New Hampshire for Lunch

So - while we were plotting and planning our trip to Vermont, somehow I managed to get a destination in Vermont criss-crossed with a destination in New Hampshire.  Trapp Family Lodge in Vermont, in my mind got mixed up with Castle in the Clouds in New Hampshire.  We had even perused the menu at the Castle's restaurant and had our lunch picked out.  Imagine my disappointment when I realized the two were very distinct locations - and no where near each other.  Not that we could have added another stop on our Vermont agenda - so out of the disappointed came the idea for a day trip - planned around LUNCH!

We picked our day, plotted boxes in the area and as usual, headed off at 6am in search of coffee, tea and muffins.  Fueled to start our journey we hit the road and found our way to route 25.  We had recently gotten a message that a box we had attempted previously - had been found by its owner and replanted.  So our first stop was actually in Maine... off to pick some blueberries!  As we knew where the box was supposed to be - we navigated to the location (why we took that dirt road, AGAIN we don't know) with Teacup honking her horn to drive away any four footed locals who might be up with us.

Made it to the location - saddled right up close and yup - there's the box.  Woohoo!  Score on our first stop.  We pulled everything out, got ready for a day of team stamping up, cracked open the box and WTH???  Logbook and first finders prize (an Amazon gift card) but no stamp!!??!!  Teacup and I stared at each other in confusion.  What do we do???  This was our second trip... it had been out and active for eight months without anyone else looking for it (that we know of) - but what do we do?  We signed in, sighed and took the gift card.  Cause you know - we'll be back a third time to get the intended image (it's blueberries and we want the image!)  ***This morning - heard from the box owner, they realized their mistake - when removing the HH - they also took the stamp.  They put it back at 10:30, yesterday - but that was 3 1/2 hours too late for us.*** Oh well - off to the border.

Our intended day planner had 45 possible boxes on our list... we knew we wouldn't get them all, but since most of them were cemeteries, we wanted to have enough to try and find.  So we made our way to our first location and woohoo!  This time we scored.  Granted the box was just laying out in the open and not really elusive - but we had our first official ink at 8:11 am.  Feeling like we were back on track off we went in search of dead people.  Now - there have been towns where cemeteries have totally eluded us - but I had our list of visited plotted in order of location and they were mapped out on our trusty gazetteer.  We felt like we had a good day mapped out.

Our first cemetery stop was a success.  Found the school bus, found the box.  Next we were looking for a cemetery between private property and a "Bible" church.  I thought that was the name - so we zoomed right past it and had our first u-turn of the day!  Pulled up next to it, walked across the cemetery and pulled out the box.  Another one in the win column.  We headed off towards those golden arches calling to us... time for a quick stop to pick up Sweet Tea.  We had determined that the most expensive had been purchased to date in Falmouth, Maine - but West Ossipee topped the ticker!  Our liquid gold dang near cost us the kingdom!  But we were ready to head off again. So we pulled across the street and located our next location.  A defunct water treatment center?  With stadium seating?  Nope - an old water park... currently a mosquito breeding ground.  We followed the directions... Teacup headed into the woods at said location and no luck?  Back to the car to get the clues - back into the location... pushing, moving, rearranging debris.  Most of the boxes we were searching for hadn't been found in a couple of years - so we didn't want to give up too quickly.  Yup - about three feet away from it's intended location Teacup hit plastic!  Inked up and put back in its proper spot, we headed off for our next location.

Found the covered bridge - yup, it's up on blocks - not over the river... a very strange site for sure.  But it helped us find the location for our next cemetery.  We went towards the location and sighed... not a good sign.  Fresh chainsaw marks on one of the twin sisters.  :(  All around where the box was supposed to be had been recently cleaned out.  If this box had been out - like others had been, it was gone.  Our first MIA.  We paid our respects to a lost box and moved along.  Now this is where the fun/foolishness started.  I knew the Sportsman's Club was on the next street - so we tooled our way out there...(sorry dude, we don't pick up sketchy looking hitchhikers who look like a serial killer.) Found the location, found the signs, found the intended 'log' or what was left of it - but no box.  Bummer.  Another one off the list, but not as a find.  So we looked at our list and started to work on what was next.

We had a five box series that I knew only 2 were viable.  It probably would have helped - and saved us some miles/time had I denoted which ones... oops.  So we went to the first location, nuthin.  Navigated to the second, still nuthin.  The third one... amazingly enough heading down the road we had been on for the Sportsman's Club... we pulled over to let the local police drive by as we wiped out our trusty map to act like we were lost (sometimes it's not an act) and made our way to the box.  Teacup found the box... "I have a riddle for you... why did the turkey cross the road?"  "I have no idea."  "To get away from the Teacup looking for a box!"  "Didn't you see it running across the road?"  "Nope, I was busy trying to figure out our next destination." Box back in its place and no more turkeys running wild... we headed off for number 4.  I was sure this one would be MIA... it was at the end of someone's driveway and close to their mailbox.  Nope we didn't look remotely suspicious roaming around granite markers on the side of the road???!!!  But there it was - get out!  So we stamped it up and opted to attempt #5 on a different section of the loop... heading BACK to West Ossipee, we headed north to Chocorua (How do you say that???)

Next one was supposed to be high on a hill with a (lonely goat, oops - wrong state again.) big old billboard.  This one was a bit tricky - I was sporting flip flops (don't judge - we were doing cemetery boxing, I didn't think I'd need my trekking poles!) so Teacup climbed the hill - after crossing route 25 taking her life in her hands and they were already full of logbooks and ink.  Score, second one found and re-hid properly... this one was out sunning itself in the morning sun!  But we felt like we were back on track... or as close as we usually get.  Our next location had been listed as retired, but actually found twice since the last box edit... so what the heck.  We'll give it a whirl.  It was at an old Catholic Church... now named Rutabaga?  What kind of vegetable is that anyways?  Do we really want to eat it?  And why would you pick that name for an arts center in a Catholic church?  Do rutabagas attend service on a regular basis??  Consider us properly confused... but that aside - Teacup found the box!  Woohoo!

Next up - going to find Karly's bunnies.  We found our location and was saddened by the loss of a life at five years old.  After finding what we intended - we thought we should leave something else, specifically for Karly.  So we planted some 'flowers' in hopes to soothe her life lost so young.  Onward we headed.  We found our new location - which felt like it had just been rained on - luckily we had been dodging rain showers most of the morning - though some of the clouds looked positively ominous at times.  But off we trekked, getting wet toes (or at least I did) and quickly turning into the mosquito's morning snack!  There were supposed to be two in this location - but one was questionable.  We followed the directions - Teacup heading off for the one that had been found recently - and me searching for the one that was questionable.  Swatting as fast as we could with one hand while we dug around with our second... mine was quickly determined as MIA.  Off to help Teacup - tap, tap... she hit plastic!  We quickly stamped up and replaced the box... we had donated enough to the local indigenous fauna!  Back out and to the car - swapping the visitors out of the car that thought they wanted to move along with us.

We had one more stop in the area before we had to work our way to our lunch destination.  We had to cut our path in half - but lunch was our reason for coming to the area... unfortunately, nature had put all those mountains in our direct path - so we would need to circle around them to get to where we were heading.  But heading back into town we stopped to enjoy what was hailed as the most photographed and painted view in the area.  We pulled in, stopping on the correct side so as to not roust the local police for parking on the wrong side of the road - and yup - one spectacular view was in front of us.  Probably amazing in the fall for sure!  Teacup trotted off for the box - while I played photo taking tourist as our cover.  After an initial fight - Teacup managed to wedge the box free from its location.  But wait??!!  The image is all green??  Now we were in the Green Mountain state in May - and New Hampshire is NOT it.  So we took out our stamp cleaner and gave the image some proper color to represent to wonderful view before us... yup we are color rebels!  But I bet our image looks better than yours :)  LOL

So looking at the map - and heading south I told Amber how to travel.  Wait a minute?  How did we end up here?  Damn - left, right.  They are so confusing.  But since we were essentially traveling in an oval all day - circling the mountain - we just made it work.  And wouldn't you know it - found another box (that had been slated for the end of our day... it works.)  But Cora was in need of an assist.  Her logbook had been ruined... and needed a new one.  I had packed it (with little cats on the cover) and was ready to do my aid mission.  And Cora was charming!  But we wanted a cat that matched its new logbook - not plain black.  We ended up with a tiger cat!  Totally awesome!  All fixed up and put back in her location we continued south.  And wouldn't you know it - there it was Green Mountain Furniture!  Just like in the commercials... that we see over and over and over and over again.  Why this location doesn't have a stamp of a recliner at it is completely unknown to me... it screams plant me!  I just didn't have the time to carve a recliner - or I would have planted on there for sure!

