Anyone going Geocaching this weekend? **NEW CACHERS...POP IN!**

[tammyandtommy]

Little help here? My husband started GEOcaching about a year ago, he loves it, I love it, my daughter loves it, my son... not so much!
We started it to have family things to do, get the kids out of the house, and get my son active somehow, he would prefer to sit on the couch and watch food network! Lately my son wants nothing to do with this activity! Any ideas on how to get him more involved? I know my daughter tends to steal his thunder and picks on him (yes she is the bratty little sister) for walking too slow, and she almost always finds the cahce, but we have went with just him and he is just not into it? Any ideas?

 

[MiJo]

ElizK: When you make your choice, just make sure the GPS comes with the USB cable for downloading cache information from the Internet. If it doesn't, the cable may cost another $20 or $30, and it is something you definitely want to have. Downloading the coords, etc., sure beats entering them by hand.

tammyandtommy: I probably can't be of much help here as we don't have little kids anymore. We have taken the children of friends geocaching and we always try to let them handle the GPSr whenever possible. That really gets them involved! If your son has already done this and still doesn't like it, it could just be he won't make a good geocacher. Not everyone gets into it with the same amount of enthusiasm. Have you tried getting him to help you hide a cache? Since he seems to like the food network, maybe you could try to hide one with a cooking theme and he could help to pick out the items to put in it. Who knows, he could end up a famous geocaching chef one day!
Good caching!

 

[Pin Wizard]

lilallybean...Sounds like you are going to be a party animal! HAVE FUN!

ElizK...Just stay away from the Explorist 300. I have that one. Now I know why it was on sale! It doesn't have the capability of downloading! I still use my litle etrex that I bought at Bass Pro Shops for $99. Yes, I use both GPSs. LOL!

tammyandtommy...Do you have friends who might be interested in Geocaching? Or maybe attend an event and meet others in your area. My 13 year old is less than thrilled going caching with me, but he has a great time at events and when we're caching with others! Seems to make a lot of difference to him. Trying to hook up soon with a family of four. And the boys are 6 months apart in age. I think Mike has a good idea with setting a cache out there. Let it be "his" cache. He can watch the logs, make sure things are okay with it, change the log book when needed, etc. Could be fun for him!

Happy caching!

 

[lilallybean]

Mike and Sandy had the same idea that I did! Try to get him to help hide a cache...let him pick a theme for it. Also going to an event and meeting some others to hunt with may help, OR see if he has a friend that he would like to invite to go along. My boys (ages 15 and 12) really enjoy hunting more if they have somebody to show off to. Hope that helps you some.

 

[tammyandtommy]

now ya gots me thinkin, do you think a recipe cache would work?? LOL

 

[MiJo]

tammyandtommy: A recipe cache would work! A lot of caches are themed and that would be a good one. BTW, we are pretty much neighbors if you are down towards Reading!

 

[tammyandtommy]

MiJo actually we are closer I am in Fleetwood! about 30 minutes from allentown

 

[lilallybean]

Awwww....I wish I was close to somebody who loved Disney AND geocaching! Especially somebody who is so good at caching!

 

[Pin Wizard]

There's a recipe cache around here. Pretty neat! I didn't trade recipes, but I did want the smilie.

Was at a neat cache yesterday. This was under a busy road in VB. You get to an overpass and take the steps down. Apparently, back in the 70s, this was how they got the kids safely across the street to the school nearby. (You really wonder why this isn't in use much these days!) But now they use this for run-off flooding. There's always water there. Kind of like a FL canal. So we were down there, zero satellite reception, looking for a micro. LOL! And we found it thanks to a hint from the owner. Under there are pipes. Of course there's a bracket of some kind attaching them to the concrete. Finally spotted it! Yahoo! Each bracket had two nuts, one on either side of the pipe. But just one bracket had three...there was a nut above the pipe! Knew that had to be it! LOL! Took the nut off and there was the nano. So glad to finally scratch that one off the list. This was trip three to it. The first, we just didn't have any clue what we were looking for. I was actually looking for a string to be tied to the railing and the cache actually being attached to it and in the water. Funny what you expect! The second time was two weeks ago. With all the rain we had, the walkway and several steps were completely covered with water. Bummer! But yesterday was it! The owner told me that I probably couldn't reach it, but my son could. Okay...look UP! She said she's dreading having to go replace the log while her "tall" husband is away because she's a tiny thing. She said she'll have to take something to stand on.

Guess I better go find the ones to hunt for today. Happy caching!

 

[lilallybean]

We didn't hunt any caches today...BUT...we did do some leg work to place 12 new caches! Got all the coordinates and now we will start loading up the containers. We will most likely place them in about 2 weeks. I really want to place one of the caches under water but I just don't know what sort of container to use. I am worried that when it gets cold a plastic or rubber container may crack. Anybody got any ideas? We have not ran across an underwater cache in our area yet, and we thought it might be fun to do one.

As for the recipe caches---plug these coords ( N 38° 33.397 W 090° 22.038) in to the search feature to look at "Frog Legs" cache in Missouri. We thought it was a fun one.

 

[MiJo]

tammyandtommy: I believe I have a cousin who lives in Fleetwood, or very near there. He is a school teacher in the Muhlenburg School District (I think) and he is a camerman for the Reading Phillies. We did some geocaching near Reading this past summer during a little get-away weekend.

 

[Pin Wizard]

lilallybeah...Congratulations on the 12 cache placements! WOW!!

There are at least 2 underwater caches around here. They both used ammo cans. I've only gone after one of them, not knowing it was an underwater cache! We laughed when we found it because we only pulled up the lid! Seems a lot of us have e-mailed the owner letting him know that and that the can itself and log must be in the water somewhere. He e-mailed me back and said he has the bottom part of the cache in his car! LOL! You wonder why he just doesn't disable it until he can get a new container out. I can tell you that the lid had a bunch of rust on it.

