Happy Birthday, Honey!
We love you!!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
The Legend of the Crystal Skull
There is a night geocache hidden on Eglin Reservation near Niceville that I've been wanting to hunt for a while now.
But it's been too cold, or the Island King's had to much work so we kept putting it off.
Until last night.
Yesterday afternoon late we ordered pizza for the kids and were off to the woods.
Looking for the Crystal Skull.
Here's the story from the Geocache page:
"The Legend of the Crystal Skull"
"A long time ago in Crystal Lake located very near this cache, a hunter was taking a swim late at night after a day of hunting. He got out and had started a fire for warmth when he was approached by an ugly old crone. She asked him if she could share his fire as her bones were old and the cold sapped at them. Repulsed by her appearance, he drove her from the fire and back into the woods where she disappeared into the darkness. He thought nothing of it until near midnight he started seeing ghostly apparitions and disembodied skulls floating in the woods around him. A hideous voice cried out from the darkness, 'You have trespassed on my land, have killed my animals and have no compassion for others....for this I demand your head!" The hunter grew frightened at this and moved closer to the fire. The ghosts approached closer and closer until the meager fire went out and the hunter was seen no more.....
Some say that people walking through the woods late at night will occasionally get a glimpse of the skull of the hunter shining with an inner glow like a lit piece of crystal as a warning to be courteous and respectful to land, animals and people.
Cache is not at the posted coordinates. Follow the skulls from the starting point towards the final GZ. The skulls will alternate in color and each should be visible from the previous skulls placement. Please do not rush down the paths as several waypoints will require a 360 degree scan of the area. The final will be located off of the main paths so some bushwhacking may be necessary. Please make sure that the container is re-assembled correctly and placed back in the same place."
Sounds like a fun cache and we were off to find it.
We started after it got good and dark walking along a sand road running into the woods.
Immediately, we saw the first skull and knew we were in the right place.
As we wandered the trail white and red skulls would appear in the darkness.
The skulls led us on and off of the trail and turned us around several times.
The Island King stopped at one point and asked how we'd know where to stop and look for the cache.
I told him I had no idea but that I was pretty sure we'd know it when we saw it.
Not long after he stopped walking, turned off his flashlight and said "Look down there."
We could see something glowing - without our flashlights.
Us being relatively intelligent and all, we decided that the cache we were looking for was probably around that eerie light in the woods.
We went closer and found the Crystal Skull.
This is a really cool clear plastic skull sitting on top of a 2x4 that's been set in the ground.
The cache owner has placed a bright battery operated light inside and you can see that sucker glowing through the woods for a long way.
So we are standing there looking at it and both of us are convinced that when we pick that skull up something will come swinging out of the trees and scare the living daylights out of us.
We spent a minute using our flashlights, looking for things in the trees that could come swinging down and trip wires but didn't see anything.
We debated who was actually going to pick the cache up and the Island King tells me this is my mission and that I have to pick it up.
I was really nervous but lifted the skull and that was it.
Nothing screamed or jumped out at us.
I unscrewed the lid, signed the log and then put the skull back on the 2x4.
We followed small dots on the backside of the trees back to the trail and then hiked on back to the van.
It was a really fun cache but I was a little disappointed that nothing happened.
The glowing skull out in the middle of the woods is really cool but if we'd hit a trip wire or something and a ghost came swinging out at us it would have scared us both.
On the way home the Island King started making plans for turning a cache we have up in the woods near Freeport into a night cache and making it scare the tar out of people.
Can you imagine if we could put one of those night cameras hunters use out there so we could watch people's reactions?
It would be hysterical!
The only problem is that the cache is pretty far away and for something like that it's better to be close because it would need to be maintained more than a regular cache.
But it's not impossible.
So now we're thinking about it and if we can work some things out it just might happen.
I'd love to be scared by my own cache!
But it's been too cold, or the Island King's had to much work so we kept putting it off.
Until last night.
Yesterday afternoon late we ordered pizza for the kids and were off to the woods.
Looking for the Crystal Skull.
Here's the story from the Geocache page:
"The Legend of the Crystal Skull"
"A long time ago in Crystal Lake located very near this cache, a hunter was taking a swim late at night after a day of hunting. He got out and had started a fire for warmth when he was approached by an ugly old crone. She asked him if she could share his fire as her bones were old and the cold sapped at them. Repulsed by her appearance, he drove her from the fire and back into the woods where she disappeared into the darkness. He thought nothing of it until near midnight he started seeing ghostly apparitions and disembodied skulls floating in the woods around him. A hideous voice cried out from the darkness, 'You have trespassed on my land, have killed my animals and have no compassion for others....for this I demand your head!" The hunter grew frightened at this and moved closer to the fire. The ghosts approached closer and closer until the meager fire went out and the hunter was seen no more.....