Okay - looking at the clock, and realizing time was ticking away - we headed west on Route 171.  Now this is a road you do not want to try and navigate in the winter.  It was dark and winding in the middle of summer - we'd hate to try it in the middle of winter!  But we continued along in search of castle in the Clouds in Moultonborough.  It seemed like it took forever - but most of the road was posted between 30 and 40 mph - so it was about right.  We pulled up - and stopped.  Right in the middle of the road.  Going nowhere.  People were backed up waiting to get into the gatehouse to take the tour.  Now the tour was not on our list - we just wanted lunch - so we continued 2 miles farther west to the access road to our destination.  Up, around, up, around another corner, up, up past a closed brick gate house to OMG!  My younger sister would have been in heaven!  Rolling fenced in pastures as far as you could see.  People parked and hiking everywhere.  Lush green lawns that rolled on and on... but where the heck is the restaurant?  Well - cars had gone further - so, so did we.  Around the corner, past the pond, past the ice cream stand and up and around the hill towards another stone structure - the old paddock.  We drove around - with Amber letting me out to ask a question at the gift shop - to make sure we were in the right location - and then went and parked.

Now this joint was JUMPING!  We went in and gave our names to the hostess.  We had a 20 minute wait - I had planned for that since they were only open for limited hours.  Unfortunately - or later fortunately - they only had the patio open.  I so wanted to eat at one of the tables in one of the stalls.  They looked adorable!  But like so many destination seasonal locations - they clearly didn't have enough staff for the amount of people wanting lunch.  But we were willing to wait.  We pulled up a high hat chair, kicked back - and I gave Amber that look.  "We have a 20 minute wait, then we'll be eating lunch.  We should get a cocktail!"  It hadn't taken a lot to convince her - so I headed towards the bar to find a cocktail list.  Not beer/wine drinkers - we needed something fru fru... a girly girl drink with juices and fun names and laced with forbidden alcohols!  Two people were seated in the dining room which left two openings at the bar.  I grabbed one of the seats and hailed Teacup over to belly up to the bar.  We ready through the list and she ended up getting something with 'blue' in the title, rum and juices.  I got a Clydesdale - which was alcohol shaken with alcohol and laced with Hershey's syrup.  Dessert in a martini glass!  The bartender was wicked busy - everyone wanted something - so we finally got our libations and cheers!  Yum, yum! Chocolate laced fire in a glass :)  Just what the day called for.  So we waited and chatted with those next to us who wanted to know what we had ordered.  Watched as other equally fun things were mixed up by the bartender and then made our way to the patio for lunch.

Now we had been kind of questioning patio dining in the mountains.  We had been fighting the wind all morning (having to rescue clue sheets that had blown out our car windows twice!)  But once out there - it was magical!  The views spectacular!  The breeze - minimal.  The atmosphere - picture perfect!  We had our menus in hand - and as we had searched their website for updated menus - but didn't them - we were kind of worried that what we had wanted wouldn't be there - but woohoo!  Tom Foolery was still on the menu.  We'll take two of those - and order of onion rings to share - and I need a ginger ale (Yeah - my drink was long gone, while Teacup was still navigating through hers.)  we sat back - waiting for our lunch and enjoyed the atmosphere around us.  Okay - as a person with a Food Service Management BA - I probably knit picked what was going on a little bit... but at one point the manager did come out and started to bus the tables.  The wait staff was busy hustling food, lots of beverages and taking photos of all sorts of groups of people visiting.  The patio was charming, they had lovely latticed planters filled with yellow and purple flowers (black thumb here, you're lucky I knew they were flowers,) and an overflowing pot of lush basil (yup - that one I know - you cook with it!)

Lunch arrived - pretty quickly I might add - and we tasted.  It was so worth the trip.  The sandwich was hot, tasty and satisfying.  The onion rings were crunchy and hot.  Everything you wanted in a perfect lunch.  While we still say the best sandwich we ever had was in a country store in the middle of Hope, Maine - this one had alcohol and a killer view to sway it into the top spot as a destination location for lunch.  I will say - the slaw was kind of disappointing... Teacup mentioned it was left over greens shaved on a mandolin and tossed into a ramekin.  Yup - it needed help.  But it was crunchy, cold and not wilted... so okay - we came for the sandwich - not the slaw.  (Tom Foolery is a hot turkey sandwich with melted brie, bacon and a cranberry chutney on grilled artisan bread.)  Gobble, gobble, gobble.  Tom never tasted so good.  Okay - now that lunch had been had - we needed to get back to work.  A quick stop at the gift shop - I picked up a hat pin, Teacup a purple shirt. Add a couple pricey chocolate bars and we were off to find the box that was supposed to be here.  We found the starting point - after which things got sketchy.  We back tracked - we went forward - we had people looking at us like we had two heads (even with me snapping photos as a diversion.)  When you look like you want to climb into the woods in the middle of a parking lot filled to capacity with people going in a hundred direction - people look at you funny.

We went and looked at the gigantic trout (didn't see those but saw LOTS of well-feed ducks.) and took photos of the bronze statures nearby.  We plotted around looking to get a bead on where to go... but came up elusive.  I had a box I wanted to plant - so Teacup fetched the car - still looking to see if we needed to pursue the box further - and headed off to find my location.  With people everywhere - horseback riders going back and forth on the trails, carriages being pulled up the road, and cars driving everywhere... I opted to head to a spot that was a bit quieter.  Over by the horse stables it was a little less frantic.  I headed off down a trail - waited out two muggles - and found a spot.  So if you happen to head to Castle in the Clouds (lunch is recommended - just give yourself enough time.) there should be a box that's a bit more straight forward to find.  We bid adieu and headed back down the hill... on to our next box.

Next up was a total unknown.  It was listed as adoptable on LBNA - but we were going to give Chilli Willi a try.  After all - how hard can a find at a boat launch be?  Well - first you need to find the boat launch.  And since were we now boxing backwards to how I had plotted our trip - we were also looking for cemeteries in all the wrong places.  We pulled off - nope, wrong cemetery... continue along.  Who can afford these freaking mansions???  I want to know what they do for a living!  Made it to the boat launch - and it was well guarded by the launch host.  Didn't know anything existed.  So we pulled it - found the sign referenced and parked.  The locals removing their boat from the water gave us a weird look - no wonder.  We were clearly parked in a no parking area.  So we moved the car and went off looking for the box.  We found poor little Willi nestled up to a rotting log, quickly being consumed by decay.  So we pulled him out, dusted him off - and since he was an adoptable box - moved him to a new home.  Feeling satisfied as our rescue mission was a success - we headed off to our next box.

Still in search of Shaw Cemetery - we headed off looking, and driving, and turning around.  So the local dead people are starting to hide from us... but wait!  We need that pocket park.  Another u-turn and into  the pocket park we travel.  We found the park to be charming.  James D Sutherland Memorial Park is a hidden gem.  Lots of benches, lovely flowers, a picnic table by the water when you can drop your line and do some fishing.  We found some lovely Lady Slippers - hidden only by one oak leaf.  They were elusive... but Teacup is amazing and can find anything!  Even under a solitary oak leaf!  We stamped up, hid it better than we found it and moved along.  A quick look at the map - and noting signs - we took a turn down one road - still looking for Shaw Cemetery... nothing.  So take this road which leads to this roads which takes back to Route 25 and from there we can get to our next boxes.  Okay - good as done.  We turn down the first road and what the heck??!!  There's this HUGE white statue up on a pedestal up on a hill at the corner of someone's house.  Of course you need to stop so I can take a photo.  So I hop out of the car so Teacup can do another u-turn so I can get a photo of "Niobi" - a statue that was rescued and refurbished after they had found it headless.  She is a gleaming white goddess that takes you by surprise as she's huge and completely out of place in this countryside setting.  But we bid Niobi goodbye and ventured along.

