Today was supposed to be a quiet day. But its turned into a mentally unproductive one. A shutdown day for work, I had a list of small projects I wanted to get done. Not to mention more laundry. But it seems none of that would get accomplished today.
It started yesterday. I got called out of work early - Christopher was sick. This was slightly surprising, Christopher never gets sick. So I left work early (we were getting out early anyways) by leaving at noon, rushing to get gas in the car so I wouldn't have to walk home and made it to the school in under 40 minutes.
Got Christopher in the car, yeah - he was marginally sick. Tummy ache and all that - but no fever. Settled him on the couch where he lasted about 20 minutes before he was up ditching his jeans and belt. Can't blame a kid for not wanting a belt around his tummy if it already hurt. He watched Chipmunks Chipwrecked and then started to put in the squeekqual when off he went to the bathroom. He was gone for a while so I yelled after him. Seems things were going okay, but slow.
A few more minutes - and here he comes back to the couch... wearing even less. Sometimes a mom just knows when to not ask questions, but listen to the unmistakable sounds instead. Things had worked themselves out. But since I brought him home from school - he was destined for the couch fpor the rest of the day. This did not impress him very much. By now he was getting antsy and wanted to go outside and play with his sister who had just gotten off the bus. "No can do, if you came home from school sick - inside is where you stay." "But Mom, I'm feeling better now." "That may be - but you're still in for the rest of the day. If you are feeling better tomorrow and can go back to school, you can play outside tomorrow." This bummed him out - but amazingly enough, there were no issues about getting him to go to school today.
Veronica on the other hand was different. My parents have two golden retrievers. Buddy and Lucky. These dogs are a long line of goldens that my dad has had over the years. He's always had goldens... Winchester, Abby, Martini, and the list goes on and on. While I'm not the animal freak that my other two sisters are, I can appreciate good animals. I would never want any of them hurt, but I also do not live a lifestyle that warrants owning a dog.
My motto is - if it cannot tell me its hungry - it doesn't eat. Probably also why I have no plants in my house - they do a perpetually poor job of verbalizing their needs as well. Cats - well that's a different story completely. Cats don't 'need' anything... they just 'are.' Therefore - in our house, the cats can stay. Actually Ron takes care of them... well feeds them. They have a cat door - so for the most part - they are independant.
So yesterday - after we settled the kids down, my mom comes over to tell me that they are putting Lucky down. This is a golden that they rescued from the side of the road. It was tied up in a bag, and was very ill when they found him. But he has never been 'all there,' if you understand my meaning. But he's was a good dog as dogs go. He had some serious issues that my parent's could not get him to break, running away and jumping on cars were the worst two. And when he jumped on a car - he practically clawed it to death. About a year ago, Lucky started to have seizures. And they started to get worse. My parents had Lucky in the vets office so many times to just be given another script to try to calm the dog's nerves.
To make matter wrose, every time my Dad would go for a long drive (he is a car driver for the local Ford dealerships and tends to hop in his car at the slightest notice and drive to... upstate NY, VT, MA, all over Maine, etc.) - Lucky would develop seperation anxiety. This would make the seizures even worse. And then he would end up getting multiples of them at a sitting. So after numerous medications that did not help, and lots of heart wrenching talks - they decided to put Lucky down. They told my kids last night.
Christopher was okay - Veronica, not so much. So this morning, after my parents left and I was trying to get the kids ready for the bus, Veronica fell apart. Sobbing and yelling that she wanted Lucky back. This lasted about 45 minutes. Finally - after lots of attempts to try and explain how it was better for the dog, I managed to get her to stop crying. Actually it was Christopher's offer to let her have the computer that finally ended the sobbing. We talked a little more about it, and she seemed resigned by the time she was getting onto the bus.
After they were gone - I headed out to pick up "Evil Laugh" and came home in time to see my parents digging a hole for Lucky. My parents are not young. 70 and 73 - and I do not think they should be digging holes in the ground for golden retrievers. So I helped them finish the task. I had to step away as my Dad put the dog down in the hole on the sheet and covered him up. I went back and helped return the soil over his limp body.
My mom commented "You're not an animal lover, bout you came back and helped us." There really wasn't anything I could say. My Dad is a huge animal lover. I know inside he was torn up. I know even though Lucky drove my Mom crazy with all of the stupid things he did, she was in no better shape. Animal lovers are animal lovers. While I'm not an animal lover - I am respectful of life, and death. Both are necessary - but sometimes both are so cruel.
So after doing my duty to help replace the soil over Lucky's limp body - I returned inside, lacking all of the ambition I had earlier. Gone was any desire to be creative. Gone was any desire to be productive. Gone was my desire to even eat. I finally finished carving a stamp - because I promised Veronica it would be finished for her by the time she came home from school. A Tiki man with surf boards and ALOHA! under it... maybe this would calm my daughters torn heart just a bit.
But for me...I'm feeling mentally drained. So here I sit - not being productive or energetic or even enthusiastic about much of anything... until Veronica brought me the mail.
Oh the joys a simple Priority box from Stampeaz can create. Thanks Diana for the lovely leopard frog!
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Friday, March 23, 2012
Know your limits...
So... the warmer weather and a mid-week day off had Team MudCup off in search of the Rules of Zombieland. Now, this is a long series, 33 boxes. It's also a series that is labelled as 'extreme' - so we thought we knew what we were heading into. But the real issue - it was still on Teacup's list ; ) So attempting it had to be done! So armed with black ink, logbooks, backpacks, water, hiking stick, Bean boots, and clues we headed off south to Cape Neddick in search of zombieland rules.
There were a couple of straggling boxes that we hunted for first. We easily found one of them to tidy up one series, but when we went off in search of the last two boxes in the Zombie Parade - we came up empty. The sun was already heading high into the sky - and along the hay field it was getting warm. So we headed off into the woods with clues and ink in hand.
We found the 31st box earlier when seeking for a different box, so we traversed along further to start the series. Through the muddy tote road we headed, sluck, sluck... boots getting stuck in the thick mud as we headed off uphill. The first couple we found with ease. Then we turned right and headed off towards the river. Here we missed one box prior to trying to cross the rapids.
So down to the water we headed. The water was running pretty rapid, and where one should have been able to cross, the water was probably 3 inches above the rocks. Not to be defeated, we opted to bushwhack upriver to see if we could find an alternative location to cross. (We had to cross - we could see where the next box was located and could hear its zombie call.)
We bushwhacked, stepping through thorns and junipers, across a different path that traversed blueberry bushes to a location with downed trees. Okay - this looked sort of doable. More so for Teacup than me... but maybe doable. So Teacup hoisted herself onto the tree and started to scoot across the tree on her butt. Scoot, scoot. Dang - there goes her hiking stick! Don't move or you'll land in the drink! Stop making me laugh or I'll land in there anyways! Okay - I've got it! Scoot, scoot. One foot on the other side. Hoisting herself up - she made it. She even made it look easy. Okay - so here we go.
I sat on the log and then swung my other leg over so I was side-saddle. MISTAKE! I was suddenly perched precariously on the edge with no place but water in my future. Barely hanging onto a stub of the tree - I pulled my fanny pack off and tossed it to Teacup. I then wiggle, wiggle, wiggled a little further back onto the tree and swung my leg back over the tree and regained my balance. Okay - now I didn't really care if I got wet. But I was terrified of falling. Those slimy rocks looked dangerously intimidating just 2 feet below me!
There were a couple of straggling boxes that we hunted for first. We easily found one of them to tidy up one series, but when we went off in search of the last two boxes in the Zombie Parade - we came up empty. The sun was already heading high into the sky - and along the hay field it was getting warm. So we headed off into the woods with clues and ink in hand.
We found the 31st box earlier when seeking for a different box, so we traversed along further to start the series. Through the muddy tote road we headed, sluck, sluck... boots getting stuck in the thick mud as we headed off uphill. The first couple we found with ease. Then we turned right and headed off towards the river. Here we missed one box prior to trying to cross the rapids.
So down to the water we headed. The water was running pretty rapid, and where one should have been able to cross, the water was probably 3 inches above the rocks. Not to be defeated, we opted to bushwhack upriver to see if we could find an alternative location to cross. (We had to cross - we could see where the next box was located and could hear its zombie call.)
We bushwhacked, stepping through thorns and junipers, across a different path that traversed blueberry bushes to a location with downed trees. Okay - this looked sort of doable. More so for Teacup than me... but maybe doable. So Teacup hoisted herself onto the tree and started to scoot across the tree on her butt. Scoot, scoot. Dang - there goes her hiking stick! Don't move or you'll land in the drink! Stop making me laugh or I'll land in there anyways! Okay - I've got it! Scoot, scoot. One foot on the other side. Hoisting herself up - she made it. She even made it look easy. Okay - so here we go.
I sat on the log and then swung my other leg over so I was side-saddle. MISTAKE! I was suddenly perched precariously on the edge with no place but water in my future. Barely hanging onto a stub of the tree - I pulled my fanny pack off and tossed it to Teacup. I then wiggle, wiggle, wiggled a little further back onto the tree and swung my leg back over the tree and regained my balance. Okay - now I didn't really care if I got wet. But I was terrified of falling. Those slimy rocks looked dangerously intimidating just 2 feet below me!
So I started to shimmy, shimmy, shake, shake across the log. Now one wouldn't think 5" would be a big deal - but it can be a BIG deal when you're fighting clearance, balance and water. No to mention a mad adrenaline rush. So fighting a tree and my extra leg length - I finally managed to lift my leg up and over the downed log and was able to scoot the rest of the way to the edge and hoisted myself up to the other side of the river! Wow. I could feel my pulse pounding in my ears, so Teacup and I found a boulder and had a celebratory drink of water and waited for my pulse to settle down a bit before heading back to where we needed to be for that next box.
