Guess what??!!?? I finally had that good Mommy day! The twins had their first letterboxing adventure and it was a great success. (If you do not know what letterboxing is, read on. If you DO know, you can skip down to the row of # signs; Letterboxing is an outdoor hobby that combines elements of orienteering, art and puzzle solving. Letterboxers hide small, weatherproof boxes in publicly-accessible places (like parks) and distribute clues to finding the box in printed catalogs, on one of several web sites, or by word of mouth. Individual letterboxes usually contain a notebook and a rubber stamp. Finders make an imprint of the letterbox's stamp, either on their personal notebook or on a postcard, and leave an impression of their personal stamp on the letterbox's "visitors' book" or "logbook" — as proof of having found the box and letting subsequent letterboxers see who have visited. )
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We also took my friend A on her maiden voyage with letterboxing. Our clues led us to a bird sanctuary in Texas. I didn't see any birds, but I did see a rabbit. And children. Children on a field trip. I made it out okay.
Our adventure took us over bridges and paths
to this tree stump
we were instructed by our thoughtful cluegiver to remember to poke the area with a stick and to even wear gloves before searching around with our hands to find the box in the event that there were snakes or spiders also searching for the treasure.
It was looking a little bleak until A saved the day and found the box! The red areas look to be attempts at entry by wild animals..
Then my son removed the lid to inspect the contents and bunches of bugs proceeded out the top. What happened next is a bit of a blur, but I am certain there was a high-pitched scream coming out of my son. Then I saw this...
Did you notice my daughter wielding the 'sword' at the docile container on the ground?? The notebook and stamp were safely in its water-tight bag. No harm no foul. We all happily stamped in the notebook and used the stamp provided to stamp in our journals, made certain that the container was devoid of all life forms, and then A stealthily and successfully returned the box to its hiding place to be found and treasured another day. All agreed it was an enjoyable activity and would like to do another in the future. *sigh*
4 comments:
Looks like another fun letterboxing adventure. So glad we stumbled across this hobby- it never ceases to amaze me how fun it is. I think I forget or something inbetween, and then when we find one it is SO EXCITING!
The bugs? ick! But how fun to share this thing you love with your kids and your friend, A.
of whom I am only 37% jealous ;)
FUN!!! Are you sure te high pitched scream was from your son and not you? Just wondering...
Is this the same as geocaching? If so, I think my dtr did it at daycamp this year, and she loved it! They named their little box after her since it was her b'day on the last day of camp, and so far, several folks have found it and recorded their names.
Lurve the pictures. Lurve.
Also lurve that we have no poisonous snakes or spiders in W WA, for I'm a freaker-outer.
HG - Get on over to the swamp. I'll letterbox with you every day.
Jen - YES I am sure it was not me. *sticks out tongue*
Gretchen - it is a similar activity to Geocaching, just different tools.
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