DNF-Disappointed Yet Again

I finally got my GPS! Woohoo! I put some batteries in it, juiced it up and loaded some software. I was ready for bear and set out today to find some caches. 


I packed my bag with some items I thought might come in handy-

• Tweezers
• Camera
• Phone
• Pen/Paper
• Trinkets

It was 96 degrees this afternoon, so I wore shorts and a cap for a little shade. It didn't help. Just another scorcher in the south. 


So I took off with my new GPS in my hot sweaty hand and trekked out into the city. I spent an hour in one spot looking for a cache. 


I thought maybe I was reading the GPS wrong so I pulled out my trusty Droid and they had different readings. Oh nooooo!


Which one was correct and how do I find out? 
This is very frustrating.Especially in the extreme heat with sweat trickling down everywhere. I almost wanted to throw the darn Garmin...but I didn't.  


Finally, I trekked back home in defeat. 
Another DNF. ::sigh::


But I will NOT give up. I will return! (after I re-read the owners manual and figure out what I did wrong)

Third Find

This one was REALLY hard to find. I went to this location on 3 separate occasions and hunted. It was hot. Really hot. On the last hunt, I was determined not to go home with another DNF!


****Spoiler Alert****


This one was called 'Paralelepipido'. I think its Brazilian for cobblestones. Anyway, hubby came with me this last time to help me hunt. I had sweat dripping into my eyes and it burned. Did I mention that it was HOT? 


We went up and down that darn street looking for a needle in a haystack using my handy-dandy Android. (Side note: I am really looking forward to getting my GPS in the mail soon! I hope its more detailed than this Droid.) 


Finally I decided to think outside the box on this one, too, and I widened my circle of search. Low and behold...I found it. Whew. I was ready to get into some air conditioning but remembered to take a few photos. 


Look at how small this black cannister was! 

 Those are cobble stones around it! This cache was so little, I am surprised I found the darn thing. 


And here is the log that was stuffed inside it:

It was full but we added our names and the date anyway. I was so proud to have found it! I did a little happy dance right there in the middle of the street.  :)


The photo at the top of this post is our victory pic with all those meany butt cobble stones behind us. We so rock!

Second Find

This one was really hard to find! It was called 'Mission Impossible'. 


****Spoiler Alert****


Still using my trusty Android, hubby and I went down to Union Street and found the statue of Chet Adkins. We crawled like bugs all over that darn statue! My hands were black from dirt & grime. It was right next to an ATM and a metro bus stop. People were looking at us like we were nuts. I guess we were. Ha-ha! 


As I was taking a break from fondling Mr Adkins, my hubby found the cache! Yay! It was stuck up inside his sleeve. Man that was a tough one. And it was a micro. Teeny-tiny. 


We stepped away from the statue to write our names on the log. Not much room on it but we managed to scribble a tiny date and our names. 


Hubby placed it back in its little cubby hole and we did a high five. Another one bites the dust! YES!

First Find

As soon as we got home that weekend, I went to the site www.geocaching.com. It is a great resource and has a ton of videos and FAQ's for first timers. I inhaled the site! And I became a premium member. For $30 you get extra stuff that helps a lot.

It also has a page that describes GPS units, what they do and compared options. I ordered one called the Garmin eTrex Legend CX on eBay. It was a great price and was refurbished; plus the shipping was free. Thats a photo of it at the top of this post.

In the mean time, I downloaded an app on my Android phone that helps you navigate with the geocaching site. I was ready for my first hunt!

****Spoiler Alert****

I zeroed in on the closest cache to our home. It was VERY close-less than 500 feet. I love living in such a cool city!

Anyway, with my trusty Android in my hand, I searched the location and came up empty-did not find (DNF). How disappointing! I mean sheesh, it was supposed to be RIGHT THERE! ACK!

I went home and sulked that afternoon and then went back that evening. I was determined. I decided to spread out a bit and look in a bigger circle. And then...drum roll please...I found it! Woohoo!

It was in a magnetic key holder, painted brown and stuck behind a water drain pipe. So cool! What a great idea to paint it the same color. Here is a pic of it:

I am learning fast that this is a whole new ball game.

Geocaching-the beginning

Hi everyone!

This will be my journal for geocaching. I am a newbie at the sport and have a LOT to learn. Join me as I make mistakes, get frustrated, explore my neighborhood and have the time of my life.

Geocaching is great fun, gets you outdoors and helps you explore your surroundings. The name of this blog describes it all! Welcome to my playground. :)

I was introduced to the sport by friends that hid 3 different caches close to our favorite camp grounds. They were not official caches. Just an introduction to see if anyone in the camp would be interested in future hunts.

1. The first one (in a film cannister) was a bugger but I found it in a tree and the love affair began.
2. I couldn't find the second one and look forward to looking for it with my new GPS.
3. The third one (a micro), my husband found and it was a great hide. It was stuck in a tennis fence post with some sort of black play dough stuff. What a great place to hide it!

The only reason I am explaining these, is because they were not 'official' so they are not spoilers. In the future, I will say *spoiler* just in case you might be hunting the same cache.

My next post will describe my first find. Let the games begin!