Back to bushwhacking. Up a hill, around the water's edge, through downed trees and thorns to get back to that darn stump. But there was the box! Woohoo! We continued along a bit longer and found more boxes. We knew we'd have to cross back over - but we were hoping it would be in a little better spot. Nope. Again we went a hunting for a more suitable place to cross. So further away from where we needed to be we headed until we found another friendly tree to cross.
This tree was wider and set lower in the water. Here the water was not as rapid, but one mis-step and one of us would be wet. So up on the log Teacup hopped. Side-stepping across the tree like on a balance beam. Now mind you - more than once we thought about turning back, but reality was, once we crossed the river - there was no turning back. We just kept trudging forward. It was getting warmer and warmer and our water was getting lower and lower. Teacup made it across with little trouble.
Now it was my turn. Now this didn't look nearly as intimidating as the first crossing, but my adrenaline immediately spiked. Taking a deep breath, up I went on the tree and positioned myself for balance. I started to side-step across. Step, step. Damn, was that stick there before? It must have been. But its such a big stick to step around. Okay - so it was only about 4 inches long, it seemed HUGE in my mind! Up-step and over that intimidating stick. Step, step. Yup - I made it to the other side. Now to just climb up and over to safety. Woohoo!
Back to bushwhacking to where we needed to be. The sun was now in our face and it was getting hot. Just plain HOT. And the bushwhacking was getting old. But we finally made it back to where we needed to be and found the next box. Up hill and there was some shade. A shot rest and a mis-reading of a clue had me getting beyond frustrated. Frankly - I was so ready to be done, but we had a few more boxes to go (ugh... 15 more.) and the only way was forward. Teacup was willing to just hike out - but honestly - if we were hiking out - we might as well stop for the boxes along the way.
The heat was really taking its toll on us, and then we started to do battle with ticks! Teacup came up from getting one box and had 10 on her. We were on the dryer side of the water. More sun, more often and the ticks were thriving. So a quick tick check and a spray down of deep woods off, and we continued on. Meandering along, we made it back to a tote road. Working our way through the clues, my brain came out of a fog long enough to realize that I was hearing water, again. Are you kidding me?
Something tells me - maybe I should be smarter and probably proof-read the clues before blindly following along - maybe we'd end up with a few less mis-adventures : ) Nah, that wouldn't be any fun. So, knowing the inevitable - we continued to our next crossing. Hitting the crossing I looked down into a small gorge and thought, what fresh hell have I gotten myself into? And if that wasn't the worst part... on the other side was a perfectly good bridge. Sitting safe and content on DRY GROUND! Are you freakin' serious?
Ugh. So let's stop and think how we're going to cross this one. Wait... Teacup is already on the other side! So she's waiting for me to take my first step. No honestly, can we trust our friends the beavers? Do they REALLY build strong dams? I'm about to find out. One step... okay. That was stable enough. Reaching forward I grab a branch sticking through for something to hold onto thinking its going to move and I'll be on my back wet and injured, but hey, all in the name of zombies. Nope - the branch stayed right in place. One more step. Yup - still good. Two more and I was across the dam. Next time I see a buck-tooth little guy I'll have to give him a five-high on fabulous dam construction.
But dam construction aside - my heart was still just a thumping. So I sat a spell on that damn bridge while Teacup went off and got the next box. Out of water at this point, I was close to conceding. But we still had a hill to climb. And I was relatively sure that my brain had stop functioning properly on the second river crossing. So slowly I trudged along, with Teacup mustering slightly more energy and brain power to try and find the next box. No luck. But at the top of the hill there was a great sitting stone in the shade. I sat, keeping the logbooks and backpacks company, trying to regain some composure, energy, brain power and enthusiasm while Teacup keep turning over rocks.
After about 15 minutes, I was feeling better and Teacup had given up hope at finding the box, we moved onto the next one. No luck there either. But we were now in a location that we knew was closer to home. So we continued along slowly picking up the last five boxes with relative ease. Logging into the logbook in the middle of the field in the sun was almost like claiming victory. We meandered back to the car, shed ourselves of boots and socks... rolled down the windows and headed off in search of salvation in a cup.
Our reward? Sweet Tea and Apple pies : ) Wanting to gather our respectability back again - we meandered around a cemetery, being stalked by a black truck and picked up a quick stretch and then headed north. Obviously, even though it was March and mid-week, making the choice to drive up Route One on a day that was happily sporting the 80's was not a smart decision. I blame the poor choice on the fact that the zombies had sucked my brain matter out of my ears!
we finally made it to our final destination of the day, The Prop Shop before pointing northward and homeward bound. Another relatively good day of boxing. The series was a test of our hiking, navigating and self-esteem, but we made it out alive. And another good reason for never boxing alone. One bad choice - had either of us been doing that series alone could have been tragic.
One a happier note - it is officially off the list... only a few more zombies to tackle northward. But that will be another day. For now - we're off to maintain boxes in known territory ; )
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Pondering
So this is going to be a relatively short post... and more of one to get clarity. I find myself in yet another sticky situation at work. I'm truly my own worst enemy sometimes. But it makes me wonder - what makes me so pivotal in how things happen? I consider myself just a simple person. Yet at work - if I'm having a good day - so is everyone around me. And likewise if I'm having a bad day. It irritates leadership when I'm in a bad day - and they tend to avoid me. So I even asked my manager - why? Why am I so influential in what happens on a daily basis? Why am I expected to always have good days? Others are allowed to have bad days and are left alone - but not me. If I'm having one - I'm the nemesis of the whole department.
Now granted I work in a small department - less than 50 people in total, with as few as 15 people in on any given day. So why do I impact people so easily? Honestly - I consider myself just another average soul. I have good points and probably more bad ones... so this is my cosmic question - why do I have the 'cosmic' energy to influence a whole group of people so easily?
Just wondering..........
Now granted I work in a small department - less than 50 people in total, with as few as 15 people in on any given day. So why do I impact people so easily? Honestly - I consider myself just another average soul. I have good points and probably more bad ones... so this is my cosmic question - why do I have the 'cosmic' energy to influence a whole group of people so easily?
Just wondering..........
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Sort of snow boxing...
So its the third week in February in Maine. Normally Team MudCup is holed up in our perspective abodes - spinning webs for the coming boxing season. But Mother Nature has been unseasonably kind to us this month... so with a weather forecast predicitng upper 40's - and with little snow cover outside our windows - we opted to head out and try some snow boxing.
Now with any adventure with us - we have our ground rules... mostly including bringing m,boots. (Oh yeah - and keep the trowel away from Mud.) So with clues in hand, Tea's trusty gazetteer in the back seat - we headed slightly downeast for our treasures. Our goal - "Banded Cows in the Snow" by Scarab. It had been on our short list for a while - but we were just now getting to it. So off we went, properly packing Sweet Tea and ink. The drive was quiet and the view - well frankly, kinda bland. Nothing was in bloom, but the sun was out and we chatted our way up the coast.
Making our way to our first quarry, we headed off to Warren. Knowing that with the early spring thaw, but the shorter days of sunlight were still our obstacles - we headed off for some rapids. Pulling up to our location, we were not surprised to find a winter chain blocking our access. But the road leading to our launching spot was relatively clear - we could see tar and brown grass below, we pulled off to the side of the road and parked.
Slipping into boots and grabbing the trusty trowel, down the hill we ventured. Checking our footing as we went for those slightly hidden icy spots, we ambled over the terrain and managed to not sink up to our knees in slushy snow. Through the playground toys of yesteryear, we managed to pass without hopping on the teeter totter and headed off to the bridge. Now the bridge was interesting in itself. Someone had placed old barn boards over the original boards - presumably to cover rotten spots. The interesting part was that the barn boards looked link a woodpeckers paradise. They were covered in tiny holes! It made for an interesting view as we crossed the 'rapids' below.
Over the St. George river we crossed, and while the river was running, and the water sparkled in the sunlight, I think it would be a stretch to say that it qualified as rapids. Making it to the far side of the bridge we traversed along a muddy mucky path that was rounded with icy, slushy piles of crusty snow. We followed the steps to a wooden slat bridge that crossed more of a muddy patch that a section of water. Then off following our next set of clues to a set of stairs that were abutting an old foundation base. Here lay wait our treasure.
We found the location and could see the box. The question was - would Mother Nature allow us access to it? That's why Teacup brings her trowel. Now after a previous episode with a trowel - I am no longer allowed to use the trowel. So Teacup crouched down and start to chip away the icy barrier that held the box captive. Chip, chip, wiggle, wiggle. The box we tucked snugly in place. Captive between rocks and icy - Teacup persevered. Finally - out it popped. And we had our first box of February 2012!
We pried open the icy lid and removed its contents. Sadly the logbook was soaked through, but the image was still viable and we quickly added it to our logbook! Happy, happy were we! Sadly - we were ill prepared to replace the logbook - so we tucked it back inside with the stamp and returned the box to its icy habitat. Our first success of the day! Back we ambled over the icy path, with a little more joyous bounce in our step! With a find under our belt, even the hill back to the car didn't seem as daunting. Shedding our coats, we hopped back into the car and headed further up the coast.
Our next adventure was Banded Cows. Now we are familiar enough with the area from previous excursions to make us truly dangerous. So when a reference to a local establishment was written in the clues - we knew we could circumvent the previous clues and work our way backwards. Not so. After circling the wrong side of the harbor, we opted to actually follow the clues from their beginning... novel idea - we know. But then again - this isn't the first time we've attempted to circumvent the clues thinking we knew where we were headed... and so far, no box has been harmed because of our follies.
So around the harbor we went, missing our first turn thus needing to backtrack a bit. (Come on - you know you'd be let down if we didn't have at least one u-turn in our day!) Back down to the intersection - we headed off in the correct direction towards banded cows... now the clue has the cows happily grazing on the left side of the road. It would seem in the dead of winter - the cows prefer to be closer to the barn... so we had to do a little more looking to find them. And once we did, oh the joy! T'would seem Miss Teacup had never seen an Oreo cow before. She was thoroughly fascinated by them. So we drove a bit farther and found our needed juncture.
