November 28
- Visiting Mary
November 26
- Thanksgiving
May 21
- 1000?
May 12
- Grocery Store Wars
January 6
- A Handyman in Me
January 5
- Movin' In

2008

December 31
- Fear
November 5
- A Gloomy Morning
October 16
- A Truce?
October 14
- Banned!
October 9
- Drive-by Dilemma
October 7
- Phallfest Phun
August 27
- Do You Get It?
August 26
- Boxing the Brandywine
August 18
- Still Got It
August 4
- Something to Ponder
July 14
- Another Weekend
June 30
- Floating Apartments
June 23
- Time To Fly
June 12
- Sky Meadows
April 4
-Hiking in the Smokies
April 1
-McLetterboxing
February 25
- Real Men...
February 1
-A Helping Paw
-Conneaut Lake Fire
-Max Patch Thoughts
January 31
-My Hat is in the Ring
January 26
-Never Expected It

2007

December 11
-Personalizing It
- Diversity
December 10
- Installation Complete
November 28
- Sorry I mentioned it
November 19
- Slack Blogging
November 1
- Guns Over Women?
- Grocery Store Capers
October 29
- Worst... Tour... Ever
October 16
- RE: Look At Me!!!!!!
October 13
- Great Adventure
- The Dark Knight
- No Phall Phunfest Phor Me
- New Boxers?
- To Quell the Rumors
- Central PA
-Haunted Frostburg
- Don't Use That Word!
- Look At Meeeeee!!!
- Good Idea for a Gathering?
- Atlas Quest 2.0
- What's in a Stamp
October 3
- The City By The Bay II
September 18
- The City By The Bay
September 16
- In Walks Erma
- To The Left Coast
September 12
- Hard Working Beer
September 1
- The Beer Review IV
- Look Out Below
August 31
- Knoebels
August 22
- Real Men...
August 15
- Summer Colds Suck
August 5
- The Beer Review III
July 31
- Into Amish Country
July 29
- The Beer Review II
July 26
- More on The Flying Turns
July 25
- The Beer Review I
July 24
- Moving Day For The Boy Scouts
- Summer Is Over
July 23
- Flying Turns Update
- Why Can't People Write?
July 17
- No Appreciation
July 16
- A Birthday Bash
- Across The Great Divide
July 12
- Working Hard
July 10
- The Fake Furlough
July 8
- Is The Thrill Gone?
July 5
- Boxing Buddies
- I Don't Get It
July 4
-Independence
- Blogging and Atlas Quest
July 3
- French Creek Rocks
June 24
- NYC
May 3
- SNAP!
May 2
- Getting Into Gear
April 30
- Knoebels!
April 17
- Potato Chips
April 10
- So Lazy
March 23
- No Pork?
March 19
- Odds and Ends
March 14
- More Kittens
March 11
- New Toys
March 6
- Great Adventure Update
February 25
- Babies
February 21
- Ewww... Cooties
February 20
- SNOW!
February 11
- I Love Marines
January 25
- Cats and Dogs
January 14
- Recovery
January 10
- A Year in Photos
2006 Archive
December 5
- Who's Counting
December 3
- Stop and smell the Plastic
November 29
- A Little Poem...
November 23
- Thankful...?
November 19
- Still Alive
June 25
- A New Box
June 6
-Remembrance
May 16
- Democratic Candidates at Your Door
May 11
- South of the Border
May 8
- Road Rall

Becky and I got out early this morning, and headed to Shenandoah for a little exercise.

We are both pretty out of shape, though she is a bit worse off then me, so we have decided to get out a bit more, get back on the trail, and do some serious hiking.  We had found out the hard way last week when we hiked about four miles in Pennsylvania along the Appalachian Trail.  We went up the AT on a steep 700 foot climb to Chimney Rocks, a vista in Michaux State Forest near Gettysburg.  I felt pretty good afterwards.  I little stiff the next morning, but not too bad.  Becky, however, was hurting, and was stiff for three days afterwards.

So this week it was out to hike Mary's Rock in the Shenandoah National Park.  I looked over the maps and found there were two ways to hike it, each about three miles round trip.  I decided to take the route with far less elevation gain and to take it a little easier.  She wanted to take the harder hike, but I reminded her of last week and she agreed that maybe it was best to do something a little less strenuous.

The hike turned out to be very nice.  There were no letterboxes to get, or at least I didn't go looking for clues, this morning was all about the hike and the enjoyment of it.  The sun was out and the skies were blue, so though it was cold and the was a bitter wind coming from the west, we still worked up a sweat.

We did not stay at the rocks every long.  As soon as we got to the top and rounded the last bend to the vista we were hit by some very strong winds.  It got cold pretty quickly then.  I took a few pictures and we headed down.

On the way down we decided we had not had a long enough trip so we passed by the trail that led down to the parking lot and continued on the Appalachian Trail to the Crow's Nest shelter to see what there was to see.

We found the old stone shelter with smoke billowing out of the chimney.  Inside around the fire were four men, and a dog, who had been out on the trail since Thanksgiving.  They were having a good time, and invited us in for some coffee and we talked about different hikes and what we had been doing.  They, like us, had not seen another soul on the yet, despite the parking lot being nearly full.  We figured everyone else was smart and went into the valley where it was warmer and without the wind.

We bid farewell and took a shortcut down a fire road to the car.  We drove up along Skyline Drive to Front Royal, stopping at the visitor's center, and got something to eat at Jalisco Mexican Restaurant in town, one of Becky's favorites.

I am thankful each day when the sun rises above the horizon and breaths life into this vast, wonderful world.

I am thankful to live in this great, free nation where I have the liberty to pursue life to its fullest.  In that vein I am so very grateful for the many men and women who risk their lives so that I may remain free.

I am thankful that in this complex world the simplest things are still some of the most satisfying.  A beautiful sunrise, the changing of the colors in the fall, a stream as it cascades over rock ledges.  These are some of the simple things that lighten my heart and bring a smile to my face.

I am thankful to have a strong, healthy family that has always loved and supported me and helped me grow into the man I am today.

Anyway, I finally looked over my logbook on AQ, axed ones that I didn't think were really letterboxes in my eyes and added some I did.  I came out with a number in the 980's

"Hmmm," I thought.  If I really plan things right I could make something special out of my 1000th find.  Then, Becky and I were biking the W&OD trail out towards Vienna.  We went past an area called Clark's Crossing.

"The first letterbox I ever actually found was out there." She says to me.

"Is it still there?"

"I don't know, it is an old box."

So I went looking for clues, and found them in the letterboxing.org basement.  That meant the clues had been basically abandoned on the site, and there was no telling if the box was still there as it is no longer being maintained.  Well, that has never stopped me from looking.

I worked my way up to 999.  I managed to find a bunch of mystery boxes over the last few weeks, and Becky and I went out a few times as well.  Last Friday, although I was very ill, we decided to go looking for the box on the way out to get dinner since we had some extra time.

It was a warm afternoon, none the helped by my own raging fever, and humid.  The trail was very muddy and the bugs were biting, but the woods were pleasant and I none the less enjoyed the walk with Becky.

When we finally reached the final part of the very straight forward clue we were not sure we were in the right place, but I peered around the tree I thought it was and sure enough, there is a giant pile of twigs hiding a massive, old rubbermaid container.

The box was soaked inside, but the contents were sealed well in bags and somewhat dry.  There was a separate box inside that had the logbook archives, which were wet but can be saved.  We plan to restore the box and see about getting it out of the basement to encourage others to enjoy it.

I hate those shopper cards the grocery stores have.  Really, please, I just want to buy what I put in my cart, I want it at the sales price they list, and I don't want to have to carry some stupid card around and be on a mailing list.  Is that so hard?  Not for some places, they get it.  Up in Pennsylvania, Giant food stores, not to be confused with the stores of the same name down here, have a shoppers card but have no problem if you don't want one.  They ring it through with a smile and never an argument about it.  Same with Acme.  Redners, which I dearly miss, doesn't even have one and they advertise as such.

Here, I have two very close stores, within walking distance.  Both have the shoppers cards.  The Safeway is a nice large store that has everything.  The store is well stocked, has a deli and bakery that is decent.  It is a bit more expensive then the close by Bottom Dollar, but the Bottom Dollar only has the basics.

Here is the big difference to me.  At Safeway I go to the register and they refuse to ring a card through for me, telling me they cannot, it is against company policy.  I walked out of the store, leaving a basket full of groceries the other night because of this. 

Bottom Dollar, on the other hand, seems to have no problem that I don't want a card, as I found out tonight, and I thanked the cashier and told her this is just why I will prefer to shop there over the Safeway.

I have lots of work with the house to do,  and it seems the list gets longer and more expensive each day.  I guess it is a "Welcome to home ownership" type of thing.  But, I did want a project, and as I get things done, I have been happy with the results.

Over the past few days I have gotten a good deal done.  On Friday, with very little trouble, I changed the locks on the front door.  It had to be done, we had no key for the deadbolt and the door knob was less then secure.  It didn't take anymore then an hour, but by the time I was ready to start my folks had gotten here from Philly, I didn't expect them for another hour, so after the usual nickel tour I went to work, with my father's help (well, he moved some boxes around to get ready for the move in the next day, which was a big help) while Becky and my mother headed to Arlington to do some packing.  

That has not been the only project.  I spent four hours and got a brand new faucet installed on the kitchen sink.  It looks great, and I also installed new fittings and valves below it which stopped a slow leak under the sink.

A new cartridge in the bathtub stopped the slow dripping it was doing.  That was a job as well, as that thing just did not want to come out.

Becky had simply tried to change the light bulb in the bathroom and that fixture fell off the wall.  So it got replaced too.

My current project is the master bedroom.  It was wallpapered and then painted over, twice.  So I am stripping, though just two walls.  The other two and going to be meeting the business end of a sledge hammer within a year, so no sense in stripping them, I will just paint them a third time for now.

I should start with our first night in the house, New Year's Eve.  We decided to stay at home, enjoy some beer and play some pool.  I got the radio going and we danced and had a really nice evening.  Next door they were having a party, a good one from the sounds of it.  At about ten after midnight, though, the power goes out, with lots of shouts coming from the party.  Seconds later it was back on, only to go out for good minutes later.  We decided, after fumbling around to find a flashlight, that it was time for bed, but it will be a first night to remember.

On Saturday we got a gang together to get Becky moved.  She and I stayed in Arlington that night to do some last minute packing.  Becky has soooo much stuff, lots of cloths and boxes and boxes of shoes.  Well, I guess she is a woman!  Anyway, Karen came over and we got things ready to go.  We picked up the truck and I started to load the little stuff while waiting for her cousins John and Tom to get there.  By noon we had everything out and loaded, and off to Sterling we went.

Tom had the wise idea to order ahead for pizza, and Becky stopped to pick it up so we had it when we got there.  I already had a ton of beer in the fridge.  

I really don't know how else to say it.  I have just made a huge change in my life, one that I know is for the better, and it scares the hell out of me.

Becky and I have finally bought a house and are moving in together.

We settled on December 30, and the first thing we did was drive to the house, carry our new pool cues and balls in, and played a game.  She was thrilled that the owner left the pool table for us.  It is not the best table, but it works, and eventually we can get a nice one.  As she says, we just paid 270 grand for a pool table, but it came with this cool house for free.

We are very excited by the prospect, and very much looking forward to it.  The house is a nice place, but it also needs work, and we have decisions to make about what needs to be done.  While I would like to do some major renovations, I think we are going to just start out with some painting and just cleaning up.  Neither of us like wall paper too much, and the house is covered in it, so that alone is going to be a big project.  But at the same time, it will be fun to pick out colors and figure out what we want to do with different rooms.

The house itself is a split foyer.  When you come in the front door you can go upstairs to the living room, dinning room and kitchen.  There are also three bedrooms and one and a half bathrooms upstairs.  Downstairs is another bedroom, an office and a large family room.  I think we will spend most of our time there, since we are going to make that our game room, with the TV and a pool table down there.  Eventually we want to install a fireplace, something she is dieing to have.

Out back is a very large deck, below which is a screened in porch.  It has a nice front yard and a smallish backyard that is covered in ivy.

There is much to do, but first we have to get moved in.  I moved all my stuff in last night.  Becky's friend Matt and I took care of the truck pretty quickly.  We need to have the carpets cleaned downstairs, so we tried to keep it all upstairs.  Saturday Becky is getting moved in.  So we have the next few days to get her packed up and ready to go first thing Saturday morning, though some stuff is moved already, and more will be done in our trips to and from.

We are excited, but it is a huge undertaking, and is very scary at the same time.  I have left my job in Philly, as well as my home there, and am transplanting myself in DC now.  I never thought I would do it, to be honest, but she is just such a wonderful woman, I just have to be with her, I love her so very much.  Becky is worth the change, and in the end I know it will be better.  She is taking on a huge new responsibility herself, home ownership.  The mortgage is vastly more then her rent, and while we can afford it, she has to carry us for a little bit while I get settled in and get some work.

Then there is the emotional toll.  I don't want to feel like I am leaching off her.  She is stressed out over the mortgage, electric, the move, and the holidays all at once.

They did fail, and the soul of the American spirit thrived.  It sputtered along the way, lost ground here and there, but continued on.  Americans continue to fight for that hope of liberty, hope of freedom from the tyranny of government, and the belief that the individual man, without government intervention, can do right for his family and his nation.

We have lost a great battle in this struggle last night.  The morning dawn revealed dark clouds on America's horizon.  The march of socialism, the belief that not the individual man, but government, will do right by you and your family, continues to plague this great nation.

