Picking up a few P&Gs

Today we found:

• Zoom Zoom Chamberlain 2 (GC15T41) - another dominook hide, and a sequel at that, we knew it was out there but just hadn't taken the time to stop and peek in the bushes. We came, we found, we signed.
• Fender-Bender (GC126XE) - File this one under Another One Right Under Our Noses. This route is taken driving the little haunthunters to school and picking them up. Realised it was there and found it today. I have serious concerns over caches that use metal pipes. I know that anyone is going to overreact about anything, regardless of whether it looks dangerous or not, if they are determined to overreact, but a metal pipe container does lend itself to suspicion.
• Mosquito Bait (GC14PHY) - Our second attempt and when we found it, we wondered why we hadn't found it the first time. Maybe we overthought it? We swiped Fuzzy the Bear TB (TBPZY0).
• Our First Cache. (GC181G0) - A clever hide and fun find. A homeless fisherman was not amused by our bush-rooting shenanigans. We gave Fuzzy the Bear TB (TBPYZ0) a new home here. Mr. HH absolutely insisted that he fit.
• Ride the Big Red Bus (GCXH92) - A Doc-Dean hide. This was impulsive and we paid the price for it. If we'd taken the time to look at the online log, we'd know it was found wet and unmanageable many times before us. We learned our lesson the hard way. I couldn't even unravel the thing. Someone before us had tried and ripped the thing so I wasn't going to damage it more. I logged the find and then pegged it for maintenance.
  

We're at 60 finds now. To us, that's a big number.

I'd checked on the Visitation Cache - aka. Train Watch in the Buff(er) -(GC145EY) when another little haunthunter had to go with her muggle father on December 28th. Today, we checked on Ample Micro (GCXTCY) and Cache the Rat (GCY4Y3). All in tact. I made the unilateral decision to archive East Port Pond (GC146B1).

Ohio State Buckeye Avenue (GC144X8) is another Visitation Cache and it is currently temporarily disabled. Since I'm not going to be one of those step-mothers who complains about the birth-mothers, let me just say that visitation is creatively scheduled. As a result, maintenance on this visitation cache is unpredictable. I estimate replacement of the cache on the weekend of January 4th or the weekend of January 11th. This has been a successful cache up until its unfortunate muggling. We placed it because it was a visitation cache and named it for a surrounding element that would make it unique. Mr. HH has been a bit mortified at the idea that people might assume he's an Ohio State fan. He's Gators all the way.

- Mrs. HH

And we're back

Months have gone by with a serious hiatus from the sport. We could have probably pushed ourselves out the door to continue hunting but always decided in favour of other obligations or pleasures. We have picked up a few park & grabs that I haven't blogged about, although they have been logged in their prospective cache logs and web logs.

This past weekend, Mrs. HH (myself) had the obligation of taking two little haunthunters up to Indiana. With a crunch in time, we managed to find Florida in Texas in Georgia (GCY2TN) in Valdosta, Georgia. To be honest, I don't get how the name is a clue. This was our first out-of-state cache! Unfortunately, our stay the following night in Lebanon, Indiana provided for no geocaching thanks to the missing power source for the "free high speed" modem in our room. The details of this trip are on Mrs. HH's personal blog.

Christmas had some free moments, so the HH daughter and Mrs. HH headed out to grab the new Publix theme cache by 3birdfamily that was just down the road at the new supermarket, watch out for the public # 7 (GC182C7). HH daughter was instrumental in finding this one and is quite proud of herself for it.

We've still not managed to reset Good Boy! (GC147JP) and have temporarily disabled Ohio State Buckeye Avenue (GC144X8). Mr. HH was in the neighbourhood the following Saturday after we received notice that it was probably most likely muggled, but he failed to remember to stop and replace. We're hoping there's another opportunity to replace on January 5.

One thing I still have to do is begin checking for existing waymarks, logging visits, and applying for new waymarks, which are all abundant, from this trip. Bardstown, Kentucky was bursting with Historical Markers, not to mention all the other gems that I'm sure have a category to fit.