Off again Tea went with trusty trowel in hand. This box wasn't trapped nearly as hard, and she was actually able to wangle the box out pretty easily. So we popped the lid - and yup, there they were, in all their glory. The banded cows! Or for the bovine snobs - more precisely - Belted Galloways. We stamped up the little critters and left them some company to be found by the next lucky souls to pick up this find. Returning the box to its hidey-hole - we were off so Tea could take some photos of her new found bovine friends. Frankly I was amused at just how amazed Tea was at seeing her first Oreo cows. Since they are raised all over Maine - I was shocked that she had never seen them before.
We finally headed off in the direction of our next quarry. Realizing it was further back than we were currently headed - we thought we take a chance at being able to drive to the top of Mount Battie. After all - with the relatively minimal snow cover - we thought our chances were good that the road to the top would be open. We pulled in - and quickly realized that the only way up was to hike it. And while we were thrilled to be out boxing - a climb up Mount Battie was no where on our daily bucket list... so a quick circle in the parking lot - passing by the six or so cars that sat waiting for their more adventurous owners to return - we returned to head back to Camden.
We were going to stop into a store to pick up some craft supplies (I'm trying to learn how to fold origami cranes for scouts but needed origami paper) only to realize that the store was no longer amongst those on the main drag in Camden. It saddened us - since there was a letterbox in the store - now another from an older boxer, sadly lost to the demise of small proprietors. So through town we continued. There were a couple of clues left on our list. One we knew we could find, the other two were more hunches we were chasing in hopes of finding hidden treasures.
Off to Beach Nut Tree House's parking lot. It is on a curvy road and we've been to this location before. The climb to the top is a gradual one on one side and shorter - but more steep on the other. Christopher hiked to the top with us on one very warm summer day a couple of years ago. Once to the top - he managed to woo a couple into thinking he was the cutest kid they had ever seen. The view in the summer is fabulous - and my guess - in the winter its probably pretty spectacular as well... but out thoughts were 'been there, done that.' so we opted to just pull in the icy parking lot and grab the box. Another spot where the trowel happily helped us retrieve our frozen booty from its location.
Sadly - once again we found a wet logbook inside the box - but it wasn't so soaked that we couldn't stamp into it. So we stamped up and returned the box to its hidden location. We had a couple of hours left - so off we went in search of a mystery location. Now these trips always prove to be interesting. With a quick stop for gas - and an agreement to head to Moody's Diner for pie for lunch - we headed back towards Rockland.
Well here's the catch. While Teacup was pumping gas - I was looking at the map. Seems we were heading towards Route 17. And guess where 17 goes? To Augusta. And what's in Augusta? Panera Bread... : ) In my book - 10 times better than pie! Well not always, but I wasn't completely sold on pie - so when Tea returned to the car I proposed a slight deviation in our plans... Its amazing how easily we can get side-tracked over something as simple as lunch! And honestly - who really thinks to head to Augusta when your driving in downtown Rockland? Well - maybe the locals do - but those of us that religiously take Route One to and fro - not us.
So we trolled around looking for that mystery location only to find some wicked cool cemeteries (sparkly objects for Team MudCup) and some very dangerous curves! We drove a bit longer, but realized the mystery - would remain one a bit longer as we needed more information that what we were going on. Back to Route 17 - we started to head inland. Now driving through many towns in Maine - we often wonder - where do these people work? Where do they shop? Because we tend to drive long expanses where there's lots of nuthin and then a lone house will pop up. The good side - no pesky neighbors. The bad-side, no helpful neighbors either.
So off through the hilly countryside of inland Maine we ventured - hopefully getting closer to Augusta. But knowing in the back of our minds that we'd been down the wrong roads before. Going through towns not often visited... Stickney Corner, Coopers Mills, Jefferson, Whitefield, all the while edging closer to Augusta. Our lucky day - where we arrived was at a 'Roundabout' - Teacup's favorite place to drive. And in Augusta they tend to be a bit busier than the ones we usually fight (in Buxton.) So finding our exit spot, Tea waited for the perfect moment to jump into the melee. We managed to make it to the other side and drove along over muddy bumpy city roads heading out towards Civic Center Drive.
Yeah! Mecca! Two soup combos later - we were revived and feeling ready to tackle something like real life. Well - first we needed a stop at Michaels as I was still in search of origami paper. Now Michaels is one of those 'bad' stores. Because you cannot just go in one and spend two dollars... fifty dollars later with origami paper and a birthday present for Veronica I was ready to meet the bus. Tea picked up an arrangement of silk butterflies and a whole stack of Hello Kitty goodies for a future play date with Cammie. So we grudgingly headed back to the car knowing our mental health day was almost over.
Home again - its amazing how even a single day out in nature, even for brief moments can change your whole state of mind. After two of the most stressful days at work that I've had in recent memory, a day spent with a good friend - out in the sun and snow, just enjoying quiet moments and a good lunch put my frantic mind at rest. I returned to work on Friday in a more functionable frame of mind. My thoughts less cluttered and my attitude less negative. So while we didn't have any fabulous misadventures - I for one felt rejuvenated and ready to tackle a few more days of work.
Now with any adventure with us - we have our ground rules... mostly including bringing m,boots. (Oh yeah - and keep the trowel away from Mud.) So with clues in hand, Tea's trusty gazetteer in the back seat - we headed slightly downeast for our treasures. Our goal - "Banded Cows in the Snow" by Scarab. It had been on our short list for a while - but we were just now getting to it. So off we went, properly packing Sweet Tea and ink. The drive was quiet and the view - well frankly, kinda bland. Nothing was in bloom, but the sun was out and we chatted our way up the coast.
Making our way to our first quarry, we headed off to Warren. Knowing that with the early spring thaw, but the shorter days of sunlight were still our obstacles - we headed off for some rapids. Pulling up to our location, we were not surprised to find a winter chain blocking our access. But the road leading to our launching spot was relatively clear - we could see tar and brown grass below, we pulled off to the side of the road and parked.
Slipping into boots and grabbing the trusty trowel, down the hill we ventured. Checking our footing as we went for those slightly hidden icy spots, we ambled over the terrain and managed to not sink up to our knees in slushy snow. Through the playground toys of yesteryear, we managed to pass without hopping on the teeter totter and headed off to the bridge. Now the bridge was interesting in itself. Someone had placed old barn boards over the original boards - presumably to cover rotten spots. The interesting part was that the barn boards looked link a woodpeckers paradise. They were covered in tiny holes! It made for an interesting view as we crossed the 'rapids' below.
Over the St. George river we crossed, and while the river was running, and the water sparkled in the sunlight, I think it would be a stretch to say that it qualified as rapids. Making it to the far side of the bridge we traversed along a muddy mucky path that was rounded with icy, slushy piles of crusty snow. We followed the steps to a wooden slat bridge that crossed more of a muddy patch that a section of water. Then off following our next set of clues to a set of stairs that were abutting an old foundation base. Here lay wait our treasure.
We found the location and could see the box. The question was - would Mother Nature allow us access to it? That's why Teacup brings her trowel. Now after a previous episode with a trowel - I am no longer allowed to use the trowel. So Teacup crouched down and start to chip away the icy barrier that held the box captive. Chip, chip, wiggle, wiggle. The box we tucked snugly in place. Captive between rocks and icy - Teacup persevered. Finally - out it popped. And we had our first box of February 2012!
We pried open the icy lid and removed its contents. Sadly the logbook was soaked through, but the image was still viable and we quickly added it to our logbook! Happy, happy were we! Sadly - we were ill prepared to replace the logbook - so we tucked it back inside with the stamp and returned the box to its icy habitat. Our first success of the day! Back we ambled over the icy path, with a little more joyous bounce in our step! With a find under our belt, even the hill back to the car didn't seem as daunting. Shedding our coats, we hopped back into the car and headed further up the coast.
Our next adventure was Banded Cows. Now we are familiar enough with the area from previous excursions to make us truly dangerous. So when a reference to a local establishment was written in the clues - we knew we could circumvent the previous clues and work our way backwards. Not so. After circling the wrong side of the harbor, we opted to actually follow the clues from their beginning... novel idea - we know. But then again - this isn't the first time we've attempted to circumvent the clues thinking we knew where we were headed... and so far, no box has been harmed because of our follies.
So around the harbor we went, missing our first turn thus needing to backtrack a bit. (Come on - you know you'd be let down if we didn't have at least one u-turn in our day!) Back down to the intersection - we headed off in the correct direction towards banded cows... now the clue has the cows happily grazing on the left side of the road. It would seem in the dead of winter - the cows prefer to be closer to the barn... so we had to do a little more looking to find them. And once we did, oh the joy! T'would seem Miss Teacup had never seen an Oreo cow before. She was thoroughly fascinated by them. So we drove a bit farther and found our needed juncture.
Off again Tea went with trusty trowel in hand. This box wasn't trapped nearly as hard, and she was actually able to wangle the box out pretty easily. So we popped the lid - and yup, there they were, in all their glory. The banded cows! Or for the bovine snobs - more precisely - Belted Galloways. We stamped up the little critters and left them some company to be found by the next lucky souls to pick up this find. Returning the box to its hidey-hole - we were off so Tea could take some photos of her new found bovine friends. Frankly I was amused at just how amazed Tea was at seeing her first Oreo cows. Since they are raised all over Maine - I was shocked that she had never seen them before.
We finally headed off in the direction of our next quarry. Realizing it was further back than we were currently headed - we thought we take a chance at being able to drive to the top of Mount Battie. After all - with the relatively minimal snow cover - we thought our chances were good that the road to the top would be open. We pulled in - and quickly realized that the only way up was to hike it. And while we were thrilled to be out boxing - a climb up Mount Battie was no where on our daily bucket list... so a quick circle in the parking lot - passing by the six or so cars that sat waiting for their more adventurous owners to return - we returned to head back to Camden.