But there is a glimmer of hope on the horizon.  Sometimes man must be taken through a dark storm to realize just how bad things can be.  When he goes into his workplace and finds that he no longer has the right to a secret ballot.  When he opens his pay and finds that the government has taken much of what he has earned.  When the airwaves are silenced so the opposition to the government cannot be heard.  When the state no longer has the ability to make laws to serve their own people and federal law supersedes all.  When the government forces him to serve, watches over him at the point of a gun, takes his home so that those that have not earned it may have it.  When a man can no longer arm himself to protect him and his family.  Those are the dark days, the storm that is hovering over America.  Those will be the days that will try men's souls, and those are the days that will lead to the true hope that our founding fathers had for their fledgling nation over two hundred years ago.

First, let me set the record straight on my involvement on the newboxers list.  I had been a member of that list for about three years, and in that time I had made just 120 postings, hardly many, by any standard, for that time.  None of those posts have been derogatory towards other members of the list.  Most often I have posted helpful information, though sometimes I have disagreed with things that have been said.  Many times I have totally bitten my tongue, preferring not to say anything that would lead to an argument.

I also feel there is a fundamental problem with the list.  It is great that there is a place for folks that are new to the hobby to go and post questions that otherwise would be very, very repetitive in other places.  I think this was the goal of the list from the start, but I think it has also turned into a place for the elitists to groom new folks to their style of boxing, and I think this stifles creativity.  I do not think that the more veteran letterboxers should be posting topics of the week, discussing office politics or initiating discussion, that should be left to the new boxers themselves to do.  The veterans should simply sit back and answer questions that arise in an objective manner.

And objectivity is something that is needed when a list or forum of any type is being moderated.  That is not something that you seem to get with the newboxers list.  It is clear that I had done nothing wrong, and if there were complaints, which now I wonder if that is true, then they should have been brought to me first, not simply moderating and then minutes later banning me.  I have always conducted myself well on that list, and that is what Mark Pepe should have told those who have complained.  Instead, he let his own feelings get in the way and.  Further, he lied and tried to cover up for what he did, and for his own hypocrisy.

dear cyclonic,

the moderators and owner of the newboxers yahoo group wanted you to know that all posts referring to your moderation and banning have been deleted from the yahoo group. the purpose behind this is to not influence your reputation as an individual and letterboxer. while it is true that many have already seen the posts there are those in the future who will not.  we are all truly sorry for what has happened and wish you the best. 
sincerely,
uneksia

This is called covering up, and it is not for the betterment of my reputation, but for the betterment of that of Mark Pepe's and Don's reputation.  If they were truly sorry then Mark would have personally apologized for his actions and he would have removed himself as list owner and moderator.  Instead he has a poll to see if I should be allowed back, and then ignores it when the majority of the respondents say yes I should.

That list is not a place I would recommend for new boxers, they are better off with their local groups, such as the Mid-Atlantic list or the Great Lakes list.  There they can be welcomed, grow in the hobby, and see what it is truly about, not what some people want them to think it is about.  I wish no part of that list, and every time I see it recommended to a new boxer I will advise against it.  Further, I hope that other list owners who have Mark Pepe as a moderator take into serious consideration as to if he is someone who can actually do the job correctly and not be calling members names behind the scenes.

Don posted on the new boxers list:

How many mystery boxes are listed, linked, or filed here?
Do not post where you have found them, only the number.

I took that to mean he would like to know no who posted a box,  or where it was posted, but simply how many were listed.  I also felt that was something he should learn for himself.  So I replied:

Is that not something you should figure out for yourself?

I think that is reasonable, and I thought I got a reasonable response:

Actually Nathan the question was meant to try to get newboxers thinking 
outside of the box, but to tell you the truth my guess is that no one 
knows exactly how many mystery boxes are hidden amongst the various 
areas in this chatlist's nooks and crannies.

While I have my own guess, it may be woefully short.

Part of this chatlist's concept is to help educate newboxers rather 
than to lurk about and toss out comments once in a while that serve 
little purpose. The main list has sufficient numbers of those types of 
comments. Thus you now have my explanation for the original 'question'. 
I thought that the explanation would have been unnecessary for most 
letterboxers, but since you posed your own question about it I figured 
there may be others that needed a clearer explanation as well. Thank 
you for the opportunity for clearity.

OK, I get it.  Dense me didn't see his question that way, but I probably was not the only one.

I would have been more straightforward, but hey, I get it now.

Evidentally others thought I was being mean somehow and complained about me.  Perhaps even Don.

First I get a note from Mark saying that I was being put on moderation due to complaints.  I am confused, I don't really understand what there is to complain about, so I ask what kind of complaints?

his attitude 

seems like he's always picking a fight 

why is this guy so angry 

Those are 3 of the complaints.

This is the response I get.  OK, what was I angry about?  Before I can pose the question it is posted on the newboxers list that I have been banned:

Hi boxers,

I'm very sorry for the message that got through. I thought Don had 
emailed me privately.

Cyclonic has been banned from this list after repeated complaints from 
many of you today and other times.

Again, I'm sorry for my post - it wasn't intended for mass consumption.

Mark

What?  What message.  Then it posts to my email:

Don 

I just put the SOB on moderation and sent him an email to that effect. 

Why are some people so disagreeable. 

Anyway - we'll comb over his posts with a fine tooth comb. 

I'm hoping he'll get pissed enough to just go away.

What more can I say?  What more needs to be said?  I post a simple one line reply and get banned, while Mark posts this to the list.  Well, I don't think that is a list I need to be a part of anyway.  

Just saw that you have felt the heavy hand of the post police.  Some of us Ohioans have been privately snickering at Don & Gwen for sometime for certain snotty comments he sends to folks.  That was the main reason I carved the 'Cry babies' stamps a couple weeks ago, a direct dig at the post police.

Weirdly, my first thought was that y'all were taking those fake potshots at each other that happens every so often under "Isn't it funny...they'll never know" bs that rears its ugly head every so often, makes onlookers not in the know uncomfortable, and passes along with the long-timers all slapping themselves on their backs,laughing all the way.

More stupid stuff from online community fun.

People speaking for you were a nice surprise and a good collection of folks, even if I say so myself.

From past experience with Mark Pepe, I do not believe he received a single complaint about your post.  I personally believe the man is lying and made it up.  Here's why --

A similar thing happened in the past where I was only tangentially involved.  A friend of mine, and an up and coming powerful personality in letterboxing (who Mark didn't realise was a friend of mine, and who
Mark seemed to have a mission to disparage (for reasons unknown to me)), made an offhand comment about one of my mystery boxes.  As you may or may not know, I dislike information leaks about my boxes (well, just about everyone, including Mark, knew this at the time).  The comment was so innocuous that even paranoid me didn't think twice about it.  The person who made the comment knew what he or she was doing.

Anyway, Mark did not realise I was lurking on the list where the comment was made.  After the post, Mark sent me an e-mail asserting that three different people had complained to _him_ about this person spoiling my box.

Ok, what is wrong with this picture?

"Those are 3 of the complaints." [from your blog]

Notice it is 3 in both cases.  Ok, not much.

More importantly, not a single person complained to _me_ about this individual spoiling my box.  Ok, why would three people complain to _Mark Pepe_ about person X spoiling my box, yet zero people 
complain to _me_? (Mark Pepe was not a moderator on the list in question, nor did he have any part whatsoever in the creative process behind the box).

Occam's Razor requires us to look for the most likely answer that  fits the facts.  Occam's Razor requires us to posit that Mark was lying about the fact that three people complained to him about spoiling
my box.  That is the most likely answer that fits the facts.  Moreover, a motive can be posited, is that Mark wished me to view the individual in question negatively, given the putative history (or desire) of/to disparaging this individual, and (presumably), not wishing them to be come part of the "elite cirque" (who Mark presumably thought I was part of -- barf!).

Given that we have reasonable reason to suggest that Mark was lying about e-mails received in my case, it seems reasonable to posit he was lying about e-mails received in your case.

In the interest of fairness and intellectual honesty, however, we must remember to be critical readers and separate the facts from conjecture in my comments above, and make their own conjectures
based on the presented facts.

That said, I remain convinced that Mark Pepe lied about individuals complaining to him about someone posting spoilers about my box, and lied about posters complaining about you.  Why?  Who knows?  Well, I have an idea, but that is for another time.

BTW, I do not know you or Mark well at all.  I have no reason to support you and disparage Mark, and vice versa.  I am simply a neutral observer who worships at the altar of fact and logic, with no agenda at all, and am simply trying to call this one as I see it IMHO.

This got me to thinking, and everyone knows how dangerous that can be.  Becky and I went to Charlotte last month and I planed out a whole series of drive-bys to get.  I figured we would want to get the most boxes we could in the least amount of time.  Well, after that weekend we assessed what we had found, what we liked and didn't like, and found that with the exception of one of the drive-bys, we didn't really enjoy any of them.  We found more pleasure in the boxes we had to hike to, even if it was a short distance.  Clues and location are just as important as the stamp and box itself, and turn a good box into a great box.

So what was wrong with the drive-bys?  Well, most were not in particularly nice locations, and the clues were lackluster.  Some had no real reason for being, while others did but were just poorly executed.  I don't know, but if you are planting a box in honor of one of your favorite restaurants, why plant it in the parking lot?  Why not get permission to plant it inside, so people have to go in and see the place, maybe even eat there?  Give it a clever hiding spot and clues that people have to actually think about.  Some of the best boxes are those that are hidden in plain sight, with only the person finding it knowing about it.

What drive-by did we like?  Well, it was one that was just as I just described, Dilworth Coffee Shop.  Even with this box, more could have been done, but the clues were clever, and the owners of the small shop loved having us there.  It is just like Becky's own Beanetics box.  It is hidden in a local shop to her and the owner, Amy Starr, loves having it.  She loves meets folks from all over as they come in and search around the shop for the box.  Further, the box is not a box at all, but a mug with a fake mound of beans on it (I won't tell where she got that idea, or who built it).  It has clever clues and a neat hide, and is what I love to see in not only an indoor box, but also a drive-by.

Boy, has it been a while since I have written.  I really have been meaning to, but have had myself so busy I just have not sat down and really done it.  This past weekend has been no different, though it proved to be a fun yet relaxed weekend.

Becky and I headed up to Knoebels this weekend for Phoenix Phall Phunfest.  It looked to be a very nice, yet cold, weekend, though we ended up getting a little rain which prevented us from getting a bike ride in to find the Natalie Miner's series.

I started out early Friday morning and headed to Lancaster.  there I found a few boxes and also planted my second box with a cuckoo clue.  Cuckoo clues are something you never see anymore, so I have decided to plant a bunch of boxes in different places that use just cuckoo clues in the hope of getting more folks to do the same.  I think finding a clue in a box is a great bit of trail serendipity, not to mention they are easier to handle then hitch hikers as there is no extra work, they are just there and are simply moved along, no stamping required.

So I placed some clue cards in some of the boxes I found and also left one for Princess Lea and Amanda From Seattle, who were staying in Lancaster for a convention.  I then headed north, meeting Becky at Memorial Lake State Park where we got the local boxes and then headed for Knoebels.

We actually got to Knoebels at a decent time.  We set up camp and relaxed a bit, walking around and taking in the Covered Bridge Festival.  The festival is just a giant craft fair, though we did see some very neat things, including some cool banks made from old post office boxes.

That evening we went into Bloomsburg to find some dinner and the Wal-Mart.  We never made it to Wal-Mart, but we had dinner at Kristen's Pub, a nice little place in downtown Bloomsburg.  The food was very good, and while we thought the entrees were pretty expensive, my sandwich and her salad were very good and inexpensive.  They had a nice tap too, but I decided I had plenty of stuff back at the campground.

The next morning we woke to a drizzle, which turned into a rain that lasted for about an hour or so.  We did not expect the rain, and so were putting up the tarp in the rain to cover the site.  A good thing we did as it would rain again Saturday night.  We went into the park for breakfast and then headed to the Wal-Mart.

There were some boxes to get.  First up was White Deer, and then we rode down the Lewisburg to find the coffee shop series there.

The clues for the series stated the the first box had been in place for a while and the rest would be in by October 11.  So after finding the first box we decided, since the next box was only a few blocks away we would go see if it was there.  Sure enough, we enter the shop and there it is on the counter.  We continued to find the rest of the boxes in the wonderful series.  It offered a nice walk around the town and through the campus of Bucknell.  I really regret not carrying my camera with me, as there were some great chances for some really nice photos, including a bride and groom walking down Market Street toward the theatre for pictures.  It was just a great small town scene.

Back to Knoebels we got ready for the event that evening.  Phoenix Phall Phunfest is one of the largest coaster events of the year and is open to everyone.  The park takes great care to get the rides in top shape for the event, and the Phoenix and Twister were in top running form.  They also deck out the antique car ride as a haunted ride with all sorts of stunts and things going on below the Phoenix.

It also is the only event I know of where you can ride in costume so long as that costume doesn't interfere with the operation of the ride.  I brought out the horrible sharkman costume, complete with dorsal fin and mermaid like tail.  Becky was a purple flying thing, we never did really come up with a name for it, but she was very, very purple.  My costume is a lot of fun, defiantly weird, but does limit what I can ride easily.  For some rides I had to take part of it off to fit in, and I never did ride the Flyers, I wasn't sure how I was going to get up in them.  

We walked in the costume parade too, and all of our neighboring campers, a very large Indian family with four sites around us, cheer us on as we passed.  There was also a costume contest, which we had no intention of winning, but one of the judges was Mick Foley.

Sunday we hung out at the park the whole day, rode some more and checked out the festival further, especially the food.  There is no set checkout time in the campground in the fall, so we left everything up through the day so that it mostly dried out, and broke down, finally hitting the road at around 6.

Well, here it is:

Hey, you're catching on! Basically, the way I look at it, there is only one rule, do no harm, or at least, no irreparable harm.

