Garmin Nuvi 500 (most of the time). So much so, you'll recall, we've named her Ms. Garmin. We respect the lady.

First of all, she fit our budget at the time. Second, she has cool graphics and cute little icons. For example, when we are on a trip or on a way to a cache, we put in a cute little 4X 4 truck. It keeps me entertained so Beth can concentrate on the driving.

And while her voice (Ms. Garmin's, not Beth's) can grate on my nerves sometime, overall, she's fun....as any good date should be. She keeps track of our found and not found caches. She can pull up a restaurant when we get hungry. She found me a nurse practitioner once when I was in desperate need. And most of the time, she gets us within 20 feet of caches.

I think the hardest part of getting into this hobby was figuring out what we needed to get started. I did not enjoy researching GPS's. I found it a bit overwhelming. That's why I put the Search for GPS widget onto the left bar. If I would have had this when I was doing my research, it would have been nice. I read "Geocaching for Dummies". I like the dummy books..cause I are one sometimes.

Ok, maybe a GPS for dad is a bit out of your price range, or your siblings are deadbeats, or whatever. Understandable. There are some great books on geocaching. We are even starting to see short stories and novels written. There is even a country western song. No Kidding.

I put up the Amazon Carousel to the left too. I'll put some of our favorite picks there from time to time. The really cool thing is if you hold down the up or down button, it spins the products and looks really cool. Sometimes I log onto the blog to just play with it. Try it.

And yes, we are affiliates and if you buy something we get a little kick back. So what? You buy stuff anyway, why not contribute to the financial well being of a blogger.

The weekend is almost here...time to cache..... or at least think about it.

Pip

Life Is Good

We received the ultimate compliment in the past two days. Several of our readers have decided to give this geocaching thing a try. That's super cool. When you find a good thing, you want to share it and it is always a nice plus when the people you're pushing it on are actually interested!

Seems if we didn't scare Marie off, and that she is still asking for a GPS for her birthday, although, she does not want to wait until November to get it. From what I understand, if she really likes a birthday gift, she won't stop playing with it...wonder if she remembers how much she loved her Barbie Ride-On Car....her mother does, I've now heard the story. I'm certain that Marie will ditch the flip flops for more sensible caching footwear, now that she knows....my bad, I suppose.

On Memorial Day I got a surprise call from my sister, Beverly Dawn. Apparently they recently have gone out and bought a GPS. Her and hubby, Craig, were on their way to their first cache when she called. Again, super cool.


Now these folks need cool caching names. Wonder what they will choose? 'Tis all so exciting.


We kinda stumbled into DragonOx. It's our Chinese symbols...I'm the dragon, she's the ox, and yes the traits really do match us perfectly. And its cool. It's the year of the Ox, in case you didn't know....and I think Beth is pleased with how her year is going...especially when she got called back to work today....now if we just hit the lottery tonight....things would be SWEET! I haven't checked out the caches in Richmond, but I sure will if we have to make a road trip there to collect our winnings.





I've been working on our pathtag.

Here is a rough draft...I can see this developing into a tattoo...only with the Tao symbol worked in...





Oh my, I feel inspired...hey, maybe I'll videograph our getting our geocache tattoos and upload it here...using ChiroWork's new Flip Camcorder...

Oh ya, that's it, the tats will be a blogging project. Research. Hmm...That's It. Sounds like a plan.

We're Pirates!

As I've said before, Geocaching is a great activity for families. A couple of days ago, we took Beth's daughter and grandson on their first caching outing. We told little 4 year old Richard that we were all going on a treasure hunt and that we were Pirates. This would come back to bite us later in the day.

The night before I preloaded Ms. Garmin with what I thought would be some fairly easy finds with easy terrains. After all, I didn't want to be delivering little baby Allen, as that is way out of my scope of practice as a chiropractor.

Marie showed early, so we knew she was excited to see what this crazy hobby was all about. I donned Richard with one of my fishing hats and we piled into Beth's Dad's truck for the adventure. Weather was perfect!

First stop was a cache called "Hey Mom, Look What I did!". Its a nice kid friendly cache, very colorful and wide open for running and playing. It was a mini cache and we finally learned what a "nano" is....so the next time we pass through New Castle, VA, we'll score the one that previously got away.

After this cache, it was off to the next, located in a local cemetery up on Bunker Hill in Pearisburg.

The hint given by the owner of the cache was "Two woods not the same".

Richard and I were on this one! We just left Nana and Mommy on the southwest side and we just started walking the wall...low and behold, there it was!

But we let mommy and Nana log the cache. Note: When taking someone caching for the first time, inform them about proper footwear.