We were going to stop into a store to pick up some craft supplies (I'm trying to learn how to fold origami cranes for scouts but needed origami paper) only to realize that the store was no longer amongst those on the main drag in Camden. It saddened us - since there was a letterbox in the store - now another from an older boxer, sadly lost to the demise of small proprietors. So through town we continued. There were a couple of clues left on our list. One we knew we could find, the other two were more hunches we were chasing in hopes of finding hidden treasures.
Off to Beach Nut Tree House's parking lot. It is on a curvy road and we've been to this location before. The climb to the top is a gradual one on one side and shorter - but more steep on the other. Christopher hiked to the top with us on one very warm summer day a couple of years ago. Once to the top - he managed to woo a couple into thinking he was the cutest kid they had ever seen. The view in the summer is fabulous - and my guess - in the winter its probably pretty spectacular as well... but out thoughts were 'been there, done that.' so we opted to just pull in the icy parking lot and grab the box. Another spot where the trowel happily helped us retrieve our frozen booty from its location.
Sadly - once again we found a wet logbook inside the box - but it wasn't so soaked that we couldn't stamp into it. So we stamped up and returned the box to its hidden location. We had a couple of hours left - so off we went in search of a mystery location. Now these trips always prove to be interesting. With a quick stop for gas - and an agreement to head to Moody's Diner for pie for lunch - we headed back towards Rockland.
Well here's the catch. While Teacup was pumping gas - I was looking at the map. Seems we were heading towards Route 17. And guess where 17 goes? To Augusta. And what's in Augusta? Panera Bread... : ) In my book - 10 times better than pie! Well not always, but I wasn't completely sold on pie - so when Tea returned to the car I proposed a slight deviation in our plans... Its amazing how easily we can get side-tracked over something as simple as lunch! And honestly - who really thinks to head to Augusta when your driving in downtown Rockland? Well - maybe the locals do - but those of us that religiously take Route One to and fro - not us.
So we trolled around looking for that mystery location only to find some wicked cool cemeteries (sparkly objects for Team MudCup) and some very dangerous curves! We drove a bit longer, but realized the mystery - would remain one a bit longer as we needed more information that what we were going on. Back to Route 17 - we started to head inland. Now driving through many towns in Maine - we often wonder - where do these people work? Where do they shop? Because we tend to drive long expanses where there's lots of nuthin and then a lone house will pop up. The good side - no pesky neighbors. The bad-side, no helpful neighbors either.
So off through the hilly countryside of inland Maine we ventured - hopefully getting closer to Augusta. But knowing in the back of our minds that we'd been down the wrong roads before. Going through towns not often visited... Stickney Corner, Coopers Mills, Jefferson, Whitefield, all the while edging closer to Augusta. Our lucky day - where we arrived was at a 'Roundabout' - Teacup's favorite place to drive. And in Augusta they tend to be a bit busier than the ones we usually fight (in Buxton.) So finding our exit spot, Tea waited for the perfect moment to jump into the melee. We managed to make it to the other side and drove along over muddy bumpy city roads heading out towards Civic Center Drive.
Yeah! Mecca! Two soup combos later - we were revived and feeling ready to tackle something like real life. Well - first we needed a stop at Michaels as I was still in search of origami paper. Now Michaels is one of those 'bad' stores. Because you cannot just go in one and spend two dollars... fifty dollars later with origami paper and a birthday present for Veronica I was ready to meet the bus. Tea picked up an arrangement of silk butterflies and a whole stack of Hello Kitty goodies for a future play date with Cammie. So we grudgingly headed back to the car knowing our mental health day was almost over.
Home again - its amazing how even a single day out in nature, even for brief moments can change your whole state of mind. After two of the most stressful days at work that I've had in recent memory, a day spent with a good friend - out in the sun and snow, just enjoying quiet moments and a good lunch put my frantic mind at rest. I returned to work on Friday in a more functionable frame of mind. My thoughts less cluttered and my attitude less negative. So while we didn't have any fabulous misadventures - I for one felt rejuvenated and ready to tackle a few more days of work.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
666
Okay - Aiphid's post has me actually back to my blog. I was perplexed at the thought that 665 other people besides Aiphid was actually reading my blog... honestly didn't think there were that many other people out there so incredibly bored that they'd want to read my foolishness. And honestly - the last time I checked I had about 50. So that leaves me wondering - who are you all and why did you subscribe?
I'm honored - don't get me wrong. But now I think I should actually start writing something in this blog again. Its been an incredibly LONG time since I last posted anything. Oh I've started blogs... but they are as of yet unfinished and unpublished. Life got in the way... my life tripped boring in my book. And frankly - I just didn't have the desire to write anything. For me - I have to be 'in the groove' to write. Otherwise I just - well that's it... I just... nuthin.
So to Aiphid... and to number 667 who signed up afterwards (my initial guess is Adventure Crafter) thanks for strolling through my blog. Some of my previous posts do wax somewhat witty... hopefully I can get back into the groove. But until I do - I'll work on getting the white spray paint off my fingers. (Which is another mystery in and of itself.)
Here's to more blogs in 2012 ; ) Hope this finds you all rolling in or waiting for mud season!
I'm honored - don't get me wrong. But now I think I should actually start writing something in this blog again. Its been an incredibly LONG time since I last posted anything. Oh I've started blogs... but they are as of yet unfinished and unpublished. Life got in the way... my life tripped boring in my book. And frankly - I just didn't have the desire to write anything. For me - I have to be 'in the groove' to write. Otherwise I just - well that's it... I just... nuthin.
So to Aiphid... and to number 667 who signed up afterwards (my initial guess is Adventure Crafter) thanks for strolling through my blog. Some of my previous posts do wax somewhat witty... hopefully I can get back into the groove. But until I do - I'll work on getting the white spray paint off my fingers. (Which is another mystery in and of itself.)
Here's to more blogs in 2012 ; ) Hope this finds you all rolling in or waiting for mud season!
Friday, January 21, 2011
Snow Boxing with DC Stones
So Saturday had Teacup and I making our lists and checking them twice. One would think we'd boxed together more than a couple times - as when I mailed her my suggested list - it was the same as hers with the exception of one that she added to the list. Ironic? Nah - we just know each other's boxing thoughts that well, its scary.
So we had our list, and knew the path we were going to set off on. Now mind you - as a rule we DO NOT box in the snow. Why? Because its cold as hell outside and who wants to go trudging through 3 feet of snow to get a box when we can get it when the crocuses bloom? But that being said - our list had a few locations that we KNEW we were going to have to do some snow trudging.
So with my alarm set for 4am, I bundled up in warm socks, bean boots (not the best - but then again I don't snow box) had my mittens, hat and coffee all the ready and bundled off to my car. Warmed it up so I could see out the windshield and I even remembered to pack a few items I had forgotten on Friday - mainly my signature stamp! I arrived at Teacups house under a perfect morning sky. Dark! Dang - now we were going nightboxing as well! Good thing I brought my maglight! And I had backup batteries in case we happened to stay entombed in the darkness... I pulled in - and Teacup was heating up her car in her shirt. Okay - so we had lucked out. For Maine - it was a picture perfect morning in the dead of winter. Yup - it was still dark. And there was still three feet of snow everywhere - but there was NO WIND. Amazing. The sky was clear and the stars were twinkling brightly. It was 5:30 and we were sitting in Teacup kitchen hoping that Steve would actually show up while we were pondering yet again how we managed to get volunteered for the early morning boxing tour of Brunswick.
We chatted for a few minutes while I searched my bag for Steve's cell phone number. It took me a few minutes to find it as my bag had managed to turn into the Bermuda Triangle for anything I might actually NEED at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. Finally finding it - I gave him a ring. Well after bumbling through a couple times - since I never leave the state - I forgot the dreaded '1' so it wouldn't go through the first two attempts : ) But once I finally connected with Steve - he was just passing Freeport - about ten minutes out.
We saw him pull into the driveway next door - so Amber started down the road after him - again, minus her coat. Did I mention that it was about 35' and without the wind - for us it felt positively balmy! Meanwhile Steve was calling on Teacup's home phone. It was early... I grabbed it so the phone wouldn't wake up Tea's NBS, cause realistically why would a NBer want to be up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning if they didn't have to be? I told Steve Amber was out there chasing him down. He backed up past her and never even saw her. But we managed to get him parked and then we all piled into Teacup's car.
Now I know you are all wondering - did we make Steve sit in the backseat? Would that have been polite? I think not. And how on earth would he managed to see Brunswick from the backseat? So he was in the co-pilots seat and I was deligated to the backseat - knowing that at our first stop I was going to get pushed out into the snow! Looking at our list - we knew there were a couple of boxes that were sketchy due to the amount of snow and potential ice... the Stowe House box for one - so I brought along a couple of other images that are usually hanging around at events for him to stamp up while waiting for me to come back from 'bounding' through the snow.
So Teacup headed off down the road and she navigated us to our first stop. Guess where - come on, you know. A cemetery of course! He wouldn't be in the Team MudCup mobile if we didn't stop at a cemetery or two. Now unlike the roads - cemeteries are not plowed in the winter - and the wind just LOVES to drift the snow higher and lower around the stones. So Teacup pulled up and announced 'this is as close as I can get you' and out I went in search of the first box. Steve was willing to follow along - but we honestly thought it would be a easy gain since it should have been tucked in a stonewall. I found a relatively low spot to hurdle the snowbank and headed in with my maglight. I trudged over to the wall... and started to dig through the snow. Lower and lower. Wider and wider. I know where I planted it... but where was it returned? I dug in the dark for about 10 minutes and made a safe assumption that it was MIA. First box was a bust. And I had snow up to my knees. I trudged back to the car boxless, and we headed off to box number two.