If someone is padding their logbook, that is something, that, in their own minds, they are going to have to come to terms with. I see lots of folks posting event boxes as traditional boxes, even when they are nothing more then table toppers. Sure, it messes with searching for real boxes in the location of the gathering, and it falsely adds to their total plants, and it may even get a blue diamond when it is not really a traditional box, but those folks must have come to terms with their decision, and that is on them.

Those who practice poor boxing habits often pick up the hobby for just a short time and then move on to other things. Often it is because they know no better.

A few weeks ago I found a box that the person before me had used a gold metallic ink to ink up the stamp with. I actually ran into the person who had done this later on. She was boxing with her two children and was very new at it. I politely explained, in an almost off handed manner, that she should not do that and why. She did not know, and how could she?

Not everyone does extensive reading and research before going out and finding their first box. I sure didn't, what fun is that? The fun is in finding the box. It is really the only way you learn.

Far too many people seem to go pointing fingers, telling people that it must be done this way or that. They have no idea what is really going on, that there are a ton of folks out there who never read a posting here or on any of the lists out there, who never read a FAQ sheet or the so called rules, who could care less about so called stealth methods, and who simply go out to find the boxes and enjoy them for what they are.

I often think there are too many here who have missed that point, and who spend much too much time talking about it instead of actually doing it? Have you found a box today? This week? This month? Did you enjoy the hunt? The clues? The artistry involved? The adventure?

Or is it all about logging that find and worrying about it being done "the right way?" Worrying if you are going to offend anyone if you do it "the wrong way?" Complaining about the container, or how well the last person hid the box, or if the clues were accurate and precise to your liking. Too many of you seem to worry about such nonsense as logging every single stamp, in the exact order you found it, timed and dated and commented on.

I mean, what are some of you folks really here for?

Jeez, just get out there and box already.

I know, what took me so long to box the Brandywine?

In the past week I have been down there actually boxing twice, and a third time to meet with Sheba and Moon Owl.  Brandywine park is just a spectacular example of an urban park, with a great landscape, bridges, canals, and five wonderful boxes (two of which are mysteries).

On Monday, August 18, I was headed home from Becky's.  I left when she left for work, and came across at the Bay Bridge and up 301.  This put me in the Philly area right at rush hour, so I gave Sheba a call and she printed off some clues for me, since I had none of my own, not really planning on this side trip.  So I spent the next two and a half hours exploring Brandywine Park.

Brandywine Park is part of the Wilmington State Parks and also has Delaware's only zoo, the small Brandywine Zoo.

As for the boxes, I really enjoyed FishMan's Fish of the Brandywine boxes.  The clues were very clever, you actually had to imagine that the park was underwater to follow the flow of the clues.  They took you to some less visited sections and trails on the park, which is something I really enjoy.  And the stamps were phenomenal.

I enjoyed the park so much that I decided I needed to return with Becky, and so Sunday we did just that.  This time we went up river a bit to Alapocas Woods where we found the Cliffhanger series, but not before a quick stop at the Delaware Art Museum for hapPINEss beaCONEd, a Carters in Bear box.

The museum itself is very nice, and free on Sundays.  We wandered around a little bit, but not long, before finding the box.  I would like to return and actually tour the museum at some point.  The box was excellent though.

Across to Alapocas Woods we now went.  There are several more boxes there as well that we will have to return for, as the Cliffhanger was enough of a challenge for one day, that and also I was not paying much attention to the other clues, though I should have.  It was an excellent walk looking for these great boxes on a beautiful day.  We even had a toad hop out from behind one of the boxes, much to Becky's delight.

We ended up getting to the bottom of the series and found a way to cut through to the neighboring Brandywine Park.  A trail is proposed to do this, but there is about a 500 foot section of that trail still missing, and a well worn path is in its place.  From there we were able to get to Becky's car, which we had parked there, and could travel back up the hill to mine in Alapocas Woods.

I certainly hope to return sooner, rather then later, to find the boxes I have missed, and maybe visit the zoo.

I managed to take a bunch of picture on my two visits.  far more then can be placed here, so feel free to visit the gallery.

Thanks to Fishman for the great boxes and allowing me to post some images.

Well, Becky and I biked to brunch on Sunday in Shirlington.  It is about a five mile ride down the W&OD Trail and the Shirlington trail to get to a Mexican restaurant that she likes.  We enjoyed a great brunch on the patio, it was a perfect day, lots of people about so I enjoyed some people watching, another pass time of mine, and generally enjoyed each other's company.

On the return we went for a box, the W&OD Trail Letterbox.  Becky had found it several years ago, and was not totally sure it was still there.  She also was not feeling too well at this point, and was pretty tired.  So, she rested at a pavilion in Glen Carlin Park while I went to find the box.  It was not far.

I rode down the trail.  There was supposed to be a sign directing you to the nature center that I was supposed to follow, but it was gone, so I figured out what trail it was and followed it.  Next I was supposed to follow a fence to the end, but there was no fence in sight, gone.  I did find the next landmark, a metal culvert, but a storm drain that was supposed to be there was gone, so I was not sure I was in the right spot.

I then looked up the hill and there it was, the tree.  It had to be it, it was large and looking like it could well hide a box.  I set my bike aside and headed up the hill.  I walked to the left around the tree, no hole, no hole, and then there it was, a big hole in the tree and a box totally exposed in it.

Here is something interesting that I thought worth thinking about:

"But isn't the clue what the clue is? It will never change, or at least it should never change. Things being what they are nowadays, what with every Tom, Dick and Harry who can write code changing the game, people feel the need for there to be an online record of what box has been found when and by who. Isn't the whole essence of a treasure hunt the overcoming of the degradation of the clue over time? With out doubt things in nature will change, should I change my clue to keep up with these changes? I think not, let the hunter figure out what might have changed and what they need to do to overcome the obstacles presented to them. I got some feedback on one of my boxes that said that rattlesnake's had taken up residency in the rock formation the box was hidden in. All I could think was "Awesome!! Have fun with that people." If a park makes changes to it's trail system in the time between me writing my clue and someone reading that clue, should it be up to me to make sure that info is passed on? Again, I think not. Get an old map if that is what it takes to find the box, or not, I could care less either way. I didn't place the box so that I could enjoy you finding it, I placed it for you to enjoy finding. If you find it or not means very little to me."

Brian
TeamGreenDragon

Now Brian is an old school letterboxes, and I don't buy into all of his thinking, though I do totally understand and agree on his wondering for the need for folks to have to log everything in some online database.  But, I digress, and the matter at hand is really if clues should be updated to reflect changes.

Personally, I think they should, within limits.  If there has been a dramatic change, one that totally effects the finding of the box, then yes.  Otherwise, I am agreeing with Brian here.  Letterboxing, in its essence, is still a treasure hunt.  You are still looking for something in the woods, and part of the joy of it is figuring through the clues to find it.

While clues can be frustrating, the point where you finally figure it out, the "Ah ha!" moment, it the moment that is worth it for me.  And, sometimes you fail, and that is an important lesson to learn as well.

Just recently there was discussion as to why the National Park Passport cancellations are not posted on AtlasQuest.  After all, they are stamps, the writer says.  But, they are not letterboxes, and that idea was pretty well thrown out, which is a good thing.

But, does everything have to be logged online?  Does anything?  In the end,  does it all really matter.  I record my finds so I can better keep track of what I have and have not found, but I have pretty much stepped away from logging anything else, except hitch hikers.  Why?  Because it doesn't really matter to me.  Event stamps, cooties, personal travelers, there are so many that it, in the end,  does not make a difference.  And as for the date, again, it does not matter.

We had dinner with Wisconsin Hiker and Martini Man a few months back.  She said something about letterboxing that I found pretty profound.

"Letterboxing is not a kids game,"  she said, "it is an adult's game that kids can learn to play.

It is true, the more I see her, the more time I spend with her, the more I love Becky.

This weekend could be summed up as wedding planning weekend.  I worked Saturday morning, well, all night actually, and knew I would be in no shape to drive down to Becky's after work.  So, I took the train.  

I have been wanting to make the train work, save fuel and some wear and tear on both the car and myself, but the schedules just would not work for me.  I finally figured it out though.  I could park at Sheba's house and walk to the local SEPTA station.  From there I could get to Wilmington in time to get an early Amtrak train to DC.  Reverse to get home, and I still get back in time for work.  With the cost of fuel I almost break even, it costs a bit more, but saves me from actually have to drive all that distance.  That was, until they raised the fares on the train I need to take.  The train an hour before, which makes the same stops, is $17 cheaper.  I would like someone at Amtrak explain to me how they are encouraging people to take the train if they don't at least make it comparable?  Well, I digress, it was still a good ride down, and I could sleep, so even better.

I was greeted at the gate by my Becky.  She seemed to be shimmering in the light from the station as I walked through the door, wearing the very pretty strapless blue dress she had gotten the week before.  She looked stunning.  She was holding some flowers she picked up for me.  This is a kind of role reversal, since I usually leave her flowers on my desk when she comes up here to Philadelphia.  I promptly presented her with the flowers with a smile.

We met with the caterer that afternoon and spent some time on the planning.  We made some changes to the servers and what we will be needing, and also the park is charging the caterer a smaller fee, so we were able to knock about $2000 off the bill, which is huge.  Further in the good news department, her cousin John gave her a call the next morning and said he talked to a photographer friend of his and she can do the wedding, and he is going to pay for it as a gift.  Becky was ecstatic, as looking at photography it was looking to be really expensive, even though we really didn't want to do anything elaborate.  So things in the wedding department keep looking up.

Sunday we took a ride over to Glen Echo to really take a good look at things.  I still need to call the events manager over there, we have the date penciled in, and I sent the preliminary form in, but have not heard back yet.  I need to know if we can or can't do some things, because, of course, the ideas with the location abound.  

We did, however, get to talk to the carousel operator.  My parents have offered to rent the carousel for an hour so guests can ride.  It also gives us a chance to get photos on it, which Becky is very excited about. We asked a few questions about the carousel and what can be done for the rental.  I asked about the band organ, and if I could request certain music to be played if they had it on rolls, which we could.  Becky was hoping to have some swing music on it, and we were lucky in that he had a special roll for it made up, and it was loaded that day.  A few minutes later, swing started playing on the organ, which was perfect.  The organ can be loaded with two rolls, each plays for about 25 minutes, so one will be the swing roll, and I would like the other to be something patriotic.

The park was also very pleasant.  We stood up by the bumper car pavilion for a while, they had a square dance going on in it.  There was a pleasant breeze coming across the park, and it was very comfortable there, so we are hoping for the same a year from now.

While I wish I could be writing about a ride on the Flying Turns, which seems to have hit a snag, I am instead referring to another Flyer which has been a long time in coming, the Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Park in Erie.

After more then a decade of litigation with a neighbor, Waldameer park was finally able to build this spectacular new coaster that sits on the edge of Lake Erie high above Presque Isle State Park.  Becky and I finally got to ride it a few weeks ago after Coaster Mania at Cedar Point.

At first I was not sure I was going to make the trip.  Becky is not too good with long car rides, and we would be going for Sandusky to Erie to Pittsburgh that day after a very long day at Cedar Point.  But a few weeks before hand I saw a POV posted and decided I have to get up there and give it a ride.  Both of us were glad we did because it turned out to be the best ride of the trip.

Yes, it was better then anything Cedar Point had to offer!  In fact, I would venture to say it is the best Gravity Group coaster I have ridden, being more fun then either Hades or Voyage.  The key to this ride is rerideablity, which this ride has loads of.  It is just plain fun to ride, with a great variety of elements that don't try to do too much.

Becky and I got to the park early.  I didn't think it was early, it was afternoon, but I had forgotten from a previous trip that the park doesn't open until 1PM, which is pretty late.  We had just limited time, and did not want to stay long, but ended up staying longer then planned, and could have stayed all day, the park is just that nice and fun.  We got our wristbands and walked around a bit.  We played some DDR in the arcade (Becky is good at it, I am terrible) and finally headed over the new coaster, getting in line to wait for it to open.

The wait was interesting.  There were some kids behind us who had never ridden a large wooden coaster before.  It was fun to listen to their fascination over every aspect of the ride.  It made me feel fresh again as well, getting some butterflies while anticipating the ride, a feeling I have not had in some time.  I was actually very excited and thrilled to get on this coaster, and it has been a very long time since I was very excited about any coaster.

We got into the station and headed to the frond seat.  There was no line for it as they had an attendant at the entrance to the station directing people where to go, but not doing a very good job at it, and we just kinda ignored her and got into the front seat queue behind one other couple.

The ride itself, well, it is just amazing.  You get to the top of the lift and are treated to a fantastic view of Lake Erie, which you almost feel as if you are going to dive right into as you make a turning drop down the ravine and across Peninsula Drive.  On the other side is an upward turnaround with a real rib cracking snap back down and over the drive again before the ride heads into a twisting mixing bowl behind the station that includes another nice drop into the ravine.  The ride is not too too long, just the right length, and it packs a punch with loads of airtime and some nice laterals, including a 90° banked turn for good measure.

I turned to Becky on the brake run, who is beeming, "Wanna ride again?"  A big head rattle is her response.  The coaster is very enjoyable and you can ride it over and over again.  It does not have the power or intensity of some of the larger coasters out there, but it is just plain fun, and I think that is the most important factor of any ride.

We were presented with a choice for the end of May.  We could go to Campin 'n Stampin, which is what we really wanted to do, or we could go to her family's reunion, which we really had to do.  So we choose the later, figuring if we are going to be getting married, it might be a good idea for the family to get to know me.  Well, we are still working on that part.

We even considered doing the reunion and then driving the three hours to Tuckahoe State Park for the gathering, but thought that may be a bit much and instead decided to camp at Sky Meadows State park and do some hiking the next day.

The reunion was in New Market, so we choose a few boxes to go looking for on the way there and left early.