Okay - so our next two clues are supposed to be close to each and on the same road.  One mentions not feeding the reindeer (what???) and the other references a Chapel.  Well - as would be our luck - we found neither the chapel or the reindeer, but we did find the cemeteries.  The first one had us rambling through the cemetery needlessly - just to bring us back where we parked... but oh well.  No worries.  The second had us driving up a driveway clearly marked no trespassing, private property.  We took a deep breath and turned into the driveway anyways.  Followed it around the corner - not feeling real good about it - and found the location.  When I read that 'the residents might come over and chat with us' Teacup and I opted to pass on even looking... Had the box said - Planted with Permission - first in the clues - we might have felt marginally better.  But truly - we don't have a great track record of chatting up the local indigenous inhabitant outside of Maine.  I don't think they understand our syntax.  Maybe our accents are too thick.  Maybe we dress funny.  But we never seem to make them understand us - so we tend to avoid them at all costs.  Never did see any reindeer...so with one find and one pass we headed northward.  We wanted to collect a couple more before our clock ran out of daylight.  Off to find a covered bridge.

Now - as you might remember - covered bridges tend to be a bit elusive for us.  But i had an address for this one.  And it's supposed to actually be over a bridge and FUNCTIONAL.  How hard could it be to find a bridge??  The bridge - not so hard.  It was the elusive next cemetery.  And the roads - I think I lost my kidney on one short dip/turn we had to take.  And people LIVE on these roads?  Granted - some of the houses had views to die for... but traveling the roads could literally kill you in bad weather.  We were pretty sure that their taxes were being put to work in far off untraveled parts of the universe.  But we are but visitors to this strange land.  So a bridge under our belt, dead people intent on hiding, and the roads becoming questionable - I tried to navigate us back to a paved surface.  We did manage to find one cemetery on these back roads - one that was more well-maintained than some we have seen in urban settings.  We collected our image - and tried to piece together to destroyed box (we didn't have anything remotely large enough to hold its contents - and then arranged the rocks around it to hold everything in place.  So if you happen to be anywhere near Pease Hill Cemetery - it desperately needs a new lock n lock.

We finally made it out to Chinook Trail - aka Route 113A.  Our next destination would have been easier to get to via the cross roads - but we might never have made it - so we took the long way around and sound this charming little chapel on the corner of the road.  And wouldn't you know it - we fell into one of our cemeteries.  Since it was so accessible - we pulled in and stamped up.  Continuing on - and running out of time - we had 3 more on our list of 18 left that we absolutely had to get before heading home.  So off we went in search of Ordination Rock.  I thought the rock was on one road, the cemetery nearby - and anything smaller than the Titanic I just can't seem to see from across the street.  So we found our way into the cemetery and picked up a cute little sheep.  We saw this one big rock - thought it might be what we were looking for - but no, just a head/headstone.  Took another look around and determined that Ordination Rock was not in the cemetery.  Back to the car we went out to the cross road and took a left - thinking that it had to be near the cemetery with the same name.  Half a mile later - nothing.  U-turn to head back - we thought we'd try the other direction.  And wouldn't you know it - right across the street from the new section of the cemetery - there it was.  Just about as big as a house (well mine.)  So we pulled over - I climbed to the top with the compass (shake, shake, shaking from the height) and took a compass ready for the box.  Now on top of Ordination Rock is a monument.  And why kids insist on carving into the monument, writing on it with sharpies, etc is beyond me.  If this was in my town - I'd block it off to prevent it from being the party destination of destruction that it has turned into.  The knife gouged letter can never be removed without doing worse damage to the monument - and it's just heartbreaking.  But we climbed back down and found the Hidden Creature we were looking for.

Two of the three off our list - back out to the main road again... I feel like I've been at this intersection before... maybe once, twice possibly three times before.  We headed south - with intentions of looking for box #5 in the series from earlier - but the police were busy talking up a local with their lights flashing - so we thought it best to continue to our last box.  The Littlest PO.  We punched in the address in the gps and followed its directions.  Found it easily enough and it's darling.  I'd feel claustrophobic working inside it... but it probably works well enough for the town.  Our final find under our belt - we turned around and started heading west on Route 25.  We had an hour, plus to get home and we'd had a successful day so far.  But wouldn't you know it... back the way we were headed - we ended up looping back the way we started!  First south to get to the west - we started to turn - and there across the street was the biggest freakin boom box I had ever seen! The sub-woofers on that thing were  ginormous!  One last u-turn to take photos and then we started back towards Maine.

We breathed a sign of contentment as we crossed the border - welcoming us was the sign Maine - The Way Life Should Be.  Yup - we agree.  We drove along - noting how quiet all the towns were for a Saturday night.  Seems rolled up the sidewalks and tucked everyone in early.  We wanted one of the new shakes at Dunkin - but couldn't find a Dunkin until we hit Cornish.  After visiting the Riverside Cemetery across the street and leaving a little something behind - we went over to Dunkin.  Sorry - no can do.  Might have a sign out front advertising them - but they weren't making them tonight in Cornish... so we ambled along.  The restaurants we jumping with business.  Seems everyone wanted pizza.  The ice cream places were quiet (probably would be busy after dinner was over - but it was a chilly 70's - so maybe not.)  Some kid was swimming in the Limerick Rapids - where is her parents???  It's darn cold out to be swimming in the rivers!  Finally found a Dunkin making shakes in Standish and each ordered a medium chocolate - yes to the whipped cream - no to the sprinkles.  He handed them to us and holy Hannah!  A medium in Dunkin eyes is a large in mine.  But they hit the spot - satisfied our craving for dessert (okay - so it was technically also our dinner) and we headed home.

Finally home in Brunswick - it was another glorious adventure in the Team MudCup mobile.  Wonder where the next one will be?  Until then - here's wishing everyone a safe and Happy 4th of July!  have a great day!  Enjoy your family!  be thankful for your freedom - and if possible - get a little bit inky!

Day three taking on Vermont

Believe it on not - we slept in on day three.  Heading out around 6:00 - we made our first stop to get breakfast.  We had a busy day planned and didn't want to go into a mindless spiral because we forgot to eat - so after getting fueled up - we went across the street and planted a box.  That task down - we started traveling south.  Our first stop - To try and not 'get galvanized.'  We managed to achieve our task and then pointed the car in the direction of Punjab Springs.  This stop satisfied two passions for us in one stop - early morning ink and covered bridges.  To this point - our bridge tally was painfully low.  And one specific one we had wanted to visit we knew would have to be visited another time.  But we visited and inked up.  Starting our day of well.

After we stamped up we continued along and just HAD to stop.  Where else would we see a gorilla holding a Volkswagen in the air??  I took photos and started to chuckle.  Amber looked at me like I had two heads.  "Wait, I have something int he trunk that will work here."  So I jumped out of the car and grabbed a box I had sitting in the trunk - just waiting for the 'perfect location' to be planted.  Jumping back into the car I showed it to Amber who gave me that look.  You know - the one that says "Honestly?? You actually have a box that works here riding around in your trunk??  What kind of crazy person are you??" kind of look.  So after we wrote some clues and planted the box we tried to get 'back on track."

