Printess Caroline

And are you still having fun with the goal? edited to make clear that I was asking the OP and not the puppet.

If it makes you feel good, do it! I've done just what you are contemplating several times and hope that the result brightens the day for others just as it did mine by doing it.

Hi, bbills10! My husband (also a Bills fan) and I met you at the ASP bash and I'm afraid that I perpetuated the legend at that time. Until just now, I thought it was true. Now I'm a bit bummed. The Spot is way closer than Beverly to me. Oh well...

The fun hasn't run dry for me, but I find that I am more choosey about the caches I hunt these days. Park and grabs don't generally thrill me like they used to... unless there is something really wonderful to be seen there. I read cache descriptions and logs even more closely than I did at the beginning. Those generally guide me to the caches that keep me a happy cacher.

Generally we have no problem keeping up with special requests, including events, power trails, birthday caches, milestone caches, etc. If it is a problem, like publishing while I'm normally sleeping or while I'm making a management presentation at my paying job, I can ask a colleague to help out. Middle of the night for me is morning in Europe. Seeing as Keystone doesn't have a big problem with the occasional special requests that have expressed reasons, I am left feeling that the real reason that you would want to have the ability to publish your cache yourself is for more personal reasons. Those, I think, are best left out of the process because they could lead to the angst and "control freak"ish behavior that other posters have suggested. You do, however, have some control over when your cache is published. You could stagger the submission of your caches for approval, for instance, if you don't want to have all five of the caches you have hidden along a trail published on the same date. Beyond that limited control, I think it's best left to other powers. You might as well come to terms with it. While it is your cache, there are many aspects about it that you just can't control (who finds it first, what cachers leave in the cache, the length of an online log, and so on...). You might better just shrug and move on. You may have more fun with that attitude!

I don't see how it generally matters when the cache is published. On the rare occasion that it does matter, a note to the reviewer should do the trick. Are reviewers overwhelmed with such requests? edit redundant word

It doesn't actually do much. Actually, it is useful for those who want to know how many geocaches said friends have accumulated. Guess I haven't been missing anything then.

I don't understand the usefulness of the friend feature. Please tell me if and how it has been of help to anyone here. Just curious.

When we have taken my nephews caching, I've given them each five dollar coins and told them that they can choose to keep the coins or trade them for swag that they want in the caches we visit. They generally find something that they will trade for one of their coins, but they tend to keep most of the coins. I know that, either way, they will be happy and so will the cachers who happen to find one of those dollar coins in a cache.

Oh dear. Please take a deep breath. I fear that you're getting a bit too worked up over this. I'm sure you're a fine mother.

As I live in New York, I have no specific caches to suggest, but I do have a couple of ways for you to find what you are looking for. If I'm looking for something like you are suggesting, I click on "Geocaching.com gogle maps" from any area cache page. Then, I poke around and read descriptions until I find something that suits my interests. Another method would be for you to go to the bottom of the list of forums here and look for a regional forum to get more specific suggestions.

I don't know about the pin, but the patch is a geocaching patch. I've bought them as swag items before through geoswag.com.

Clueless, eh? I usually tell them I'm geocaching, especially if they were to approach me saying, "What the hull are you duin?" in an authoritative manner.

FTF prizes are not necessary. Most FTFers are just thrilled with an empty log to sign. We've found a few caches first and have never been given any other prize than being able to log first (not that a prize wouldn't have added to the thrill). Sometimes we will add a prize for the FTF in our caches. When we choose to do so, I like to add something that relates to the cache in some way. For instance, we had a beaver themed cache in which I placed a carved beaver for the first finder. In another cache, a multi with a Sleeping Beauty theme, I added a geocoin that was shaped like a pair of lips for a FTF prize.

We don't usually do those unless we need something at a nearby store, so I generally talk about our purchase. Here's the one I wrote for the last LPC that we did: "We were looking forward to a little shopping at Cabela's while we waited for our daughter to finish her end-of-the-school-year duties today. We had a lot of fun looking around and left with a lid-lifter and lid rest for our dutch oven. We're looking forward to some good camp food soon! And, what good fortune! A cache here for us to find as well! I thought your note at the end of your description told us that it wasn't hidden this way (Now that I have re-read, I see that is not true.), so this took longer than it should have as we looked at other things very carefully. Before we left, we thought we had better check, and there it was! Thanks for the cache. Printess Caroline and CJM55"

+1

I've gone to several book trading caches. I see little difference with your idea if you were to ask for gently used CDs. Use the name of the cache to help cachers know what to expect. "Music Trader cache", for instance, would give a heads up. Garage sales would be a good place to pick up some seed CDs and others for restocking the cache.

I think similarly to simplyred, though I have not yet had so much to say that I needed to add a note to write it all. I have fun writing my logs and primarily write to please myself. I also enjoy reading interesting logs written by other cachers,... especially if they relate to my cache. I confess that I am disapointed to read "TFTC" or a cut and paste log on my caches, but what is there to do but sigh and move on? There are all kinds of people out there. I'm delighted when one that thinks like me logs one of my caches. A unique and thoughtful log really makes my day!

Tried again and found it! link

This question reminded me of a thread in the forum a while back that had pictures of cachers' bags and their contents. I tried searching for it but didn't find it. Maybe someone with better searching skills will think it worth looking for and add a link.

Did you actually submit the cache for review? Make sure you checked the box that says it is active.

I think that these are great ideas!! I particularly like the Whiskers the Cat suggestion. I'll just add one more idea... Since you seem to associate bells with your kitty, maybe you could find a real nice bell to put in the cache for the FTFer. And to reiterate what Chrysalides said, you don't have to leave a prize.

Cool! I'd love finding one of those!

Geocoins and travel bugs are not swag, so your first reason to not take the coin does not partain to the situation. Now, the second reason is a good one that I am glad that you considered. Geocoins are meant to travel, so if you don't foresee having the opportunity to move it along in the near future, it is best to leave the coin in the cache. You may "discover" the coin if you do not choose to pick it up. Just copy the tracking number, go to the log page for the traveler and choose the discover option. That way, you will have the coin's icon appear in your list of trackables found and a record of having seen it.

I contact the finder first to ask them nicely to remove the spoiler pictures. It seems to me to be the kinder way to educate. So far, that has worked, and there have been no hurt feelings.