We first stopped by Shenandoah River State Park.  Becky planted a few boxes a few weeks before and wanted me to check on her clues before she posted them.  As it turned out, the trail the boxes are on is now closed due to the construction of some cabins nearby.  In fact, most of the trails in the park were closed.  

I noticed a flyer about a class on geocaching the next day, and said we should go and ask about if permits are needed for geocaches, which would also translate to letterboxes.  As it turned out, permits were not needed, and the park simply asked to know where the boxes were, and were delighted to have them there.  So the stop was not a total loss.

We had no luck finding Lake Arrowhead, but we did check out the picnic pavilion nearby where someone was preping for a wedding.  It looked very nice and they were happy for us to have a look around.

We had better luck with Carillon in Luray.  Becky actually found this one a few weeks earlier, and loved Daughter of the Stars a little bit out of town next to the old Katharine Furnace.  We left the box just in time to miss a heavy storm that came rolling in.

Sky Meadows was Becky's first try at backpacking, though it was limited, the campground was less then a mile in from the parking area, and surprisingly it was packed.  There was a group of folks there from a hiking club that all hike with their dogs.  We ran into one of them in the parking lot.  She was out on the trail all day and got caught in that storm.  She said they thought it was going to miss them as the watched it pass other another ridge, but then all the sudden it just dumped on them.  We did get lucky, as we would catch no rain all weekend.

We hiked in, got camp set up, and collected wood and got a fire going.  After some coals were laid down I fixed dinner, prepared tin foil dinners, which hit the spot perfectly.  The night was prefect, not a cloud in the sky, and we spent some time just enjoying the stars and each other's company.

The next morning we did not break camp right away, but instead headed out for breakfast, finding a nice little diner not too far away.  We then collected our clues to do some of the boxes in the park, as well as check on one of her boxes.

We washed up before hitting the trail and visited the little gift shop and visitor's center.  The girl working the gift shop was more then happy to tell all about various creatures they had on display, pulling their corn snake out of its cage so we could get a closer look, and then handed it to me.  The snake was very pretty, a fiery red and orange, and seemed to be having a good time crawling up my arm and onto my shoulder and backpack, where it tied itself up.

We managed to dislodge the snake and finally got on the trail.  We first found her box, Mystic II.  The stamp was broken in half but the logbook looked great, but full.  We would later return with a replacement stamp and a fresh logbook, leaving the old for folks to enjoy.

On the same trail is Trees of Virginia, a four box series with very nice stamps.  We then headed up the mountain in search of John Singleton Mosby.  It was a good, long was up.  Walking up an open field in the heat was not easy, but the view was worth it, as was the box.

We headed back down the mountain and back to camp to break down and get our last box of the day, Sky Meadows Forest, which was planted right next to our site.  It was a store bought that made no sense, but that is OK, it was not out of our way.

We decided at least one good hike would be called for on this trip.  The rest of the trip was spent at a gathering, riding rollercoasters, shopping, or enjoying other extra curricular activities.  The Rainbow Falls hike was one I had wanted to do.  I had gone up the trail about ½ a mile a few years ago for a letterbox (which is no longer there), but was unprepared to do the entire hike.  This time I was ready, and had good company with me, and Becky and I held hands for nearly the entire hike.

The whether for the hike was not the best, but at least the temperatures were still down, which made it bearable for me.  It did start to rain on the way back down, but we were pretty well prepared.

The walk up to the falls was long and hard.  It was up hill all the way, a full 1700 foot elevation gain we would later come to learn.  We made many stops but did pretty well just trudging along.  There were two other couples of hikers which we would exchange places with along the way.  

One was a pair of girls, who I dubbed the rabbits, they were young and just seemed to fly along, stopping occasionally to take in the vistas or other sights.  They otherwise seemed to bound up the mountain.  

The other couple were a young couple who were backpacking.  We chatted with them for a little while, but never got their names.  The guy was a local who had recent back surgery.  The girl was actually from the DC metro area.  They planned to go the entire way up the mountain and stay the night at the lodge at the top.  They were training for a month long AT hike in a few weeks time.  They took our picture for us at one of the falls.

We passed others along the way, and I would say we bumped into maybe two dozen or more people on the trail that day.  I find that interesting because I am so used to hiking here in Pennsylvania where I rarely see another soul out there, maybe just another person or two actually hiking.  This trail, however, was well worn and people from all walks of life were trudging along it.

We even managed to see some nature up close, as some deer came within feet of us when we rested along the trail at one point.  Though, I had actually hoped we would see a bear.  Oh well, maybe next time.

The payoff for reaching the falls was spectacular.  You pass several smaller falls until you finally reach the actual Rainbow Falls, water dropping 70 feet from a cliff edge.  Truly an amazing sight, and one that the vast majority of visitors to the park never get to see.

This was evidenced upon our return to the hotel, where we settled our aching feet and legs into the hot tub.  We told of our day to one one woman there, who could not believe that we went on vacation to hike.  Too much work for her, she explained.  Well worth it for us though.

Well, I laughed along with everyone else when I saw AtlasQuest this morning.  As usual, Ryan has some great wit for us on April Fools Day.

Then, Becky and I stopped for lunch.  We are on our way home and pulled into the McDonalds in Newport, TN.  we walked in, and what did we find?  Letterboxing themed happy meals were plastered all over the place.  They seem to be very well done, cute images, and a great prize.  The kid's toy included a carving tool that seems pretty kid safe, some really soft carving material, a logbook, and  a combo whistle compass thing.

What's more, on the counter were clues for the kids to look for a box right there at the restaurant.  It was hidden outside near the playland.

I spoke to the manager, and he said the letterboxing was just a test promo, and they would only have it for a few weeks.  The kids seemed to be having fun with it though.

BTW, we were first finders, and it was a carved stamp on the MickyD's stuff.

I was appalled that the Mid-Atlantic list was used to announce an affair:

Bulldawg is not a real man.  Oh, I know, how can I state such a thing?  It is mean, insulting, but in my mind it is also very, very true.

His love for Jill, true or not, is wrong and hurtful to others.  How can he hurt Shell in such a way?  Moreover, how can he hurt his children like this?  To publicly display your love for another woman while married is immoral and just plain wrong.

Shell and the children are not the only ones being hurt by this:

Q: How did you first learn of letterboxing?
A: .....they now regret it, so screw em

I can only guess that his neighbor, and the person who introduced him to letterboxing, Koyote, had a few things to say about this as well, and this was his response.  It is a shame, as he has driven an old letterboxer pretty much out of the hobby, and continues to hurt him as well.

It has even hurt my Becky, who thinks that our love was a catalyst for this.  I do not believe that, and I have told her it is not so, but it is there in the back of her mind.  She came from a broken home, one where she never saw her parents happy together, where they insulted each other in front of her and used her to hurt one another.  Even to this day that happens, and it hurts her greatly.  I do all I can to comfort her, to love her, and it it hurtful when she calls me crying because of something one of her parents has said about the other.  I fear that his children may forever be caught in that same trap, that they someday will be calling their loved one for the same reason, seeking comfort after being so hurt.

Love is a wonderful thing, but can also be a painful thing.  It takes work to love someone.  I feel as if I am floating when I think about Becky, and Jay maybe feeling the same when he thinks about Jill, but did he not think the same way once about Shell?  Does he not think so about his two young children?  And how can he do this so publicly, so soon, with out saying anything about his wife or children.

Of course, I fully expect this to be the scene when I get home tonight:

From the Meadville Tribune, the local paper of record:

"THE MAX PATCH BOX WILL BE REMOVED APRIL 24 2008 AND TAKEN TO THE GATHERING IN HOT SPRINGS. IT WILL BE REPLACED ON APRIL 28. HOWEVER, TO "EARN" THE MAX PATCH STAMP, WHICH EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THIS EVENT SURELY DESERVES, THERE WILL BE A SERIES OF CLUES TO FOLLOW ALONG THE ALREADY-TRAMPLED MAX PATCH TRAILS - SO, YOU GET THE MAX PATCH STAMP PLUS SOME MORE!"

Interesting, they are removing the box and taking it to the gathering, but why do that?  I thought, well maybe it is because they don't want everyone out looking for the box that Saturday on an otherwise busy trail.  It is supposed to be a historic box of sorts, one of the first, if not the first, letterbox in America.  I can understand the wanting to protect it, but why not just close it for the weekend, or why have a gathering there at all?

But then I read a little closer, "HOWEVER, TO "EARN" THE MAX PATCH STAMP, WHICH EVERYONE WHO COMES TO THIS EVENT SURELY DESERVES..."

To me, that does not seem to be right.  It seems to go against one of the meanings of letterboxing.  Many times you hear people speak of not finding a box but enjoying the journey none the less.  Sure, everyone at the gathering can get to the box, but have they really BEEN to the box?  Have they enjoyed the journey, the purpose of the box itself, or is it just another F to add to their count?

After looking over the candidates, I have decided there is a lack of a true conservative.  I feel I can fill this role, thus I am throwing my hat into the ring and ask that you nominate me to run for President of Letterboxing.

I have many excellent qualifications.  

- I have a strong, vocal history in the letterboxing community, not afraid to voice my opinions on anything in a fair minded way.
- I have vast experience in hosting gatherings, even ones where there are no letterboxes to be found.
- I have been successful on many Mapsurfer hunts.
- I have met my future wife through letterboxing.
- I strive for excellence in boxing, focusing on traditional American boxing, fighting for truth, justice and the American way.
- I will work to make permission to plant easier to obtain, teaching public institutions the benefits of letterboxing.
- I always make use of the Shift key.
- I will drink AT LEAST FIVE beers a week while in the service of letterboxing.
- I am a Real Man of letterboxing, never sinking to boxing from home, even when tempted.
- I will not make as much fun of Boxing Buddies, though I will encourage letterboxers to find real people to box with.
- I will kiss all Letterboxing Babes and hug all the Broads, no matter how sassy they may be.

Well, we have been hitting it off pretty well.  OK, more then pretty well.  She is a fantastic woman, just amazing to be with.  She is smart, funny, silly and just fun.  She is also astonishingly pretty, with these beautiful golden brown eyes, little button nose and a smile that lights up the room.  I find I cannot help but hold her hand when I am with her, to hug and kiss her and keep her warm at night.

Becky brings joy to my heart and happiness to my life.  I want to be with her forever.

That is why I asked her to marry me.

I did not expect to ask.  It just kind of came up, popped out of my mouth.  I had been thinking about it.  Thinking that if things kept going well, maybe in the summer I would go find a ring and ask.  I guess my heart is stronger then my mind at times, and it happened.

"I want to be with you forever," she said to me on the morning of her birthday.  I had made her breakfast, she asked that I would and I was more then happy to do so.

"Me too.  I want to be that old couple you see in the park, walking down the path, still holding hands after all those years," I replied.

"Me too."

"Then would you marry me?" the words crossed my lips before I knew what had just happened.

"Yes!"

I sought confirmation, "Really, you would marry me?"

"Absolutely!"

He says, "Oh, I love that slim build you have."

Personal travelers are very popular, and it used to be that they were a treat for knowing something about the letterboxer you are meeting.  You might get just a few personal travelers at a gathering because you had to fit the clue to the person and then know an answer to the clue.

Now things have changed, and I think they have really taken away the personal aspect of the personal traveler.  People now just print off lists and read them as they meet each person.  I really don't see the fun in this, it is just a method to gain more stamp images.  Heck, I print off the list too, but I have been trying to just memorize a few of them and then as I meet the person I can work it into the conversation.

So, it gives me great pleasure to congratulate Indigo Vulture for his installation as Pastor at the Faith United Lutheran Church in Nescopeck, PA.

Mike has actually been preaching there for a few months now, but last night Sheba and I went up and enjoyed his official installation service.  Mike it wonderful at what he does, and you can tell that the congregation loves him too, it was a packed house.  He and his wife Heather were just brimming with happiness, they were aglow, as well they should be, as it is a great accomplishment to go though years of studying and soul searching to take on such a task.

I figured I would love to contribute to something like this, so I signed up for the Yahoo Group and made some comments, good and bad, on the most recent podcast.  That is why the group is there, right?

I think this was pretty good dialog.  It did not post to the list right away though.  I thought, well maybe because I am a new member, or maybe my email program is being weird again.  It took a couple of days and finally posted, and Jackbear wrote back to me personally thanking me for my input, that it was indeed what he was looking for, and explained a few things and why things were done the way they were.  I thanked him and wished that he had posted those comments to the list, because on the list I got comments like this:

Though there were some good comments:

And the drama continues as Jackbear responds:

This does not seem to appease some who think that criticism is out of line, like Archimedes Screw:

It seems to me, what she is not understanding is that you have to point out the bad to make it better.  If no one ever does then nothing ever changes.  I don't think I was being mean or derogatory, just helpful.  It is too bad some people just can't take such comments.  It is even worse when they qualify it by saying that I was just insulting people who are volunteering to do this, when that is not what I am doing.  But alas, the saga comes to a sad and revealing conclusion when Jackbear writes this:

Well, had I known the group was completely moderated, that every message had to be approved before it posted, I would have never signed up for the group.  No where does he say that it is as such, and I think that to say it is a group for open discussion on the podcast is a falsehood.  I have since left the group, as I feel it is no use, and I can be of no help if people are going to be this way.

I would have liked to help, and that is the thing.  I was ready to hit the road and do some recordings.  Help with segments where I could, bring a different perspective to things, or at least I thought.  Maybe I started all wrong.  Maybe I should have simply heaped praise like most everyone else.  But that is not me.  I simply can't do that, I don't feel comfortable doing it, as it sounds like I am sucking up, and that is not me.

I am thinking I may do my own recordings.  An audio blog as it were.  In the next few months I am looking to overhaul the site a bit.  Get some more server space, maybe even change my web address to make it more relevant to what the site has become.  The ideas are flowing, and it is time I got something done.

