Contributing to the Delinquency of a Boxing Buddy

We had a guest arrive a couple weeks ago, and we took him out with us on a picnic to the Dunbar Wine Cellars Park. I had carved a couple of stamps a couple weeks earlier, hoping to go on a picnic, but hubby had preferred yard work.... Anyway, we decided that a Sunday afternoon was a perfect time. I had found clues to two geocaches in the park because I still had a geocoin I needed to unload. We had KFC for our picnic, then we hit the trail in an attempt to find a geocache. We walked ALL over that park, with no luck. So, we got the clues out for the other one, and this one we found without too much trouble. I unloaded the coin, and I really don't care if I never do another one of these things. They are so much more trouble than letterboxes. Letterboxes are fun. Geocaches are frustrating. After that was accomplished, we then started scoping out the trails for good places to plant two letterboxes. We went way up on a hill to plant one, then the other was just off the trail by a unique tree. Overall, we had a very pleasant day and got our exercise in!

Anniversary Box

Well, April 27 was my 12th wedding anniversary. It may not sound like much, but I'm impressed. It doesn't seem like it's been 12 years already. Hubby and I spent our honeymoon at my family's cabin. My grandmother commented that she remembered me always saying that was where I wanted to spend my honeymoon, and it came true. The camp has always been special. I love that place. Growing up, I used to dream of living out there by myself, writing books. Seemed like the perfect writer's retreat ;) I loved getting out in the woods with my Dad. He'd take us fishing. We'd take walks. He'd tell us about the plants and trees he knew. It was a very special place. It was the only place we ever went on vacation to. We didn't mind. My friends at home were always talking about the beach, and I thought they were crazy. I'd take the woods any day. The beach doesn't interest me in the slightest.

Anyway, hubby and I like to go out to the camp each year for our anniversary. Well, this year Mom planned to open it up that weekend, and the last thing hubby wanted to do was spend our anniversary at camp with three other people. So I rented a cabin in Ansted, WV. It's just about 40 minutes from where we live. Hawk's Nest State Park is there, with trails, fishing, birds and spectacular views. The cabin was small, cozy, and it had a hot tub, which hubby and I had never experienced before. I carved a letterbox for the occasion, determined to plant it that weekend.

I tried to make a tee-time at the golf course for Friday morning because it was supposed to be storming on Saturday, but they were aerating the greens. Unfortunately that started my weekend in a funk. So Thursday morning we spent time at Walmart getting fishing gear. We don't get much chance to fish when our son is around. He needs constant supervision, then gets bored within 10 minutes and starts throwing rocks into the creek. So I long for the chance for just hubby and I to go fishing. We got out to the cabin at 4pm, checked in then went to the grocery store. We got hamburger helper and pork chops. Hubby hadn't had pork chops in awhile. We put things away, went out to Dairy Queen then came back and hubby wanted in the hot tub. Now, it was pretty hot outside and the cabin had been shut up when we got there. The owner brought out a little window air conditioner, but it still hadn't cooled down much. I didn't enjoy the hot tub too much that evening. Hubby woke me up at about 6:30 the next morning wanting to get in the hot tub again, and this time it wasn't bad. It was cool outside (not cold) and the water was warm (i had turned it down the night before.) We sat out there listening to the birds, and hubby saw a deer (I was too short to see from where I was sitting)

We got geared up for fishing and went out for breakfast. Then we drove to every little store between there and US 19 trying to find tackle for him. We brought his pole, but when we were shopping at Walmart he didn't think about what he would need to fish. Men! We ended up driving into Oak Hill to the Walmart there to get him fishing stuff. Well, he got two lures and a $40 pair of boots. At least I got two new pair of sandals ;) The pair I had was almost three years old and were not comfortable any more. On our way back we stopped at the New River Gorge bridge visitor's center. Saw a filmstrip, bought a couple books for educating our son about the wilderness, then walked across the street to the locally-owned gift shop and bought a pound of homemade fudge. Mmmmm....