We had two major stops on our planner for the day - one was Hildene, home to some Lincolns and Bennington.  And in between - many miles to travel before we could even remotely think about heading home.  We needed another day to our weekend - but by day three, we also wanted to be home.  So we drove south and onward to Rutland, not taking the time to stop, well except to take a few photographs.  Evidently, day three of our journey would involve LOTS of random photo opportunities.  While driving through Rutland - we stopped not for ink, but to take a photograph of a giant jug of maple syrup, a train with a skeleton, a 'covered bridge' with a flock of stuffed ducks inside, the MAC Steel mascot, a minion made out of an old barrel of sorts and a wonderfully painted rearing horse at a florist.  We still needed to head further south still to Clarendon.  While plotting our course - we were in search of nearby covered bridges, and this town had one!  So we pulled off the 'exit' and started towards the bridge - only to realize we were on the wrong side... back we traipsed to the highway.  Thankfully the road was pretty clear of traffic as we crossed the four lanes to the other side and found our bridge.  Taking a few photographs and leaving something for future visitors we made our way farther south still on Route Seven.

We plotted our way to Hildene and pulled into the long driveway.  We easily found one as we worked our way up the driveway.  We stopped briefly to enjoy the view on their 'summer cottage' and made our way to the parking area.  The wind and rain had started to pick up and it was kind of biting at times.  Even with our umbrellas - we thought for sure at one point we would have a "Mary Poppins" moment and fly off over the counrtyside.  We walked around the grounds until the weather drove us to give up our search and we headed inside instead to seek shelter out of the weather.  And what we found was a delight!

Now while we didn't manage to tour the house - we did take plenty of time to peruse their gift shop.  They had wonderfully unique gifts of historic nature and just fun in general.  I picked up a birthday present, a gift for Christopher and a few Christmas items to tuck into stockings.  Amber was spending time trying to determine the best book to bring home to her MIL as a gift.  All avid readers - especially of historic literature would find this gift shop to be a true gem.  We made our purchases and then headed back down the long driveway - back to the cemetery to get the couple boxes we needed, a couple more Lincolns and searched for an angel or two.  We found one of a two box series - the other we couldn't find and then headed back down the driveway on route out the correct exit and the final box.  On our way past the gift shop - we stopped again because one of the things I picked up - Teacup thought would make a perfect additional gift - and you can't pass up those perfect gift moments :)

Further south we needed to travel, and by this time - and maybe due to the direction we were traveling, the rain and wind had started to slow down.  Not wanting to miss our 'visitor moments' we took the time to pull off the side of the road to visit a Korean War Memorial along Route 7A.  After paying our respects and leaving some love we continued along with our drive.  And this is where things took a more touristy twist for us.  Just north of Bennington pulled another u-turn to take a photograph of the best dressed bear we had seen in a long time.  But with further discussion - we realized that poor bear was dressed in an old curtain... that Amber was convinced she had hanging in her house growing up :)

We drove through a town that had a building covered in chickens and roosters!  Or course - another u-turn to get more photos!  Especially of the sign that acclaimed "Wicked chickens lay deviled eggs!"  Too freaking funny!  Yet another u-turn had us pulling into the driveway of a seasonal mini golf course that had gnomes on their entrance stone pillars proudly boasting shirts that read "Sun" and "Set."  Mere driveways further was a ceramic/plaster moose painted like a spotted cow!  Of course not to be out done - also in that driveway was a statue of a lion saying "Its raining cats and dogs' that was naturally covered in cats and dogs while wearing a rain slicker while another lion was wearing a Seuss style hat with Thing One and Thing Two running below him!

We finally made it into Bennington... and boy do they like their painted animals!  We stopped, did u-turns and pulled over like crazy people so we could take touristy photographs of all that we saw!  Even the information building had a hand painted painter's palette bigger than anything I had seen hanging on the side of its building.  We continued trying to navigate through the town - trying to get to the monument, stopping for random moose sightings.  At one intersection - we drove through it four times to make sure the little kids all got a donation!  They had to have thought we were two crazy ladies from Maine - escaped from our home - on a wild chase - because one of the reasons we kept going through the intersection was to get a photograph of yet another moose!

Making it through the intersection - we turned the corner as spied the biggest damn ladder-back chair I had ever seen!  Another u-turn!  And low and behold - on top of another building - there was a wayward shark on what I think was a Chinese restaurant??!!  We took our photographs and worked our way further up the hill to the monument.  Between photographs and u-turns - it had taken us almost an hour to get through town... but the laughter and fun was so worth it.

We finally made it to the monument - and guess who's up there?  You guessed it - another moose!  So while Amber tried to get the box - I took photographs of the moose and John Stark and the monument.  I went inside and purchased us tickets to ride to the top - I'm all for seeing the sights - especially if I can get there by elevator!  We took the ride up and look out at the surrounding town.  The skies were bright and clear - so we could see far.  We opened up the windows at one point - and boy did the wind whip through!  Knowing we had still to find the box, back down we went.  We knew where the box was - but others in the area made grabbing it almost impossible.  So we pulled out and circled the monument.  Back around we went, pulling into a different spot in hopes to be a better shield.  We just managed to get the box when a car pulled up and parked practically behind us.  We waited for them to park (in a lot that was almost empty at this point) so that I could maneuver my way back out of our spot.

Bidding the monument adieu, we headed downhill to visit with Robert Frost.  This was also on the -must do - list and we entered the cemetery next to the Old First Church and plotted our way around picking up a few other boxes as we waited out others visiting with Robert.  The skies were clear with puffy clouds rolling past and while Amber took a few moments to seek out one by 'he who shall not be named' - I took a few moments to enjoy the area.  I took a fabulous shot of the church from below and another of the wispy clouds as they rolled past over head.  Yup - laying in the grass in a historic cemetery is always something one should/must do.  Take time to enjoy and absorb the moments as they happen.  Alas - Robert wasn't willing to share what Amber was seeking (we had heard it might be missing but wanted to give it a personal pass) we headed back down the hill.  Stopping to take in a photograph of the Corkscrew Railroad sign and Abe Lincoln himself.

A quick look at the map and we realized we had passed right by one of our destination stops.  So back through that intersection for the fifth time - we made our way to a section just north of Bennington to visit a couple more covered bridges.  Silk Road bridge was lovely - and wouldn't you know it - here were more painted lions!  We took some more photographs and weaved our way through that intersection yet one more time.  But it was worth it - because on the other side - going east this time we found not only a couple more painted moose by the biggest tulips I've ever seen.  And the girl who lost her wooden shoes next to them had to either be Paul Bunyan's girlfriend or a close relative!

Vermont like's big furniture and interesting art.  As we tried to get further along in our journey, we had to stop for a couple more boxes.  One had us meandering past a sculpture of chairs on the corner, displayed in a corner formation!  We made our way back to Molly Stark Byway and managed to capture a photograph of her standing roadside... and while we wanted to stop here and grab a box in the area - it was getting late and we still had many miles to travel to get home.  We meandered through a couple towns and at a particular intersection STOPPED.  For there - on the opposite side of the road - was none other than "A pig on the porch in a picture frame wearing lipstick!"  Now we had been in the car for a long time... and while we stopped and u-turned and took photo after photo - we did more laughing than ever before.  The pig on the porch had us peeling in wave after wave of tear inducing laughter.  No doubt - if anyone was paying any attention to us at all - they would have been convinced we had lost our ever-loving minds!

We made it through the intersection, tears rolling down our cheeks and spotted yet another painted animal!  Now we had a dressed up,painted bear.  Another u-turn, down a side street, I pulled into a parking lot.  For there in the middle of absolutely nowhere - was a port-o-potty!  This was a very exciting thing to find when our friend "Irving gas" didn't seem to be anywhere near.  So we wiped the tears away - had a comfort stop - and turned back up the road to photograph that bear!  We traveled onward - noticing that the sky was getting darker and drearier.  We made it through to the location of Obelisk #1 - high in the hills on the Molly Stark Byway - and wouldn't you know it... not only was it snowing - but there was another big Adirondack chair!  We parked and shuffled out in the cold, the wind and snow whipping past our faces and took a couple "Edith Ann" photographs.  Damn it was cold.  Hustling back into the car we looked at our watches.  We still had over 200 hundred miles to go to get home and it was already closing in on 8pm!

