Secret Snake

I found a secret snake.  If the pond pirate isn't careful, the snake just might bite him.

Denied Again...I Surrender

Denied yet again.  I'm convinced of where it is.  All the clues match up.  But after five times of trying and coming up with nothing but poison ivy, I surrender.  Such a disappointment, I have no doubt that the prize would have been amazing.

Pleasant Day Pleasant Bay

I found a cute little hermit crab at Pleasant Bay.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What's better than a Plymouth Rock letterbox on Thanksgiving?  Nothing!

Buzzing Around the Triangle

The Caped Coder and I buzzed around in the Triangle trying to find the thing with wings.  We were successful.   A nice little hike... too bad we didn't come prepared with the Button.

Jericho Lane

Jericho Lane held two interesting adventures.

The Briar Patch

From the scaredy cat at Saddle and Pillion we hopped over to the Briar Patch to make the acquaintance of Thornton Burgess and Harrison Cady's Animal Friends.  What a wonderful little hike and terrific carvings.  A perfect adventure for this beautiful fall day.  We also loved the bonus meeting with Peter Rabbit! 

Scary Sandwich

I finally got over to Sandwich to plant a box at the Saddle and Pillion cemetery.  Edmond Freeman was my 10th great grandfather.  He is buried with his second wife (no relation to me).   I used a stamp that E man had carved years ago that I thought was pretty cool.  We had fun exploring the area.

An out of this world W-A-L-K

Today when we went for a W-A-L-K we saw some cool things.  We saw a number of trees that had been damaged from the October 29 snow.

We also saw a horse, a black and white fat cat, a beautiful blue heron, an alien hand, and osage oranges, which also look very alien-ish.  The afternoon was out of this world!

Missing: The Cure for Scurvey

I just got a message from Little Louie that the Cure for Scurvey's stamp is separated from its logbook and is missing. 

Apparently, it was last seen in West Virginia where it was picked up at a rest stop.  LL said that the logbook was wet in a baggie but the box it was in was not wet.  Strange...

Any information on the whereabouts of the stamp would be appreciated. Many thanks!  And shout out thanks to Little Louie for contacting me!

No Apple Pie in the Dutch Oven today

From the Nut we headed over to the Dutch Oven, also in Codorus State Park.  The box was hidden in the best hidey hole.  And there was the cutest little toad hopping all around. I was afraid that I was going to step on him.  But he hopped up behind the bark of the hidey hole tree for safety.  I tried to get a picture of him but he was too fast.

As recent finders had been reporting, the stamp from the Dutch Oven was missing.  I looked all around the area thinking that maybe it was among the leaves and bark but I was not able to find it.  I've decided to keep the Dutch Oven active even though it is missing its stamp.  Hopefully between Pappa Bear and myself, we can get a replacement there soon. 

From the Dutch Oven, we went to find the Apple Pie but I looked all around and it is definitely missing.

Adopted Nut

You might remember that I adopted a handful of Pappa Bear's boxes.  We had been getting some reports of box issues so I decided to enjoy a late summer morning in Codorus State Park.  I was looking forward to it because I hadn't actually found these boxes before myself.  I there's nothing better than a Pappa Bear Codorus State Park box!

So I rounded up a few friends and headed out.  We found the Nut with no problem.  And what a mess the box was!  Ink was dripping and leaking all over inside.  I came prepared and provided the maintenance needed, replacing baggies and cleaning up all the ink.  And the carving did not disappoint!  We loved it!

Adoptions

Pappa Bear is the owner of my very first find, Woody.  It is still one of my most favorites.  In fact, many of my early finds were boxes of his, including the one pictured, Campfires.  Unfortunately, I believe that both Woody and Campfire are missing now.  But he's still got some other wonderful boxes in the area.  Anyway, I happened to see on his blog that he was relocating out to the mid-west and was planning on retiring his boxes.  I thought to myself how much I enjoyed these boxes and how I'd hate to see them retired so I dropped him a note and offered to look after them.  He took me up on my offer and just recently, he transferred his area boxes over to my care. If you haven't already, check them out.  The Heritage Rail Trail and Codorus State Park are both great destinations!

