OMGeocaching

 

   So this week I discovered 'geocaching' and my life has been changed. I recall my Environmental Studies professor in first year talking about it during a lecture one time, but it never really occurred to me that it would be so accessible and intriguing.. so it just went in one ear and out the other honestly. But my cousin Angee was in town for the week and introduced me to this lovely app that you can download on your iPhone called Geocaching. It cost something like $9.99 but she showed me this neat trick where I could sign in under her Apple I.D, and because she had already paid for it I could upload it onto my phone and then just sign out of her account and back into mine SO I got it for free. 
   So when I got off of work the other night we tried it out and it was a total blast. I suppose I'll start off by explaining what Geocaching is: it's a database on you phone that navigates to various 'caches' (it's a world-wide thing) by map and by compass. You press the 'nearby geocaches' option and it'll show you all the caches near your location by distance - starting with the closest. Some of them have hints and tips to it's basically a massive scavenger hunt that anyone can partake in. Turns out there was one that was literally a two minute walk from the coffee shop. It was located at the beach and the hint was 'you may need a stick'.. so we ended up finding it lodged between a bunch of rocks (but my hand was small enough to reach in and grab it - no stick needed). This cache was a medium size so it was in a little tupper ware container covered in duct tape and it was a take one/leave one cache. This means you got to take a little object and leave something in the box before you return it to it's little hiding place. The box contained a cough drop, wet wipes, a business card, a washer, a condom, a dime, some yarn, and a little note pad that held all of the signatures and dates of the people who had found it. We took the yarn and left a little piece of paper that I had kicking around in my purse that had a potential tattoo idea drawn onto it ehe. 

                        


   Once you find a geocache you go through the app and hit the 'found it!' button where you then leave a little comment and optional photo! I got addicted after that first one so I insisted we do just one more before going home, despite the lack of daylight left.. which was none at all. So we hopped in my truck and headed to the next one. The hint for this one was 'the neighbors are watching'.. and because it lead us in between two houses, we assumed it was hidden in the little patch of forest between them and the hint was in regards to the fact that if it were daylight, the home owners would have definitely spotted us and wondered why these random girls were rummaging about their lawn. We spent a good half hour in the pitch dark in this little forest with just out cell phones for light as we were not at all prepared for this adventure. After a while, and after my cousin Brit pee'd.. we gave up and figured we'd have another go at it the next morning in the daylight. So just as we were walking back to the car I noticed a Neighborhood Watch sign by the road.. SO sure enough I peeked up into the hollow of the pole and there was a little kinder egg hidden inside. We opened it up and as this cache was considered a micro size it just contained a little slip of paper for us to sign and date. HOW CLEVER RIGHT? While we were sitting in a little circle at the side of the road signing down our names, a boy rode by on his bicycle all 'FOUND IT?' .. it turned out to be a girl that I work with's little brother and he had hidden it there a couple of years ago as they live in one of the houses at the side of the patch of trees. 

   Thus, needless to say, I'm absolutely obsessed with geocaching and the next day I get off of work (if any) will be spent over at Gamiing (this local hiking reserve) because there's heaps of caches hidden in there! I strongly suggest this activity for everyone of all ages.