Ok! Now we're two for two. This is looking like a good cache day. Pirates always find their treasures, right? Well not exactly........

Next we headed to King Johnson. We totally struck out here, but Richard really loved the playground, and that's what it is about, having fun.

We also struck out at alwa artma of earisburgpa . Yes, this listing was really in pig Latin. So time for a drink. Water for the two middle aged ladies, DP for the youngster. A short break...back on the road.

The next cache was at The Inn at RiverBend, an upscale B&B in Pearisburg, overlooking the New River...oh what a view! This was a really great hide. We were only the second people to find, but that doesn't really count for anything. The cache blended nicely into the landscape. We may have tainted the experience for some other cachers behind us, as Richard had pocketed the Travel Coin we wanted to place in this cache. When the others drove up, he informed them in his cute little Richard way that we were pirates looking for treasure! So now they knew why we were there and exactly where the cache was hidden. Took away the thrill of the hunt for them I'm sure.

Last stop. The Pearis Cemetery. We were all getting a little tired and cranky.

Ok, I was getting tired and cranky.

All I could think about was what George Pearis, the founder of Pearisburg, would think about these strange folks tramping around his burial site. Think about it...an eight month pregnant woman in flip flops, a middle aged woman with a pirate bandanna and broken bifocals, a wild bangie 4 year old pulling up grave site stakes, and me.. an overweight chiropractor/auctioneer/yogi gal in a Pride T....what would this dude from the 1800's think?

I found it amusing. What I didn't find amusing was the fact that Ms. Garmin had us going off into some insect infested, poisonous plant laden area....but I sacrificed myself for the good of the game and I scored! Our clue: Not firewood. Hmmm...could this be it?

It was. I am the Dragon Slayer! No, I'm the slayer of the Dragon Slayer! No, I am the Dragon! Whatever...I totally disliked Coach on Survivor....and I hate the fact that he's sucking perfectly good air...but I digress.

So all in all, it was an awesome day. And to top it all off, I got this totally sweet picture of my little buddy, Richard.

Ok, don't you think its time to get out there? You keep reading this blog...go..go already!

Beth's Perspective On First Event

Our first event! I was psyched. I had a plan that would guarantee us some gold buttons if not silver, but it appears that others had the same plan. There were ten cache points, each with one gold, one silver, and ten bronze buttons.








As people started coming in to register I began to think, oh boy, this is going to be hard. There were about fifty to seventy five people. My plan was to go after the middle caches working up to ten then dropping back to the first set. What I did not expect was that the streets would be listed on the paper. This gave the locals an advantage I believe.

We got our paper at noon and watched the people run to vehicles, jump in and take off. We stopped in a parking lot to enter all the coordinates and took off. I was cursing all the red lights while Pippa was decoding the hints and handling Ms. Garmin.

Our first stop, we are going for the gold baby, oops, there are cachers, damn. Looks like others had the same plan I had, so much for strategy. The excitement of racing through Roanoke Co. was strong and I kept thinking of the reality show, "The Amazing Race." wow what they must feel for that much money on the line and different countries.

We saw some beautiful areas, and some not so beautiful, as Ms. Garmin took us through some rough areas to roads that no longer exist. We saw some areas more than once since we were not savvy on the streets of Roanoke, we did a lot of back tracking. We made it to eight of the ten caches points and collected four bronze buttons in the five hrs. allotted for this race.

When we checked in, we were told this was considered a great feat since we were unfamiliar with the areas.

I insisted on going to one last point which was off the Blue Ridge Parkway. This would have been a much nicer drive if I wasn't racing twenty miles over the speed limit and trying to pass every car we happened upon. We found this cache but it was empty. Pippa was worried that we would not get checked back in on time, and I the adventurous fast driving person I am, told her not to fret, we would be there in time. We got back with only three minutes to spare, that was a little close, but we were able to turn in our find.

We won nothing but had a great experience and met new people. Got to see new areas and just have a great day for only $48, gas and food. Oh, and I got a Pirate Bandanna which will be my new geocaching fashion accessory. Looking forward to the next event.

On the way home, Pip got to see her first double rainbow. Interesting enough, my sister, Mary Dee also saw one in Harrisonburg, VA. It was a really cool day.

From Brother Elliott

What do get when you cross a GPS and PMS???

A bitch that can find you ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, ANY PLACE.

Thanks to Beth's brother, Elliott, in Edmond OK and Best Friend, Kenny. Thanks Fellas! A good sexist joke is always appreciated....kinda.

Our First GeoCaching Event is Forthcoming!

