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I have to go down to Santa Barbara in a couple of weeks on business. I may take an extra day and get in some geocaching. Does anybody have recommendations for either 101 S or the Santa Barbara area itself? I probably won't want to go up on long hikes in the hills, so either some interesting urban caches (if that's not an oxymoron) or maybe some beach/cliff stuff. If anybody has a bug they want to go south, let me know, and put it in a local cache for me to take.

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I have no specific caches to suggest, however, I do have a suggestion of two particular places that you should visit:

 

Madonna Inn - 2 miles south of the CA Hwy 1, US101 interchange just south of San Luis Obispo. Everybody has to see this place at least once. Go in - ask to see pictures of the rooms. Ask where the men's restroom with the rock wall is - visit it (this is not a strange suggestion; it will be a very odd experience.) Check out the color scheme in the coffee shop and in the lounge. Admire the sheer - umm... existence of it all. A link to more information about the Madonna Inn.

 

Solvang - If Walt Disney, Inc. wanted to build a Denmark in EPCOT that was larger, had far more authentic foods and shops, but at the same time was cuter and kitschier than anything else at EPCOT, they couldn't do better than replicate what has been done in Solvang. You'll think you're in Denmark - or at least the Denmark portrayed in View*Master reels in the 1960s... A link to more information about Solvang.

 

I won't say "Hope this helps," as I am not sure that either of these places can be claimed to help anything. "Hope this amuses" is all I can say. icon_smile.gif

 

Of course, these places are, depending on your point of view, very fun, tacky, boring etc...

 

-J

 

quote:
Originally posted by The Rat:

I have to go down to Santa Barbara in a couple of weeks on business. I may take an extra day and get in some geocaching. Does anybody have recommendations for either 101 S or the Santa Barbara area itself? I probably won't want to go up on long hikes in the hills, so either some interesting urban caches (if that's not an oxymoron) or maybe some beach/cliff stuff. If anybody has a bug they want to go south, let me know, and put it in a local cache for me to take.


 

[This message was edited by TeamJiffy on February 24, 2003 at 02:32 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by TeamJiffy:

I have no specific caches to suggest, however, I do have a suggestion of two particular places that you should visit:

+ Madonna Inn -

+ Solvang -

 

I won't say "Hope this helps," as I am not sure that either of these places can be claimed to help _anything_. "Hope this amuses" is all I can say. icon_smile.gif

 


 

These are both excellent suggestions. I have been to both more than once. I went to school at UCSB - although everything has changed since then big time. I also went through there last summer and saw the mission. It is one of the better ones in the state. So I am less interested in the general points of interest than the caches this time around. I don't think my waistline can stand more butter cookies. There must be somebody out there with some cache ideas - Salinas area at least?

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.

.

.

 

If you receive this magazine look on page 14 of the March/April 2003 issue for the article "Geocaching Catches On".

 

It's pretty good..except for the mention of caches sometimes being buried (which they are...even though the "rules" don't "allow" that. (Should those buried ones be archived?)

 

The Via magazine web site doesn't appear to have the story online, but maybe I just didn't search long enough.

 

Enjoy!

 

Ron

 

I've never been lost. Fearsome confused sometimes, but never lost.

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quote:
Originally posted by fizzymagic:

kablooey's on a Tear!

He's done 75 caches this month already! Wow. He's going to blow by Marky at this rate!


He had better get out there and get caching if he wants to blow by us. By my count, we've done 173 so far this month. icon_razz.gif

 

Lee (vdbalamo), who has done 177 this month is the only one I see who is gaining on us... icon_wink.gif

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

 

[This message was edited by Marky on February 25, 2003 at 12:25 PM.]

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quote:
Originally posted by Marky:

By my count, we've done 173 so far this month. icon_razz.gif

 

Lee (vdbalamo), who has done 177 this month is the only one I see who is gaining on us... icon_wink.gif

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

 

[This message was edited by Marky on February 25, 2003 at 12:25 PM.]


 

Man, I'd better get busy, I've only done 105, but the month's not over.

icon_biggrin.gif

george

 

39570_500.jpg

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

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Just for kicks I looked at Stop & Go Alameda County and I see that Venona has wounded Kabloey. The knave has the cache and is shaking down Kabloey! Kabloey, of course, is resisting this extortion by refusing to enter the Livermore Valley. Seems like he vows to stay away from Livermore every other week so this threat isn't much.

 

What does he want, Kabloey? The solution to Dizzying Lengths before releasing the cache

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1. I would have completed more caches this month if it wasn't for all those caches in downtown Livermore that are only accessible for the locals since they can only be done at night! Also, I've now run out of convenient caches and my boss will be back next week, so, my numbers will dramatically slow down.

2. I posted new coordinates for the Stop&Go-Alameda, I suspect that the cache is really close to this spot, but may not be at an accessible location.

