Really? Neon?

Okay, I get it that you are new. I get it that you seemingly haven't found box one, or at least not on AQ. And I suspect your 'find count' of zero is the true one. You plant and join on the same day. They are 'store bought' stamps of God Help Us..............butterflies. You are eager to plant. I get it. And yes I went and found those 'store bought' butterflies. But I was interested in that particular location. I had never done any boxing even close to there and never even knew about the place. So sue me, I went and found the butterflies. It was a pretty cool location. I saw some cool stuff I wouldn't have seen had I not been there. The 'store bought' stamps won't cause my logbook to spontaneously burst into flames. No, really.

But newbie that you are, the concept of hiding the container so that IT CANNOT BE SEEN FROM THE TRAIL is pretty basic. And those bright, neon, bluish containers that look like little suitcases (huh?) and are not in any way, shape or form waterproof......really? In your journey of newbiness did you not pick up the water tight, HIDDEN thing? I am in spite of some opinions to the contrary, a nice boxer. I managed to hide them so that NO ONE CAN SEE THEM. I wrote you a nice.............yes it was nice.........note telling you that they could be easily seen and that I hid them. I made a nice, neutral public comment. My niceness abounds. HAH!

Quest, County of Broome

If you're near Binghamton, New York, you HAVE to do the Broomequest series! I busted my letterboxing posterior this weekend and still don't have all twenty-five of them. Wonderful images and a grand tour of the area! Most of them are really nice hikes so make sure you have time to devote to the effort. It's not a mystery series, so, here 'tis...

http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=210384

And when it's time to refuel, head for Nevoles Family Pizza in Johnson City. You can sit down and eat or take out if you are sweaty and stinky with dirt under your fingernails. Living here in Gotham it is hard to impress me with a pizza but this was really good. And when I travel I am never far away from a cupcake. I hike. I eat. Baked Euphoria's coconut was to die for. And three different people came in there to pick up their cakes so everything else must be really good!

Spring Has Sprung!

Though I did do a fair amount of boxing over the winter, it's great to be on the trail without seeing your breath in front of your face as you begin to loose the feeling in your fingers because you can't stamp in with gloves on your hands. It's time for that springtime boxing we enjoy here on the east coast before that heavy, sweaty, dense, blanket of humidity descends over those trails. You know those trails, the ones that have not one breath of moving air on them as you slog along unable to see the sky over your head between those lovely green boughs that are preventing the breeze you know must be there somewhere from reaching your sweat drenched face. And you love every minute of it.

God Bless Us Everyone

Somehow, once again we seem to have arrived at yet another holiday season. How did this happen? It has been another year of loving letterboxing and hiking the trails, going to events, meeting new letterboxers and seeing old friends. I continue to be amazed that after 8 years I am still just as passionate about this great hobby as I was in 2004.

I held my first event at the Maple Tree Inn in upstate New York and it seemed to be a success. Everyone had a good time, which is the most important thing. I carved, drove back and forth planting, worried about the weather and then just decided to let it go. The weather turned out fine, cold and cloudy but no snow or rain.

Retirement continues to be a series of phases. The one I'm in now seems to be a kind of rough patch. I've been retired since January of 2010 and have had a lot of fun. I seem to be in a bit of a rut right now but I expect it to pass. I'll get tired enough of being in a rut and will make a change.

My next door neighbors want to buy my apartment and I will take the money and run. I'm just not sure where I'm running to as of yet. But I think the move will be the catalyst that ends the rut.

See you on the trails!

Stroking The GPS

I have a Magellan GPS that I love, love, love. On an earlier post I mentioned how map challenged I am and how much I love and am addicted to my little electronic friend. I even have a Garmin back up in the glove compartment should my Magellan go belly up and I be stranded on some winding back road. I'm addicted and proud of it.

I am kind of proud of how I have learned to manipulate and play with the Magellan. Every GPS has quirks. Mine is no exception and I have learned how to make it cooperate every time. Most of the time, a town will be listed twice, such as "Saugarties, NY", and "Saugarties, NY, Town Of". Sometimes the address or intersection will only be found in one of those listings. Or if I don't type the full town name and let the GPS complete it, the address won't be recognized. But if I type the whole name, the address is recognized. Or it won't recognize the address in any of these and I'll type in the zip code, then select the town and it recognizes the address. Weird but doable.

This may all sound confusing but I am so used to it that it doesn't bother me. And most of the time all these quirks don't happen. But with some locations they do. The GPS may recognize "Route 2" but not "Main Street", which according to Google maps, the route turns into when you hit town. So I'll just use "Route 2" and I'm good to go even though the address I have is on "Main". Using Google Search, Google Maps, and the GPS I can find even the tiniest, most obscure cemetery or an intersection nearby.

I DESPISE driving around and not knowing which way to go so my GPS has to be loaded before I set out to find letterboxes. Oftentimes a planter says the nearest town is "So And So" but as far as Google Maps and then the GPS is concerned it is the town next to it. I think this is because the planter lives there (or nearby) and everyone just thinks of it as "So and So" when it is really across the line into the next one.

But once I hit the road, my little talking friend performs wonderfully, with no quirks or hitches. It dings and tells me when to turn, lets me know when the exit is 2 miles, 1 mile, .5 miles, and then which way to turn when I get off the highway...........immediately. I can look and see the whole route, all the way to my destination. One reviewer of my Magellan (a man of course) said that he didn't like being "led by the hand". My response to that is "Take my hand and lead me, please!!!!" I want to be told everything and as often as possible!!!

As for those stories you hear about people doing something dumb because their GPS told them to? Personally I think they were dumb to begin with and the GPS probably had a higher IQ.