Maybe, perhaps, I should actually get some writing done.  I mean, hey, it has only been what, almost three weeks.

Well, not today.  I've been busy, doing this, doing that, you know.  Becky has been occupying my time and my mind.  Can't help that, she is such a wonderful woman.  We had a great weekend together a few weeks ago, and I miss her, though I will see her again this coming Thanksgiving. 

Ten Reasons Men Prefer Guns Over Women

10. You can trade an old 44 for a new 22.

9. You can keep one gun at home and have another for when you're on the road.

8. If you admire a friend's gun and tell him so, he will probably let you try it out a few times.

7. Your primary gun doesn't mind if you keep another gun for a backup.

6. Your gun will stay with you even if you run out of ammo.

5. A gun doesn't take up a lot of closet space.

4. Guns function normally every day of the month.

3. A gun doesn't ask , "Do these new grips make me look fat?"

2. A gun doesn't mind if you go to sleep after you use it.

1. YOU CAN BUY A SILENCER FOR A GUN

Some have heard the whispered rumors about what may or may not have taken place on the Friday before the American River Gathering.  Well, they are probably true.

We met up with a bunch of the local boxers at the Sacramento Brewery that night.  Princess Lea was there waiting for us, and Doublesaj n Old Blue came in right behind us.  We got a table and soon Lisascenic and Robb made their way in as well.

I did not realize it at the time but I had had contact with Doublesaj n Old Blue in the past about a box they had in Gettysburg.  They had thought it long gone but I managed to find it, and in good shape too.  I pulled it for them and as usual took forever to mail it back to them.  Typical of me.  I had completely forgotten about this until maybe last week.  Shows how bright I can be at times.  But I digress.

But where was Wassamatta_u?  Well, a phone call found him slowly making his way through traffic, and he would be very late, so we had dinner without him.

The food was good, as was the beer, though nothing to really rave about.  In fact, speaking of beer, I really didn't find any out in California that I really, really liked.  Some of the brews were good, but nothing really stuck out to me.  My favorite was probably the Fat Tire, which I found to be a pretty tasty ale, but other then that nothing really stuck out to me.  Anyway, I digress, again.

Wassa finally made his way into the brewery, with little Katie Bug in tow.  I think Wassa may be the brother I never had, we hit it off right away.  Katie is a cutie.

After dinner Wassa and I decided we needed some more beer.  Luckily there was a grocery store right next door, and they sell beer.  What a concept!  We made our way through the store and finally found the beer.  I picked up a six of this Gordan Biersh junk (and I really mean it, I hope the maids at the hotel like it).

As we made our way to the register, finding some snacks along the way, we stumbled across some Lock n Lock knockoffs.

"Owww, look at this!"

"Three bucks seems expensive for it.  Oh, wait, there are two more, smaller boxes in there!  Gotta get me some."

Sheba stood off to the side in amazement over our amazement of fake Lock n Locks.

We finally made it to the registers.  They were those self checkout type.  I ring the snacks and then the beer and the register requires authorization of course.  So the checkout guy comes over and I show him my ID, a Pennsylvania drivers license.

"Sorry, we can't take that."

"What do you mean," I say confused.

"We only accept California ID's.  Do you have a California drivers license?"

"No, I'm from Pennsylvania!"

He turns to Sheba, "Do YOU have a California drivers license?"

"I'm from Delaware," she exclaims amused.

"Well we can't sell you the beer then."

"What, I don't look old enough?"

"No, we have to card everyone."

"Hey, Mark, mind buying my booze for me!" I yell so that the whole store can hear.

"I would be honored," but he was having problems of his own.  Katie wanted one of those styrofoam pool noodles, and it wasn't ringing up, it had no tag.  The check out guy was now totally lost, he had no idea what was going on.  He had Wassa change registers, Katie ran back to get another noodle, and in the end he just let me buy my beer.

While I really want to write about Frostburg, I also really want, and have to, write about the events preceding the gathering in California.  I is a mix of bad tours, cemetery hunts, drinking, and grocery store capers.

It all started well enough.  We didn't have to be up too early, so we didn't get up that early.  When we did, Sheba, Schizokeet and I went on the hunt for breakfast.  

I am wondering, where do the people of California eat.  I was hoping to find a great diner, you know, the classic greasy spoon where all the locals hang out.  We never did find that place, though we did find a nice little restaurant with fantastic bacon, a recurring theme on this weekend.  Anyway, we ate and then hit the JoAnn's across the street for yet more letterboxing supplies.  While eating I also, at the breakfast table, carved "Warp Speed".  It can out very nicely I might add.

We got to the California Railroad Museum a bit later then expected, and found Princess Lea waiting for us.

The Museum is in the Old Sacramento part of the city.  It is a neat place, mostly a tourist trap now, and separated from the rest of the city by a highway, it has narrow streets and an old west town feel to it.  The museum itself was very impressive, lots of great bits of history relating to the westward expansion of the railroads.  This was one of my must see stops on the trip, and it was worth it.

Funny, I think I frustrated one of the tour guides though.  He was standing inside a mock-up of a snow shed, which is kind of a covering used in the mountains to keep the heavy snows off the rails.  He asked if I had any questions (I was looking for a hiding spot for a box at the time) and I said, no that was OK.

"Well, do you know what this is?" he asked pointing to the shed above.

"Yes," and I rattled off what it was, how it was used, why and so forth.

"OK, well, enjoy.  Let me know if you need anything," and he turned his attention away from me.

We cut the visit a bit short so we could go over to the State Capitol and tour that, followed by some boxing.  I putzed around figuring out the parking a bit, then we hopped in with Lea and headed downtown.

We when in and signed up for a tour, which we timed, so we had some time.  Heading out the back door, passing the Govinator's office (wonder if he was in?) we went in search of a box nearby.  I rather not review its name or location, but we found it with ease and it was a nice box and stamp.

Time for the tour.  This turned out to be, possibly, the worst tour I have ever been on.  It was just plain horrible.  The problem lay in the tour guide herself.  A nice enough lady, and I don't think she meant to be this way, but she continually talked to us like we were a bunch of school children.  She prattled on and on about the state's legislative process, which is pretty much like any other state, and never really talked about the building itself, which is what we were there to see.  We were never even told when the structure was built.  We bailed halfway through the tour, deciding we had better things to do.

What better things?  Well, boxing of course.  There were several boxes in the area.  We started out by searching for one in a community garden, however we found that the garden was fenced and closed, so that one was out.  Instead we headed for a local cemetery which contained three boxes.

The Sacramento Historic City Cemetery is a massive cemetery, actually it seems to be three cemeteries next to each other.  The first box we went on the hunt for was "For their Sacrifice".  This one we easily found.  The other we searched for was "H is for Hero".  It took a bit of driving around to find this one, but the stamp alone was well worth the drive.  The cemetery itself was neat, with many plots outlined in little walls and terraced, all very well cared for and many very unique.  Though Princess Lea was ready to go, the rest of our little crew roamed a bit looking at the plots and wondering about the different plant life which to us was very strange.

We returned tot eh Museum.  We wanted to finish up touring the museum while Lea wanted to go get a few more boxes.  So we parted ways for now, and we roamed around the rest of the fine museum.

Just to refresh, I wrote:

I may have a big ego, but jeez, some folks have to take it easy.  Recently Bulldawg planted a box in cooperation with X Marks The Spot.  The box is actually very impressive, but his attitude around it is not.  Further, the box does have a few problems.  I think I will get into both here.

First off, it is much better marketing to plant and box and say nothing further then “Hey, I planted a new box, hope you enjoy.”  Too much fan fair puts people off.  The box will get better word of mouth if it is quietly released, and people will likely enjoy it more.

Secondly, there are problems with the box.  I am not much for telling people how to plant, and I think the whole leave no trace thing is pretty much a load of crap, but this box goes above and beyond the whole leave no trace thing as it is not just a box but a contraction.  It involved digging, lots of digging, the shovels and picks kind of digging.  Without park permission for something like this, it is not just bad, it is illegal and could be the cause of a lot of trouble.

Another problem is it is part of it is planted with a PVC pipe.  In Pennsylvania the only restriction on containers is that it cannot be in a PVC pipe as that can easily be misconstrued as a bomb, and well, very bad things then happen.

I asked about the permission.  Normally I would not care, but this is not a normal box.  I got no answer to my question.  I tend to think that answers the question in and of itself.

X Marks The Spot sent me a response to this:

Hey there...

Not sure of your name, mine is Jeff...some folks know me as "X" Marks the Spot. Someone sent me a link to your 13 Oct blog that references a letterbox that Bulldawg and I collaborated on. Just wanted to offer up my thoughts on your opinions. Please keep the tone of my words as friendly and non-confrontational. Tough to pick that up in just written words. Those who know me, know that I shy away from arguments.

Thanks for your opinion that the box is impressive. I designed the box with the thought that folks would see it from a unique craftsman point of view and get a smile out of it. As for the location, and lack of permission...don't blame Bulldawg. I chose the park and thought that obscure trail and wooded area wouldn't be that big of a deal for this project. I tried to make the box blend with the environment...park...birdhouse...seemed "natural". I picked the location and dug the hole for the post before Bulldawg arrived. Clearly, in reading your comments, I missed the boat when it comes to tasteful letterboxing. From this, I've learned a bit of a lesson. Its clear that I have offended you and there may be others out there with similar feelings. I will consider this in my extreme letterbox designs and the impact on the environment, and more importantly, the long term impact for the letterboxing hobby should a box like this be discovered by park officials. Frankly, I had not even thought this box would bring this strong of a reaction. Your point in the blog is taken. 

Also, I hate to say that I also did not consider the security implications of the PVC pipe that holds the homemade brayer. Thoughtful insight on that topic. I'll discontinue that practice and look for an alternative for that box. Again, this is something I should have given a little more thought to.

Regards the comments you made about the marketing of the box...I am really not sure what that refers too. I've had some folks let me know that Bulldawg has been not just been letting the box speak for itself, but have stayed out of it. If you know Bulldawg...I think that's just his nature. We are both very proud of the box for obvious reasons.

Anyway, saw your blog...wanted to let you know that I have taken your opinions to heart. Open for further discussion should you want to share additional thoughts. Thanks.

Jeff
X Marks the Spot

Don't worry about offending me, you did not, and if you had, oh well, that is life.  I am more worried about the implications of this box more then anything else.  Typically, the lack of permission to plant a box is not such a big deal.  I think people sometimes worry a bit too much about the environmental impact of a piece of plastic hidden out in the woods.  The problem here is this is more then just a piece of plastic.

While the box does look like a natural fit, I think you failed to take into consideration the implications of digging up someone else's property.  Would you go into your neighbor's yard and do this and start digging?  I take a commonsensical approach to planting a box, if it can be removed with no harm then it is OK.  It is then often better and easier to ask forgiveness after the fact.  While I don't think the box is in a location where it really does matter, the property owner's rights must still be regarded.

As for marketing, well, Bulldawg started out with this idea that it was going to be word of mouth, that you would have to meet up with him at a certain time and place to see the video.  That is all fine and well, but I don't think he really got any takers on it, so he changed to a more traditional posting.  Where this goes wrong is the wording.

If this box, doesnt get all of those dumb little blue diamond ratings, them something is wrong with the system!

Great Adventure

Becky and I hit up Great Adventure last week instead of doing the Massasas Pub Crawl.  I have not been to the park since the spring, and she had never gone there, and I have been reading nothing but glowing reports on the park, even from those who did not like the park otherwise.  Well, it did not disappoint.  We got there an hour after opening, but still beat out most of the crowds.  Lines were short and the ride ops were working hard to keep them that way.  Everyone was friendly and did a fantastic job.

Becky loved El Toro , commenting that it was no other wood coaster she has ever been on.  She is right.  We waited just five minutes for El Toro , and just 15 for Kingda Ka, which was running very, very well.  We enjoyed watching the tigers for a while, had a burger which was very good (we got a double and they gave us an extra roll to split it up).

The Dark Knight

No Phall Phunfest Phor Me

New Boxers?

Well, we met some folks for dinner, as I said.  Maple Leaf Red, Critterliz and their boys are not really new boxers, they just are not involved in the local community so much as they are not part of the Mid-Atlantic Yahoo Group.  I found them over on the Prattle Quest Boreds (yes, that is supposed to be spelled wrong), where they had posted on the Pennsylvania bored asking about boxing in Tyler .  They are from North Joisey .  I commented they should join the list but they said they found it confusing and difficult to follow.

I can understand this, as topics lately have seemingly been going off topic very quickly and in a vast number of directions.  This is part of the charm of the group, and why it is so active and has so many members from all over, but it is also intimidating for new members who may not know or understand what is going on.  I am not thinking we should really change the conversation or our ways too much, but maybe putting OT in the subject line, or changing it completely, would help.

To Quell the Rumors

Central PA

Last weekend Becky and I headed out to Central PA for a day of boxing.  We got a late start, and did not have as much luck as I had hoped, but that is OK.  We met up with Terri and Jim for dinner at Otto’s, which has become the defacto meeting spot for us in State College .  We had  a great time, spending nearly three hours there talking of our latest adventures, and I didn’t even get everything in.  They practically had to kick us out.

Haunted Frostburg

Funny, until a few weeks ago I had totally forgotten about the Haunted Frostburg gathering in Western Maryland , I had signed up for it nearly a year ago, and now it is but two weeks away.  Frostburg is considerably further away then I thought, I was thinking it was in the DC area, but no, it is about four hours from Philly.

The idea is to box letterboxes planted in this small town in costume.  I am working on mine, which I will not reveal just yet, but I hope I can make it work.  Yes, I am sewing, so either this will be a remarkable achievement or a total disaster.  I guess we shall see.

Don’t Use That Word!

Prattle Quest amazes me.  I surf the unmanageable boards with amusement at times, and am amazed by the constant stupidity of some people.

