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angevine

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Everything posted by angevine

  1. Hey, Kristine: Geocaching is *great* for travel -- by discovering geocaches out there, you'll see things that you would never have seen otherwise. So enjoy! What you don't want to do is *place* a geocache on your travels. The person who places the cache is responsible for maintaining it, and you can't do that if you don't live close by or know someone there who can care for it for you. When I moved, I got my caches adopted by other cachers; otherwise I'd have had to close them, as I could no longer maintain them. But don't let that discourage you from both seeking out caches at your vacation spot ... and placing some closer to home. Surely there are some areas where you live that would be wonderful to share with other geocachers? That's a good way of looking at it. And welcome to the hobby! Jeannette (angevine)
  2. I like this idea from an educational point of view. I'm still astonished at how many people have not heard of geocaching, and I think that streaming into classrooms and libraries and so on is brilliant. It's just not the same as an event, to my mind. Jeannette (angevine)
  3. Like just about everything else in this hobby, "it depends." Depends on the cache, the person placing it, the person finding it, the weather, one's mood ... We can't control what others do, and if one expects that to happen, one is bound to feel disappointment (though characterizing someone else's actions—or lack thereof—as "disgraceful" may be carrying that disappointment a little to the extreme!). My sense is that you do the best you can. I would never, for example, discover a puzzle cache that someone put a lot of time, energy, and thought into devising, and leave it with a simple TFTC. That kind of effort makes me want to respond in kind. In the same way, a guard-rail cache that took all of five minutes to place merits about that much of my attention, too. So maybe what I'm saying is that I look for a balance: I'll put in as much as the cache placer did. Your mileage may vary ... Jeannette (angevine)
  4. Yeah, I'm something of a fair-weather cacher myself, I have to say. I think that it depends on why you geocache -- if you're driven by finding the cache or by enjoying yourself when out caching. Is it the destination or the journey? The weather definitely defines which kind of cacher you are! -- Jeannette on Cape Cod
  5. This is really an example of what works for one person doesn't work for another, and everyone's mileage varies. I believe in obeying Groundspeak's guidelines, and beyond that ... well, it really is a matter of personal preference. If you don't like caches in cemeteries, don't place one there, and don't go after ones that are placed there. An earlier poster was correct: thinking of cemeteries as places that are—to borrow the word—sterile is a very modern concept. I think that I honor the dead every time I walk through a cemetery (and I do it often) and read their names on their stones, puzzle out their relationships, speculate on their deaths. I also take a lot of photographs in graveyards; you might find that offensive as well. You have the right to find it an offensive practice, and you even have the right to complain about it and to put forward your reasons for finding it offensive; hopefully you feel that people have listened to you here... and hopefully you've been able to hear alternative points of view as well. Jeannette (angevine)
  6. This is a *great* list, thank you so very much! Many people who place caches love to read the logs of those who have found them, know that someone has appreciated their hard work. In general, the shorter my log, the less I enjoyed the cache. I don't know whether or not that's true of others! I hope that many many many people read your post and take your suggestions to heart. -- Jeannette (angevine)
  7. We're glad that you're here, and you're right — connecting with people from all over the world and being able to practice another language are terrific side-effects of geocaching! So tell us more: what is it about the hobby that drew you to it, and how are the caches you've found so far? Do you intend to place any? have you gotten other people involved? In any case, welcome ... Jeannette
  8. I found a cache (or in any case know where it is) and didn't log it because I thought it was a horrendous placement — one had to pass right by people's windows and porch to get to it. Didn't want to encourage that sort of thing. It wasn't out of spite—I'm not a particularly spiteful person—I just thought it wasn't a good cache placement. Jeannette
  9. Welcome, welcome, welcome! It's a great intergenerational activity and can bring together people of all sorts of ages, interests, abilities, etc. Make sure that you record the adventures in some way (photos, journal, collection of log entries, etc.) so that you can later hand it off to your grandchildren—they'll treasure it and may well share it with their grandchildren some day as well! Jeannette
