Sissy-n-CR

Attendance Board shows Ceips just signed in.

Whew! Things are definitely looking up for us, though our work is not yet done. The calls and e-mails DO have an impact. Tom Delay is currently under fire for ethics violations, but what Ms. Cieps has done is just as bad, in my opinion. It was bad when she first put forth a mis-leading case for this bill, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt that she was herself misinformed. I believe she has been contacted by more than a few of us to set the record straight, and continuing to push for this bill KNOWING that many photos and log comments have been taken out of context is blatently wrong. Our rep. has been very easy to reach, and assured CR that she will vote against this bill. A little education about geocaching was all it took. I live in Berkeley County, am a registered voter, and have voted in every available election. If I do not know either candidate, I generally vote along party lines. I voted for our rep., Ms. Hinson, based solely on the fact that she took time from her busy schedule several years ago to attend a spaghetti dinner held by the PTA at my child's middle school. She looked like she just came from the office, and was still wearing nice business attire (including heels). We were thrilled that she was there, but what blew me away was the fact that she immediately asked for an apron and helped in the serving line. She may not belong to my favorite political party, but she will always get my vote, and some of my friends votes as well, as I always remind my friends of the event around election time. What do you think the geocachers in Beaufort (pronounced B-you-fert for y'all northerners) will talk to their friends about? My warm fuzzy story is soon forgotten by those who were not there, but horror stories seem to take on a life of their own (as we in SC have recently discovered!) Sissy

I just saw something that really resonated with me and wanted to share. Today's Family Circus comic strip by Bil Keane. Someone with more computer skills than I have can scan it in, as I have been unable to find a link. Sissy (The first frame shows Jeffy and his brother climbing a hill. The next frame shows them standing at the top and Jeffy says, "Climbin' up was more fun than standin' here with nothing to do but look.")

CR and I have an agreement to only cache together. I am the one with extra free time during the week. I would rather cache with him at my side than go alone, simply because I enjoy his company. This is one activity that we can enjoy together, so I find other things to do during the week. There is a very cool mtn bike trail nearby that I ride regularly. There have been times that he waited at the trailhead while I hiked after the cache, but I find that I really miss him being there. The ideal cache for me would be a grueling hike with lots of obstacles and the cache at the end would be lit with neon. I can find them if I have to, but CR is so much better at it, that I don't even look most of the time. I have been on short hikes with other cachers (to re-visit an already found cache or check on one of ours), and while enjoyable, it just isn't the same. If it is just the two of us, I don't have to worry about going WAY off trail to answer nature's call, and he has seen me at my grimiest plenty. I can change clothes in the car or on the trail, go skinny-dipping, and a host of other things that I would not do if anyone else was with me. I think this may be less a control issie with the OP's SO, and more of a "I'll miss out on the fun!" issue. Since numbers aren't much of a motivation for us (anymore), I really do not mind waiting until we can go together. And if one pops up that I just MUST get today, he is a good enough sport to let me drag his @ss out there when he is finished working (as long as I feed him first !) Sissy

Try e-mailing an active cacher from that area. The logs of the cache you were trying to find and their profiles should help you decide who to contact. I am cyber-acquainted with some in the Jax area, if that it where it was, and could give you some names. Florida cachers have an independant website with forums and it may be better to put your request there. An e-mail to 'The Federation' can get this copy-pasted for you. My parents are staying in an RV in St.Augustine, and one of the local cachers delivered flowers to their door for me when my mom had surgery! I paypaled (paypalled?) him the money and he went to Publix and got her a nice bouquet. If this is the worst mistake you have ever made, you are leading a charmed life! Sissy

Yes, I am indeed lurking! CR, you just narrowly saved yourself twice in this thread. I knew you weren't going to use MY puzzle cache as an example! Little yellow type/Carleen, I like you too, and if he is gonna flirt, I can't think of a better recipient!/end the little yellow type that I don't know how to enable.

Long rambling discourse to follow.... I apologise in advance... When CR and I first started caching (letterboxing, actually), we found that it was a hobby that brought us together. The caches in our area were not that numerous, but it gave us a way to be together and out of the house with no distractions. We had just become empty nesters and nice long walks through the woods or through town gave us a chance to rediscover each other. We had hidden two letterboxes and quickly converted them to letterbox hybrids once we found Geocaching.com. The first cache that we did that required a trip off the beaten path was CCC in Columbia. I had been to the park it is in several times with my daughter (even swam in our clothes at the end of the trail once when it was really hot) and finding this cache was a perfect opportunity to show CR our swimmin' hole. I was surprised to discover that the cache was hidden on the other side of the ravine from the trail. I remember thinking "are we allowed to go over there?" followed immediately by "Well, the cache placer did!" This was the kind of cache for me! At the time we had some very good caches in Charleston, but none that gave me that kind of feeling. I do not do anything quickly, but I knew I wanted to put some out like that. The result was the Sissy's Snarky Walk series. Granted, placing the kind of caches I like to find does not insure that there will be more like this for me to find, but *I* certainly had fun while placing them. The best way to get more caches like what you want to find is to place them. Even if no one were to want to hunt mine, I had a blast putting them out. I like some of mine so much that I go check on them, even if I know no one has been out to them! (Just today I was out in the rain to see if any of my new ones might be in a spot where they might float away.)