3. I'll be glad to work with Jiffy to arrange an event. I would suggest a larger park, one where we could have some privacy and place a cache. When/where and what is needed. Please post some ideas.

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quote:
Originally posted by Venona:

We have place traveling cache already. Is not near posted coordinates. You will solve demand to find it, I post tomorrow.


 

We hadn't the pleasure of making your acquaintance till now, but we had the time of our lives catching up [icon_biggrin.gif] spasiba! Wish we'd joined the game a month before we did and we'd have seen it happen live. You guys are cool! icon_cool.gif

 

scrollOfMapping

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Is it really 75? For some reason I thought I was at 71 for the month. Anyway, the number isn't that impressive, especially when some other people can find 20+ caches in a day. I'm prouder of the fact that I've found at least one cache on all but two days this month (a day being loosely defined as the time between going to sleep).

 

Okay, I decided to look at the caches. I count:

57 finds on 65 night hunts

21 finds on 22 day hunts

 

It's nearly impossible for me to get to the Livermore area during the day; so I find the urban nighttime caches work out fine for me as a non-local.

 

There's another ScrollOfMapping cache somewhere in the East Bay. I have absolutely no clue where to start with it.

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Venona has publihed the first hint on the Stop & Go web page. I brings up a few questions.

 

Does anyone recall the original coordinates? Please post them.

 

If I find the cache can I log it as a find again or must I settle for gloating rights?

 

How can I make a link when I post on the forums?

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Hi, V 'n A M! Welcome to Geocaching, and to these forums! It's a great bunch of people in here, and everyone is pretty friendly!

 

Your puzzle cache in Foster City looks like lots of fun and the puzzle seems very clever - F. and I will be up there on Saturday caching (I have to catch a 7AM flight out of SFO, so we're staying overnight). We hope to figure it out by then - but with puzzles, you never know - you don't have the solution until you have the solution, if you see what I mean.

 

Yes, F. and I solved the Big Liar cache - the left/took information is accurate, as a sign to "The Rat" that the log is true.

 

-J

 

quote:
Originally posted by V 'n A M:

 

Just saw your log on Big Liar. Did you find it or are you lying? icon_biggrin.gif

 

scrollOfMapping


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quote:
Originally posted by TeamJiffy:

Hi, V 'n A M! Welcome to Geocaching, and to these forums! It's a great bunch of people in here, and everyone is pretty friendly!


 

Thanks. We've been lurking for as long as we've been caching and I agree - it *is* a great bunch of people.

 

quote:

Your puzzle cache in Foster City looks like lots of fun and the puzzle seems very clever - F. and I will be up there on Saturday caching (I have to catch a 7AM flight out of SFO, so we're staying overnight). We hope to figure it out by then - but with puzzles, you never know - you don't have the solution until you have the solution, if you see what I mean.


 

I know what you mean about puzzles; it took us weeks to do Sounds Good and when it hit us, it was like lightning - that quick. We wondered why we didn't get it before. That's how all puzzles are I suppose. But still, MicroTerrestrial is a lot easier than it looks; really! We look forward to seeing your find log on that one.

 

V of V 'n A M

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quote:
Originally posted by pattiincausa:

S in Stevens Creek

Geez, I know I'm still a rookie but this one is driving me nuts. So is "All That Jazz III" but that's not my fault, it's my husband's. You know, Geocache to die, live to tell about it. A long story. I just hope I can find the S!!


Did you use the hint? It should be very helpful.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"

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quote:
Originally posted by Marky:

quote:
Originally posted by georgeandmary:

_Preview of a coming puzzle_


That looks fun! Can't wait.

 

--Marky

"All of us get lost in the darkness, dreamers learn to steer with a backlit GPSr"


 

I think I'll preview it at the 'Strings' event on Sunday before I submit it to the site. I'll just have print outs available to those who show up. There will be a small FTF prize.

 

george

 

39570_500.jpg

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

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quote:
Originally posted by TeamJiffy:

I don't know if MarWagsalot reads the forums, but if so - congratulations on cache #300!

 

Or, in the original North American Dog Dialect:

 

B-Bow'w woow ba booowwwwoww barkk bow baaark, wow yi yi - barkbarkawhooow ba barrk #300!


 

Funny you should say that. A friend of mine told me about this product recently.

 

Bow-lingual

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There are so many, many things about Clark only needing 5-6 minutes with Minita's sister that I could comment on, but it's like shooting fish in a barrel icon_wink.gif

 

-J

 

quote:
Originally posted by V 'n A M:

quote:
Originally posted by kablooey:

Yeah, until Minita finds out what Clark was doing with her sister during those extra 5-6 minutes.

 


 

icon_smile.gif Why do you think he didn't sound upset in the first place?