  10. Okay, this is not a complaint (I have no one to blame but myself!); it's really just an opportunity to share my frustration with People Who Understand. And maybe as a caution to those who, like me, may sometimes move a little slowly. I've been planning a cache ever since we moved to Cape Cod in April. A multi, which is the kind of cache I do. A didactic multi, in fact, which is also the kind of cache I do. And I figured I had time to research it and make it perfect, since there hadn't been a lot of caches placed in this area for a while. While I was planning, a cacher placed a cache in one of the important spots on my itinerary. But no worries: her goal is to place a cache in every town on the Cape, so that particular spot wasn't primordial to her. Paul contacted her and we made an offer: relocate her cache *and* maintain it for her (it's closer to us than to her) in exchange for getting that spot. We were in negotiation around this when she placed another cache ... at the planned *terminus* of my yet-unplaced multi. Obviously, this cache was not meant to be! I learned two valuable lessons from the experience: 1) If you decide to do something, DO IT. Perfection isn't necessary: just getting it out there is. Just because there hasn't been recent caching activity in an area doesn't mean that there won't be tomorrow. 2) Keep things in perspective. I actually cried when I saw a cache placed at "my" spot. How absurd! Get a grip, Jeannette! Geocaching is supposed to be fun (at least, that's what I tell people in my book!): so what's with taking this whole thing to heart like that? So that's it. I may do an abbreviated version of my multi, or I may move on. Either way, I'm doing it *soon*! -- Jeannette (angevine)
  11. I have to say, Vinny nailed this one for me. To want geocaching "credit" for doing things that need to be done, that you feel should be done, or that the altruistic spirit in you wishes to have done, seems a little beside the point. As others have suggested, go and do all the good in the world that you want to do. But that's not what geocaching is for. The real issue for me is ... well, the issues. Many people can agree that soup kitchens are important and necessary and worthy of contributions. But beyond that sort of obvious observation, we all have different opinions as to what causes are worthy. Would every geocacher support Planned Parenthood? Wish to make contributions to the Westboro Baptist Church? Donate to the Salvation Army? My point is that in our personal lives we make personal decisions about how to contribute to the greater good, but the moment we assume that our choices are everyone's choices we're making a mistake. Here's an example: I am extremely liberal in my opinions and beliefs, but I geocache and attend geocaching events with people who have strong opinions that do not coincide with mine, and we can all do it precisely because we don't talk about our conceptualization of the greater good or a better world: we talk about geoaching. Should one of my more conservative fellow geocachers host an event to benefit an organization I dislike, it's going to open a gulf between us. And there are enough of those out there already, really, aren't there? -- Jeannette (angevine)
  12. I agree with some of what has been posted ... I think it's counter-indicated on a vacation to look for all the caches along your route (unless you're just going for the numbers, of course, then I suppose that anything goes). A vacation is for fun and relaxation. Find caches that are unique to the area, that you wouldn't find at home; find caches that have interesting write-ups (always a weakness of mine) that can help you learn about the place you're visiting, or that enable you to see something that tourists don't normally see. Be as discriminating (or even more so) as you'd be at home. ... And have fun! -- Jeannette (angevine on Cape Cod, Massachusetts)
  13. I'd bring this to the reviewer's attention. Theoretically no one should place a cache they cannot reasonably maintain, which pretty much eliminates vacation caches unless a local cacher agrees to maintain them. There are caches and there's clutter. Jeannette (angevine)
  14. No no no no no don't kill them! Bees are essential to our well-being on the planet, and they're currently disappearing ... no one really knows why, but we cannot, we *must* not do anything to hasten their demise, the consequences of which are scary. My take on this is that the bees need their space and you should place your cache somewhere else. Jeannette (angevine)
  15. Number-one rule on the Internet (no matter what the venue): DON'T FEED THE TROLLS. Your exasperation is exactly what he's looking for. Jeannette (angevine)
  16. I'm planning on some miniature Buddhas -- if I can find any I can afford! -- Jeannette (angevine)
  17. I had to smile when I read your post: I think that a disappointing first outing is pretty much par for the course, and people's comments here support that. I'll add my voice to those saying: hang in there! There's a lot of delight to be found in this hobby. Start by purchasing a handheld GPS receiver, not the sort that you use in your car. They're different in myriad ways that I won't bother listing: just take my word for it. There will be a bit of a learning curve, but you'll find the results far superior. It's disturbing to find destruction such as you did at the baseball diamond. Whether the cache itself was poorly designed or that had nothing to do with geocachers, it was clearly a negative experience. You might offer to fix it -- as a community-spirited gesture -- and remember that anything destructive is NOT sanctioned by the hobby or by Groundspeak. Digging for/burying caches, placing them in stone walls or any other place that could be harmed by the activity is clearly prohibited. So do not except to see that as the norm. Do try to go out with someone who's already been around the geocaching block, and look for caches that are rated as easy ones to begin with. Good luck! Jeannette (angevine)
  18. I have a cache that (for different reasons) isn't found frequently, which seems to be what's happening with yours. Perhaps you need to ask yourself what the point was of placing this cache. Was it for a *lot* of finds, or for people who might really appreciate it? I've come to value those who find my cache and am delighted in ways I wouldn't be if it happened every day. Checking in with your own goals might be a good starting-point for you. If you want one that's found every day, perhaps you might want to create a new one so you can watch them both. Good luck! Jeannette (angevine)
