Why I'm Thankful For Geocaching

[+Ghostcat78]

I've been a member now for a little over 9 months. I discovered this exciting hobby/sport from a co-worker,Ventureman7. I remember the day I was at work and he told me about this website and about some of the caches he has found. I was so excited I couldn't wait to get home and look up GC.com. I was mortified when I saw all the places caches were hidden. I felt like the world had been invaded around me with geocaches and all this time I had no idea that they were even there. I was completely in the dark, especially in places were I walk by on a weekly basis. Aliens could have landed in my back yard and I would have been less excited at this point. I was overwhelmed with excitement thinking I was now in a secret club not to many people knew about. With the help of this forum I purchased my first GPS device and set out with my fiance' to find our first cache. After that we were caching everywhere we went and actually based a few days of our honeymoon around caching in the bahamas. As fun as my honeymoon was without caching, the added joy of being able to cache in another country made it that much more exciting. It took us to places on the island that we normally wouldn't have gone too otherwise. I started with nothing more than a handful of printouts and the excitement of the hunt like most people. I've since upgraded to a premium membership and have gone paperless since. I paid my $30 up front knowing exactly what I was getting and expected no more. I'm thankful for the founding fathers and mothers of geocaching for making an attempt to publish this sport on the internet for all to see in the beginning. I'm thankful for Jeremy who has successfully created Groundspeak to pull all this off and offer it FREE to the world. I'm thankful for the creators of 3rd party software who have spent many hours in front of their computers at home battling their own jobs, family, and spouses who can't figure out their love affair with hiding/finding tupper-ware. I'm also thankful for other similar websites that also offer geocaching information and support. Some are better than others, but I utilize what I can based on what i'm looking for/need. I'm thankful for people like Jeremy who have sacrificed many hours of time and money to promote this sport in lieu of having other jobs and family to juggle. Most of all I'm thankful and really have to respect everybody who has contributed to geocaching, my fellow cachers. Without you geocaching would not exist if you had not wanted to share you favorite spot in the wilderness, scenic sights, and other bizzare objects you have seen and place a cache at their places. With so much complaining and flame wars in the forums I just thought I would post this to try to remind everybody of how thankful we are to have this website, and other sites as well, that are dedicated to this sport. Geocaching is lifestyle that i'm proud to live.

 

Happy Holidays and safe caching!

 

(Please don't move this to the off-topic forum)

Edited December 17, 2004 by Ghostcat78

[+clearpath]

Nice post ... thanks for sharing.

[+New England n00b]

I think I am on the wrong website - where's the angst?

 

While I don't use any other caching website, I still have to agree. Well said, Original Poster.

[Azaruk]

Couldn't have said it better myself.

 

My sentiments exactly!

 

It's a great game, backed by a professional organisation and played by an incredibly diverse bunch of people with a common goal - having fun caching!!!

 

[+cachew nut]

my editorial in lieu of the holidays

 

I dunno, given the choice of posting an editorial or having my holidays, I would choose having my holidays. You don't explain why it has to be one or the other. Couldn't you post your editorial and enjoy the holidays too?

[+Team Perks]

I dunno, given the choice of posting an editorial or having my holidays, I would choose having my holidays. You don't explain why it has to be one or the other. Couldn't you post your editorial and enjoy the holidays too?

Well THERE's the angst that was missing from this thread!

 

Thank you for the positive perspective--something that is too few and far between in these forums.

[+cachew nut]

You're welcome

[+graveyard mom]

Woohoo! YES! Someone thinking what I've been thinking in the past month since I joined up-only positive things so far!

 

As for the "secret club" feeling. I feel it too, strongly! This past weekend we went down for our towns Xmas parade. Hundreds of people along the streets of our mini little "downtown" area. And I knew there was something hidden within MERE INCHES of where some of these people were! Too well hidden to be seen by these clueless people, but OH I know a "secret"-it was some sort of weird "rush"! I don't know how else to explain it, but it was coool!

[+Medic005]

I couldn't agree more!

 

I've only been geocaching for a little over a month and I gladly paid the fee after my first week of caching. This has been a great experience to get back to doing things that I enjoy and it's an extra plus to see the happy expressions on my boys faces when they find thier hidden treasure.

 

Thanks GC.com !!!

[koz]

i'm more intrigued by your "doing it" in a foreign country on your honeymoon!

[+El Diablo]

Nice post ... thanks for sharing.

Now if we could get him to think in paragraphs rather than chapters we could add him to Today's Cacher team.

 

Good post!

 

El Diablo

[+Ghostcat78]

Geez ED, you sound like my wife, the english major. I'd happily write anything for todays cacher.

[+El Diablo]

Geez ED, you sound like my wife, the english major.   I'd happily write anything for todays cacher.

We would happily publish your thoughts. I have good editors in case your wife is busy.

 

El Diablo

Edited December 18, 2004 by El Diablo

[+TEAM 360]

Sounds like you are more grateful for geocaching.COM than geocaching, the sport.

There IS a difference.

[+El Diablo]

Sounds like you are more grateful for geocaching.COM than geocaching, the sport.

There IS a difference.

Not really. There are people that would like for you to think that...but not true.

 

Geocaching.com was the first to formally organize caching. Since then there have been a lot of wannabes trying to ride the coat tails of GC.

 

El Diablo

[+GeoVamp]

I totally agree also.. I've been a cacher for 3 years this Feb. and I'm about to hit 1000 finds, 100 hidden and 100 TB's found and I love it the same as my first hide and find...I still rember the first cache I found and what I traded for.

[+Colorado Cacher]

Member since 09/17/02 @ 1249 am.

 

By now probably 50 lbs. lighter (last time I check about 35lbs lighter) in weight, no longer smoke one pack of cigarettes a day, no longer clinically depressed, almost in the best shape of my life. Never ever thought I would be going up and down mountains in one day or less. Never thought I would be seeing all types of deer, rocky mountain bighorn sheep, wolves, coyotes, foxes, snakes, etc. on daily hiking adventures.

 

My days off belong to me and nobody else because I get to hike all over the Pikes Peak mountain range (it's free) and geocache to stay in shape. And listen to music the whole time, as well as see unending beauty with that.

 

Have lived in Colorado for 41 years and have seen more of it since 09/17/02 than I ever did before. Even found that stage stop that still exists, and has since 1890's--->no there will never be a cache there.

 

Everyone please take a simple moment to thank Jeremy.

[+Camo-crazed]

Everyone please take a simple moment to thank Jeremy.

Thank him! if aliens landed in my yard and said "take me to your leader" I would take them straight to jeremy's house! unless of course they seemed dangerous, then I would try to protect him at almost all costs (like other than having my cache history erased)