We pulled out the maps and tried to figure out the best way home - all remaining clue sheets were tossed into the back seat and would have to wait until the next trip.  We drove along, chatting about all the adventures we had managed to pack into the weekend.  Trying to figure out what could be the 'best' moments?  We made our way through New Hampshire and we relieved when we finally crossed back over into Maine.  We could hear the sirens calling us homeward.  We were exhausted in the best fashion.  We had seen friends, visited historic locations, taken over 200 photographs, made lots of u-turns, planted 16 boxes for the locals to find, went on 2 factory tours, ran into sun, rain, thunder, wind and snow squalls, pissed off a Canadian and by the time we pulled into our driveway - we had put on 900 miles of traveling laughter and memories.  While we only managed to collect 50 images - yup, an all time low for a 3 day adventure - we had so many more good memories filled with laughter and friendship along the way.

Vermont is a wonderful hostess.  Her people are friendly, the countryside beautiful and the roadside attractions amazingly hysterical at times.  They have historic sites a plenty and some sites that are just plain fun!  While they have their rolling green mountains - they also have lots of lush countryside.  We have lots of boxes still on our list - and we have many more places - and covered bridges - to visit!  We still want to see if we can find those flying monkeys! So we wish to thank Vermont for a fabulous weekend - one of historic proportions - and one that will be hard to out do!  We will return again someday.  But we'll need to rest up first - you might be a small state - but you pack a very BIG vacation into your borders!

Until next time...

Team MudCup in Vermont - Day Two

So after a long first day in Vermont - we had to regroup our original plans once we made it back to the hotel room (of course bidding momma bird goodnight along the way.)  Teacup took a shower - then I did while she pulled out the map/cluesheets and the master notebook.  We had missed a few stops on day one - and we needed to head back before we could go forward.  The problem was - what do we cut out???

As I took a shower - Teacup went to work.  We knew we were meeting friends for breakfast, so we had to get things planned around our 8am breakfast.  Papers were pulled, tossed around, crossed off the list, changed in priority - and then rerouted on the gazateer.  Once again we had a plan.  So finally closing our eyes - we managed to get a nights rest.

Not wanting to lose a moment - we were up bright and early the next morning.  Okay - maybe not so bright, but it was early.  After stopping to fuel up - me, not the car - we headed north.  On our list was a visit to Isle La Motte.  We had a couple on our list - and frankly I just wanted to get as close to the Canadian border as possible without actually crossing it :)  Of course this was NOT Teacup's idea of a fun time and every time we saw a sign that mentioned Canada - deep breathing exercises started to commence in the passenger seat.

But the weather was picture perfect and the drive was fabulous.  After spending part of Friday in the rain and traversing mountains, this area was very different.  No rolling hills, but flat picturesque countryside.  Well maintained lawns and manicured fields, charming towns which rolled into one another and fabulous views of Lake Champlain.  As we crossed the bridge - practically alone, we made an impromptu u-turn so that we could visit the memorial in the center.  The water was serene and the skies were picture perfect.  Dusty clouds danced overhead while we enjoyed a moment to enjoy where we were.

With another u-turn - we continued onto the island.  Gently rolling roads that took us across beautiful and quiet landscapes.  Other than one local - who clearly needed to catch a boat to somewhere - we had the road to ourselves.  We navigated along, just enjoying our early Saturday drive - making our way closer to St. Anne's Shrine.  Once there - it was an amazing sight to behold.  Of course locating the box first - we then took a few minutes to enjoy the shrine.  We also visited the Champlain statue (He was a BIG guy!) which had a wonderful view of the lake.  Being the rebels that we are - we pulled into one of the parking areas that was clearly labeled no parking and took some quick photos - heck - even the birds hadn't had their second cup of coffee yet!

Back we navigated, stopping to take photos of signs and historic locations while we made our way to our next box.  We just had to find out "What does the crew ask the Captain?"  So we meander a bit and find our way to our next stop and are instantly floored.  There had to be close to 500 colorful bird houses hanging all around where this plant was located.  We were mesmerized - we were in awe - it was a colorful magical destination.  Whomever did all of the work - made our trip to South Hero colorfully perfect that morning.  We took photos - even of the whimsical dinosaur playing amongst the birdhouses as we sought that which we were after.  And we did find out the answer... but I'm not telling you - if you want to know - you'll have to visit this magical destination yourself!  But alas, we couldn't dally - we had friends waiting for us and we were behind schedule.

We had another box on our list - but had to pass it up as we were already going to be late to meet up with greenmountainhiker, grrly girl, and early rizr.  So we made our way back across the landscape, stopping to take photos of the breathtaking scenery where we could and bid Isle La Motte goodbye.  We pulled into the parking lot of the diner with no time to spare.  Sure they were waiting for us - we hustled inside to find out that we beat them!  Breathing a sigh of relief, we collected our wits and talked about our already adventurous morning.

We were not to be alone for long - in came our friends and we shared our adventures with them, giving them details of our exploits thus far - and keying them in our plans to come.  We ate a wonderful and hearty breakfast and enjoyed our visit.  No mind you - when Team MudCup slinks into an area - we usually do without notice.  So this was a BIG deal for us.  But we so enjoyed our breakfast and chatting with friends - that it made the break in our usual pattern so worth it.

But we had a list - a very long one - and as it was, we were backtracking to some spots we missed on Friday before we could head south.  While we could have lingered longer - our list was long, and our time was short - so with some guidance from friends - off we went to track down some flying monkeys, a brewery, and some ice cream.

So we pulled out our maps, pulled up clue sheets and set off to get some nearby ice cream.  We navigated to where the gps took us, pulled into the cemetery as the directions led us and stopped short.  There - laying directly in our path - and blocking the stairs that accessed our box below, lay someone snuggled up sleeping in a sleeping bag.  Now - we've seen people sleeping in sleeping bags... but in a cemetery?  At the top of stairs?  Okay?  Not to be deterred - we navigated back around to the lower section and Teacup jumped from the car with clues and boxing supplies in tow.  The plan - I would circle her until she found it and then I'd pick her up again...  but I found a perfect parking spot across the street and waited her out.  She ducked behind stones and found what we needed - scored some early morning ice cream and then I hustled back through the intersection and picked her up so we could venture ahead.

Next up - Lakeview Cemetery.  We had a few we were going to try and collect here... so we pulled out the sheets and started navigating towards our first find.  We took bearings, we walked a bit farther, We looked at stones and enjoyed the view of Lake Champlain.  We read clues and drove in circles,  we pulled out our compass again and counted paces and steps.  We couldn't find daisies or a cardinal - but did manage to locate Artemis and a lovely Civil War medal.  A bit bummed about our lack of success - we opted to leave something for the locals to find.  We took more photos and decided we needed to move along.  Hearing tales of flying monkeys - we drove through downtown Burlington (or what we thought was downtown Burlington) and navigated closer to our next destination.

I had beer on my mind and a stamp itching to be planted.  Traffic had picked up and we slowly navigated our way through the city.  Passing down some wonderful street - trying to figure out why someone wouldn't prune back that claustrophobic evergreen from their porch - enjoying the sunshine on our arms - with the gentle breeze keeping us from over heating while we navigated through traffic.  When out of nowhere - SPLOTCH!  Right dead center in the middle of the driver side of my windshield I was presented a gift which clearly had to have come from one of those professed flying monkeys (which we believed were a myth up until this point.)  To this - all we could do was burst into spontaneous laughter, roll up the windows and set the wipers to try and clear my view.  A few moments and a few choice words to those monkeys - we made it out of the downtown area and headed off to the brewery.

Now - neither of us being beer drinkers - we opted to pass on the whole beer bus tour.  Besides - that would mean talking to people.  Not only that - but we still had boxes to find and places to go - so we took a few snapshots of their wicked cool vans, waited for the power company workers to move out of sight and hastily parked where we were strictly forbidden to do so - company van only parking - yup, we are rebels of the worst order!  But I managed to get my box planted and off we went - of course pulling over to take a picture of their very cool sign - and headed east.

