Five Hours Has Gotten Shorter?

One thing driving across the country twice has done is to make driving 5 hours to a gathering seem much more doable now. Unless it was a really big and special event, three hours has been kind of my cut off point.

But there's a gathering this Saturday in Saco, Maine that is looking more and more interesting.

We'll see how I feel around 4am Saturday morning. And how cheaply I can spend one night before drving home.

It's good to be retired.

You Can't Walk On The Keyboard

Not being able to walk on the keyboard is a concept that my cat Mikey just doesn't grasp, bless his little furry heart. He gets very frustrated when the laptop is in one of his favorite spots...my lap. I have finally managed to get him at least temporarily settled beside me rather than on me. We'll see how long this lasts.

I'm still in the recovery stage of my return home and I seem to have caught a cold somewhere on the trek from Georgia to New York. I can't remember the last time I had a cold.

On Monday of last week I was walking on Driftwood Beach on Jekyll Island, located just off the coast of Georgia. Jekyll Island is easily reachable by car and is a wonderfully low key place on which to wander and relax. There are lovely uncrowded beaches, small shops and several different places to stay if you don't want to travel to and from the island. It has a long, interesting, and diverse history and is, I think, a really wonderful and inexpensive place to spend a vacation. I don't think most people think of Georgia as a place to travel to but I'd go back there again just to stay on the island for a week. I found it to be very, very nice. You can take along a bike or rent one there and never get back into your car. The roads are smooth, flat and made for bike riding. But be sure and gas up that car before going since there is no fuel supply on the island.

I have no desire to get in the car, letterbox, or do anything else that requires more effort than walking to the corner deli for a bagel with cream cheese, which I think I'll do right now.

Home Again, Home Again

I arrived home from my cross country trek on November 24. I have been posting on facebook so rather than repeat myelf, have refrained from posting anything here. I may put up a few thoughts and a couple of my favorite photos at some point. I did some boxing but not anywhere near what some people would have done. But it was enough for me.

Always Have a Back Up

We are having a wonderful Indian Summer this year. Although some days have been rainy and a little gloomy, we have had many absolutely stunning fall days full of sunshine and warm temperatures. I was near Catskill, New York today and the drive is almost too distracting. You want to look at all the golden trees instead of watching the road!

I had a nice hike, not terribly long but enough to get some exercise and find five great boxes. A nearby treasure eluded me. Then I headed south to Poughkeepsie and snagged one more before heading home. When I got back in the car after getting a much needed cup of coffee, I turned the key and heard this awful buzzing noise. After a few seconds of slight panic, thinking something weird was happening with the car, I realized it was my GPS, Old Faithful, screen black and emitting this oboxious noise. It would NOT stop. I had to put it in the trunk and wrap a towel around it. I could still hear it until I started the engine again and started driving. THIS is why I keep a back-up GPS in the car. I knew Old Faithful was nearing the end of it's long life and I am always someplace I have never been before, with NO idea how to get back to a major highway. I am map challenged. Can't read 'em, don't like 'em. I am completly addicted to being electronically led by the hand and am not ashamed to admit it.

Sam's Point Preserve

I had an awesome time Saturday at Sam's Point Preserve near Ellenville, New York. Sam's Point is the highest point of the Shawangunk Ridge, and the hike is a wonderful one with the dwarf pine barrens being terrain quite different than many of us may hike on a regular basis.

We found 6 great letterboxes, two of them mysteries by one of our favorite veteran upstate boxers. The location is not a mystery but you still need to figure out where the actual hiding places are. Six great images, great clues and a really beautiful and interesting location. When it all comes together like that, it is truly what letterboxing should be about.



Here we are heading up and out of the ice caves. Then we went on the real hike up and through the dwarf pine barrens to more boxes and a big, lumbering bear. He had no interest in us other than getting as far away from us as those fat legs could carry him. It was a great day with 'CityCyclist' and 'Little Brown Mushroom'. Thanks to LBM for the great photos. Then Sunday morning was finding two boxes in Brooklyn with a friend from out of town who was here with her son for his soccer tournament. From the dwarf pine barrens of Shawangunks Ridge to Prospect Park in Brooklyn, one extreme to the other! And today the mundane rears it's ugly head as the laundry calls out to me from the next room.