We stopped at Subway on our way back to the cabin. It had been looking like rain. That blew over and we decided to walk around the property. The owners said that there was a creek out back. Well, outback and down the mountainside through heavy brush. We started down the hill and hit an old overgrown road. We walked down it for awhile, finding coyote scat, bear scat, and what looked like the coyote's den in some rocks. We also found what looked like an American Chestnut (two actually.) After our walk we went back to the cabin. I was bushed and not really interested in fishing any more. We changed, ate a little something, and went back out to Dairy Queen. The night before we both had banana splits. This night we both had the chocolate covered strawberry waffle bowl sundaes. I always ask them to put chocolate syrup on mine instead of the hot fudge. Eating chocolate flavored rubber just isn't one of my favorite things to do.

We watched alittle tv and then hubby wanted to get in the hot tub again. We didn't get to bed until almost midnight. Which made for a little bit of a late morning. We decided to go to the Park to find out how to get to a body of water to fish. I hadn't seen any access roads. Well, the first one we stopped at, there was a gift shop and we spent quite a bit of time in there. They had the neatest shirts. They were white with black design, but when you took them out into the daylight bright colors came out on the design. We had to get one for our son. We walked up to where the old museum was, then down the trail. Ended up walking the whole length of the Loop Trail, which I'd never known about even though I'd been there a dozen times! After that we went to the Lodge. Visited the gift shop and got hubby one of those glass block that have an image floating on the inside -- of the Marine Corps emblem. We got another one that had a bride and groom in it for me ;) We asked the lady how to get to the water, and she showed us on a trail map. Then we went out and walked the Lover's Leap trail. It was a very short one leading to an overlook. While there we scouted out a spot for the letterbox. We felt it was an appropriate spot for our anniversary letterbox. After this we went back to the cabin. I was hot and tired, and really didn't care about fishing any more. We ended up pulling the couch futon out and napping for a couple of hours. I fixed the pork chops for dinner. I wanted Dairy Queen again, but didn't feel like running out for it. We pretty much watched tv and turned in early.

Got up next morning, packed car, went to breakfast, stopped at Lover's Leap and planted the box. We were ready to get home and see our son. It was Sunday, and this was the actual day of our anniversary. On the way home, hubby said he wanted to take me out to the woods. He wanted to take our son out to the woods. He missed him. I suggested that we go to Kanawha State Forest that afternoon. He liked the idea. We got home, the rest of our family was already there (probably arrived within 30 minutes of each other) unloaded the car, packed an ice chest, nature books, bird book, fishing poles, and took off with our son. Stopped at the store to pick up hot dog stuff, and off the the forest we went.

When I got home I had notices telling me that my Devil's Backbone and Cranberry Glades boxes had been found three times that weekend. Hurray!

Making the Best of It

On March 11 my husband's mother passed away. This was something we had been expecting for the past two years, ever since she was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Last September I had printed off clues for letterboxes in the area for just such an occasion. Going back for the funeral was an adventure in itself. We left early Wednesday morning, arriving at our hotel at about 6:30pm. We picked a hotel in the middle of nowhere, hubby not liking the city much, so we went ahead and ate there. I won't go into details, but from Thursday morning until the funeral things were a whirlwind -- family coming in from all directions, etc. Hubby forgot his suit so we made two separate trips into town to try to come up with something decent that didn't cost a fortune. Come Sunday, we were ready for some relaxation, so we headed out to go letterboxing. We went to Moon Lake Park, had a nice walk, found some wintergreen, and also the box hidden there. Interestingly enough, as we looked through the log book we found that two years earlier another boxer had sought out this box while he was home for a funeral too. After this we decided to try the Moconoqua Loop Trail boxes. There were three listed on this one. the clues weren't very clear, and the trail markings weren't clear either. We weren't sure which trail was the "beginning." We started on one end, but after awhile the clues just didn't fit with anything so we back tracked and started on the other trail. This one was practically mountain climbing. We looked and looked, but couldn't find the first box. When it started looking like the clues for the second box, we started looking for it, and found it without too much trouble. We went on to look for the third, but couldn't find it either. It started to snow, we probably only had an hour of day light left, so we gave up. We have to come back in July to close out accounts, so we'll have another chance.

We spent another day there, then headed back. We stopped at Hershey Park, but it was late in the day so we didn't hunt for the three boxes hidden there. The zoo was our priority. We spent the night at some friends' house, and then next day finished our trip home. We found two more boxes on the way -- the one at Sideling Hill and the one at the WV welcome rest area just across the border from Maryland.

