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!