Back-tracking to Stowe... we headed off to pick up where we left off on Friday... with the gazetteer opened - we made our way to try and track down a few on our list and get to a location for another plant.  Back navigating through the rolling hillside - it looked much happier in the sunshine than it had in the rain the night before - we were able to enjoy our drive back to Stowe.  Up the mountains we went - making our way to visit the Trapp Family Lodge.  We played tourist for a bit, taking photos of the lodge and the views before heading back down the hill - pulling over to briefly plant something for future visitors.

Then all hell broke loose!  While chatting and navigating, I rolled through what was clearly a stop sign as a Canadian screamed at me and flailed her arms!  I was a driving cad of the worst nature!  I felt bad - but it was an honest mistake.  I thought the stop was further down the hill and simply rolled though it... I'm sure I'm not the first to do it - and probably not the last - but no one was hurt and that screaming Canadian woman probably had lost her voice over the whole event - but we continued on.  Mea culpa, mea culpa.  Consider me chastised!

But we didn't have time to dwell on the screaming Canadian... we had to move forward.  Onward in search of an Inky Boy, some missed Green Mountain coffee and a few more Civil War images.  We also had a plan to track down a Phantom and a mysterious Tower.  So off we went.  Looking at our watch - we realized time was quickly ticking away.  So we opted to grab some coffee first.  Okay - we skipped the coffee and had a yummy snack instead.  But we were good - we did split it!

Fueled up - we were ready to tackle a few more clue sheets.  We went in search of a few more boxes and realized we needed to completely reroute our trip from what we had planned.  But we worked our way south.  Finding some, not finding others and of course planting a few along the way.  As we stopped to pick up a few more Civil War images, we plotted around the cemetery while a solo gentleman purposefully plotted from one grave site to another.  Placing flags upon those fallen while protecting our country.  We had to stop and go around him, but we also felt like we should stop and help him.  At one point - our paths could only cross - so we did offer to help him complete his task.  He very politely declined our offer.  He must have had a process in his head as he navigated from one section to another.  But it allowed us a moment to pause and be thankful for those that had given so greatly so that we could have the freedom to travel to cemeteries such as the one we were in and do what we were doing.  We managed to make our way out of the cemetery, leaving him to finish his honorable task in the sun's basking silence.

 Further south we tracked, the sun was sinking lower in the skies and clouds were beginning to darken by the time we made it into Middlebury.  We went off in search of a place to spend the night.  Thankfully - even with 2 school buses in the parking lot, we found a room.  After we registered - we took a quick drive so I could take a photograph for Christopher and then started to look for a place to have dinner. We had officially run out of steam - so we just headed back to the hotel.  As we unloaded our gear, the skies started to open up.  We made it in, went down to the hotel bar/dining area and ordered our dinner to go.  Back in our room, we ate - which turned out to be a pretty good meal and set out to regroup for the next day.  We had pages and pages of clues we had missed or decided to pass on to ferret through.

With dinners finished, showers taken and feeling satisfactorily tired - we started to plot and plan day three of our grand adventure.  I wonder where we'll head to on Sunday?  Don't you?

PAL Day observation

So it's PAL day!  The happiest day for letterboxers because shiny new boxes show up for us to find... well during my day planting - I was brought back to reality while trying to plant my PAL day box.

When Teacup and I were in Vermont, we stopped into a cemetery and watched an older gentleman meander the rows of a cemetery, placing flags at the stones of veterans.  We watched him - kept him in our vision as we were trying to pick up a series planted in that cemetery.  But we both mentioned what an honor it was to see those pristine new flags waving valiantly at those that served our country in its defense.

We took a moment to chat with him - we even offered to help him finish the cemetery - to which he politely declined our offer.  He obviously had a system - which we would have messed up - but more importantly - after talking to another man doing the same yesterday - I realized - we probably would have taken a piece of his way to pay his respects to each fallen comrade he visited.

We wanted to hug him, help him - but he moved along and so did we.  But yesterday - I had a chance to chat with another Veteran who was also laying flags at stones.  He had been doing it since 1949!  He told me - that when he started - there were about 200 flags that he placed flags at in the cemetery we were in.  This year he was placing more that 1000!  He was holding one of the veteran flag holders in his hand and we were talking about those as well.

He told me that about five years ago close to 500 of them had been stolen from the cemetery - the person was taking them to be melted down for the metal in them.  So now, when they had to replace them - they got a plastic composite one instead.  Stealing a veterans marker out of a cemetery is a federal crime - yet it happens all the time.  And it's sad - profoundly disturbing to think that a person thinks that melting down those markers for quick cash is remotely more important that what that marker stands for.  That veteran did his or her service to our country, to defend our rights and its a silent symbol that shows just a minute amount of respect they deserve for their service.

So while it's PAL day... and folks are out planting and making happy listings, take the time to respect that which is around you.  Whether its a cemetery or a trail - someone has done some sort of service to create a space where we can go out and plant a box - to enjoy our country and our hobby.  I still want to find that veteran from yesterday - who again turned down my offer of assistance.  He had his list - and he was going to diligently crossing those names off - replacing those markers that were missing, straightening those up that suffered over the winter's weather - and silently paying a respectful prayer at each site.  I just want to once again - tell him thank you for what he was doing yesterday - and for the service he did four our country in the 1940's.  And give him a big hug.

Team MudCup takes on Vermont - Day One

So let me start by saying - we had been plotting and planning this trip for weeks.  It all started a year ago when I realized Friday the 13th was in May.  The perfect time for me to plot a weekend adventure - if I had someone to join me :)  Last year on Friday the 13th - I spent it on an island with my daughter planting 3 series in the rain.  It was fabulous... but this was going to be better.

I proposed my idea to Teacup - and she gave me that look.  If you've ever met her - you know the look.  The one that says "Are you freaking out of your mind???"  "You want me to do what???"  "You know that's NOT in Maine, right???"  You know - THAT look.  But the one thing Teacup does really well is be a supportive friend.  Even when that friend makes her do things she really doesn't want to do (get in a speed boat driven by a crazy person, help plan events when she has to meet all sorts of new people and go over the border to other states.) So after I got the "You REALLY want to do that?" question a couple of times, with a great big sigh - she resigned herself to the mercy of being my partner in crime as we tackled - VERMONT!

Now mind you - going over the border is a BIG deal for Teacup... each time we've resigned ourselves that the need was there to cross the border - there are a few rituals we must observe.  One: the state Gazetteer must be purchased.  Because I don't care how much you all rely on those gps gadgets - ours usually leads us to a path along a long dirt dead end at some point.  The map is golden and has gotten us out of many misdirected gps advice.  Two: clues, clues, and more clues are printed.  While I usually like to spare the trees - for an epic adventure - proper amount of paper/ink must be spent in order to plan the perfect trip (with at least 100 more boxes printed than humanly possible to achieve - just to be on the safe side.) Three: planning meetings.  Many, many, many planning meetings... in the car, at the bar, along the trail and in the kitchen... via e-mail, via phone calls and messages written in the sky!  LOTS of meetings - usually each starting with, can we add this?  Four: deciding where or what we want to plant.  Because we try to be good stewards to areas we visit.  You plant for us to bring us there - so we try to leave a thank you or two or fifteen along our journey.

So we prepped, we plotted, we planned.  Teacup mapped out our boxes (on our gazetteer of course with post-it flags for every box!), our routes (in multiple colors because we changed our route a couple times) and had a detailed timeline.  We gathered our clothes (extra socks and shoes a must), pulled together trail magic supplies, had a bag full of boxes to plant and a bag full of HH's to add to boxes.  We had snacks and water.  We had phones charged (with numbers of our Vermont buddies on speed dial in case we needed bail money) and fill the car's tank up with gas.  We were READY!  Now bring on Friday the 13th!

Friday morning I picked up Teacup at 5am sharp.  Not wanting to loose a moment - we had everything placed in the car in the perfect order - things needed immediately in reach, trash bag ready for the empty sweet tea and coffee cups.  The gps plugged in and our first location added (after we added Vermont as a state - LOL.)  We knew we had a long drive in our future - so off headed to South Portland.  We were going to get a mug-up at IHOP to make sure we'd last that first 100+ miles before our first ink.