Steve was happily chatting it up with Teacup and getting inky in the warmth of the car - so it wasn't like it was a total loss. So off we headed for Mere Point Boat launch. Hmm... does the boat launch get plowed out in the winter? Do people actually get in their boats in the middle of the winter? Well it seemed like forever to get to the boat launch. Amazing how much longer it takes to get places when you actually have to drive the speed limit : ) But we found the entrance - which by the way is practically in Freeport - and pulled into the parking area. Yup - the floats had been pulled, but you could still launch a boat if you felt the need to do so! Pulling up to where the box was supposed to be - out I headed in the snow again. The sun was coming up - so I left the maglight in the car. The snow wasn't too bad until I hit the 'low' spot and sunk up to my thigh! I pulled myself up to the path and stomped of the majority of the snow and headed off for the stump.
Who moved the damn stump? I thought it was right where I crossed over. Dang - I walked a little further down the path. Crude - there it was. Over I headed to the stump - which by the way sits on a downhill slope heading to the water. A place I would rather not visit on this relatively balmy January morning! So I started to brush the stump clean of snow. Started to dig around the roots. Pulling out frozen chunks of dirt, but no box. And as a surprise to most of you - we knew this was actually in a box - not a camo bag. I started to call to Teacup - to bring the trowel (a tool I am forever banned from using ever since I cracked open a lock n lock on Mt. A two years ago.) I called three times and was just opening up my phone to call her when she popped out of her car.
I yelled to have her bring over the trowel - and she walked over to where I was - only sinking about three inches in the snow. She obviously picked a better path to the box than I had chosen! I asked if she wanted me to dig with the trowel and was given a raised eyebrow of a look and off she headed for the location. Delicately tapping to see if we heard that telltale sound of plastic against trowel - but nuthin! And we weren't too keen on heading to the southern - slippery side of the stump, which when there isn't any snow is tricky footing, so we opted to call it a captured box and head off to a different location.
Back to the car we headed (using Teacup's path) to report another attempt. And back we headed towards town. Kind of a crappy start to our list - but we were kind of thinking the Mere Point box might have been an attempt. But its still a big bummer to start out that way. We headed off after box numbe three. I was trying to warm up with some coffee - which was now gone - who drank my coffee while I was trudging through the snow??? We pulled over to the side of the road and I pointed to the location. Steve jumped out and pulled on his gloves. He only had to walk about 15 feet to the location - and it gave me a change to defrost some of the snow from my pants. We watched him for a couple minutes when Teacup got out to bring him the trowel. Sure - she was going to let him have the trowel... LOL.
Well, before Steve actually needed the trowel - he managed to pull the camo bag loose from its hiding spot. Back into the car Teacup and Steve climbed. While Steve was trying to dislodge the frozen contents from the bag - I told Teacup to drive off to our next location. Gasp you might think - but the box Steve was working on was mine - and I know for a fact none of my local friends are going to be looking for the box any time soon. We can get it back in play MONTHS before folks come to Brunswick to look for boxes! So off we headed for our next entombed box, one of Teacups and another we could scoop up and stamp up while traveling about. All accomodations due to the limited amount of time Steve had to visit the area.
Teacup climbed after her box after making a required u-turn to get back to the box location. Now - it being her box you'd think she'd know where it was. But even I have to admit - 'entrances' disappear when they are blocked by 2 foot tall piles of snow along the side of the road. So a quick u-turn has us parked roadside while Teacup retrieved our next 'scoop and go' box for Steve. Feeling was beginning to return to my lower body - but my pants were also getting an overall wet feeling to them. Dang - another reason why I didn't snow box! I hate being wet AND cold and without any coffee. Who drank all my coffee when I wasn't looking? Cause my cup was still tragically empty.
We headed off in the direction of Bowdoin College and Joshua Chamberlain's statue. Teacup was giving him the local's history lesson, while I chirped up occasionally from the backseat. We attempted to park near the statue... but when did they turn it into a no parking zone? We live here... they never asked our permission. So around the college we drove until we were back on the Bath Road. We all tumbled out of the car and headed off to the statue. We talked about Pickard Theater, its remodel and its renowned Summer Theater. We talked about the various buildings while we walked around the campus. We took a slight detour so Steve could have his photo taken with the Bowdoin Polar Bear and then we headed back towards the Chamberlain statue. The campus is a beautiful campus any time of year. But in the winter it takes on a slightly different feel. No green vines were covering the Bowdoin Chapel and there was a manmade ice rink in the middle of the usually meticullously maintained lawn. In the bikerack, a lone bike was frozen - chained in place. There were very few folks walking around the campus grounds, which in the summer is a rarity. It was even eerily quiet. But it was still a lovely walk.
We finally meandered back to the Chamberlain statue to try and dislodge the microbox of Teacups. First we needed to find the starting point. Recent snow was covering the marked bench that surrounded the statue, so a dusting was needed to get to the mark needed. The snow had drifted high and low around the the statue. Teacup finally got a heading on its location and started digging down to the base. Steve was taking pictures and I was keeping watch. Needed to keep an eye out for those local campus police and any stray muggles that might be out on this morning. Teacup dug, and dug some more. She got within the last two layers of stones and was stopped by ice. Dang, another trapped box.
Back to the car we headed and off we went to the Stowe House. Now this box is a bugger to get in the warm weather. Its hidden between the front stone steps. So we had little hope that we could get it for Steve, but we were more than willing to give it a try. So we parked in the lot, left Steve merrily stamping up warmed up images and with the trowel in Teacups hand - we headed to the front gate. If the gate was closed - we would have had to walk through the gardens to get to the box, but luck was on our side. It was open and we were able to get into the steps. We dug the 12" of snow away from the steps and the steps was covered in a glistening layer of ice. The granite sparkled through the layer of ice, laughing at us. "Silly ladies, thinking you'll get this box in the dead of winter. We are but a summer spot, and this box only retrievable in the high warmth of July! Go back to your car and end this folly! For its only bruised knuckles and cold fingers you will get from here now!" And dang if that wasn't true! We both tried to bend our hands in and around to grab the pouch. But we had no success. So this one would stay ice in until the spring thaw.
So back to the car we headed. There was one box we were bound and determined to get, even though we KNEW it would take some considerable snow trudging. When greatbigseabres was in Maine last summer she planted the town seal in a cemetery. The cemetery also houses the Chamberlain's final resting place. So we knew we had to get this box for Steve. The image is terrific and so worth the work to get it. So Teacup parked as close as we could get and over the bank of snow we headed. Teacup started out in the direction with me behind and Steve following along. Before long - they both left me in the dust. Yes, my health coach thanks you all for this morning workout - but I hate exercise. Ugh and this cold, hard to breath kind of exercise sucks! So I let the two in MUCH better shape head off across the cemetery. Teacup turned to me at one point and mentioned that we were going to have an additional obstacle... it would seem Bowdoin College had errected a brand new chain link fence between the cemetery and its property. The old one was 6' tall. This shiny new one was at least 8' tall. Well, lets see if the location was still in place or did the stump get removed as well.
Teacup and Steve leaped across the snow while I trudged from stone to stone. They made it to the fence while I was only 1/3 of the way across the cemetery. They assessed the fact that someone would have to go around the fence, I would have volunteered (but prayed they said no) to head around - but before my mouth could open, Steve was RUNNING through the snow towards the end of the fence. I continued along and made it to the cemetery side as he reached the stump. Meanwhile Teacup was heading off in search of Chamberlain's tombstone and a WOM box that she knew about.
So Steve had bound around the fence, I managed to trudge my way to the fence and Teacup was half way across the cemetery in search of Chamberlain. I went to the corner of the fence and realized that I had another VERY long trudge to get to where she was and had a passing thought of leaving Steve to find his way to the end near the road where Teacup was - but immediately toosed that thought aside as a bad one. I may be hopelessly out of shape, but I'm not rude. So I chatted a bit about the Bowdoin Pines and some of the area 'stuff' while Steve was getting inky. I tried yelling for Teacup - but she was out of earshot. But I did manage to hear her yell at me that Steve needed to continue along his side of the fence to get to the end to get to where she was. So after translating that message to him, I headed off past the corner and started criss-crossing the cemetery from stone to stone. I looked back over my shoulder and here was Steve jumping the fence! Granted it wasn't the newer section, but the older, lower portion. But still... ugh. Again - my health coach thanks you for this wonderful workout. So he bounded over to where Teacup was waiting. The snow had mercifully drifted to an almost walkable depth near Teacup. Steve was stamping up while we waited. Had to get those snow-kissed photos of the Chamberlain site before we dug the snow away from the marker so Steve could place tribute pennies on it symbolizing his visit. So photos taken and pennies left, we walked relatively easily towards the road and the 5' high snowbank and climbed out of the cemetery. I'll admit, the walk on the road was a whole lot easier on me than the trudge through the cemetery! But I think Steve was very happy to have the town seal image and the photos to take back to his dad.
One thing we also learned about Steve was that he likes local 'iconic' places to visit. So in Brunswick, that boils down to one place - Fat Boys! A local carhop that still runs in the summer with actual carhops. Lights on for service! The best Mocha Frappes around and a sure destination for all the locals during the six months its open every year! And yup - there's a stamp there! The parking lots is relatively clear of snow in the winter because it hosts the sales of Christmas trees in December and then in the early months of winter - roadside seafood dealers sell fresh shrimp, scallops and other seafood from the backs of trucks. So Teacup pulled into the parking lot and didn't have to hop over too high of a snowbank towards the train tracks to get the box. Steve took more photos of the local icon while I told him about the summer storm that wiped out the original neon sign two summers ago. And when the Brunswick Naval Station had the Blue Angels in for airshows - the road in front of the place literally shut down for two hours during the show - making the carhop that much bigger!