- Mrs. HH

Temporarily Disabled Good Boy

With such busy-ness, there wasn't a lot of time energy to devote to hunting for containers. I'd gotten an email from dominook a while ago about Good Boy! (GC147JP) and his descriptions lent to the sureness of it being MIA. It took until August 17 before I could check on it and until today for me to temporarily disable it. Frankly, I'm ashamed but my hands and time have really been tied on this. It's bad timing to have to tend to stuff. What's worse is that I never found the time to tell Mr. HH so he could do something about it!

So, it's temporarily disabled now until I can replace it, or Mr. HH can replace it. We need a sticker to say "No Trash - No Basura" to make sure that it doesn't go anywhere. I think we also have to give in and just put in some flowers.

We still have a geocoin, so we will be back geocaching soon to keep it moving.

Terrain restrictions + News item

Since Mr. HH's doctor didn't call in his pain prescription renewal before the weekend - he still requires some assistance with post-surgery pain - we're not ambition to do anything beyond a 1.5 terrain. That goes for just about everything. I'm still itching to go on the four-mile hike for Sable Trace (GC11Z20) and am willing to do it with only water, garmin, ipod, and nextel by my side. The Iron Ranger (GCHGTT) is also there.

I think Mr. HH wants to save Sable Trace until he can kayak it in. He really misses kayaking.

Yesterday, we did find:

• Tour de Smiles #7 - Toys (GCQ1BZ) - a quick hide in GoofyButterfly's intentionally easy park & grab series meant to rebuild the broken spirits of DNF-laden cachers. This one was high muggle and Mr. HH had to do it because I just wasn't comfortable.
• Tour de Smiles #6 - Olean (GCQ1BW) - another part of GoofyButterfly's series. I grabbed this one from its obvious spot and got it back no problems.

In the news of geocaching and national security, Sterling Silver (GC1016Q) was blown up by the Greeley bomb squad at the request of the Sterling Police Department (Sterling, Colorado) on July 26, 2007. Checking the logs of the cache, it would appear that OhioYankee wasn't very stealthy, especially since his rehide was described as "throw [it] into the bushes". Can't you sit on the curb nearby with the box open, still hidden in the bush, sign the log, play with your phone, tie your shoelaces, and then discreetly push the box back? A regular cache in an ammo box on bank property probably isn't the smartest hide, but it was found 36 times in seven months without a problem.

...Hat tip to paksen on the geocaching livejournal community for the story.

- Mrs. HH

What a tangled web we weave

Real life left no room for geocaching today but we did root around at Di-'sep-sh&n for a little bit. Mr. HH is becoming very frustrated as we're running out of places to look. I have the suspicion that we've already found it, maybe several times, and just don't know what we're looking at. A hint would be welcome but who could give a hint? Only the dajoneses have found it so far!

There's only half a million other caches in the area to find so we might have to just return after we're more experienced to look at it with keener eyes.

- Mrs. HH

50th Find

Tonight we reached our fiftieth cache find milestone.

We went out before dinner because we heard the distant thunder and wanted to pick up five finds before it started to rain.

We found:

• Tour de Smilies Deux #5 - The Mall (GCWZD0) - It took a minute but it was found.
• WHERE THE GEO GOES! (GC126Y7) - xj5teacher couldn't have made it clearer if there was a neon arrow pointing to it.
• Tour de Smilies #8 - Got Books? (GCWZCN) - The park & grabs are quick fun when we aren't able to go long distances because of time or health. It keeps us caching.
• STOP & Search Lows (GC10M3Z) - This was an exercise in stealth.
• EnTryDeNied (GC13CMX) - I could've yodeled while standing on my head and nobody would have cared. I made a wrong turn on the way and had to hop back out on 41 to come into the parking lot the right way. I was following my GPS instead of consulting common sense.

We DNF'd:

• Di-'sep-sh&n (GC13CN7) - GAH! We got caught in the rain on this one because we just couldn't let it go. It has to be there. Where is it? Where is it? If it weren't for the lightning, we would've continued to hunt through the rain. I was tempted to sign Team Crime Scene's rock. This aint no lamppost skirt park & grab, that's for sure.

- Mrs. HH