We pulled into IHOP - and it wasn't open??!!??  WTF?  Didn't they get the memo that it was the start of our epic journey???  Well damn.  Barely out of the driveway and we've already had a change in our plans... not to be defeated early - we adjusted.  Dunkin to the rescue (should have just grabbed it in Brunswick to begin with!).  So with coffee and hot tea in hand - muffins in the bags - we set out once more.  (Please note, first of many, many uncharted, unplanned, unplotted u-turns in our future.)  We headed west, we headed north, we headed north west.  We crossed the first state line and a shudder of goodbye to Maine could be felt in the passenger's seat.  (Mind you - normally Teacup drives and I navigate.  But we were heading in to much farther uncharted territory - and realistically - I didn't want Teacup's car just up and stopping at the border - so I offered to drive this time.) We continued along.  Stopped for a coffee refill and to make sure those left at home had managed to get up and go to work/school without us. (Because truly we know they can't survive without us, right!)

We chugged, we churned.  Teacup gripped the map, the folder of clues and her notes in a death grip - until out of nowhere came what would turn into our trip's chant.  Teacup randomly said "Look!  Dead people.  Can I get an Amen!"  To which we both raised our hands in the air and said rather boisterously 'AMEN!"  With that - we knew we were going to have a fabulously foolishly mis-adventurously epic weekend!  The next state border sneaked up on us... and before we knew it we were heading off to our first box.

St. Johnsbury welcomed us and we visited the "First Normal School."  It was still early - and we had to get into our boxing groove.  The bugs were out in force to greet us as well.  After taking the time to do some much needed clean up - we picked up the image and moved along.  Our next stop was one that made the cut, then was cut, then added back to the list of potential stops during our planning trip.  In the end we were very glad we ended up stopping to visit Pom Pom on Dog Mountain.  Now mind you - both members of Team MudCup are cat owners - not dog owners.  But we can appreciate the love of ones animal.  And this location is truly an amazing tribute to man's best friends - be them dogs, cats, horses or ferrets.  We climbed the mountain and spied a big blue bird swinging in the tree.  Further up a flying dog angel heading over the local fire hydrant.  And of course - our first wonderful view of the green mountain state.  After inking up - back down to visit the chapel.  In awe - we stepped into the chapel and were floored by what we found.  After taking the time to appreciate our surroundings, Teacup left her own tribute to a departed family friend before heading off to the gift shop.  And our first encounter with those friendly and chatty locals.  We enjoyed the art, Teacup picked up a couple gifts for her Toys for Tots stash and we moved along.

Landing in St. Johnsbury we just had to stop at the Maple Syrup museum (one of 5 we ended up seeing along our trip) to start our debauchery.  We originally drove past this location - but turned around as an evil plot formed in our minds.  We pulled into the strange little parking areas, looked into the 'museum building' and Teacup ducked into the gift shop to distract anyone inside while I tucked a box in the area.  The stamp image - Maine Maple Syrup, of course!  We laughed like fools at our foolish little coupe as we looked around and picked up a few tidbits in the gift shop.  Maple candy, maple tea and partook of a few free sample (bring on our first sampling of the day - not to mention an instant sugar RUSH!)

Looking at our watch - we were happily ahead of schedule and headed off in search of our first tour. Cabot Creamery greeted us along with a persistent shower.  We donned our blue booties, watched the informational video and then followed our tour guide on the quick factory tour.  They have some wonderful murals in their factory for you to enjoy as you stroll through.  A definite must tour for a cheese lover - after ditching our booties we saddled up to the cheese bar.  We nibble, we nibbled some more, we tried all the cheese flavors (my favorite was the Alpine Cheddar) and tasted the honey Greek yogurt (not yet in stores) and popped a handful of cheese covered popcorn in our mouths.  More nibbles of those cheesey tidbits - new toothpicks for each sample, please.  And we opted to head along... we found out that we could pick up our not in all stores flavor pretty locally to us... Portland has a Cabot 'outlet' store in the Old Port.  Who knew??? Not us.  Go figure!

We wanted to plant at the factory - but there just wasn't a viable location.  So we headed back to our main travel route.  And low and behold "Can I get an Amen!  AMEN"  Dead people gave us an option to plant a cheese little mouse.  With two plants under our belt, we were beginning to get on a roll.  Consulting the map and the 7-page list, we headed off to the location from which the whole weekend had been planned.  Hope Cemetery in Barre, Vermont.  Destination central on a Friday the 13th!  Where else would a letterboxer want to be on Friday the 13th but in a cemetery - and an epic one is even better.  This cemetery is home to some incredible monuments.  Stone carved into soccer balls, planes, cars, people in beds and other amazing works of stonemanship.  We picked up the images we could find in the series and came up with a loss for another in the same location.  The rain was getting heavier, and we started to hear the rumblings of thunder rolling around us.  Time to move along....

Next stop - another epic must have in a Vermont trip - Ben & Jerry's.  We went inside and did the tour, sampled ice cream - and much to Teacup horror - opted to pass on buying more ice cream.  The lines were crazy and the rain was getting heavier.  We need to get those inky boxes waiting for us.  The first 2 were easy pickings - though they both required trail magic as they hadn't weathered the winter and the logbooks were a complete loss.  We moved on to another one in the parking lot before heading off to the Flavor Graveyard.  Final resting place of those dearly departed flavors.  ***A moment of silence for your favorite flavor that is no more - mine being White Russian with Buzz *** Heads bowed and umbrellas held high - we entered the hollowed grounds... okay - it's a flavor graveyard... so we found our required 'stones' and got our bearings on where we needed to find more ink.  And wouldn't you know it... muggles.  Don't they know it's raining???  So we waited them out in the car - umbrellas at the ready to replant when they had their backs turned and umbrellas blocking our actions.

We had another a few other places on our list - places we thought might be interesting.  So up our first dirt mountain road we headed to visit the Crash at Camel's Hump.  Really??  People live on this road?  They have to take a walking bridge to get to their house?  And it's probably the very last road plowed in the winter... probably another reason why everyone we passed with local plates was driving a 4-wheel drive!  Up, up, up.  Corners, turns, bumps in the roads.  We made it to the top - and couldn't figure out where to start... due to the rain - the daylight was waning  - we opted to head back down the hill before the rain washed us down the hill.  Green Mountain coffee called to us from a local train station... or at least that's what we thought we heard.  By the time we got there though - it was closed :(

By this time - it was getting darker, the rain was getting heavier and we had an hours drive to our hotel.  One whole town just got axed from our trip!  Off we headed to Burlington.  The fog was hanging in the mountains like it was tucked in pockets of a shirt.  Whale tails drifted past us in the fog.  By the time we made it to our hotel - we were ready to have a bit of a rest (and a cocktail!)  We dropped our stuff and headed across the street for a late night dinner.  And it was YUMMY!  The asiago cheese sticks were perfect and the portions HUGE!  After a day of dietary blockage - we opted for cleansing cocktails - high on cranberry juice and champagne.  It's amazing how happy a cocktail after a long day can make one.  We ambled back to our room and said good night to our guardian mother bird.  Showers and tucked in for the night - Teacup and I adjusted our plans... we couldn't complete cut out Stowe... a new plan ready to go... we said goodnight to Vermont and thanked them for a fabulous first day!  Join us tomorrow for day two's adventures.

United Way Loaned Executive Experience

First - let me start by saying that I had been primed to do this for three years.  I had been our building Division Manager and had handled the campaign for close to 1000 employees each year - so I thought I knew what I was getting into by having my leader nominate me to be a Loaned Executive for United Way.  I couldn't have been more wrong.


At LL Bean - you have to be nominated to be a Loaned Executive for United Way.  Once you are nominated by your Supervisor - it then has to be blessed by your Manager and then your Division Vice President BEFORE it even makes it to Staffing.  They then sort through the applications and interview only the best nominated employees.  And the interview process is hard.  It's an hour interview done by a panel of previous Loaned Executives from LL Bean the year prior, plus facilitators from Staffing and Employee Development.  And the questions make you think and do some serious soul searching.  If you didn't have a remote connection to United Way - you wouldn't make it through the interview process.