Steve got a little more iconic ink in his logbook and the box went back in its hiding spot. This box actually gets lots of hits from folks passing through, so we couldn't pull it. From here we had a list of about 10 boxes heading into Cook's Corner, but time was getting away from us (that damn snow trudging!) and we want to make sure he saw a couple places in Topsham. So Teacup put the car in drive and we headed over to Topsham. First stop was the swinging bridge. We pulled into one of the spots and headed towards the bridge. The sun was up and there was a mist just hoovering over the surface of the water. With absolutely no wind - it was a perfect morning on the bridge! You could see pieces of ice rippling through the surface of the water as it headed towards the dams. You have to cross the bridge from one side to the other to truely appreciate it. Since it was restored - the 'swing' isn't nearly as frightning, but when you are at the ends - you can feel it shift under your feet. So we walked the bridge, just appreciating the fabulous morning before heading back to the car. We had enough time to squueze in a couple more quick drive-bys.
So first we headed to the local embroider for Team MudCup, Phoenix Embroidery. Nope, never saw that no left turn sign as we turned left. "No officer, we are not from Topsham." LOL. After that we just HAD to get some ice cream!???! Okay - so we just got the tiny box and Steve took a photo of the "LBJ Ate Here" sign on the side of the very closed Dairy Queen building. But the image IS an ice cream cone. A quick peek at our watches had us realizing we had time for one more box before we had to cross the river and head back to Teacup's house. So we pulled into SeaDog Brewery. we walked down to the box and commented on the insanity of ice fishermen. The ice houses were already out on the river. Four wheelers on the ice as well, and there was open water below us! Crazy I tell you! That water is dang cold in the summer let along in January!
We inked up the SeaDog logo and tucked the box back into its safe location for the next finders. Back in the car, we once again crossed the Androscoggin back into Brunswick. A couple minutes later we were in Teacup's driveway. Steve managed to get a full days worth of boxing in a few short hours. We sent him off in his rental with instructions on how to attempt to fetch the BFI box from its location. We think he had a proper spin through the area. Filled him full of local history and lore as well as lots of ink, both cold and car heated boxes. With Steve driving off to Freeport, I too jumped in my car. I needed more coffee and my stomach was growling something fierce! Not only did someone drink all my coffee but somewhere along the line someone ate my breakfast!
Thanks for coming to visit us here in Maine Steve! We had a great time whirling around Brunswick with you. You'll have to come back when the weather is better and you have more time. We have islands we can fling you around and lots and lots of more boxes to find! We're really not all about the drivebys! I hear there's a hell of a good time in August where even more of the local flavor hangs out! Come on up and we'll show you how the locals really play!
So we had our list, and knew the path we were going to set off on. Now mind you - as a rule we DO NOT box in the snow. Why? Because its cold as hell outside and who wants to go trudging through 3 feet of snow to get a box when we can get it when the crocuses bloom? But that being said - our list had a few locations that we KNEW we were going to have to do some snow trudging.
So with my alarm set for 4am, I bundled up in warm socks, bean boots (not the best - but then again I don't snow box) had my mittens, hat and coffee all the ready and bundled off to my car. Warmed it up so I could see out the windshield and I even remembered to pack a few items I had forgotten on Friday - mainly my signature stamp! I arrived at Teacups house under a perfect morning sky. Dark! Dang - now we were going nightboxing as well! Good thing I brought my maglight! And I had backup batteries in case we happened to stay entombed in the darkness... I pulled in - and Teacup was heating up her car in her shirt. Okay - so we had lucked out. For Maine - it was a picture perfect morning in the dead of winter. Yup - it was still dark. And there was still three feet of snow everywhere - but there was NO WIND. Amazing. The sky was clear and the stars were twinkling brightly. It was 5:30 and we were sitting in Teacup kitchen hoping that Steve would actually show up while we were pondering yet again how we managed to get volunteered for the early morning boxing tour of Brunswick.
We chatted for a few minutes while I searched my bag for Steve's cell phone number. It took me a few minutes to find it as my bag had managed to turn into the Bermuda Triangle for anything I might actually NEED at 5:30am on a Saturday morning. Finally finding it - I gave him a ring. Well after bumbling through a couple times - since I never leave the state - I forgot the dreaded '1' so it wouldn't go through the first two attempts : ) But once I finally connected with Steve - he was just passing Freeport - about ten minutes out.
We saw him pull into the driveway next door - so Amber started down the road after him - again, minus her coat. Did I mention that it was about 35' and without the wind - for us it felt positively balmy! Meanwhile Steve was calling on Teacup's home phone. It was early... I grabbed it so the phone wouldn't wake up Tea's NBS, cause realistically why would a NBer want to be up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning if they didn't have to be? I told Steve Amber was out there chasing him down. He backed up past her and never even saw her. But we managed to get him parked and then we all piled into Teacup's car.
Now I know you are all wondering - did we make Steve sit in the backseat? Would that have been polite? I think not. And how on earth would he managed to see Brunswick from the backseat? So he was in the co-pilots seat and I was deligated to the backseat - knowing that at our first stop I was going to get pushed out into the snow! Looking at our list - we knew there were a couple of boxes that were sketchy due to the amount of snow and potential ice... the Stowe House box for one - so I brought along a couple of other images that are usually hanging around at events for him to stamp up while waiting for me to come back from 'bounding' through the snow.
So Teacup headed off down the road and she navigated us to our first stop. Guess where - come on, you know. A cemetery of course! He wouldn't be in the Team MudCup mobile if we didn't stop at a cemetery or two. Now unlike the roads - cemeteries are not plowed in the winter - and the wind just LOVES to drift the snow higher and lower around the stones. So Teacup pulled up and announced 'this is as close as I can get you' and out I went in search of the first box. Steve was willing to follow along - but we honestly thought it would be a easy gain since it should have been tucked in a stonewall. I found a relatively low spot to hurdle the snowbank and headed in with my maglight. I trudged over to the wall... and started to dig through the snow. Lower and lower. Wider and wider. I know where I planted it... but where was it returned? I dug in the dark for about 10 minutes and made a safe assumption that it was MIA. First box was a bust. And I had snow up to my knees. I trudged back to the car boxless, and we headed off to box number two.
Steve was happily chatting it up with Teacup and getting inky in the warmth of the car - so it wasn't like it was a total loss. So off we headed for Mere Point Boat launch. Hmm... does the boat launch get plowed out in the winter? Do people actually get in their boats in the middle of the winter? Well it seemed like forever to get to the boat launch. Amazing how much longer it takes to get places when you actually have to drive the speed limit : ) But we found the entrance - which by the way is practically in Freeport - and pulled into the parking area. Yup - the floats had been pulled, but you could still launch a boat if you felt the need to do so! Pulling up to where the box was supposed to be - out I headed in the snow again. The sun was coming up - so I left the maglight in the car. The snow wasn't too bad until I hit the 'low' spot and sunk up to my thigh! I pulled myself up to the path and stomped of the majority of the snow and headed off for the stump.
Who moved the damn stump? I thought it was right where I crossed over. Dang - I walked a little further down the path. Crude - there it was. Over I headed to the stump - which by the way sits on a downhill slope heading to the water. A place I would rather not visit on this relatively balmy January morning! So I started to brush the stump clean of snow. Started to dig around the roots. Pulling out frozen chunks of dirt, but no box. And as a surprise to most of you - we knew this was actually in a box - not a camo bag. I started to call to Teacup - to bring the trowel (a tool I am forever banned from using ever since I cracked open a lock n lock on Mt. A two years ago.) I called three times and was just opening up my phone to call her when she popped out of her car.
I yelled to have her bring over the trowel - and she walked over to where I was - only sinking about three inches in the snow. She obviously picked a better path to the box than I had chosen! I asked if she wanted me to dig with the trowel and was given a raised eyebrow of a look and off she headed for the location. Delicately tapping to see if we heard that telltale sound of plastic against trowel - but nuthin! And we weren't too keen on heading to the southern - slippery side of the stump, which when there isn't any snow is tricky footing, so we opted to call it a captured box and head off to a different location.
Back to the car we headed (using Teacup's path) to report another attempt. And back we headed towards town. Kind of a crappy start to our list - but we were kind of thinking the Mere Point box might have been an attempt. But its still a big bummer to start out that way. We headed off after box numbe three. I was trying to warm up with some coffee - which was now gone - who drank my coffee while I was trudging through the snow??? We pulled over to the side of the road and I pointed to the location. Steve jumped out and pulled on his gloves. He only had to walk about 15 feet to the location - and it gave me a change to defrost some of the snow from my pants. We watched him for a couple minutes when Teacup got out to bring him the trowel. Sure - she was going to let him have the trowel... LOL.
Well, before Steve actually needed the trowel - he managed to pull the camo bag loose from its hiding spot. Back into the car Teacup and Steve climbed. While Steve was trying to dislodge the frozen contents from the bag - I told Teacup to drive off to our next location. Gasp you might think - but the box Steve was working on was mine - and I know for a fact none of my local friends are going to be looking for the box any time soon. We can get it back in play MONTHS before folks come to Brunswick to look for boxes! So off we headed for our next entombed box, one of Teacups and another we could scoop up and stamp up while traveling about. All accomodations due to the limited amount of time Steve had to visit the area.
Teacup climbed after her box after making a required u-turn to get back to the box location. Now - it being her box you'd think she'd know where it was. But even I have to admit - 'entrances' disappear when they are blocked by 2 foot tall piles of snow along the side of the road. So a quick u-turn has us parked roadside while Teacup retrieved our next 'scoop and go' box for Steve. Feeling was beginning to return to my lower body - but my pants were also getting an overall wet feeling to them. Dang - another reason why I didn't snow box! I hate being wet AND cold and without any coffee. Who drank all my coffee when I wasn't looking? Cause my cup was still tragically empty.