Look At Meeeeee!!!

I may have a big ego, but jeez, some folks have to take it easy.  Recently Bulldawg planted a box in cooperation with X Marks The Spot.  The box is actually very impressive, but his attitude around it is not.  Further, the box does have a few problems.  I think I will get into both here.

First off, it is much better marketing to plant and box and say nothing further then “Hey, I planted a new box, hope you enjoy.”  Too much fan fair puts people off.  The box will get better word of mouth if it is quietly released, and people will likely enjoy it more.

Secondly, there are problems with the box.  I am not much for telling people how to plant, and I think the whole leave no trace thing is pretty much a load of crap, but this box goes above and beyond the whole leave no trace thing as it is not just a box but a contraction.  It involved digging, lots of digging, the shovels and picks kind of digging.  Without park permission for something like this, it is not just bad, it is illegal and could be the cause of a lot of trouble.

Another problem is it is part of it is planted with a PVC pipe.  In Pennsylvania the only restriction on containers is that it cannot be in a PVC pipe as that can easily be misconstrued as a bomb, and well, very bad things then happen.

Good Idea for a Gathering?

Atlas Quest 2.0

Looks like a little fiery bit has popped up over on the newboxers list.  The question, as it comes up often, was whether or not it was right to go out and get a store bought stamp for a signature stamp and boxes.  Newbies are often intimidated by the many fantastic stamps out there that are hand carved, and I don't blame them.  This person wanted to start off with a nice stamp.

Mommo responded that she sees it as fine but don't expect her to go out and look for a box with a store bought stamp in it.  Well folks did not like that at all.  They think all boxes should be equal, that you should not discriminate as to which boxes you go looking for based on the type of stamp in it.

Well, that is a load of crap.  I can tell you right off that I am a stamp snob and I don't even bother pulling up clues to boxes that list as having store bought stamps.  What is the point in finding the same freaking ladybug over and over again, I want something original, something different.  I am not saying don't plant the box, but I am saying I am not going to go looking for it.

Mommo was not very diplomatic about it, and I think she was trying to be a bit tongue in check, but it did not really come out that way.  That being said, she was not "flaming" the person or really being all that insulting, just honest.  I guess you are not supposed to be honest these days if others are not going to like what you have to say.

A little behind.  Me?  Never!  Other things in life have taken up some time.  I will talk about them later, but for now I should really finish up with this.

It was indeed a long walk to the bridge, another two miles, but it was over level ground and we had a good time with it.  We kicked off our shoes and walked in the ocean, the first time any of us besides Bob had ever done so.  We walked as far as we could this way, put our shoes back on, and headed for the bridge.

I had the mistaken notion that there was a box to be had at the bridge.  If there is, it is not the one I was looking at.  That does not matter however, as we did get some great views of the Golden Gate, and that is all part of the experience.  I did plant a box there, which has already had a finder.  Hope other local folks figure the box out.

We were all starved, so we found a bus that took us back to the marina and then walked back over to the Fisherman's Wharf area.  We wandered just a little bit figuring out what we wanted to eat.  Some of the restaurants were a bit too pricey for us.  We first settled on an outdoor place that advertised something like 80 beers.  It was a neat place, but service was miserable, and we waited for sometime with no waitress coming over to our table, they all seemed to be

Time was getting on, it was nearly five by now, and we needed to get going as one of the boxes we had to get had to be gotten by six.  We went to the nearby cable car stop, but there was a line a mile long, so instead opted for the street cars.  

The street cars in San Francisco are pretty neat.  Not only do they have a fleet of modern cars, they also have a fleet of antique cars from all over the world.  We boarded a car that first ran in the city in the 1920's and headed for the Ferry Terminal.  There we hopped on BART and made our way to the mission district.

I do not wish to give away what boxes we found there as they are mysteries, but the three we did find were fantastic.  Outstanding stamps in these wonderful, unique locations.  I was also able to get a few items to spruce up Davy Jones' Locker as well.  We went looking for a forth box but found that to be missing.

We had now ventured a bit away from the Ferry Terminal, where we would have to be by 8:30 to catch the last ferry back.  We went to a street car stop where we waited for a car for more then 40 minutes.  I don't know what happened, but the delay cost us the chance to get one final box in the financial district before we got on the ferry.  That was OK though, we had quite a day none the less.

Becky rode back to the hotel with us, while Bob took the train back to his sister's place at Redwood City.  Becky was going to box and tour with us the next day while Bob was going to spend the day with his mother.

In Oakland we got some coffee, considered, very briefly mind you, getting some boxes in the area, and headed back to Sacramento.

View this entire set of photos by clicking here.

Four in the morning was far, far too early for that alarm to go off, but we had an hour and a half drive ahead to get to Oakland and catch the ferry to San Francisco.

We got to the ferry dock a half an hour early, hitting very little traffic, and giving us time to grab something to eat.  Many thanks have to go out to Mrs. Jiggs for the suggestion of taking the ferry.  Not only was it inexpensive, parking at the dock was free and it was a great way to enter the city.  The sun was just breaking over the horizon, casting a brilliant glow across the Oakland Bay Bridge and the city.  The morning air was crisp, and the fog was rolling out.

We met Becky and Bob at the ferry terminal.  They were staying at Bob's sister's place and took the train into the city.  We got day passes for the mass transit system and then found the cable car stop.

I am very happy we did the trip in this way.  By catching a ride on the cable car near the ferry terminal rather then at the other end at Fisherman's Warf we had no lines, no waiting, and got prime spots on the cars.  I had the chance to hang off the side of the car, the one thing I really wanted to do.  Even if seats were free, I still stood there, taking it all in.  When we finally got to the wharf, I was on a real high, and this was one of the highlights of the trip for me.

From Fisherman's Wharf we started walking west, heading for our first box, Sound Waves.  The walk itself was very nice.  Just under two miles, it offered some great views of the bay, with Alcatraz, Angel Island, and the Golden Gate Bridge surrounding the bay.

Miz Scarlet highly recommended this box, it was in a very cool place, the Wave Organ.  The Wave Organ is a piece of art that sits out on the end of a jetty.  The jetty was built using discarded bit from a cemetery after the cemeteries in the city were all moved in the early 1900's to nearby Colma.  In 1986 artists from the nearby Exploritorium created the Wave Organ from these remains.  Piping is run from the sea up into the Wave Organ where you can listen to the waves, sloshing, and gurgling of the water.

Miz Scarlet had mentioned that she had trouble with this box, and had to go back a second time to find it, but Becky picked up on the clues give right away and we quickly found the box.  The log also reported a nearby Geocache, and looking around, I had no trouble finding that either.  We made an extra note on the letterbox to warn that it was not the geocache, and to please take nothing from the box.  The clue to the geocache also notes the letterbox, very neighborly of them.

After taking a bunch of photos and listening to the pipes of the organ, we headed off to the nearby Exploritorium to find Tin Tin and Friends: Homage to Herge.  Only two of the four original boxes were left of this series, both indoors.  We had little trouble backtracking on these boxes and finding them, although I did send the ladies into the ladies room falsely.  Oh well.  We had fun playing with the gadgets and interactive displays in the Exploritorium, a science museum, and which you could spend all day at, but we resisted the temptation.

Outside we roamed around the Palace of Fine Arts.  The Palace was built for the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition and has this great Greek temple look to it.  It is a dominating space, with columns towering above.  After exploring this space, it was time to take the long walk to the Golden Gate Bridge.

I worked the night before we left.  I figured no big deal, I would stay up and maybe get tome sleep on the plane.  So I picked up Sheba and we stayed up until my father gave us a ride to the airport at four in the morning. 

And then Erma happened.  Now you may be wondering who Erma is.  She is one of Frontier Airlines' planes.  The entire fleet has a different type of animal painted on the tail of the aircraft, each with a name.  This one happed to be an ermine named Erma.  And Erma was trouble as she caused us an eight hour delay.

They tell us the pilot's seatbelt was broken and would have to be replaced.  There were none to be found locally, so they had to bring one in on the next flight from Denver.  The plane would not take off until 2 in the afternoon.  They diverted many folks, but we could not be diverted to another airline so we waited it out.

We did make to most of the delay and hopped on a train and headed downtown.  There was a box to be had, "Be Prepared," hidden as part of a geocache at the Boy Scout Headquarters.  Some may recall me writing about the Boy Scouts being kicked out of their center city headquarters.  Well, it hasn't happened yet, so we were able to find the box and explore this wonderful building.  I had packed my camera, so no pictures, but I recommend if you go for the box to enter through the main doors so that you can see the wonderful lobby of this building.

Returning to the airport, we had lunch and were finally able to board and head toward Sacramento.  We had a two hour layover in Denver, so we explored the airport a bit.  It is a nearly new airport, and has a fantastic main terminal.  You don't have to pass through security to get into the main terminal so there were people there waiting for arrivals and others just milling about.  We were walking past one guy who was protesting, holding up signs along the lines of "Evict Cheney" or something.  As we passed, he started to say something when I quickly spoke up saying, "it is nice they even let the nut jobs in here."  He quyickly shut up and did not say a word further to us.

We had Erma again on the way to Sacramento, and she struck again with more mechanical difficulties, but this time minor and we were only about 15 minutes late taking off.

I don't know why I even came up with the idea for this trip.  I think it was when I got a message asking if I could send Davy Jones' locker to a gathering there.  I don't send Davy anywhere, as stated in the clues about him, he only travels with me.  The box is very large and involved and I don't want to just leave it somewhere.

So, anyway, I came up with the great idea that I would go out and take the box with me.  It was doable cost wise if someone would share the expenses, and Sheba just happened to be on vacation that week, so she said she would like to do so.  So I booked everything and this past Tuesday we were off to California.

Landshark Lager, Margaritaville Brewing Company, Jacksonville, FL

Yes, I have finally cracked open a new beer.  It has been a while, but I think I can finally taste something again, so I figured I would at long last go back into the reserve and start trying some new stuff.

This is a very light lager that I don't really know what to think of.  It pours from the bottle with almost no head, though what it does have seems to stick around for a while.

I actually managed to clean off my desk to do some carving.  I should be able to finish up the event stamps for next weekend by the end of this weekend, since really I've not much else going on.  That is, besides cleaning, laundry, more cleaning, fixing a few things around here.  

I actually enjoy it.  My attention span seems to be pretty lax, so I work on one thing, get bored, sit it down and work on something else and then get back to it.  Kinda why I am writing this entry.

So anyway, I am carving away and decide it is time to take one of those breaks.  "The Queen" is happily sitting on the bed.  I back up from the desk, and what do I find but a small cat sprawled out below me sleeping like a rock.  I've got to say, her nose must not be too good considering she was just inches from my feet ;-)

Well, there is just a little more then a week until the Knoebels Gathering.  Third time's a charm, I figure.  Actually, the other two have gone very well, and are no work for me other then carving the stamps, so why not go at it again.

So, here are a few things you need to know about the gathering.  I've gotten asked a lot of these questions, so I figure I will get them out of the way.

Knoebels is pronounced with a hard 'K'

The park is a free admission park, the largest of its kind in the country.  There also is no charge for parking, so there is no charge for this gathering at all.  You do not have to pay anything if you do not want to ride, but some boxes may require some riding.

The pavilion for the gathering was also free, so there is no donation jar, or raffle, or anything else to defray costs.  The pavilion we are in this year is Tent 6, which is out near the parkinglot.

I don't do the food thing at this gathering.  You have the option of bringing your own or sampling some of the great food the park has to offer, all at very reasonable prices too.

While there are not any boxes list right where the gathering is, rest assured there will be some boxes besides the event boxes.  There are also boxes in the area in Ashland, Danville and Sunbury, so there is plenty to do.  The gathering tends to be less about the boxes and more about the folks there.

Friday night we usually go down to Ashland and have dinner at Devitto's, a great pizza place in town run by Jan's brother.  It also houses the

The gathering is shorter this year, running just four hours from 9am to 1pm, so everyone can spend more time having fun in the park.

You can camp right next door at the Knoebels Campground.  Camp Headquarters for the gathering is at site T-7 where there will be a campfire that night.  Call 1-800-487-4386 Ext. 3 to reserve a site.  A special stamp will be available to all those that are there after dark.

For those so inclined, you are invited to worship at Faith United Evangelical Lutheran Church in Nescopeck, PA, about a half hour from the park.  Service is at 10:30am and ministered by local letterboxer Michael Scholtes, AKA Indigo Vulture.  All are welcome, and word is there may be a box involved.

Real Men don't do virtual letterboxes.  That's right.  They may seem quick and easy, even nice mental exercises, but real men like to get out on the trail, into the wilderness.  They like to hike hard, sweat and toil to get a real letterbox.  If they want mental exercises they work over mystery boxes so that they can go out and find them as well.

Real Men sweat.  They work hard.  They like to be outdoors, working with their hands, making something, building a better world around them.  They do not fear getting dirty, grimy and sweaty.  Finally, they take pride in their work.

Real Men love women.  They hold women upon a pedestal.  They treat them with grace and dignity.  Real men drive for them, they hold the door for them, they see women as a thing of true beauty.  They do not see women as the weaker sex, but rather that they are different and must be protected.

Real Men love America.  They know that she is the greatest of all nations to grace this Earth.  They shed tears when they hear the Star Spangled Banner, treat the flag with the utmost respect, live and breath and bleed red, white and blue.  They honor all those who have fought and died for America for they are all Real Men as well.

Real Men don't do pastels.  Pastels are soft and weak, and not man's colors.

Real Men provide for their families.  They do all they can, sacrifice all they have to be sure their family is protected above all else.

Real Men do not fear roller coasters.  Only boys fear them, not Real Men.

Real Men like to drive.  It is all about the skill, and driving requires skill.