Stone Crest: Destroyed

A while back I planted a box at Stone Crest.  Unfortunately, the owner of the once beautiful property was forced into foreclosure and blames the local government.  Check it out if you're interested.

Bad Kitty

While doing the Blastoff loop I ran into a bad kitty.  Makes me think of the Presidents of the United States of America's Kitty.  Meow, meow, meow meow, meow meow.

Blast Off

I had heard from recent seekers that they were having trouble over at Blast Off.  So I decided to check it out.  E-man planted this box nearly 5 years ago and it was time to update the clues as some things have changed in the area.  I always love a reason to visit this park.  It is my favorite!

Peace

The Caped Coder hit me up for a lovely afternoon of seeking.  It was so beautiful to get out an enjoy the late summer sights and sounds.  We went on a peaceful walk at Lake Williams.  We brought along a posse of Mip, Zip, Hot Lava, and even Bert and Sassypants.  I was so impressed how fast the group hiked along.  We covered a lot of ground in a short amount of time.

As an added bonus, we found a lurking black cow. ;)

Cape Queens

We headed out to the Skunknett River wildlife sanctuary to meet the Cape Queens. It was a bit of a hike for us and in an area in which I had never been. 
It rained very hard the previous evening so it was very wet and drippy as we hiked along.  We had trouble finding the landmarks since the sanctuary was very overgrown with summertime vegetation. 

After some retracing of steps we were so excited to find the Queen of Cleverness.  There was an ant colony guarding her.  The box was really wonderful. There was a perfectly themed and appointed logbook and a beautifully carved stamp.  Well worth the trouble.  We were bummed we weren't able to find any of the other queens but I was tickled to learn who the Queen of Cleverness is.  I have briefly met a handful of the Cape Queens in person but not well enough to know which alter ego matches up with each...although, since I've found several of their boxes, I could venture a guess.

This one was so good I hope to get back another day and find them all.

Something New to us!

I've really come to love Yarmouth Port.  I wish I could spend some more time there.  We went hopping around the pond to find something old, something new, something borrowed, and someting blue.  This was a great hike.  B Cubed, E man, and I really enjoyed it.  We thought it was exceptionally awesome that the something blue was right near a wild blueberry bush.  Unfortunately the berries were not quite ripe but any of you who plan on visiting a little later in the summer might just get to enjoy them.

Sea Captain

We enjoyed meeting the Sea Captain, Captain Bangs Hallet,  in Edward Gorey's neighborhood.   His home and yard are gorgeous.

The Elbow of the Cape

I bribed the group with the dinner promise of pizza and Red Sox (on tv) if they would nab a few boxes with me first.  We headed to Chase Park.  This park is so nicely tucked in that I forget about it but it is impeccably manicured.  We easily found what we were looking for.

We jockeyed for space at the Chatham light lookout. The area was teaming with people and cars. Just when we were going to give up, a space opened up and we slid in.  I never tire of this view.  The box is an added bonus.

Serendipitous Smurf

It was a traditionally Cape morning so HydeezMom and I headed out to Nickerson State Park in Brewster.  The rail trail was crazy crowded.  But we waited patiently until the time was right to reveal baby smurf.

We then headed off to meet the Brown and Moran families.  We enjoyed this hike very much but the poison ivy was extreme.  There was no way to avoid it. 


Lastly we headed over to the ampitheater and found a snake in our path.

Serendipity!

Denied again

Denied again.  I went to look again but this time wasn't even able to get close because of poison ivy everywhere.  I'm still nursing seeping sores on my arm from my last run-in two weeks ago so I didn't feel like poking around in the stuff. 

The clues say it can be avoided so either I'm in the wrong spot or a lot has grown up since the clues were written.  I will have to try again in a colder season.  I'm determined to find this one! 

Nuptial Glow

Unfortunately, we were a week late for the wedding bells in Chatham but I did notice that Chatham did still have a nuptial glow to it.  To have and to hold took us to a place we had never been in Chatham. We love the boys of summer even if we do prefer the ones in Orleans.  We enjoyed a clambake while we visited a Ryder and polished that off with some wedding cake while we visited Mr. Hamilton's Whale.  Congratulations and best wishes T1 and Choi. I wish you many years of joy and happiness.