I have spoken with the mayor's secretary (N. Chas) about holding an event for the area around 'Here Fishy, Fishy' and found some info that I will share with you privately as to why that spot cannot be the site of a CITO event. I am sure the same reason applies for the other cache as well. I am currently in contact with the woman in charge of Dorchester County's beautification and litter removal. I am working on an event at the Eagle Creek Fitness trail off Jamison Rd. The county is providing a dumpster, all the bags we will need and vehicle access to the area for the day. The date is March 26, and the event page should be up by early next week. Granted, this area isn't as trashy as the two you mentioned, but that just leaves more time to socialize, right? Oh, and I told her we would clean the trash out of the creek itself as well, so if you have waders, bring them!

Yes, I did get the email. Life has been a little hectic for the past few days. Not the least of which is a complete meltdown of the my home computer. I do have a copy on my work computer and I will look at it tomorrow if I can get some time. Thanks for your patience. CR

No problem on the AAA batteries. Just go to the site and order the AA one in the size you want and with any extras you would like (additional D-ring or spring clip). When you check out, there is a place to send a note, just mention that it is for AAA size batteries. You can also send an e-mail to me if you would like. Since I make these as they are ordered, you may have to give me a few days to get them made up. I think I will have some free time tomorrow, I'll just have to put off painting the ammo can for my new cache a little more! Sissy

And here I thought it was eat more fruits and veggies! Only 9:48 pm here, but it is way past my bedtime, so my week begins now. Talk to y'all next week! Sissy

Oooh! Oooh! I forgot about CCC in Columbia! That was the first cache we ever went off trail for. It was the first time I looked at something and thought "surely they don't mean for us to do THAT?" Followed by, "Well if someone else managed to do it, I guess its not impossible, so let's give it a try!" The start of a long journey of seeking sore muscles, cuts, scrapes, and wet shoes!

hey, crash test dummies! You only have 4 posts to go until you are officially a regular. Better make them count!

As most of you know, I have had the opportunity lately to give this subject a whole lot more thought than it probably deserves. What I see is two separate concepts being force-melded into one hobby. Concept 1: Find a cool spot, or better yet, pick a spot that you already enjoy, and bring it to the attention of others by offering them the carrot of a cache to be found. The goal is to challenge the mind, body, or lift the spirit of others, and the payoff are the logs that read "Wow, I never would have known about this place without geocaching! Thanks!" or "Boy, I found muscles I never knew I had today, and they are all sore! Thanks for letting me act like a kid today!" Concept 2: Find a new and clever way to hide a strip of paper and challenge your friends to find it. Frustration is funny. The goal is 10 DNF's by local experienced cachers before the first find, and the payoff is knowing you outsmarted your peers. If someone copies your idea, that would be flattery. There are those like Horsegeeks and Granpa Alex that like to play both games, and do not see a difference in the two. They are irate that not every cache is seen as a gift to the community from the placer. And there are those like me, CR, and a few others, that only want to play the first game. Unless GC.com recognizes these two very different ways of playing and allows placers to list which type they of game they are hiding for, I see no way to reconcile these divergent games. I do believe that the nice thing to do would be to take your caches off-line if it has become clear that the audience you placed your 'gift' for is unappreciative.

My all-time favorite so far: Bradley's Bottom The best puzzle cache I've done so far: They Are Not Square (Partly because of the complete integration with the theme, and partly because I was the first to solve it and it took the next person to solve it a month.)

No, you need to be able to skip the caches that do not bring you joy. I have! Sissy

Do I think it is wrong to ask for help? Of course not, but the first place (and only one for me) I would seek help from would be the cache owner. Some owners feel that giving too much away or making it easier for one or two cachers could cheapen the value of the finds for the other finders. One of my favorite puzzle cache placer's philosophy is that his caches have a high difficulty rating for a reason. Just as he does not expect to be able to find scuba or watercraft-necessary caches, because he does not have the training or equipment, he understands that not everyone will have the resources to find all of his caches. This is OK with him.

No apologies necessary! It has been an age since I last saw those pics. What great memories they recall. We had the best time, shared food, stories, and lots of folks donated some way cool door prizes. (I still have my CITO T-shirt made by Charlotte and Tony.) Sissy

I believe another cacher hit the nail on the head when he said: "it IS bad form for finders to give hints but it is more than that - it is an absolute unforgivable a display of dishonor and diminished integrity that robs the owner of his efforts and care for the game." Anyone care to guess who the author of that particular quote is? My suggestion would be to contact the cache owner to see if he cares to give you a little "push". I e-mailed him with what (I hope) I have as the answer. I went to no websight, just used deductive reasoning based on what the shapes had in common with each other. Took about 5 minutes. Thanks for pointing this out to me! Sissy

Just for the record... Although I feel almost as strongly as CR about this subject, I realized early on that I was investing way too much angst and mental energy on it. I forwarded all the communications to another area cacher (not CR), and asked him to deal with it, because I realized that my frustration level was probably not going to lead to productive outcomes. Then I quit worrying about it. Seeing them on my nearest list has become somewhat of a badge of honor for me, but I think they must be more like thorns under a saddle for CR. I have some things planned for this week-end that may give CR something a whole lot more fun to focus on. Like everyone else, I am also tired of this crusade being fought in every other post. I guess we will see just how important this is to him. If he (finally) drops it, you'll know I won :D ! Sissy

If you read any of CR's posts in other topics, you'll know HE isn't apathy!

E-mail on the way! (If you are who I think you are, the order was sent last Thursday. Give it a couple more days to make the trek from coast to coast.)

Of course you rate! My goof. Its fixed now.

How's that?

Thanks! But I am afraid I would not be nearly as entertaining.