 

--

State the obvious, but not obviously.


 

[This message was edited by TeamJiffy on February 27, 2003 at 04:33 PM.]

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Turns out you can't get in at night. I solved it earlier today, and went there straight from work to find a locked gate and a razor-wire fence. icon_mad.gif

 

The hours it is open are actually quite limited.

 

Stop & Go

 

I'm surprised nobody has found it yet. I thought the hint Venona put up today was pretty much a gimme. Of course, Venona told me where it actually is. icon_biggrin.gif

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I just can't keep up with all those puzzle caches in the bay. New ones popping up constantly. I'm going to have to save this for a week in summer when hopefully gas will be cheap and I'll have time to think!

 

BTW.....

 

What should I look for in a laptop? Not so much the latest and greatest, just stuff a good solid machine should have in it?

 

george

 

39570_500.jpg

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

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Puzzles: I agree. They're everywhere now. I pine for the good ol' days of December and early January: Crypto in Cupertino and Los Altos, Math/Trig puzzles in Livermore. You used to know what you'd find based on where you were.. icon_smile.gif

 

This may sound very trivial, but it's crucial: decide what type of 'laptop mouse' you want - do you want the touch-stick that Toshibas and IBM's use (the little mouse between the G/H/B/N keys) or do you want a touchpad where you move the mouse with your thumb? Personally, I hate the touchpad, and love the touch-stick - go to a store, USE THEM BOTH, and decide which one works for you. If you get this wrong - you'll hate the machine, no matter what else it has.

 

Also, get one that has a couple of USB ports, as well as the parallel port built in the back, letting you use a printer without a docking port. At this point in time, modem and Ethernet should be standard (included) in the machine.

 

Hard drive size is up to you - I wouldn't get less than 12-16GByte disk though and at least 192MByte memory. Memory is the most significant performance factor in a mchine.

 

And buy a machine that lets you, within your total budget, purchase a 2nd battery.

 

quote:
Originally posted by georgeandmary:

 

BTW.....

 

What should I look for in a laptop? Not so much the latest and greatest, just stuff a good solid machine should have in it?

 

george

 

http://img.Groundspeak.com/user/39570_500.jpg

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.


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quote:
Originally posted by montythemule:

Since I travel too much, weight is important for selecting a laptop for me, and service.

 

*****************************************

This Space Intentionally Left Blank


 

I don't travel much where I have to carry my own stuff. I'm a throw it in the RV, or in the back of the truck, kind of guy. But I don't want to lug a brick a round. Well, it's mainly for Mary so I don't want her to lug a brick around.

 

What is considered 'light' and what is considered a 'brick'?

 

george

 

39570_500.jpg

Pedal until your legs cramp up and then pedal some more.

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quote:
Originally posted by kablooey:

It's not on my watchlist; so I haven't seen the hints yet, but I don't have any short term plans to head out that way


 

It's not where you think. You may be a lot closer than you imagine.

 

quote:
and I don't have my GPS for nine days anyway.

 

What's particularly cool about this placement is that you don't need a GPS to find it.

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Narrator: We look into the home of our heroes, as we see R. typing a note on a web page... R spends his free time in the forums, while B is deciding to finally break into that Dot-Com craze he's heard about, and has just incorporated his new company, "moneydownthetubes.com". B is editing his web site, using a new implementation of the latest interpreted object-oriented language, Snobol++. Both have discovered Geocaching and love it. Stacked in one corner is a pile of metal cyclone-fence-posts with missing caps, with sharp lower ends, ready to be shoved into the ground. Stacked in another corner is a collection of empty 35mm film canisters.

 

R: Venona - we know where the cache is, and, by gum, we hope to find it! We took care of B&N, and their boss, F.L., and we can take care of you!

 

(Noise in background, as B types on his computer)

 

B: Hey! R! Watch me fix my feature by adding a hack!

 

R: Oh, B! Your code *never* works!

 

B: This time for sure! (Whispers to himself...) Load up GDB... PRESTO!

 

On Screen: ***RUNTIME ERROR 955: DIVIDE BY 1 ERROR. I AM A CPU THAT COST $500 MILLION TO DEVELOP, AND YOU WASTE MY TIME DIVIDING NUMBERS BY ONE!?! ABORTING PROGRAM, DELETING SOURCE....

 

B: Hmm... don't know my own data-flow....

 

Narrator: Anyway, back to the script...

 

R: Yes, that's true, Venona! We know where the cache is! And if nobody beats us to it, we'll have it, and protect it from the likes of you!

 

Narrator: What will happen? Will R&B find the cache? Now for another episode of Sherman&Peabody, where we learn of Mar and Tammie - two other dogs who own their humans!

 

Your challenge, SF Bay Area Geocachers: Find Stop&Go before R & B!

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