Big Bear Escape

The annual Big Bear Cache Bash drew me up in to the mountains for a weekend escape.
BIG BEAR CACHE BASH 6

I got up there barely in time to see some folks at the event, then headed for a scenic bed and breakfast to relax.

Breakfast was served on the veranda:

After the homemade, healthy repast, I heading out for a quick find in the nearby hills. The sky was the deep blue that you can only see at higher elevations:

Italian Stallion II

I then found a handful around town:
Hangin Aound the Gazebo
Jones Loves finding Reward in Mindyana's bush
TGC's BB Cache #1
15,000!

A couple of caches each had a Munzee in the vicinity, so I ended up snagging a bunch of those new-fangled things, too. The hider chose an easy-to-see sticker style!

These are fun, but it doesn’t trump the creativity of geocaching. Here’s a prime example of a delightful container!

Marzipan’s 2nd Birthday Flashmob Event

Marzipan's 2nd Birthday Flashmob!

I grabbed my morning cup of coffee yesterday and went out in to the driveway to celebrate the birthday of the kitty that I rescued from a geocache site two years ago! It was, indeed, an auspicious occasion, and a perfect excuse to gather for a quick event find.

Breakfast?

Not really, but it is a peanut version of marzipan, since I don’t care for the almond flavor type.

Shirconn made one of her famous photoshows! It’s only a couple of minutes long, so be sure to check it out. She does a really good job with these.

Click here for the PHOTOSHOW.

She also made a special birthday card, and others brought treats!

Thanks to all who joined in the festivities.

Here’s the cat herself:

Big Bear Escape

She took a deep breath, slowly exhaling, and willing the tension out of her back and shoulders. The hot mug of coffee felt comforting in her hands. She took a careful sip, and relished it’s smoky aftertaste. A siren broke the silence, so she said a quick prayer for the intrepid group that was racing off somewhere to the rescue. It was odd to hear that sound in this quiet, small town. In a few seconds, the normal peaceful sounds of birds and wind in the pines were once more the dominant music of the morning. This weekend would be over all too soon, but she knew that the rejuvenation and inspiration would last for weeks. She took another sip of coffee and opened the book she was reading.

On Glory Ridge Road

BIG BEAR CACHE BASH 5

– photo by FishPOET

The Tired Man’s Geocache

"Whole Lotta Trouble"

Can I Break the Habit? … er, Streak?

Today would be Day 115, and I still have not broken the cache-a-day streak! I do expect that eventually the streak would be broken by life’s scheduling and circumstances, so I’m thinking that I should break it deliberately and with a bit of a flourish instead.

Last night I attended our monthly event in Woodland Hills after finding 40 of the closest caches to my house. This effectively clears out the easy ones that I’ve been relying on to maintain my streak. If I can resist the temptation today to grab one of the very few leftovers nearby, then I can look to getting back to caching fewer days and higher numbers.

This is the theory.

It’s also a really BIG if.

Even if I manage to break the streak, I’ve really come to enjoy the habit.

Will I break the streak today and NOT find a cache?

Meanwhile, here are some photos from my final (?) streak day:

Golf

Power

Lunch

Event

Last cache of the streak?
SFV Meet & Greet #6

A Week of Variety

Obviously, there are many things I love about geocaching, and one of them is the variety of places, hides, and activities involved. This week, I only found a requisite handful of caches continuing my 100-day streak, but each came with its own uniqueness.

5/15 WWFMVII – West Hills – Not FAA Approved

The week started off with a bang: a World Wide Flash Mob Event. Geocachers from all over the world held these simultaneously, each with a different theme, but significant in that all of us were gathering somewhere all at the same time to celebrate geocaching.

We all made paper airplanes and ate fresh baked muffins!

We each launched our impromptu craft to see who could fly theirs the furthest, and Steve of the Ventura Kids won. Here he is tossing the winning piece of folded paper:

5/16
VIEW OF OLD SMOKEY
BUSH HIDE
THE ROCK

These three were along a short hike in Ahmanson Ranch, just west of the San Fernando Valley. The verdant greens of spring have faded to the summer golds.

Wildflowers still lend vivid splashes of color:

5/17
Mega Tower Trading Post

The cache is right next to a big, empty lot in the middle of The Valley. One of these buildings used to be one of the first radio stations.

5/18
The Divining Rod
My intended cache was at this scenic area with long walking paths adjacent to Lake Balboa Park.

Unfortunately, it was missing, so I ended up at a light pole cache a couple of miles away.
Persimmon

5/19
Yesterday, I only had time for another quick one:
Mangosteen
I incorporated it into my list of errands.

I’m enjoying the relaxed pace of finding caches, which is unexpected. I thought I’d be chomping at the bit to get out for big caching days, but the minimalist approach is inspiring me to slow down and enjoy the bit of a respite each day. It’s feeling more like a discipline than an obsession, which is good for the time being.

I can always return to the mega caching habit, and probably will… in due time.