Next time we go, hubby wants to plant several boxes in State Game Land 206 -- he grew up right on the border of this game land and spent most of his free time there. Lots of memories, and he wants to share them first with us, then with other letterboxers.

Valentine Letterboxing

Hubby had to go out of town for a conference with the National Guard the weekend after Valentine's Day. There was a banquet, so I was expected to go too. Not that I was upset over having an excuse to go out of town with hubby and have the weekend paid for ;) On our way home Sunday we finally went out to the WVU Arboretum where there were several micro boxes hidden. There were two that we couldn't find. The area was kind of damp and muddy. Just as we were finding the last two boxes, it started to drizzle. On the last box, it held the logbook for the whole series, so this one took a little longer to stamp into. Hubby pulled up his jacket over his head and then leaned over me to give me some shelter from the rain. I was okay with stamping in the rain, but it was a sweet gesture. He then commented that the view was lovely out there, and I absent-mindedly agreed, intent on my stamping, but something in his voice called me to look up and I realized he wasn't talking about the outdoors! I had forgotten I was wearing a low and loose top ;) All around, it was a nice weekend -- after the banquet. Up til then hubby was busy. We didn't have anything to do on Sunday, so we got to sleep in and actually enjoy being at a hotel. Nice breakfast at the hotel. We had a leisure drive home after the trip to the arboretum.

The Future of WV Letterboxing

I would really like to get a Letterboxing group started in WV. It would be nice to try to get things organized and try to really blanket WV with boxes. There are areas of WV that abound with boxes, but then there are areas that have nothing. I'm in an area where there is very little. It's not much fun to plant 100 boxes in an area and there is nothing for me to find! I am thinking about venturing out to the Eastern Panhandle during spring break and getting a bunch of boxes. maybe meet some more boxers along the way.... But, there is very little activity in WV, and I don't know of many boxers. I think I know of five. We'll wait and see.

Cooties!

Yes, I was got. Not just once, but twice, and evidently by the same person! I listed my cootie finds on AQ. The sad thing is that they might be hanging out here for awhile. I could pawn them off on a friend, but she never goes to meets so she'd be stuck with it forever, or be forced to slip it back on me at some point. Gotta figure out how to move these puppies....

Our First Meet!

Well, it's over! I was stressing out last week, but things went off just fine. Wednesday I had to set myself down and get to carving, because I didn't want my nightmare to be a self-fulfilling prophecy. I got the event stamp carved. I wasn't sure how it would go over. I thought it was cute, but not having seen many event stamps except the one in The Letterboxer's Companion that was quite intricate, didn't now what others would think. Being a quiet, shy person, I didn't "interupt" all the conversation and do drawings like I had planned. Everyone seemed to be having enough fun just chatting and getting to know each other. WVBigBeard is a hoot and can keep you entertained for hours. I enjoyed hearing about his adventures, some of which I could relate to, but he told much better! I didn't my Mom's book stamped, but hey, I had enough to think about, making sure my son got his stamping done and my own. I'm trying not to encourage her "stamping by proxy" habit!

We got there probably an hour and a half early, and I went out to hide a bonus box. I tried to think of good clues that weren't real hard but didn't give it away either. Safari Man eventually went to locate the Library box, then the bonus box. He came back saying they looked everywhere they could think of but couldn't find it. I thought for a moment, did I make it too hard? About that time PioneerSpirit walked by the door and Safari Man turned to ask him if he found it and said "He's smiling, he found it!" and they went out again. I saw the stamp in his logbook later so I know he did eventually find it :) I sent my brother out later with the clues to see if he could find it, and he did say he didn't find it right off because when he went downstairs he said to himself "nah, that's too easy" and looked around some but then did find it where he didn't think it could be. But, my brother really isn't a good judge of clues because we think too much alike anyway ;)

It was nice to hear from Zandra that she appreciated my stamps I had carved at the boxes I have on the Midland Trail. I thought they were nice, but nothing spectacular, but it feels good to know that when someone else finds my box they are pleased with the stamp they find inside.

I did feel a little disappointed that I didn't do the prize drawings, more because I was afraid that others might be disappointed about it. Of course, I couldn't find out whether our groundhog had seen his shadow until this morning, so I will be getting those prizes out in the mail this week. But overall, I was pleased because it was so nice meeting such great people!