Can't tell you the fun we had at a cache in VB recently. It's behind a library in the back corner of the parking lot. There's remnants of an old fence, and of course, the posts. There's a post that's missing the top that goes on it. Sure enough, the matchstick container is in there. The cache page says you will need at least 3' of string and a nut to retrieve the cache. LOL! I'm still watching that page because of the creative things people come up with to get that cache. We used one of darling son's shoe laces with a nut tied to it. A nut? Where did this thing come from? He found it somewhere in our travels. I certainly don't buy them. Worked great. They had glued a magnet to the end of the match stick container. Then after signing the log, you just toss it back in there. LOL! It's called "Fishing for Literature."

Looking forward to the weekend to get back out there!

Happy caching!

 

[lilallybean]

Sandy, that is too funny! That sounds like a very interesting cache! LOL I have not seen one like that around here yet...but there are still many in St. Louis that we have yet to do.

We did run into one that was very interesting. The cache is under a bridge. When you step under the bridge you are encouraged to look for a helper. Ends up that there is a cup tied to the rafters of the bridge. Next to that there is a fairly tall pipe. There are holes drilled into the pipe in different areas. In order to get retrieve the cache you have to cover the holes AND fill the pipe! As you fill the pipe a waterproof float (like you would take boating) pops up! We had spent over an hour looking for it by this point! I really enjoy those unique caches!

 

[Pin Wizard]

I think Mike came across something similar in the past. Or did he put one out like that? Mike?

Yesterday a new cache came out that is just 5 miles from work. Unfortunately, I had to work in VB Tuesday and Wednesday, so no chance at FTF. Will have to add it to the list for the weekend.

It sure is getting darker a LOT earlier! Don't like that at all. If only I could get a trip in to FL!

Happy caching!

 

[MiJo]

Hmmmmmm.....
This does sound familiar but I'm not sure if we found one like it or if I just read about it. I know we haven't hidden one like it. I believe I read about one where you had to bring a bottle of water to the cache site. That had to be used to float the cache in a piece of pipe and then the water was emptied out for the next person. I'll have to ask my DW to refresh my memory!
Well, tomorrow we have our DGD all day as her parents are going to a wedding in Philly, so we will be housebound. It sure would be nice to get out into the field for a while, even if it's only long enough to do one or two caches. We do have a couple new ones right here in Easton so maybe we will get out Sunday afternoon.
Good caching, Fellow Cachers!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Have fun with Erin! With you mentioning wanting to go caching for even just a couple, right away it made me think of a nice crisp, SUNNY, October day, Erin in a stoller and tucked in with a nice blanket. Gosh...I wouldn't mind a day like that! I love seeing the little kids. It always reminds me of how darling son was at their age. There's an adorable picture in the banners on Geocaching.com with a little one in his stoller, a toy in his hand, and the most content look on his face. I LOVE that picture! I remember seeing that face on darling son at that age. Any words from David lately?

We're supposed to have rain on Saturday. I haven't had luck getting GC.com since last night. Lots of time outs and error messages. I'll have to try from work on my lunch break. I wouldn't want to be without caches tomorrow!

Happy Friday, everyone, and Happy Caching!

 

[MiJo]

Hmmm, I tried to put a photo of David on but now I can't remember how to do it!
I'll have to figure it out later, I guess!
Wait, I got it!
Anyway, now that David is in Pensacola, he has normal privileges so he has a cell phone and he can call home whenever he feels the need. He is also getting a laptop so he can send emails and photos.
He is thoroughly enjoying Navy life, so far! He hopes to get home for Christmas so we are currently working on finding the best flights for him.

 

[MiJo]

We may actually get out to do some caching this Saturday!

 

[Pin Wizard]

What a GREAT picture, Mike! Glad to hear that David will be connected to the outside world again. I'm sure you'll be looking forward to him coming home for Christmas...woooo hoooo!!! That would be great if he can get those 5 extra days. I'll keep my fingers crossed!

Hoping you get out caching on Saturday! It's getting tough finding things in the area here. Need to head out somewhere soon. I'm trying to hook up with a family who recently started. They're all ready up to over 250 finds. They're trying to find an area where we can all find caches. They said they're having a problem since I've been doing this longer and pretty much have this area. LOL! We may end up going to the Eastern Shore. I haven't ever been there. But i haven't done much in Portsmouth and Chesapeake either. Last weekend was "redemption from previous DNFs." LOL! With help from others, of course. Have to love e-mail-a-geofriend and phone-a-friend. There was a new cache out in Norfolk at Nauticus. Went to that one and did get the blasted thing. LOL! While crossing the street, a lense popped out of my glasses. Grrrr! Forget about finding that in the middle of the road. So it's gone and I need an appointment with the eye doc in order to get a new pair. Grrrr. Good thing I have prescription sunglasses as a back up! So after the eyeglasses incident, we were searching for this cache. I knew we were in the right area based on the hint. And without glasses on, I couldn't tell if the guy across the lot directing pedestrians and traffic was watching us. LOL! Great. If it ends up being muggled, I guess I have an answer. So after searching this area and coming up empty handed, started leaving and would try another time. Then the thought of the glasses entered my mind again. Oh, no! I was getting this thing if I had to call someone! So I called a Geofriend. She herself didn't find it. Her husband did while she waited in the car. But she knew enough of it for us to find it! Yeaaaaaaaa!! Guess I better get that referral today for the eye doc!

lilallybean...Get those caches out there yet?

Happy caching!

 

[Pin Wizard]

Mike...Do you know about this organization and web site? Interesting!


http://www.militarycache.org/