DogArtist

I released Aether's Whim (a Dandelion geocoin) recently with the mission to travel to the Netherlands and visit 30 caches there, then return to me. I am skeptical it will accomplish any of that but figured it would be fun to set an ambitious mission. Why not, after all!

This thread is a great read! I'm a newbie but have been lurking for a long time. I only recently bought a GPSr and went out to find my first cache. That experience met every expectation and then some. Geocaching appeals to me because I like the idea of using technology to discover new places out in the real world. I like that I can combine it with my sketching hobby and take my dog along. I like that I can do it alone or with others, as I prefer. I enjoy that it has a place in my goal to get more fit this year. Considering all those things, the caches that require easy to moderate walking or hiking to reach, that are located in visually interesting places, and which permit my dog to go along are the ones that interest me most. As a gamer and geek, puzzle caches have enormous appeal. Nano caches do not really appeal to me at the moment because I just love the trackables and personalized swag element of caching and want to maximize my opportunities to help move trackables along on their journey and to share and collect swag. Since letterboxing also appeals to me, combos interest me quite a bit. When I place hides eventually, they will likely be combos. Playing the numbers game will never appeal to me. I don't really care about my stats. I see zero appeal in rushing from one cache to the next just to buff them. Numerical milestones are great but I will take a long time to achieve them because I like going slow and smelling (and sketching) the roses along the way. Plus life is busy and geocaching has to fit into everything else. It will be rare when I can devote a whole day to caching and even if I do, I'll be lucky to find three or four if I spend an hour sketching at each location. Totally okay with that.

It IS fun, isn't it? Congrats on all those finds. I found my very first the other day. Most enjoyable time...but I am geared to be a very leisurely cacher. Will probably take me many weeks (if not months) to get to 19--especially if I decided to spend an hour in each cache location sketching the scenery. Suits me fine though. Love this hobby/game.

Received my Adenine [Gold] DNA Geocoin today...it is sooo beautiful! (Also received a Dandelion geocoin - Summer Lightning [Antique Nickel]; love it!). I can feel a collection addiction beginning...

I would love to have some of these! Had an African Pygmy hedgehog for a pet for a few years and loved him dearly! These geocoins are *almost* as cute as he was!

So much addiction-worthy awesome in this thread. Wow! I haven't even found my first cache yet and I can already tell you that geocoins are going to be my Next Big Addiction!!!

If your Magellan 110 won't work with your MacBook Pro, you could always use Bootcamp (which comes with the Mac) to install the Windows operating system so that you can boot to Windows run Windows programs. Of course, you have to buy the Windows OS but it is a solution if indeed your GPS cannot talk to your Mac directly. There are other options along those lines as well...something to research if you have the need.

I'm assuming from your blog that you're in Europe? International mail can be really slow this time of year...I mailed first class packages to Netherlands, Denmark, UK, and New Zealand in mid-December. First to arrive was Netherlands in only 6 days!!! Then New Zealand, believe it or not, a couple of days later. THEN UK, and finally, just yesterday, Denmark. Doesn't really seem to make much sense. Anyway, hope to see my coin soon. I must admit this is the first geocoin I have just fallen utterly in love with, partially due, I suppose, to my lay interest in genetics and microbiology.

Of all the coins I have seen...with fingers itching to buy because I have that noob enthusiasm...this is the one where there was absolutely no question that it was a must-have! Absolutely gorgeous. Can't wait to get mine!

Hmmm...after looking at your stats and the map of the area, here's my wild guess: 247.

That is fantastic! I would like one for sure, possibly two depending on price. We have a very active and friendly falconry club here in Virginia. One of my friends attended one of their events, took fabulous photos, and wrote a very nice article about his day that was published in Virginia Sportsman. This coin would make a nice gift for him...and might even get him to take an interest in geocaching!

Beginner here, and I bought one of those too. It should arrive today. Once it does, there goes my productivity on other tasks the rest of the day! I am very excited to get familiar with my new toy...errr, TOOL. BTW, I checked and that price is no longer being offered; the price was $279 when I looked yesterday.

Just what it says: I paint dog portraits. P.S. Thought this old thread was worth reviving. My forum title might need to become Necro Specialist haha!

All I can say, in this day and age of terrorism and other violence, is what the heck is wrong with people thinking those are good cache containers? Sigh. How socially inconsiderate to place something that could (as in the case of calling out the bomb squad in the example cited earlier in this thread) result in a municipality spending thousands of dollars needlessly. Not a very good way to plead the case of geocaching being a fun and harmless sport. I guess I have spent too much tiresome time among online gamers and their clueless, trolling ways to find any humor whatsoever in cache containers like those ones above. Or perhaps I am just old and "too serious" haha! But that said, I guess any type container discovered by someone without a clue about geocaching could arouse suspicions these days, however well marked.

Noobish non-addiction (as yet) and other things I want to do with my time add up to modest goals for what will be my first year participating in the game. I will be happy if I have time to look for 10 or 15 caches per month--especially if I can work in sketching on location at the same time. I am not a "compete by the numbers" person. It's more about the quality and fun of the experience/journey for me (and hopefully my dog and any friends who accompany me). That said, fingers crossed that I end up with more finds than DNFs!

Been lurking awhile, but finally registered and stuff after I bit the bullet and bought a new GPS (Oregon 450) due to arrive this week. Geocaching has fascinated me for a few years but there has just been no time to incorporate it into life. Now that I've transitioned from a stressful technical career to full time artist (watercolorist specializing in dogs), I have a bit more flexibility and can devote some time to geocaching. I figured I better get to it...I ain't getting any younger! I'm hoping to introduce a couple of sketching friends to geocaching to see if they'll go with me on expeditions so we can discover caches and then sketch for a while at each site (where that is feasible). Also looking forward to taking my dog along on as many adventures as possible. Seems as if there are organized geocaching groups in Northern VA and Fredericksburg, VA but their activities seem to occur at locations that are a bit too far to drive for my preferences. I'll just have to see who I meet here and in real life and what options present themselves for joining up with other geocachers for group fun. Can't wait to get my new GPS in my hands and set out to find my first sites close to home and then get more adventurous. And already the idea of having a signature item has poked my creative brain so I've been playing with some beads and rubber stamps and stuff to make a few prototypes...I do love that there is a creative element to all this. The signature item thread is pretty awesome. On a more personal note, I'm married to a great guy. We have a small farm where we raise miniature donkeys (to keep the place in land use so that taxes are lower). I also have a lovely (and gigantic at 18 hands) mule named Emma who I trail ride. Would be very cool to incorporate a trail ride with looking for caches but the only problem is that once I get off, it's a bit of a challenge to get back on without something to use as a mounting block. Anyway...looking forward to fun. If you're in my neck of the woods, give me a shout. Haha, I hear that. EVE Online was my drug of choice for four years. That community is one of the most harsh