As I said before, anticipation is a big part of this hobby. Planning, researching, strategizing....

Well tomorrow we are attending our very first Geocaching Event sponsored by Roanoke County's Parks and Recreation, Amazing County Treasure Hunt Caching in on Scenery Event.

The event begins at noon, when we are given the coordinates to 10 scenic or historic sites in Roanoke County Virginia.

Apparently there will be caches with colored coins of a specific value at each site, the goal being to be the first team with the highest value of coins to check in at the event's close.

I'm ready. Beth has her big knife. Ms. Garmin is charged. We'll take water and snacks. We also have a strategy, designed by Beth, which we'll not reveal here at this time.

And hopefully we'll kick some geobutts. We are going up against some highly experienced cachers...some have logged several hundred finds, one guy, moose something has over 2400. Beth and I just have 8...but we have enthusiasm!

I'll let you know how it goes. And did I mention it was free? That fits into our budget nicely.

Remember...weekends are for geocaching.

Pip

Greetings from St. Johns!

I (Pip) have had a wonderful stay on St. Johns, US Virgin Island. This is the view off the deck where we did yoga for about six hours every day.

I did manage to get away for a little geocaching, although I have to say that traveling around this little island is a bit scary. I thought the mountainous roads in Virginia were bad...no way....I will have nightmares for years to come, and I was just a passenger!

I had downloaded info for the Cruz Bay Cache into Ms. Garmin before leaving the mainland. During my free time from the yoga mat, I would play with Ms. Garmin, looking over caches, etc. This of course, sparked conversation with my classmates who politely showed interest in my strange little hobby.

I actually got to take one of my classmates, Amy Sand from Illinois, as a geo-hostage, when we went into Cruz Bay on a shopping excursion. We fired up Ms. Garmin and the hunt began. Now Ms. Garmin gets all technical with street names and such. But here on the Island, there are very few street signs, or stop lights, or the general traffic courtesies you find on the mainland. Side walks are few and far between. I think pedestrians are considered more of a nuisance than anything. And I'm sure points are rewarded in double digits here, and tourists probably carry bonus points, especially if you just scare the daylights out of them.

So here we are, Amy and myself, trying to get our bearings, when a voice behind us says..."Where ya goin?". I turn to find a tourist guide fella..and reply..."We're not sure"...and the nice man says..."If I were you, I'd go down one block and take a right".

We went back after we found the cache and thanked him and took this picture. I think he was expecting a tip, but I think just being featured on this blog is reward enough, don't you? If not, my Karma is screwed for sure.


Well the Nice Tourist Dude got us started in the right direction, and that seemed to please Ms. Garmin. The main clue we were working with was "look for the blushing fruit". Now we were thinking tropical drink...or Amy was thinking tropical drink...there was a good deal of drinking by my classmates on this trip....modern yogi's, these friends of mine...progress not perfection...that's a good motto...I stuck with the sparkling apple juice, thank you. But let me tell you about the Chocolate Lovin' Spoonful Cake that we had....oh my gawd...to die for....it probably had rum in the icing or something...cause it was just awesome.


So we are looking for blushing fruit, and some lady named Linda....and I'm thinking I want a cold fricken soda..so let's hurry this deal up....We didn't have to look far. One block down, made a right and on the left was the Pink Papaya. I went inside and asked a very nice lady if she was Linda. She was. She told us to go back outside, near the shudders and look up. Amy spotted it right away. And she found a step ladder when we realized both of us were too short to get the cache down from its perch. (Having short arms is an affliction that I bear the burden of on a daily basis, it is my cross to bear, I suppose).











Here is Amy







excited about her first find!

And here is me, anxious to break it open and see what's inside ...

And what was inside? All kinds of goodies...

At first I didn't think there was anything real exciting....but I kept digging and I found a Path Tag...I wasn't sure what it was at first, and am still a little confused...but it was interesting...it was from Georgia...so I had to have it...

As you might remember, Beth and I found our very first cache in Georgia, visiting a friend, so this was cool. I did go onto Pathtags.Com, and recorded the find, but I've not really made head or tails of it yet. Once I do, I'll post the ins and outs of it.

So, I got to combine two of my favorite things...Yoga and GeoCaching. Life is Good.

Oh, and I bought myself a really cool T-Shirt that says "Find Your Latitude, St. John's"...I would tell you what I got Beth, but that would ruin the surprise if she reads the blog before I get home.





I met a few locals and got myself really grounded while in St. John's. Best working vacation I've had in a very long time.





Iggy, the local that chatted with me on the beach.













Grounded is Good!