Real Men like real sports.  Baseball and football are Real Men's sports.  The laser precision of a pitcher verses the raw power of the batter, one on one, make baseball a Real Man's sport.  And the raw power of giants smashing into each other on the grid iron in all whether make football and Real Man's sport.  Hockey, boxing, and rugby are also sports for Real Men.  Soccer is not.

Real Men do not fear fire arms.  They know that fire arms are a powerful tool that can provide for and protect their family.  The have learned how to use and respect fire arms, and they teach their children the same respect.

Real Men have a nice hat.  Because the sometimes they have to look good and nice hats look good.

Real Men respect the arts.  They may not like the ballet, theatre or the opera, but they at least have respect for what they are.

Real Men have respect for animals.  Because they are lower creatures and man has domain over them, Real Men know that they must be protected for they also provide for mankind.

Real Men learn history.  They know of the great victories of the past, as well as the defeats.  They learn for those in history so as to not make the same mistakes.

Last week, before I got really sick, I started some renovation around here.  I figured I would bring some color to the site, make it a little less dull looking.  I kinda like the blues.  The site looks best on Explorer, much to my disappointment, since I am a Firefox user.  Firefox just does not render it correctly, the tables have that funky border instead of a smooth black border.

Ahh, my old standby, Yuengling.  This is the beer I grew up on, and it is a pretty good beer too.  Yuengling is the oldest brewery in the country, they have been brewing beer in Pottsville, PA since 1829.  It is the beer my father always drank, and still does, and I wet my teeth on, so I figured I had to do a review of it.

The Traditional Lager is Yuengling's mainstay beer.  It is light as far as lagers go, a smooth beer that goes down pretty easy.  

I usually have it from a bottle, but we had some cans left over from a party, so can it is.  It pours with a nice amber color, with just a little head that dissipates pretty quickly.

I started writing this a few days ago and am now going to finally finish it up.

I had a wonderful weekend boxing out in Amish Country this past weekend.  I have not really done much boxing as of late, so it was nice to get away and get some done.  Saturday was all solo for me, while Sunday I was joined by Sheba (Suzanne) and Schizokeet (Becky).

I got sort of an early start on Saturday.  I had to drop some parts off at a dealership in Phoenixville before they opened.  I got some breakfast while there and then stopped at Valley Forge to see if Baron von Steuben was truly gone, which, sadly, it is.  I will replace that as soon as I can.

All of this was basically to blow time while I waited for the bank to open at 9.  After that stop I was finally off towards Lancaster.

The whole plan was to get out to Williams Grove Park and check out the park, which is now closed, but has a market right in the middle of the rides.  I wanted to get a last look at it before the rides are finally sold off.  Well, that never happened.  I hope I can get it done later in the summer.

It never happened, because for once, I got sidetracked letterboxing.

First stop was to search for The Road to Paradise.  This is a Royal Fish box.  She is a fairly new boxer, and her carvings are very nice, and the plants are well done as well.  For this box you are supposed to ride the Strasburg Rail Road and get off for a picnic at their picnic area.  Well, I knew where the picnic area was, so I just drove right to it.  As mentioned in the clues, the area was indeed covered in poison ivy, so I carefully made my way into the woods and found the box, but did not find the bonus box.

Did I mention that it was hot and muggy.  Yeah, by the time I was done this one box I was a mess, sticky and sweaty.  It was great, I needed this so much.

Off to find more boxes, I headed toward York, which took forever.  Strasburg was all backed up and Lancaster was just a mess to get through.  But once I got on the highway things cleared out and it was a quick half hour into York itself.

I easily found the York Emporium in downtown York.  This store is owned by Brandy's Father, and she has planted a very nice box in the store.  I picked up a John Philip Sousa album for $1 and was on my way.

Downtown York, much like Lancaster itself, seems to be going through a bit of a revival, which is great to see with these smaller Pennsylvania cities.  It seems to have some nice stores moving in and the city looked clean and well cared for, which is a change over past visits.  There is still a long way to go, but it really looks like it is getting there.

I headed south.  My next bunch of boxes were all Royal Fish boxes.  First up was Pengy.  The box had nothing to do with the location, which was at the York reservoir, but the stamp was nice and the walk took you past a very nice overlook of the city.

Evidence was the next box I would go in search of.  This box is hidden along the York County Heritage Rail Trail.  The whole trip was two miles around, but I saw that there was a tunnel another mile up the trail from the box and wanted to check it out, which total made this a four mile walk.  The tunnel is the Howard Tunnel, built in 1838.  It is about 300 feet long and it the oldest continuously used railroad tunnel in the United States.

Unknown to me at the time, the box Stand By Me was at the tunnel.  It is not a mystery box, but I just somehow missed it in my researching of boxes.  That is OK, I like the spot and would like to return, planting my own box as well and getting the one that is there.

The next box I would get is a mystery box called Yours Ore Mines.  Not a difficult mystery, but the box has a very nice stamp as well as a bonus.  The park it is in is very interesting, the site of some early ore mining, it also has some neat overlooks of farm fields.  I got about halfway to the box when I heard the rumble of thunder in the distance.  I hurried along and found the boxes, which I managed to somehow do backwards.  Typical of me.  

On the way back to the car, the skies were really starting to threaten now, I came across a groundhog in the field just standing there watching me.  I was actually able to get pretty close to him and snap a shot before her ran off, and before I had to dash to the car for cover.

Wexford Irish Cream Ale, Greene King Brewing Co., Suffolk, UK

This beer was poured from a can.  It poured with a very frothy, creamy look to it, but then cleared out to an amber color with a fluffy head that lasted the entire drink (and I took my time with it).

Just as the name would imply, it has a very smooth, very creamy taste to it.  It has almost no smell.

There is a slight aftertaste to it, kind of an iron taste.

Overall, not a bad beer, but did not seem to have much flavor to it that I could tell, and not one I would pop open after a hard work day.  It is nice and smooth and goes down easy.

    So,   I'll start with track progress and then talk about the train some   8-)

      Some final detailing of the main section of the ride is going on as that was the area that train testing has been going on <G>  (for a good bit longer than people think ) Work is almost finshed on the brake run and lift hill # 2 awaits the "outside contractor" to set the moter, sprockets and chain.  (was surprised that "we" didn't do that,   this job is a constant education <G> Lift hill #1 and lift hill #3 are currently getting their steel parts ( side fric lam, anti roll backs and chain trough) so they'll be ready for the lift contractor when they get here The John Fetterman designed helix is finished. (aside from the less important inclosing it to make a "tunnel")  Having watched a few things roll and slide down this steep piece of woodwork,  I can tell you riders are going to be in for a real treat on this part of the ride The deck of the loading barn is just about done.   A quick roof over that and it'll be ready for Flying  <G> Jim Martini has been doing his thing and getting all of the electric wiring worked out. He doesn't seem to be in a panic, (or any more than usual ) so I guess things are going well.

   And now for a little about "the train" In some respects I'm going to sound like a broken record,  but it seems "we've" got to keep saying it again and again to people and it still doesn't seem to sink in. This is a proto-type ride......     there is no exsisting rolling stock that will just fit in this trough and roll.  Therefore,   it is impossible to predict how long it's going to take to do something you've never done before... You can guess,   you can hope,   but it is absolutely impossible to predict   8-(

    Even if John Fetterman and whoever else is involved in the designing of the modern FT car has some great "paper" ideas,   it would be rather foolish to build a very expensive custom train until they're sure it's going to roll as expected (and that's not as sure thing as it sounds in the twisted trough of the Turns) This requires,  "prototype testing" before the final OK for train building is given In order for "proto-type testing' to go on,   a good portion of the labor intensive ride must be built first, So,   we've built most of the ride,   and they've been testing the proto-type train,  ... and this past week, Larson was given the OK to start train construction  (or their part of it,   the chassis) How long will that take, before they get the finished chassis to Knoebels???? It's not in our hands,  so "we" don't know

   The last 2 missing section of track are the transfer tables where the train will be able to be switched off onto the service siding.   The reason why these sections were not done already is that certain aspects of them are based on the train's turn radius,   which could not be determined until the train was finalized. I would expect these sections will be getting started and completed fairly soon

   I'll try to get some more pics added (which I haven't done in ages, I know, I know )

Flying Turns carpenter
Coastin  Steve

So I figured I would review the beers as I tried them and let everyone know what I do and do not like.

Just to give you an indication of my tastes, I like a full beer, none of that weak light stuff, and prefer the macro and micro brews.  I also have a sweet tooth, so I tend to lean toward sweeter beers at times.  I don't have a very refined palate, but I do know what I do and don't like.

All of the beers will be poured into glasses, which I also got for my birthday (I have great friends).

St. Rogue Red Ale by Rogue Ales, Oregon Brewing Co, Newport, OR

The beer pours with a little bit of head that sticks around for a while.  It is dark, not so red.

A nice, sweet smell greeted me when I went to take my first sip, kind of a woody smell that I can't really describe.  It has a very hoppy flavor to it, which seems right since the bottle says "Dry Hopped."  It goes down a little rough, but not too bad, and has an after taste that lingers for only a little while.

Nice picture of the bottle & the glass, but where are your little furry drinking buddies? (no, I do not refer to The Queen...)

Sheba

I prefer my Drinking Buddies to have a pulse too, and be able to join me.

You know, this is very wierd. I drank a really neat beer last night and I intend on doing a review on it as well on my blog later on. It seems we are of one mind today.

I generally like the Rogue's, but that one is not one of my faves.

Mr. Yuk

Looking forward to more editions. All I can say is "Seadog". You know it is my favorite! I'll bring more to Knoebels.

Instead they are working to remove an organization that helps 40,000 boys with free programs, the Boy Scouts of America, and all in the name of political correctness.

On May 31 the Philadelphia City Council, in an unannounced vote, voted 16-to-1 to pass a resolution ending a 79 year lease on the Cradle of Liberty's Council headquarters next to the Franklin Institute.  I think Ben would be appalled.  The move was pushed forward by City Solicitor Romulo L. Diaz Jr. in the name of the city's anti discrimination statutes because the national Boy Scout council refuses to allow openly gay men to serve as scout leaders.  It should be noted that Diaz is openly gay himself.  Such a policy was upheld by the Supreme Court in 2000 on the grounds that the scouts are a private organization and can choose who they admit.

The Cradle of Liberty Council has said that it would admit gays but has been overruled by the National Council.

So we come to May 31 and the city's resolution, introduced by Councilman Darrell L. Clarke to remove the scouts and end the rent free lease, despite the building having been built and given to the city by the scouts in 1928 under an agreement that the city would lease it to them free of charge "in perpetuity."  The scouts were to be out by July 24, today.  I am not sure that has happened yet.

There has been an option floated that the scouts could stay and pay the market rate for the building, but that does not seem to sit well with Clarke. 

"There is some discussion about allowing them to pay market rate rent," Clarke said. "I’m not really comfortable with that arrangement."  Clarke said he felt the city could not condone them staying in the building if they discriminate.

None of this seems to matter to the city when it comes to political correctness.  Agree with the scouts or not, there is no question that they help keep the most needy of kids off the street and give then a good moral compass and skills they will use throughout their life.  A city wracked with such problems as the ever growing homicide rate should be looking into every way possible to help get the children off the streets and into activities that are worthwhile and meaningful to their growth.  Obviously City Council could care less.

I've thought a lot about your blog in the past few days.

I was a scout for 7 years. I became a life scout, almost an Eagle but never got around to doing my service project. I can credit the scouts for molding my love of the outdoors into a conservation and knowledgable mentality. I can credit the scouts for introducing me to the world of the Native Americans through Order of the Arrow. I have camped with full bloods at Pow-Wows and seen traditional, religious dances that only bloods can do. I have hiked and camped all over this wonderful country, thanks to the scouts.

The Boy Scouts remain a private organization. An organization that does a lot of good.

Personally I would not care if my son were in Scouts and his leader were gay. I understand that a gay adult male is no more likely to desire my son then I am a 5 year old girl.

Other people may feel different. The Scouts are a religious organization as well. They require belief in a God. I personally am ambivalent towards religion, but that happened in later years.

I was also a scoutmaster (assistant actually) for 2 years. I can say that teaching boys what I learned in scouts was a great joy.

It's a shame that an agenda has hurt this organization. It doesn't matter whether I agree with the agenda or not. There has to be a better solution than this.

- Yuk

I was a Life scout as well, same here, never got that project done.  I guess that is what separates the Eagle scouts from the rest.  

But it is a great organization, it does a lot of good work for boys who otherwise would not be able to experience anything outside the urban life.  I learned a lot from scouting, and myself should do more to give back to scouting.

Now I am all for capitalism, a huge proponent of it, but jeez can't we just let the kids live and have fun and actually have a summer.  It may not be the kids thinking about this though, but the moms.  Sucked in by the commercials, the sales, the material lists that are already being sent to the kids.  They need to sit back and just say no, they want a summer too.

That is almost as bad as my neighbor here at work who will send out a memo tomorrow that it is only 5 months till Christmas.  Nothing like rushing the seasons in the pursuit of the dollar!

Jan

I had taken last Wednesday off to head up to Knoebels.  Wednesdays are bargain nights, and for $8 you get to ride all you want on all but a few of the larger rides.  That is OK by me, it really is a deal and a half.

So I moseyed my way up the Elysburg, looking for a box along the way that was Nowhere to be found.  I will have to try again, maybe when I grow a few more inches, or when the vegetation shrinks a bit.  

I stopped at Locust Lake State Park and set up camp.  It is about an hour from Knoebels, but $12 a night is really a price that can't be beat, and for a basic site with no power it is a far cry from the $35 Knoebels now is looking for.

Finally I got to the park at about four and headed over to check out the Flying Turns.  

They are just about done with the structure, just a few connections seemed to be missing, namely the connection between the first lift hill and the trough.  The station is just starting to be built as well.