  19. You know, this is the core of people's joys and frustrations with geocaching: the reality that we cannot make others play the game the way that we want them to. I too like challenge caches. I have one where people need to answer some questions and send me the answers before logging. I will delete logs of those who have not answered the questions, and have done. And the reality is that most people know, going in, that the questions/answers are part of the cache, so I expect that at some level it's a self-selected group. But I sent out a travel bug with similar expectations, and that travel bug is now *gone*. So somebody clearly didn't like the idea. The real problem is that for some people, defeating your efforts to control is a wonderful activity in and of itself. The more you try, the more they'll find ways around it. If it's too frustrating for you to deal with, it may be time to place a different kind of cache. You can only control what you do, how you play the game ... not what others do, or how they play. It's a tough lesson that I am learning and re-learning all the time. Best of luck with it -- Jeannette (angevine)
  20. Ay, there's the rub. I've spent enough time on the forums to see that editing would be a crucial part of this undertaking, and as a professional writer and editor, I know how much time that takes. I'd be willing to volunteer some time as an editor (and can help put together a stylesheet, etc.); but the volume would have to be low-to-moderate to be able to do that on a regular basis. Jeannette (angevine)
  21. One of the things that I recommend in my book is to not go into the woods alone. It's simply foolish: too many things can happen outside of cellphone range. "Dangerous people" are unusual to encounter (walking down a city street is far more likely to be dangerous from that point of view), but unexpected injury, getting lost, sudden bad weather, and animals are all equally dangerous and it's silly to take a chance. I'm not sure that I advocate going in large groups -- part of the joy of being out in the woods is the quiet, the opportunity to commune with nature, the beauty -- but certainly you should consider having a geocaching partner or two. Take normal safety precautions wherever you go. Geocaching isn't any different from any other activity: there are safety considerations that you shouldn't ignore. Jeannette (angevine)
  22. Well, as you see, everyone has an opinion (just like every other geocaching issue!). But that's what they are: opinions. What you need to do is decide how *you* want to "play the game" of geocaching. It sounds silly, but everyone has a basic philosophy, whether they've articulated it to themselves or not. Some people go for the numbers. Some go for writing long log entries to share their experiences. Some "just wanna have fun." If you think about why you geocache, it might give you some clarity as to how you want to handle situations like this one. That said, as one poster remarked, every area has its own way of dealing with this sort of thing, so it's probably a good idea to get a sense of how people around you do it, and do it that way, too. Being part of a community is a big part of geocaching, and angering those in your geographical community may not be the best way to start. Jeannette (angevine)
  23. I'm absolutely with the poster who said to find some more first. It's a lot of fun to hide and stock a cache, but more so if you plan it even as you're finding others. "That's a good idea, I could include that," or "what a stupid place to hide a cache, I won't do anything like that," are extremes of thoughts you might have as you visit other caches with yours in mind. Really, I think that people should hide caches because they feel compelled to, either because they have a clever puzzle they want to put out, or because they're overwhelmed by the beauty of a place, something along those lines. The fact that you haven't given this enough thought yet indicates to me that the time isn't yet right for you to do it. Jeannette (angevine)
  24. What does "fair" mean? If the cache hider did not indicate that women are not permitted to go there, then it's the cache hider who is clearly at fault and an email to him justified. But if you're questioning the "fairness" of a culture other than your own, you may wish to re-examine your own values. I'm a woman and a feminist, yet when I travel I try to remember that other cultures have different values than I do. When I'm in Arabic countries, for example, I cover my head and wear a wedding band. Do I agree with those cultures? No: it's why I live on Cape Cod and not in Rabat. Do I have the right when I travel to their countries to judge them as being "unfair"? Not a chance. As another poster remarked, there are a lot of caches out there. Don't waste time and energy questioning the "fairness" of one with which you disagree. As in all things geocaching, there are a lot of ways to play the game. Ignore the ways that irritate you and concentrate on the ones you enjoy. Jeannette (angevine)
  25. Others have responded well to your questions about the cache you're considering placing, and I'll just second their thoughts. Multis can be a lot of fun and multis that teach something are -- to my way of thinking -- absolutely marvelous. So go for it. I did want to say something about the "stuff" you put in. I'm sure that you can find some fun swag at a dollar store or a thrift shop, and I predict that as time goes by you'll find that the quality of the items in the cache deteriorates -- and then you'll need to decide either that that's important to you (in which case you're bound to stay frustrated) or else decide that you're not attached to that part of your cache and not worry, other than checking from time to time to make sure that it's well-maintained, which includes filled with trinkets. Everyone plays this game differently, and trying to figure out what others will do is an exercise in futility. In any case, welcome! Jeannette (angevine on Cape Cod, Massachusetts)
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