Mr. Owl and Vietnam

The day's commitments found me at York Township Park with the better part of an hour to myself. I decided to look for Mr. Owl. I found him with no problem.

Then I headed off to Vietnam. I'm not really sure those things are letterboxes ... I'm just sayin'...

No Rain on a "Rainy" day

It wasn't raining at all, but we went to Long Pond Beach to check out where it was raining frogs. I found it with no problem. The box was completely exposed so I hid it well, using a few small rocks and bark. Quick and easy, perfect for this beautiful Easter day.

An unexpected meeting

As I was basking in the glory of my trip around the world, I took some time in the afternoon to visit a few of my ancestors in the Brewster area, Chillingsworth Foster (1680 - 1764), his wife, Marcy Freeman Foster (1687 – 1720), and her father, John Freeman (1651 – 1721).

Anyway, I've had a letterbox ready to plant that I wanted to put in a cemetery and was checking this one out to see if it would be suitable. As I was walking the perimeter of the cemetery yard I found an upside down container. When I picked it up and looked closer it was a letterbox. I didn't know where to hide it, I didn't even realize that any were planted here. So I brought it back with me and sent the owner a message. The box was missing a logbook which I replaced. Two days later I returned and hid the letterbox in its correct spot. I was unexpectedly pleased to meet Mr. Jonathan Cobb and have a little tour of his family. Unfortunately, Reliance was was not there, but her hollow was hard to miss.

Denied

Denied. I really thought I found the meeting of the 2 wooden Chiefs and Wild Dove. Apparently I didn't. *sigh* Will keep trying...

Since I was in the neighborhood...

Since the hike is pretty short, Hydeezmom and I dropped by Pah Wah to check in there. Everything was in order.

Around the World before lunch

What better way to celebrate Earth Day than to celebrate New Years?! I made some incorrect assumptions about the starting point but soon got squared away. T1 (of Travelers4 fame) recommended that I bring pens. I was really glad I did. The images I got are really wonderful. A great way to tour around the world in one morning!

Mud!

With Spring Fever beginning to set in, we headed out to a nearby and relatively newly planted adventure at the Castle in the Sky. What a great outing! I even found a Vroom Vroom HH waiting for me!

It wasn't too warm or too cold and it was beautiful. But boy, oh boy (and in this case, oh boy) was it muddy! Definitely worth it though!

50 State Update

I am pleased to say that I have been able to actually get my hands on the logbook portion of my 50 State Challenge hitch hiker. It has made its rounds to Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 12 states in all so far, only 38 to go! It has some very cool images in it and has been to some really remarkable places.

In a day or two, I will be sending the logbook on to a boxer who is caring for the stamp and cover of the HH. There is still plenty of room in the logbook so keep your eyes out for it, thanks for caring for it, and keep it moving on!

Shout out "THANKS!" to Fun Loving Frogs, Green Jello, and ro of jerr_n_ro. I *really really* appreciate your help in reuniting this hitch hiker and looking after it.

Seeking Help

I'm not really sure who reads this, if anyone, but I'm sending out a call for help. My favorite hitch hiker, the 50 State Challenge is in need of some critical maintenance. It has been split apart. It seems that the logbook is traveling separately from the cover and stamp. Ideally, I'd love to have all parts returned to me so I can get it back together properly. I'm happy to pay for postage home.

As far as I can tell, the logbook was last seen in Livermore, CA at My Purple Cupcake. Sorry for the spoiler, but at this point, I'm just trying to preserve this HH. The cover and stamp were last heard from in Utah by Green Jello. I haven't heard from her in a few weeks and I'm not sure what the status is at this point. But I would really love to revive this one, fix it up, and keep it going.

It has been traveling for the past three years and as far as I know, it has been to the following states: Pennsylvania, Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona, Wyoming, Utah, California.

Please look out for it if you're in CA or UT and please consider helping me out. Thanks and again, sorry for the spoiler.