They now have the prototype cars, which was all the buzz last week on RRC.  They look cobbled together, but they are just for testing and are not meant to be the rolling stock for the ride, so they don't have to look fantastic.

It looks like it is still going to be a while.  None of the motors or lift chain is in place.  The crews were setting the brakes in place when I was there, they are skid brakes, but it looked like that was going to take some time as well.  The station and the queue has to be built, and f course there is the testing, since there hasn't been one of these rides in 30 years, it is going to take a while to get the trains to work right and operational with modern day safety standards.  I am still hopeful they can get this done by the end of the season, but I am not holding my breath.

I had a great evening at the park, catching some rides I had not been on in some time, and of course loving the Flyers and Skooters, two of the best flats anywhere.

My night was a little rough.  Some kids in the next loop over were up and carrying on well past midnight, and the campsite down the way, while quite, had every lantern and light on for most of the night.

On the way home I searched for another box, but was hungry and a little rushed and did not really search well, so another box for another trip.  I stopped in Tamaqua for lunch.  Tamaqua is a nice little town nestled in the mountains.  It has seen some better days, but also seems to be on the upswing.  It has some fantastic Victorian style homes lining the main street, and a nice downtown shopping area.  

I totally understand people taking shortcuts when text messaging or instant messaging, but for people to sit down and take the time to write an email, a trip report, a message board post, or an event listing and not even bother to capitalize is just beyond my comprehension.  Lets just look at some examples.

ok, being new to this. i am a girl scout leader that wanted to get my scouts into letterboxing on a recent 11 day trip. we ran out of time to try carving our stamps before we left so did it on the trip................i had found an article that had you use those tanish erasers......and pencils with out erasers as carving tools.................

So, what is with the massive number of periods where a single period, or even a comma would do?  And have you ever heard of the Shift key?  They put two of them on the keyboard, you must have noticed them, they are just about the biggest keys on the board.

Even more appalling is when someone writes up an event posting that looks like this:

just startin to plan this.
input would be super!
this event will probably be only on sat, but some people might be comin from out of town, we could meet somewhere for a bite to eat on fri pm. & if anyone wanted to do somethin on sunday as well. any extra help/input is appreciated!
OK the theme i'm goin with is "MAN ITS HOT!"

Again, no use of the Shift key, but what makes this worse is that something like this should be presentable.  It should look professional because it is more of an invitation then a mere message board posting, and should not look like it came from a five year old.  When you are posting an event or a trip report you should be at your very best, you are putting on a show.  The show that this puts on is that you are sloppy and unorganized.

Yesterday the letterboxing.org site when down for a little while.  Now, I am not a big fan of the site and don't really care for some of the webmasters there, but they do what they do and don't charge anyone for it.

Don't you know it did not take long for people to start crying.  I particularly like this one:

It's been down for at least 4 hours. Can the webmasters please give us an update?

Lone R

I don't usually make a big deal of my birthday.  To me it is just another day, I am a day older then the previous, you know, that sort of thing.

Well, my mother thought that my 30th birthday would be worth celebrating and hosted a party.  She told me to invite whoever I wanted, so I did, and it turned out to be a fantastic afternoon for of great food, booze, and friends.

I got to see family and friend that I had not in sometime, and I had forgotten how wonderful my family is.

The gifts I got were just wonderful.  Irene showed that she really can be crafty and made the above card for me, which we all just got a great kick out of.  I hope it was done on recycled paper ;-)

And Suzanne, thinking she was being cute, which she was really, gave me a set of beer glasses, and in the beer glasses were stuffed animals, or Boxing Buddies.  Don't worry, you won't see them on trail anytime soon.

There were all types of stamps.  June created an Old Nathan's Ale stamp.  I guess I will have to take up home brewing.  Becky created a birthday stamp, and Debbie created a box which she planted.

I also got loads of beer that should keep me well stocked for sometime.  A very nice selection is now waiting to be tried out, many that I have never had before, so I am looking forward to beginning the taste testing.

I just have to thank everyone that came out and all of the well wishes.  It is very much appreciated, and I am glad to have so many wonderful friends and family.

First thing I did, as is usual, is check on my box just on the other side of the river.  I am always amazed by this box as the location keeps changing but the box remains in place, even after being found by the public works people.  They just leave it right where it is, and I really appreciate that.

This time there were some flags added and a light was positioned right on top of the box's location, yet it remains!

I then hit up Stewarts Root Beer for some lunch.  There is nothing like a good old fashioned drive-in.  A great car hop was bouncing from car to car, and I got my big, frosty mug of root beer.  it is great for a hot summer afternoon.

I finally roamed out to Jobstown for a new box, "Tuesday Tea."

Or not.

Did the government really shut down?  I mean, they made a big show of it, sent out all of these furlough notices (26000 in all) to "non-essential workers."  They turned off the lights on the capital dome.  But who was going to be working on Monday anyway?

They did close down the state parks and kick out any campers.  But they also listed state museums as being closed, however the museums are always closed on Mondays.  As are most Drivers Licensing Centers.  Highway projects were supposed to be halted, but because most are done by independent contractors, they were all up and running as well.  So my question is, how many people did this really effect.  From the looks of it, not many.

And then there is the issue of what is and is not essential.  The State Lottery, State Liquor Stores and the Casino operations all were open for business as usual.  I guess it is essential the state gets its tax dollars.

The House Democrats, during all this mess, decided not to even show up.  The press was allowed onto the house floor while the House Republicans sat and wait 10 hours for the session to begin, waiting for the Democrats to show.  I guess they are real concerned about the commonwealth.

It was a beautiful, warm summer day.  The park was busy, but most people were at the new waterpark, which I will say right now, is fantastic looking and has some great slides and features packed into a small space.

The fact that so many were waiting in long lines for the water slides meant the coaster lines were short, very short, with minimal to no wait.  An enthusiast's dream, right?  Well it should be, but I found I took a ride on everything and was done, with very few rerides.  Everything was running great, and they were even letting you stay on if there was no line, but I ended up leaving after just 3½ hours, and that was with a dinner break.

I don't know what it is, was I just too tired?  Or is a sort of amusement park burnout?  I don't think it was the later, as I really have not been doing a whole lot of riding this year.  Heck, I haven't even been over to Great Adventure more then just a couple of times.

In any case, here are some photos of the new waterpark.  It has a very cool shore feel to it, and mixes in a lot of the familiar imagery form both the Jersey Shore and Coney Island.

More Photos

Coney Island... Ohio

I never wrote about this and I really should.  Last summer I made a spontaneous visit to Coney Island, Ohio.  It was one of those things where I was passing through the area and decided what the heck.  This is pretty typical of my traveling.

Coney Island is an interesting place.  It used to be a massive park and very popular.  The only problem was it was on the banks of the Ohio River and flooded constantly.  Finally, in the 70's, the owners closed the park down and just up and moved to Kings Island.  Thing is, the park never really closed down, and in recent years has made somewhat of a comeback.

It still does not have the massive Shooting Star coaster or the fantastic gardens, but it does have some fun, unique and well run rides, and some vestiges of its past.  Many of the park's building are still there, as well as the massive pool, and it is a pretty cool place to walk around and imagine what it was like in its heyday.  That, and catch a ride on the old Scat 2 ride.

More Photos

Hold On

Another story I have not told is of my visit to Lakemont Park in Altoona.  I visited over Memorial Day weekend this year with Suzanne.  We were kinda on our way up to SB Elliott State Park and hitting letterboxes and parks along the way.

She had stated to me that she did not mind coasters, but felt comfortable only if they had restraints that went over the shoulders.  This, of course is in total contradiction to most enthusiasts, who prefer as little restraint as possible, but she is not an enthusiast, and she was in for a surprise.  We were to ride Leap The Dips, the world's oldest operating coaster, and it has no restraints beyond a grab bar.  She loved it, and also loved the Wild Mouse at Delgrosso's which just had a lap bar.

Moral of the story, go with the flow and just enjoy the ride.

Glad To Be In This Age

I was looking for some images and somehow came up with this one marked "A 'tennis costume' from 1881."  I wonder how Venus Williams would have done in this outfit?

With it predicted to be 95° today, I am glad I don't have to go out in a suit with a high collar and wool coat like I would have back then.

No Help

As usual, "The Queen" tried to help, but was of none at all.

"Over the years I've been participating in this hobby, I've seen some 
wonderful ideas that stretch the concepts of letterboxing.  Recently 
I was thinking about some postal letterboxes I had visits from, Elmo 
and Stumpy the Sock Monkey to name a couple.  These boxes included 
small stuffed animals which I enjoyed taking letterboxing with me 
and adding to their adventures.  I also truly enjoyed seeing the 
albums being created as they traveled around the country.

About a month ago we started discussing this on a few of the boards 
and Boxing Buddies were born!

How to create a Boxing Buddy:

1. Find a little buddy.
2. Carve your buddy a stamp. (Every letterboxer needs their own 
signature stamp.)
3. Make or buy a log book large enough to accommodate his adventures.
4. Let other boxers know your boxing buddy is looking for a host!"

This was a recent post to the "Big List" that got my attention.  So there are people now that take stuffed animals out boxing with them.  They carve stamps for them and they have logbooks for them.  They even created their own list to trade tales of their buddies.  

These are people that need help.  Probably professional help.

Curmudgeon.  Whence this antipathy toward the sock monkeys?  They are delightful.  Perhaps you were deprived as a child?  I shall make you one for your birthday....  =D

(I actually did make a sock monkey once, as a 12yr old Girl Scout.  That was our troop project.  When we got them done we had a party at the orphanage & gave them to the kids.)

-Sheba

oh come on now!
you cant tell me that traveling around with a stuffed animal isn't your kind of entertainment!
ok so it might not be for everyone.
i am now figuring out the down fall to hosting a boxing buddy.
when it rains, it is a little hard to rush the logging process.
BUT, if you have children, which you know i have, they really love the idea.
some of us might really need help, but if its not for you, dont knock it!

dont get me wrong, i do respect your opinion.
david (team new hampshire)

I mean, really, you can't figure these things out?  When I discovered the hobby I simply looked up clues and when out and found the boxes.  I didn't read through pages and pages of FAQ's, and I didn't need to ask stupid questions.  I just did it.  I knew to rehide a box well, and when I found my first hitch hiker in the second box I found, I looked at it, read the instructions on the cover, and knew what to do with it.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.

The 56 men who drafted and signed the Declaration of Independence knew well what they were doing.  They were committing treason against their government.  What they may not have known, and few people even today understand, is that they were changing the world.  They were changing the way people think about government.  

The idea that government derived its power not from divine providence, but from the people, and that the people were the true welders of that divine power was truly revolutionary.  The idea that if government abused that power then the people have every right to take that power back and put a new government in its place.  This very idea is laid out in the later formation of the US Government.

See, AQ is set up to read updates from RSS feeds.  These are pages with coding that basically set out when they have been updated and what the update is.  My site is pretty bare bones, and did not have one of these, so it would not work with that system.

What to do?  Well, I asked.  Ryan (Green Tortuga) was very helpful in leading me in the right direction with some information and even some coding that helped me in constructing my own RSS feed for the site.  

Even with the warning about the technospeak, paragraph 2 still rendered me comatose!  =P

What is it with me and leaving the camera in the car lately.  I don't know, but I keep meaning to take more pictures and just don't seem to be getting it done.

Oh well, we still have stamp images to look at!

French Creek Alienteering was fantastic, and mega props must go to Lightnin' Bug, Indigo Vulture and the Pink Panther for making it happen.

Becky (Schizokeet) and I started the day out with half a round of disk golf.

The orienteering involved was non-competitive, which is probably a good thing, since most folks there had never done orienteering.  Erinn (Pony Boxer), Becky and I tore through the course, and backward at that.  It was a load of fun, and the boxes along the way were wonderful.

Also wonderful was the cake and stamp Pink Panther and Indigo Vulture got for Lightnin' Bug, who was also celebrating his 43rd birthday.  This makes me feel so much younger.

It is great to get together with the other local boxers, and every time we do it is a good time.  We camped and were up late into the night, not raising heck, but just talking and having fun around the fire.  The campground was great, and while the ranger was around everyone once in a while, they were not the rules lawyers that the ones in Maryland were.  They were there, but so long as you weren't bothering anyone else, they didn't bother you.

The next day we were surprised to have Miz Scarlet join us, and a bunch of us went out for breakfast, where we met up with Sheba, and then hit the trail.  For the next many hours we would wander around the eastern part of French Creek getting a bunch of boxes and having generally a good time.  The weather was perfect, warm but not hot, sunny with the puffy white clouds and all.  The woods there are deep and the trails rocky.  They are not too hard, just right for a good workout.

We started out by finding the Mesa Verde box, which is highly recommended and a wonderful stamp.

Going up Bear Hill, I wanted to check on my box there, and was stunned to find it gone.  Either that or we were looking in the wrong place, but that is not likely.  I don't know how it could disappear, it was in a place that I can't imagine anyone going to.  I will have to replace it.

Next up was the Pythagorean Star Crop Circle, where we would have a nice surprise, a Family Fun family.  These folks were passing through from Johnstown, and while they did not have a family name, they all had their own hand carved stamps and trail name.  They had already found one box that we did not even have the clues for, and were now hunting the crop circles, or at least this one, so long as the kids could last.  They were very nice folks.

While up there we also found Boxooka Joe as well as another, unnamed box.  Both were also excellent.

Our little group decided to call it a day and went for dinner.

I was camping Sunday night as well, and Sheba stuck around for a little while.  We went out before dark and found about half the Alienteering boxes, and then sat around the campfire until she had to leave.

Hey Dude,

I have three things to say about your French Creek Blog:

Xorf!
Koona Phoony!
Koona Phoony PHOONY!!!

Great to see it linked to AQ. Now for some diversity of thought.

LB