Two days ago I had no idea what geocaching was. And I'm willing to bet money on it that most of you have never heard of it...let alone try it. Well, yesterday me, Jacque and the kids did just that!
There are bunch of "hidden treasure" locations around us, so we picked the closest one...in a CVS parking lot. We couldn't find the damn thing! The reviews said "easy to find," "saw it as we were pulling into the parking lot." REALLY? We couldn't even get the compass to agree with us!! We walked in circles trying to find the damn thing...and eventually gave up!
We went to our next location at the park. I had high hopes! This time the compass seemed to be working with us..until we were practically on top of the damn thing...then we were 15ft away again. WHAT?! Kaleb and Austin were convinced that a little man was moving the treasure on us when we weren't looking. And after a while I was starting to give into that theory too!
We took a little break on the picnic tables and tried to figure this damn puzzle out. There was a code that we decoded: under a sweet gum tree in a 9mm casing inside a block of wood. So we went back in the woods and tried to find it again.
We went to our next location at the park. I had high hopes! This time the compass seemed to be working with us..until we were practically on top of the damn thing...then we were 15ft away again. WHAT?! Kaleb and Austin were convinced that a little man was moving the treasure on us when we weren't looking. And after a while I was starting to give into that theory too!
We took a little break on the picnic tables and tried to figure this damn puzzle out. There was a code that we decoded: under a sweet gum tree in a 9mm casing inside a block of wood. So we went back in the woods and tried to find it again.
Two hours into our trek we gave up. Geocaching is clearly not a "sport" for everyone. And I feel so dumb for not being able to figure it out. But hey, atleast we were outside getting fresh air!
This morning I woke up to a tweet from some random dude, "have fun geocaching...don't over think it!" Thanks buddy!
Have you ever been geocaching....successfully?
Posts
We have done that a couple of times with our kids. My husband is much better at finding them than I am. Do you have a handheld GPS? Ours would usually get us within about 3 feet of where it was hidden. Sorry you didn't find any, but it had to be better than sitting at home with bored kids. :)
ReplyDeleteI like this post. I've never been geocaching, but the idea always interested me. Maybe one day I'll try it, although I hope I have better luck ;)
ReplyDeleteMy mom and brother used to do it all the time. I'm talking every day. They made their own and searched out others. I never got into it but I did go once.
ReplyDeleteI never even thought about giving this a try! Now maybe we have something to do this weekend :)
ReplyDeleteI have always wanted to try it just for fun, maybe Jacob and I will make a day out of it this weekend :) Sorry you didn't find anything.
ReplyDeleteDH & I want to try it but we just haven't gotten around to it. Soon we hope!
ReplyDeleteI'v always wanted to try it, but now I'm nervous!
ReplyDeleteWe have done it! There are a ton around our house in walking distance. We also did one at our summer home up north. We were successful the one up north (our 1st) was HARD! It took us a while. But when you do find one you will be hooked!
ReplyDeleteI've done it and had the same frustrations as you! (It was on my 101 list; here's the post I wrote about it. It has a link to an geocashing acronym site that may be helpful also.) I did learn that your CVS one was probably under the skirt on a lamp-post. Apparently these things lift up easily and you can fit an old film canister under it. We tried some in the woods, also to no avail. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteMy dad got his first GPS years ago... I think when I was 18 (so 6yrs ago now) we went on our first geocaching trip... it was fun!
ReplyDeleteyour not supposed to tell everyone;-) lol. the muggles are supposed to stay muggles:-) my hubby and I have been doing it for a while with my sister and her boyfriend...probably going on 2 years now! i LOVE it!!! out of the 50+ ones we have looked for, we have only had one elude us, and it happens to be the one that is closest to our housE!!! OMG!! it ticks us off, cause we have yet to find it!! you cant soley rely on the compass...b/c ours too often is wrong. the best thing to do is look at the pics of the area, the aial view from google maps, and the hints. that is the biggest problem with the one we cant find....no arial view b/c it is in the woods, and there are no hints b/c apparently it is supposed to be "soooooo easy to find"...HA! keep trying, it gets fun when you actully start finding them, AND it is a great way to get kids outdoors and out from in front of the TV:-)
ReplyDeletei've never been...i want to try it at least once!
ReplyDelete