Some say that people walking through the woods late at night will occasionally get a glimpse of the skull of the hunter shining with an inner glow like a lit piece of crystal as a warning to be courteous and respectful to land, animals and people.
Cache is not at the posted coordinates. Follow the skulls from the starting point towards the final GZ. The skulls will alternate in color and each should be visible from the previous skulls placement. Please do not rush down the paths as several waypoints will require a 360 degree scan of the area. The final will be located off of the main paths so some bushwhacking may be necessary. Please make sure that the container is re-assembled correctly and placed back in the same place."
Sounds like a fun cache and we were off to find it.
We started after it got good and dark walking along a sand road running into the woods.
Immediately, we saw the first skull and knew we were in the right place.
As we wandered the trail white and red skulls would appear in the darkness.
The skulls led us on and off of the trail and turned us around several times.
The Island King stopped at one point and asked how we'd know where to stop and look for the cache.
I told him I had no idea but that I was pretty sure we'd know it when we saw it.
Not long after he stopped walking, turned off his flashlight and said "Look down there."
We could see something glowing - without our flashlights.
Us being relatively intelligent and all, we decided that the cache we were looking for was probably around that eerie light in the woods.
We went closer and found the Crystal Skull.
This is a really cool clear plastic skull sitting on top of a 2x4 that's been set in the ground.
The cache owner has placed a bright battery operated light inside and you can see that sucker glowing through the woods for a long way.
So we are standing there looking at it and both of us are convinced that when we pick that skull up something will come swinging out of the trees and scare the living daylights out of us.
We spent a minute using our flashlights, looking for things in the trees that could come swinging down and trip wires but didn't see anything.
We debated who was actually going to pick the cache up and the Island King tells me this is my mission and that I have to pick it up.
I was really nervous but lifted the skull and that was it.
Nothing screamed or jumped out at us.
I unscrewed the lid, signed the log and then put the skull back on the 2x4.
We followed small dots on the backside of the trees back to the trail and then hiked on back to the van.
It was a really fun cache but I was a little disappointed that nothing happened.
The glowing skull out in the middle of the woods is really cool but if we'd hit a trip wire or something and a ghost came swinging out at us it would have scared us both.
On the way home the Island King started making plans for turning a cache we have up in the woods near Freeport into a night cache and making it scare the tar out of people.
Can you imagine if we could put one of those night cameras hunters use out there so we could watch people's reactions?
It would be hysterical!
The only problem is that the cache is pretty far away and for something like that it's better to be close because it would need to be maintained more than a regular cache.
But it's not impossible.
So now we're thinking about it and if we can work some things out it just might happen.
I'd love to be scared by my own cache!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Tree Planting and Tale Swapping
One of the fun things about geocaching are the Cache Events.
A cacher will host an event somewhere and any cachers from that area that want to attend come for a meet and greet.
Monday there was an event, Get Down and Dirty, held on Eglin that I knew we didn't want to miss.
One of our local cachers is a liaison between us and Eglin and we were invited to participate in a tree planting event as part of an erosion control project.
Eglin "borrows" clay from different places throughout the Reservation to use for roads - which leaves the borrow area exposed and of course erosion begins.
The exposed clay or sand begins running down into the many streams that flow through the Reservation which alters the bottom and affects the fish and critters that live there.
So they replant trees in an effort to rebuild the borrow area and minimize erosion.
Our goal was to plant 200 long leaf pines in a borrow area so we met at Jackson Guard in Niceville and then caravaned out to the project site.
There were about 18 cachers and a handful of cub scouts working on their Forestry patch, along with Pat, the woman in charge of Eglin's erosion control department.
She explained what we needed to do
And then it was time to go to work.
With that many hands it only took about 2 1/2 hours to plant 200 trees.
We planted on the ridges and inside of three berms but after climbing up and down for 2 hours we only took a picture of this particular area.
Attending a cache event counts as finding a cache and this was number 400 for us and my Dad.
After we finished we took a group photo and then hid a new cache for others to find.
We had so much fun!
Meeting other geocachers and swapping tales is always fun but I think the best part of this event was being able to give back to Eglin.
We are SO fortunate to have such an incredible area to hike, camp, fish, hunt and geoacache in, right here in our own backyards, and it really felt good being able to give something back in return for Eglin's generosity.
After the event we went on to find a few more caches and then called it a day.
We were tired and dirty and but it was a GREAT day!
A cacher will host an event somewhere and any cachers from that area that want to attend come for a meet and greet.
