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Benchmarking and Neighborhood Watch Committee


Harry Dolphin

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Guess it was bound to happen, just wasn't expecting it.

Andy Bear and I decided to go geocaching in Westchester County, NY. (We'd never been caching thre before, and the closest county with no finds.) Fairly affluent suburban county north of New York City. It's where my parents moved when they moved out of the city, so I lived there for a few months.

This looks like a fun benchmark to look for! Middle class neighborhood. We were walking around the water tower (which is fenced off). (Obviously a lot of people walk there, since there is a 'pick up after your dog' sign.) Fifteen minutes of searching, and two gentlemen drive up and ask what we're doing. They're the neighborhood watch committee. Someone had reported us! (Probably the lady who dumped all her gardening debris in the area of the benchmark.) :ph34r:

That's enough to scare us off!

We've only been questioned a few times about what we were doing. And yelled at once by a lady who said the culvert under the road was on her property.

A new situation for us. Actually, rather frightening. Oh, well.

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Hi Harry,

 

Bummer.

 

It looks like, at least in 1966, the mark was on city property. I would think that as long as you didn’t go under or over any fences or past any No Trespassing signs, that you should be able to look around with no problem?

 

What did the neighborhood watch guys say when you explained what you were doing?

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Two guys in SUVs. One stayed on the road whilst the other chatted with us. I explained benchmarking as a hobby, and showed him the NGS page. After five minutes, he explained that there had been some problems in the neighborhood, and yelled back to the other guy that there wasn't a problem. But they sure let us know that we weren't welcomed in the neighborhood. Definitely town property. I might have continued searching but for the poison ivy, and the yard trash that the lady who reported us dumped on the public land. The problem is that this completely freaked out my caching companion. One of my proverbs of life is: "Dolphin don't go where the dolphin ain't wanted." I barely had time to take a photo of the water tower.

Now, I shall contemplate the irony of the benchmark name: FAIR.

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Two guys in SUVs. One stayed on the road whilst the other chatted with us. I explained benchmarking as a hobby, and showed him the NGS page. After five minutes, he explained that there had been some problems in the neighborhood, and yelled back to the other guy that there wasn't a problem. But they sure let us know that we weren't welcomed in the neighborhood. Definitely town property. I might have continued searching but for the poison ivy, and the yard trash that the lady who reported us dumped on the public land. The problem is that this completely freaked out my caching companion. One of my proverbs of life is: "Dolphin don't go where the dolphin ain't wanted." I barely had time to take a photo of the water tower.

Now, I shall contemplate the irony of the benchmark name: FAIR.

 

I guess the meek shall not inherit the benchmark.

 

If I'm not doing anything wrong, I stand my ground.

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Maybe it depends on the area where you are looking as far as how you are treated when someone finds you looking for a benchmark. I have been questioned many times by a wide variety of people, but after I explain what I am doing, they always understand. Guess I've been lucky.

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What a drag.

 

I had a run in with some guards outside the U.N. in NYC when I was looking for the BM set vertically next to the southbound lane of the FDR and to the left (east) of the entrance to the U.N. garage. The two guards would not allow me to approach the disk and threatened to call the police. I said go ahead- you are violationing my civil rights. Then they got nasty and threatened to call their supervisor. I still got my trophy shot- as they threatened me I snapped away with my camera (and my mouth).

 

As David Crockett said...If you know you are right then go ahead. But then, maybe he isn't the best person to paraphrase...

Edited by woodstrider
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What a drag.

 

I had a run in with some guards outside the U.N. in NYC when I was looking for the BM set vertically next to the southbound lane of the FDR and to the left (east) of the entrance to the U.N. garage. The two guards would not allow me to approach the disk and threatened to call the police. I said go ahead- you are violationing my civil rights. Then they got nasty and threatened to call their supervisor. I still got my trophy shot- as they threatened me I snapped away with my camera (and my mouth).

 

As David Crockett said...If you know you are right then go ahead. But then, maybe he isn't the best person to paraphrase...

 

Actually the quote is:

 

Be always sure you are right - then go ahead.

 

I think you captured the spirit quite nicely, though.

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Hey, Woodstrider! How ya been?

The one at the UN is iffy. I'll use Papa-Bear-NYC's photo. The benchmark is behind the guard shack, to the left of the garage doors. The sidewalk along the FDR does not continue under the UN. (I found that one in 2005. One of the guards went along with me.) I think the UN has prety well pre-empted that piece of sidewalk.

 

d196fca5-8e46-43ec-9d94-9e6be6438525.jpg

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Hi Harry Dolpin

 

That's it! Now, that side walk does run along the FDR all the way to the outer wall of the U.N. Those guys were just over board. I'm just glad they weren't shootin'.

 

By the way, I have a great story that involves BM hunting and a N.Y.P.D. K-9 unit, but I best not tell it on the internet. Maybe BM hunters should have their own Events and we can swap war stories over a cool one.

 

By the way- is harry your name or a descriptive :D I love your geocache/benchmark mashup, the one in Weehawkin, I think. Very clever. Maybe someday I'll solve it.

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