LL Bean loans out four employees to area United Way agencies.  Greater Portland, Androscoggin County and Mid-Coast Maine.  They also ask you where you'd prefer to work.  Since I live and grew up in Brunswick - I of course told them Mid-Coast was my first option, but I'd go anywhere they decided.  I figured I was a shoe-in for Mid-Coast.  After all - I had a recommendation from one of the Mid-Coast United Way Board Members requesting me as part of their campaign.  So when I got the call that I was picked for Greater Portland - I thought, "Okay?  How bad can it be?"  The first thing I had to do was attend the cocktail reception at Maine Health in Portland. 


Now I work in a Distribution center... I wear jeans and t-shirts.  In the summer shorts and t-shirts.  Sneakers are the normal footwear everyday.  And I had to leave work and head to a 'cocktail reception' with United Way board members, staff, and the other Loaned Executives.  I had to first FIND dress clothes... I think I own some.  But where are they?  I haven't been to something dressy - well, since my wedding!  But I dug out a dress, painted my toe nails as I was wearing sandals and found my best looking sandals... even those are mostly more well-worn than dressy.  But they'd have to do.  Dressed up as best as I could pull off - I drove into Portland - hot on the heels of everyone I work with telling me they'd never seen me in a dress before...


Maine Health is housed in the old Sear building - a non-nondescript brick three story building next to the Civic Center.  It looked like every other brick building in Portland - and the last time I had been in it was probably in the late 70's when it was still the Sears building.  I opened the door and walked into an atrium of three floors of 'offices' over-looking their sky lit common meeting area one floor below ground level.  Every level was draped in lush ivy and the natural light made me feel like I wasn't in an office building at all.  It was spectacular.  After I closed my gaping mouth - found my name tag - managed to remember to get my parking validated - I headed downstairs to see what I was getting myself into.  I was never so excited to see a familiar face as I was to see Mara.  She had been our Loaned Executive the year before and I headed straight for her.  I had a moment to gather what little wits I had - looking around at the wine and beer bar and the finger appetizers strategically perched around the room.  But in my mind all I could think was - "I don't do cocktail parties.  I cater them, heck I could even serve the drinks, but I'm not usually one attending them."


So people started to slowly fill the area.  Everyone was wearing name tags - but they were all different colors.  Green, blue, black and I had no idea what any of them meant. I quickly looked at mine to see what color it was - but just as quickly forgot.  People were beginning to gather.  Men dressed in suits and ties, sophisticated women in dresses all flashing pearly white smiles.  They migrated towards the bar and picked up their glasses of wine or microbrews and I continued to wander around like a lost soul. 


I was introduced to a few people - other Loaned Executives mostly but then was left to my own devices.  Oh gawd... I hate mingling.  I hate small talk.  I'm better at being behind the scenes - comfortably cooking the cute little appetizers they were serving.  But I managed to weave my way to the bar and pick up my glass of ginger ale.  High test as it was served with lime.  I didn't dare eat anything - because knowing my luck - I'd be the one with spinach caught between my front teeth for the whole thing - and that was one impression I could seriously do without. 


After about thirty minutes of excruciating mingling - people started to make small speeches.  And surprise - all of the Loaned Executives got to get up and tell why they were a Loaned Executive, what company sponsored them and why they supported United Way.  Stars started to flash before my eyes.  I was getting fuzzy.  Speak in front of people I'd never met - or barely met.  This could only result in a sudden implosion of my brain.  And lucky me - having Stevens as a last name - I got to go almost last.  So the others slowly started to get up and do their little introduction.  In my head I kept repeating - "You work at LL Bean, you work at LL Bean" because that was the one thing I really didn't want to forget in front of everyone.


They were eloquent.  They were poised.  I was a shaking mess.  Time ticked away, my heart rate started to pound in my ears, louder and louder.  I hate public speaking.  I can do it when I know about it - but impromptu - I feel a stroke starting to surface.  I'm going to pass out.  I'm going to trip going up the steps they were using as a stage.  I can't do this.  Hyperventilation was quickly working its way through me.  And then they called my name.  I navigated through the group and up two steps.  Didn't trip, still breathing and I started to speak.  I think I mentioned LL Bean.  I think I mentioned United Way was personal to me.  I think I said a few other things. But frankly - its a big black hole in my memory.  I finished and stepped back down and tried to fade into the crowd. 


The last person spoke and we mingled some more.  I had lasted a little more than an hour in a two hour reception.  I had to break free.  I said my thanks to the couple of people I knew and mentioned that I had to get home.  I lived in Brunswick and had the longest commute.  I smiled, and tried to not run back up the stairs to get out of that reception.  I walked - as calmly as possible back to my car.  Out of my sandals and back into sensible shoes to drive.  I sat for a moment to collect my breath.  What on earth was everyone thinking???  This is not me.  I should be in Mid-Coast.  I'm so far out of my comfort zone it's not funny.  I made it home without passing out.  Self-doubt filling me.


Back at Beans the next day I spoke with Pam, my supervisor.  "Pam, it was horrible.  I can't do cocktail receptions.  I can do small talk.  Why on earth did they pick me for Greater Portland?  I don't belong there."  And as Pam does, in her soft reassuring tone, she simply stated "Kathleen, this is what you've wanted for a long time.  They picked you for a reason.  You'll do great."  Hmmm... I was not convinced.  I mentioned my experience to my co-workers.  One looked me straight in the eye and said, "Suck it up buttercup.  You can do this and you'll rock it."


I don't know about rock it - but I won't back out.  We'll see how it turns out...

Hosting my last events

As many of you know I love hosting events.  They bring me considerable creative and personal joy. But I'm also finding they are not making me as happy as they used to.  There are a few reasons, hosting even a small event requires attention to details and lots of planning... things I enjoy. But trying to balance all of that and then to have such low numbers actually show makes my efforts feel in vain.  I spend months planning, carving, planting and pulling together small diverse details so that everyone has what they enjoy at my events.  Most of those that do attend - while they might grumble at some of the things - tend to go away feeling like they've had a good time.  It also requires lots of time doing something I alone enjoy.  Ashley is moving to NYC in a few days- so the one family member that would do any boxing with me is leaving.  So it makes me think it's time to do something different with my time.
Like everything in life - things ebb and flow... so it is with me and events.  My discouragement at having lower attendance at my events year after year has helped make the decision easier and not having my planting partner aided in my decision as well.  It's time for me to find things to do with Christopher - and change the path I have been traveling for a while now.
So that being said - I have two events left to host, and then yes I will be done.  LLBean has been gracious to offer their store for three great events. A unique way to get inky in the middle of the winter and in the middle of the night.  I'm fortunate to work for a company that relishes in helping to promote activities that support the outdoors and all of the letterboxing values.  We will go out with a bang... and I'm hoping that if you've ever wanted to event an event that goes until wee hours of the morning and pretty much takes over a retail campus - you decide to join us.  It will be worth it.
My final event will be a smaller one... though full of more thought provoking clues than most.  My library event will have your brain working overtime and give what I hope will be a great final event in my history.
One final thing - I know that others host events as well.  The amount of work they all put into them is incredible.  Details to planning, plotting and hours of trying to make an event possible is not something that should be under appreciated.  If you do sign up for someone's event - please go.  And if you cannot - drop yourself from the event and tell the host why.  Planning for 100 when 20 show up is frustrating - and if the trend continues, folks will stop hosting.  Events are an important part of our hobby.  Through them we meet great people who turn into much treasured friends.  So treat them like the extended family that they are and be courteous enough to let them know if you are unable to attend their event - they had planned on your attendance so if you do not show up - it has cost them not only time, but usually money and resources.
This hobby is a joy - it has afforded me opportunities to visit places I wouldn't have gone had it not been for the hobby.  But more important - it has brought me a treasured group of friends that I consider my extended family.  Whether they live in Maine or across the country in Oregon... they are relationships I have built in person or via e-mail that have made this hobby what is important to me.  For that I will always be grateful.