Monday there was an event, Get Down and Dirty, held on Eglin that I knew we didn't want to miss.
One of our local cachers is a liaison between us and Eglin and we were invited to participate in a tree planting event as part of an erosion control project.
Eglin "borrows" clay from different places throughout the Reservation to use for roads - which leaves the borrow area exposed and of course erosion begins.
The exposed clay or sand begins running down into the many streams that flow through the Reservation which alters the bottom and affects the fish and critters that live there.
So they replant trees in an effort to rebuild the borrow area and minimize erosion.
Our goal was to plant 200 long leaf pines in a borrow area so we met at Jackson Guard in Niceville and then caravaned out to the project site.
There were about 18 cachers and a handful of cub scouts working on their Forestry patch, along with Pat, the woman in charge of Eglin's erosion control department.
She explained what we needed to do
And then it was time to go to work.
With that many hands it only took about 2 1/2 hours to plant 200 trees.
We planted on the ridges and inside of three berms but after climbing up and down for 2 hours we only took a picture of this particular area.
Attending a cache event counts as finding a cache and this was number 400 for us and my Dad.
After we finished we took a group photo and then hid a new cache for others to find.
We had so much fun!
Meeting other geocachers and swapping tales is always fun but I think the best part of this event was being able to give back to Eglin.
We are SO fortunate to have such an incredible area to hike, camp, fish, hunt and geoacache in, right here in our own backyards, and it really felt good being able to give something back in return for Eglin's generosity.
After the event we went on to find a few more caches and then called it a day.
We were tired and dirty and but it was a GREAT day!
Monday, February 21, 2011
Pinewood Derby
Saturday was our Cub Scout Pack's Pinewood Derby.
The Youngest Island Boy and Cousin B have been really excited and were more than ready to build their cars.
My BIL decided he wanted to make one too so he, Cousin B, the Island King and the Youngest spent two nights working on their cars.
Saturday came and they were very pleased with how their cars turned out.
Cousin B built the red one.
My BIL built this one.
And the Youngest built the "Death Machine"
The Derby was an all day event and is run by the Boy Scout Packmaster - which meant the Boy Scouts came to help.
They sold hot dogs, pizza, chips and drinks to raise money for their summer camp trip.
They also had a baked goods sale but let everyone know that their Mom's did the baking.
Because apparently baking isn't a cool Boy Scout kind of thing.
And because I like most of these people I did not contribute to the baked goods.
When we got there we saw this
There was quite a buzz going around about the Girl Scouts honing in on the Boy Scout's bake sale but it turns out the Mom in charge of the Boy Scouts invited them - for a cut of their profits.
Unfortunately, they sold nothing. The boys were offering bags with 3 cookies or brownies for a dollar and the box prices of the girl's cookies just couldn't compete.
When we got there each car had to be weighed and checked in.
There are set rules about dimensions, using only BSA wheels, and the car's weight so each car had to be weighed and checked before it could be entered in the race.
They raced 4 cars at a time and had a big screen set up so everyone could see who was racing and their time.
Each car raced 4 times - once in each lane and the best average time would win.
There were a lot of people there and 63 cars raced.
The Boy Scouts carefully set up the cars at the top of the track
And the race began
The race was open to everyone, Moms, Dads and siblings as well as the Cub Scouts and let me tell you when this pink car came down the track every boy in the room held his breath.
Can you imagine getting beat by a pink girl's car?
While the car looked pretty it wasn't quite fast enough to win.
There were trophies for the fastest cars and ribbons for the Most Creative, Fastest Looking and Most Colorful.
The Youngest, Cousin B and my BIL all won 2 heats each but in the end weren't fast enough to take home a trophy.
But...
When the race was over it was time to pick the 3 ribbon winners.
The Boy Scouts got to pick and
The Youngest Won Most Creative Car!
The Oldest said that EVERY one of the Boy Scouts voted for the Youngest's car - and not because of the Oldest - he said he didn't tell them which one was his brother's.
The Youngest was so proud and said he didn't care that his car wasn't the fastest because it looked GOOD and that was what counted LOL
The Youngest Island Boy and Cousin B have been really excited and were more than ready to build their cars.
My BIL decided he wanted to make one too so he, Cousin B, the Island King and the Youngest spent two nights working on their cars.
Saturday came and they were very pleased with how their cars turned out.
Cousin B built the red one.
My BIL built this one.
And the Youngest built the "Death Machine"
The Derby was an all day event and is run by the Boy Scout Packmaster - which meant the Boy Scouts came to help.
They sold hot dogs, pizza, chips and drinks to raise money for their summer camp trip.
They also had a baked goods sale but let everyone know that their Mom's did the baking.