We headed off in the direction of Bowdoin College and Joshua Chamberlain's statue. Teacup was giving him the local's history lesson, while I chirped up occasionally from the backseat. We attempted to park near the statue... but when did they turn it into a no parking zone? We live here... they never asked our permission. So around the college we drove until we were back on the Bath Road. We all tumbled out of the car and headed off to the statue. We talked about Pickard Theater, its remodel and its renowned Summer Theater. We talked about the various buildings while we walked around the campus. We took a slight detour so Steve could have his photo taken with the Bowdoin Polar Bear and then we headed back towards the Chamberlain statue. The campus is a beautiful campus any time of year. But in the winter it takes on a slightly different feel. No green vines were covering the Bowdoin Chapel and there was a manmade ice rink in the middle of the usually meticullously maintained lawn. In the bikerack, a lone bike was frozen - chained in place. There were very few folks walking around the campus grounds, which in the summer is a rarity. It was even eerily quiet. But it was still a lovely walk.
We finally meandered back to the Chamberlain statue to try and dislodge the microbox of Teacups. First we needed to find the starting point. Recent snow was covering the marked bench that surrounded the statue, so a dusting was needed to get to the mark needed. The snow had drifted high and low around the the statue. Teacup finally got a heading on its location and started digging down to the base. Steve was taking pictures and I was keeping watch. Needed to keep an eye out for those local campus police and any stray muggles that might be out on this morning. Teacup dug, and dug some more. She got within the last two layers of stones and was stopped by ice. Dang, another trapped box.
Back to the car we headed and off we went to the Stowe House. Now this box is a bugger to get in the warm weather. Its hidden between the front stone steps. So we had little hope that we could get it for Steve, but we were more than willing to give it a try. So we parked in the lot, left Steve merrily stamping up warmed up images and with the trowel in Teacups hand - we headed to the front gate. If the gate was closed - we would have had to walk through the gardens to get to the box, but luck was on our side. It was open and we were able to get into the steps. We dug the 12" of snow away from the steps and the steps was covered in a glistening layer of ice. The granite sparkled through the layer of ice, laughing at us. "Silly ladies, thinking you'll get this box in the dead of winter. We are but a summer spot, and this box only retrievable in the high warmth of July! Go back to your car and end this folly! For its only bruised knuckles and cold fingers you will get from here now!" And dang if that wasn't true! We both tried to bend our hands in and around to grab the pouch. But we had no success. So this one would stay ice in until the spring thaw.
So back to the car we headed. There was one box we were bound and determined to get, even though we KNEW it would take some considerable snow trudging. When greatbigseabres was in Maine last summer she planted the town seal in a cemetery. The cemetery also houses the Chamberlain's final resting place. So we knew we had to get this box for Steve. The image is terrific and so worth the work to get it. So Teacup parked as close as we could get and over the bank of snow we headed. Teacup started out in the direction with me behind and Steve following along. Before long - they both left me in the dust. Yes, my health coach thanks you all for this morning workout - but I hate exercise. Ugh and this cold, hard to breath kind of exercise sucks! So I let the two in MUCH better shape head off across the cemetery. Teacup turned to me at one point and mentioned that we were going to have an additional obstacle... it would seem Bowdoin College had errected a brand new chain link fence between the cemetery and its property. The old one was 6' tall. This shiny new one was at least 8' tall. Well, lets see if the location was still in place or did the stump get removed as well.
Teacup and Steve leaped across the snow while I trudged from stone to stone. They made it to the fence while I was only 1/3 of the way across the cemetery. They assessed the fact that someone would have to go around the fence, I would have volunteered (but prayed they said no) to head around - but before my mouth could open, Steve was RUNNING through the snow towards the end of the fence. I continued along and made it to the cemetery side as he reached the stump. Meanwhile Teacup was heading off in search of Chamberlain's tombstone and a WOM box that she knew about.
So Steve had bound around the fence, I managed to trudge my way to the fence and Teacup was half way across the cemetery in search of Chamberlain. I went to the corner of the fence and realized that I had another VERY long trudge to get to where she was and had a passing thought of leaving Steve to find his way to the end near the road where Teacup was - but immediately toosed that thought aside as a bad one. I may be hopelessly out of shape, but I'm not rude. So I chatted a bit about the Bowdoin Pines and some of the area 'stuff' while Steve was getting inky. I tried yelling for Teacup - but she was out of earshot. But I did manage to hear her yell at me that Steve needed to continue along his side of the fence to get to the end to get to where she was. So after translating that message to him, I headed off past the corner and started criss-crossing the cemetery from stone to stone. I looked back over my shoulder and here was Steve jumping the fence! Granted it wasn't the newer section, but the older, lower portion. But still... ugh. Again - my health coach thanks you for this wonderful workout. So he bounded over to where Teacup was waiting. The snow had mercifully drifted to an almost walkable depth near Teacup. Steve was stamping up while we waited. Had to get those snow-kissed photos of the Chamberlain site before we dug the snow away from the marker so Steve could place tribute pennies on it symbolizing his visit. So photos taken and pennies left, we walked relatively easily towards the road and the 5' high snowbank and climbed out of the cemetery. I'll admit, the walk on the road was a whole lot easier on me than the trudge through the cemetery! But I think Steve was very happy to have the town seal image and the photos to take back to his dad.
One thing we also learned about Steve was that he likes local 'iconic' places to visit. So in Brunswick, that boils down to one place - Fat Boys! A local carhop that still runs in the summer with actual carhops. Lights on for service! The best Mocha Frappes around and a sure destination for all the locals during the six months its open every year! And yup - there's a stamp there! The parking lots is relatively clear of snow in the winter because it hosts the sales of Christmas trees in December and then in the early months of winter - roadside seafood dealers sell fresh shrimp, scallops and other seafood from the backs of trucks. So Teacup pulled into the parking lot and didn't have to hop over too high of a snowbank towards the train tracks to get the box. Steve took more photos of the local icon while I told him about the summer storm that wiped out the original neon sign two summers ago. And when the Brunswick Naval Station had the Blue Angels in for airshows - the road in front of the place literally shut down for two hours during the show - making the carhop that much bigger!
Steve got a little more iconic ink in his logbook and the box went back in its hiding spot. This box actually gets lots of hits from folks passing through, so we couldn't pull it. From here we had a list of about 10 boxes heading into Cook's Corner, but time was getting away from us (that damn snow trudging!) and we want to make sure he saw a couple places in Topsham. So Teacup put the car in drive and we headed over to Topsham. First stop was the swinging bridge. We pulled into one of the spots and headed towards the bridge. The sun was up and there was a mist just hoovering over the surface of the water. With absolutely no wind - it was a perfect morning on the bridge! You could see pieces of ice rippling through the surface of the water as it headed towards the dams. You have to cross the bridge from one side to the other to truely appreciate it. Since it was restored - the 'swing' isn't nearly as frightning, but when you are at the ends - you can feel it shift under your feet. So we walked the bridge, just appreciating the fabulous morning before heading back to the car. We had enough time to squueze in a couple more quick drive-bys.
So first we headed to the local embroider for Team MudCup, Phoenix Embroidery. Nope, never saw that no left turn sign as we turned left. "No officer, we are not from Topsham." LOL. After that we just HAD to get some ice cream!???! Okay - so we just got the tiny box and Steve took a photo of the "LBJ Ate Here" sign on the side of the very closed Dairy Queen building. But the image IS an ice cream cone. A quick peek at our watches had us realizing we had time for one more box before we had to cross the river and head back to Teacup's house. So we pulled into SeaDog Brewery. we walked down to the box and commented on the insanity of ice fishermen. The ice houses were already out on the river. Four wheelers on the ice as well, and there was open water below us! Crazy I tell you! That water is dang cold in the summer let along in January!
We inked up the SeaDog logo and tucked the box back into its safe location for the next finders. Back in the car, we once again crossed the Androscoggin back into Brunswick. A couple minutes later we were in Teacup's driveway. Steve managed to get a full days worth of boxing in a few short hours. We sent him off in his rental with instructions on how to attempt to fetch the BFI box from its location. We think he had a proper spin through the area. Filled him full of local history and lore as well as lots of ink, both cold and car heated boxes. With Steve driving off to Freeport, I too jumped in my car. I needed more coffee and my stomach was growling something fierce! Not only did someone drink all my coffee but somewhere along the line someone ate my breakfast!
Thanks for coming to visit us here in Maine Steve! We had a great time whirling around Brunswick with you. You'll have to come back when the weather is better and you have more time. We have islands we can fling you around and lots and lots of more boxes to find! We're really not all about the drivebys! I hear there's a hell of a good time in August where even more of the local flavor hangs out! Come on up and we'll show you how the locals really play!
Sunday, January 16, 2011
DC Stones Weekend visit...
So... DC Stones posted a while back that he was flying into Portland for a business conference and wanted to have a mini meet. WOOHOO! We are all about those winter mini meets. How else would we get any ink? There's so much snow around - you'd be a dang fool to go out in it. And besides - its usually bitter cold with the Arctic wind blowing around and your ink freezing before you can huff it to get it to the page - and the air from your huff freezes on its way out of your mouth... what's the point? If it ain't inside from November to April - this dang fool ain't going there.
So any who, DC Stones posted the mini meet and a bunch of us signed up immediately. While he was staying downtown - and his original location for the mini meet we convinced him to change - we were excited to get together at Sebago Brewery. Downtown - parking - Friday night - after a snowstorm = not happening. So Friday night we pulled in to Sebago - and low and behold - no parking there either!
Teacup and I rode together bringing along Celtic Farie (needed a DD after all) and Princess mud. They left us at the front door (okay so we parked in the handicapped spot - but we were only there long enough to get the stuff out of the trunk) and the girls headed back to the mall to visit Build-A-Bear. Teacup and I headed to the foyer of the pub and there was Jiffy. She had arrived five minutes ahead of us and found out that the restaurant hand managed to 'lose' our reservation. Now coming from past restaurant experience - not even knowing the group - if someone called and said there would be seventeen people showing up at seven pm - I'd make SURE I had that noted somewhere so that the night crew would know about them. Trying to seat 17 people is hard on a slow weekday - but on a BUSY Friday night - not something you want to mess around with. Well - mess around they ended up having to do.