Because apparently baking isn't a cool Boy Scout kind of thing.
And because I like most of these people I did not contribute to the baked goods.
When we got there we saw this
There was quite a buzz going around about the Girl Scouts honing in on the Boy Scout's bake sale but it turns out the Mom in charge of the Boy Scouts invited them - for a cut of their profits.
Unfortunately, they sold nothing. The boys were offering bags with 3 cookies or brownies for a dollar and the box prices of the girl's cookies just couldn't compete.
When we got there each car had to be weighed and checked in.
There are set rules about dimensions, using only BSA wheels, and the car's weight so each car had to be weighed and checked before it could be entered in the race.
They raced 4 cars at a time and had a big screen set up so everyone could see who was racing and their time.
Each car raced 4 times - once in each lane and the best average time would win.
There were a lot of people there and 63 cars raced.
The Boy Scouts carefully set up the cars at the top of the track
And the race began
The race was open to everyone, Moms, Dads and siblings as well as the Cub Scouts and let me tell you when this pink car came down the track every boy in the room held his breath.
Can you imagine getting beat by a pink girl's car?
While the car looked pretty it wasn't quite fast enough to win.
There were trophies for the fastest cars and ribbons for the Most Creative, Fastest Looking and Most Colorful.
The Youngest, Cousin B and my BIL all won 2 heats each but in the end weren't fast enough to take home a trophy.
But...
When the race was over it was time to pick the 3 ribbon winners.
The Boy Scouts got to pick and
The Youngest Won Most Creative Car!
The Oldest said that EVERY one of the Boy Scouts voted for the Youngest's car - and not because of the Oldest - he said he didn't tell them which one was his brother's.
The Youngest was so proud and said he didn't care that his car wasn't the fastest because it looked GOOD and that was what counted LOL
Friday, February 18, 2011
Buried At Sea
Destin has long been known as the World's Luckiest Fishing Village and a good portion of Destin residents make their living from the Gulf.
Watching her, it's easy to understand why the sea is compared to a woman.
She can be serene, quiet and calm one minute
And almost instantly, can change into a raging, overpowering tempest.
Those who make their living from the water know the risks they take every time they leave the dock.
There are two monuments in the Destin Cemetery placed in remembrance of those lost at sea.
The names and dates of each person have been carved into the monument and remain as a reminder of those who gave their lives to the sea.
And because so many others have a undeniable pull to the sea, they've chosen to be buried there.
Their names are also listed on the monuments.
I'm always fascinated when I see these monuments.
Whether by choice or by accident - the sea is a beautiful place for your remains to rest.
Watching her, it's easy to understand why the sea is compared to a woman.
She can be serene, quiet and calm one minute
And almost instantly, can change into a raging, overpowering tempest.
Those who make their living from the water know the risks they take every time they leave the dock.
There are two monuments in the Destin Cemetery placed in remembrance of those lost at sea.
The names and dates of each person have been carved into the monument and remain as a reminder of those who gave their lives to the sea.
And because so many others have a undeniable pull to the sea, they've chosen to be buried there.
Their names are also listed on the monuments.
I'm always fascinated when I see these monuments.
Whether by choice or by accident - the sea is a beautiful place for your remains to rest.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Something Funny
I can't remember where I got this but I found it on an old CD last night and it gave me a good chuckle.
A teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it.
The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
Then it was Tony's turn and the teacher asked "Tony, do you have a story to share?"
"Yes ma'am. My daddy told me a story about my Aunt Kate.
She was a pilot in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife.
She drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn't break and then her parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.
She shot fifteen of them with her gun until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with her knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands."
"Good Heavens!" said the horrified teacher.
What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from this horrible story?"
"Stay the @#$%$# away from Aunt Kate when she's drinking."
A teacher gave her fifth grade class an assignment: Get their parents to tell them a story with a moral at the end of it.
The next day the kids came back and one by one began to tell their stories.
Then it was Tony's turn and the teacher asked "Tony, do you have a story to share?"
"Yes ma'am. My daddy told me a story about my Aunt Kate.
She was a pilot in Desert Storm and her plane got hit. She had to bail out over enemy territory and all she had was a bottle of whiskey, a pistol and a survival knife.
She drank the whiskey on the way down so the bottle wouldn't break and then her parachute landed right in the middle of twenty enemy troops.
She shot fifteen of them with her gun until she ran out of bullets, killed four more with her knife, till the blade broke, and then she killed the last Iraqi with her bare hands."
"Good Heavens!" said the horrified teacher.
What kind of moral did your daddy tell you from this horrible story?"
"Stay the @#$%$# away from Aunt Kate when she's drinking."
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
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