Jiffy gave them a head's up and then called Mrs. HappyDaze who had called ahead earlier in the day as they don't take reservation but do take call ahead notices... I guess 7 1/2 hours is too long ahead, but I digress. Needless to say, Susan was NOT impressed. She told Jiffy that she was leaving her house and she would have something to say to them when she got there. Let the games begin! So folks started to arrive, and the foyer started to get cozy. We were quickly filling up the space when Susan went in and spoke with the manager who assure her that they were working on getting us a table as close to 7pm as possible. We ended up getting seated at 7:10 - mainly because I think they thought it was best to have the informal 'greeting and exiting committee' not stay any long in the foyer. It was kinda fun though. You gotta make your fun where you can... and we were all pretty silly in the foyer.
So we finally were seated - fighting to navigate our stamping stuff up onto high seats, moving them close enough to reach the table to ink up on and still be able to reach our drinks! When out came the Lips covered Martini glasses! They were awesome! Token special glasses purchased for our resident drunk fairies! We had to convince one of the faries to not dump her drink into the martini glass as she'd probably only make a mess... but they did look smashing on the table! So with drinks in hands - we started to pass around the event stamp while we waited for DC Stones to show up. Since most of us already had everyone's PTs - we mostly did some catching up - and lucky for us, we never lack stuff to talk about. But DC didn't make us wait long. And once he was there we started the process of exchanging - sharing PTs - and offering up a couple retired boxes that represented local history. Ones we had carved for Maine's Nautical Past. The Chamberlains, the Chamberlain House and Admiral Perry. Teacup and I were AMAZED at how many of our local buddies didn't have these stamps. We only place them out during the event because any stamp put on Bowdoin Campus doesn't last very long - and these are stamps carved by deniserows and mstrwndl and we do NOT want them lost.
So the locals managed to get some finds as well that we figured they already had... and we chatted a bit more waiting for our waitress to return. Somehow in the process of ordering drinks and appetizers, she thought we were going to wait for Ashley and Veronica to return from Build-A-Bear before we were going to order. But once she came back to take a second round of drink orders - we managed to put in our dinner orders. Which worked out well since the girls showed up just after our meals were served and Veronica managed to eat my fries while she waited for her dinner! Though she was kinda bummed that they automatically ordered her the children's portions... and she wanted leftovers!
So while the girls ate their mushroom ravioli and chicken fingers the adults were finishing up and having dishes cleared away. Steve disappeared for a bit and when he returned he had this HUGE fabric wrapped something. As soon as he mentioned the Six Secrets, Teacup and I got very excited. (In case you don't know about it, check this out: http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=73523)
We had been posting messages back and forth between Mama Wolf and Steve to see if he would bring it to Maine, but Steve told us he didn't have it in his possession. We were obviously bummed - but let it go.
As he unfolded it and started to explain the guidelines for handling it... as a group we all went into solving overdrive. How were we going to all get together again so we could help solve it? Who was going to have a first crack at it? Dates started flying around - people were thinking about how they could reschedule some things to work in solving this fabulous box. In the end we put everyone's trailname into a box and drew out atvracer's name. So it went home with Jiffy and Scott for the first crack at breaking the code.
We attempted to make a first stab at arranging a date to all get together at HappyDaze's house - but there were too many obstacles - and we really wanted to pull together when we wouldn't be rushed in one evening. So home it went with Jiffy and Scott while Steve continued to discuss the plans for the rest of his weekend. Teacup and I were at the farther end of the table from HappyDaze - Ray specifically. And before long - we were ponied up to give an early morning guided tour of Brunswick. Teacup looked at me and gave me that knowing look of surprise. Without her even saying it I knew she was thinking "Did we just get volunteered to take someone boxing??? We DON'T group box." But he was coming to Brunswick - and it was home turf for us. And yes indeed - we do like the early hours in the day to do our boxing. So while we went home scratching our heads on how we managed to get offered up by our 'friends' we started thinking about which boxes we could actually attempt to get him in a few short hours.
And we did agree - that getting a local driver would make it more beneficial to Steve. So on the ride home, with Miss Veronica soundly asleep on my shoulder... with Ashley safely navigating us homeward - Teacup and I started 'plotting' our Sunday morning boxing adventure with DC Stones. For if nothing else - Teacup has a list!
So any who, DC Stones posted the mini meet and a bunch of us signed up immediately. While he was staying downtown - and his original location for the mini meet we convinced him to change - we were excited to get together at Sebago Brewery. Downtown - parking - Friday night - after a snowstorm = not happening. So Friday night we pulled in to Sebago - and low and behold - no parking there either!
Teacup and I rode together bringing along Celtic Farie (needed a DD after all) and Princess mud. They left us at the front door (okay so we parked in the handicapped spot - but we were only there long enough to get the stuff out of the trunk) and the girls headed back to the mall to visit Build-A-Bear. Teacup and I headed to the foyer of the pub and there was Jiffy. She had arrived five minutes ahead of us and found out that the restaurant hand managed to 'lose' our reservation. Now coming from past restaurant experience - not even knowing the group - if someone called and said there would be seventeen people showing up at seven pm - I'd make SURE I had that noted somewhere so that the night crew would know about them. Trying to seat 17 people is hard on a slow weekday - but on a BUSY Friday night - not something you want to mess around with. Well - mess around they ended up having to do.
Jiffy gave them a head's up and then called Mrs. HappyDaze who had called ahead earlier in the day as they don't take reservation but do take call ahead notices... I guess 7 1/2 hours is too long ahead, but I digress. Needless to say, Susan was NOT impressed. She told Jiffy that she was leaving her house and she would have something to say to them when she got there. Let the games begin! So folks started to arrive, and the foyer started to get cozy. We were quickly filling up the space when Susan went in and spoke with the manager who assure her that they were working on getting us a table as close to 7pm as possible. We ended up getting seated at 7:10 - mainly because I think they thought it was best to have the informal 'greeting and exiting committee' not stay any long in the foyer. It was kinda fun though. You gotta make your fun where you can... and we were all pretty silly in the foyer.
So we finally were seated - fighting to navigate our stamping stuff up onto high seats, moving them close enough to reach the table to ink up on and still be able to reach our drinks! When out came the Lips covered Martini glasses! They were awesome! Token special glasses purchased for our resident drunk fairies! We had to convince one of the faries to not dump her drink into the martini glass as she'd probably only make a mess... but they did look smashing on the table! So with drinks in hands - we started to pass around the event stamp while we waited for DC Stones to show up. Since most of us already had everyone's PTs - we mostly did some catching up - and lucky for us, we never lack stuff to talk about. But DC didn't make us wait long. And once he was there we started the process of exchanging - sharing PTs - and offering up a couple retired boxes that represented local history. Ones we had carved for Maine's Nautical Past. The Chamberlains, the Chamberlain House and Admiral Perry. Teacup and I were AMAZED at how many of our local buddies didn't have these stamps. We only place them out during the event because any stamp put on Bowdoin Campus doesn't last very long - and these are stamps carved by deniserows and mstrwndl and we do NOT want them lost.
So the locals managed to get some finds as well that we figured they already had... and we chatted a bit more waiting for our waitress to return. Somehow in the process of ordering drinks and appetizers, she thought we were going to wait for Ashley and Veronica to return from Build-A-Bear before we were going to order. But once she came back to take a second round of drink orders - we managed to put in our dinner orders. Which worked out well since the girls showed up just after our meals were served and Veronica managed to eat my fries while she waited for her dinner! Though she was kinda bummed that they automatically ordered her the children's portions... and she wanted leftovers!
So while the girls ate their mushroom ravioli and chicken fingers the adults were finishing up and having dishes cleared away. Steve disappeared for a bit and when he returned he had this HUGE fabric wrapped something. As soon as he mentioned the Six Secrets, Teacup and I got very excited. (In case you don't know about it, check this out: http://www.atlasquest.com/showinfo.html?gBoxId=73523)
We had been posting messages back and forth between Mama Wolf and Steve to see if he would bring it to Maine, but Steve told us he didn't have it in his possession. We were obviously bummed - but let it go.
As he unfolded it and started to explain the guidelines for handling it... as a group we all went into solving overdrive. How were we going to all get together again so we could help solve it? Who was going to have a first crack at it? Dates started flying around - people were thinking about how they could reschedule some things to work in solving this fabulous box. In the end we put everyone's trailname into a box and drew out atvracer's name. So it went home with Jiffy and Scott for the first crack at breaking the code.
We attempted to make a first stab at arranging a date to all get together at HappyDaze's house - but there were too many obstacles - and we really wanted to pull together when we wouldn't be rushed in one evening. So home it went with Jiffy and Scott while Steve continued to discuss the plans for the rest of his weekend. Teacup and I were at the farther end of the table from HappyDaze - Ray specifically. And before long - we were ponied up to give an early morning guided tour of Brunswick. Teacup looked at me and gave me that knowing look of surprise. Without her even saying it I knew she was thinking "Did we just get volunteered to take someone boxing??? We DON'T group box." But he was coming to Brunswick - and it was home turf for us. And yes indeed - we do like the early hours in the day to do our boxing. So while we went home scratching our heads on how we managed to get offered up by our 'friends' we started thinking about which boxes we could actually attempt to get him in a few short hours.
And we did agree - that getting a local driver would make it more beneficial to Steve. So on the ride home, with Miss Veronica soundly asleep on my shoulder... with Ashley safely navigating us homeward - Teacup and I started 'plotting' our Sunday morning boxing adventure with DC Stones. For if nothing else - Teacup has a list!
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