Just a little play on words there. Ha ha!
Happy May Day!
My son Sean and I headed over to Longwood Gardens a few days ago so we could see most of the tulips in their full spring glory. I can pretty much say I felt like I was in Holland as the waves of colors and the varieties of tulips were amazing!
Hi Sean!
There were other pretty flowers like poppies
Pansies and such
Tower of Jewels
Canterbury Bells and Begonias
And many more gorgeous things and plants!
I realized it’s been a while since I did a blog post. I’m going to keep this blog as long as possible as it’s a good record for me. I now upload my camera photos right to Flickr and Instagram, so it will be semi-updated there on the sidebar. They won’t have details like my blog, but you can kind of see what I am up to.
So what have I been up to? LOL Well. for one thing, we are climbing up to 300 geocache finds. This is pretty good for someone like me with my issues, but when we go out looking, I tend to forget I hurt sometimes.
Last Friday we went down to historic New Castle, Delaware to look for a few caches. First I wanted to stop near Wilmington to see ‘the biggest cache’ some people have ever seen, this of course is according to the logs for it. Well we found the location and the van-yes, it was the back of a van, like one used for a/c or heating which was near the business where it was parked. We were confused to where the key was to open the cache, feeling around under the bottom of the vehicle for a ‘MKH’-you all know what that is. All we did was knock off rust down there. I finally went into the business and they told me where to look and within a a few minutes we had it! So then we unlocked the back of the van instead of the side-it said to unlock where a certain number was located-duh. I guess we were too excited to see it after all the hype.
Here’s what we found:
This was facing the back. I guess that’s a seat for photo ops! The lights even went on!
Right under this was a big notebook for the log book! There was a travel bug hotel (I was hoping for a bug, but it was empty) and lots of swag.
It was way cool!!!!
We then headed to New Castle and were stumped with a few caches on where to park for them. We had to resort to just picking and choosing off the phone. We did find one near a piling after a bit of a search. The piling was in water and we didn’t feel like falling in. So we took a photo. The cache owner said you have to sign the log, but we can’t be running down to New Castle hoping that the water receded. Finding it was hard enough!
See what I mean? It was mucky all around this area too. You’d need some of those thigh high boots, ‘just in case’.
We snagged a few others and headed to the farmer’s market. We were looking for something to bring home for dinner and found a half of rotisserie chicken and two sides, so bought 3. We had enough chicken for a sandwich the next day! Wow!
Pretty mural near the walkway of the Delaware River
Battery Park coastline near the walk.
The next day was Saturday. We were sitting around and I remembered that a big craft warehouse place in Lancaster County was closing. The discount was up to 60% off and we decided to take a drive there-it would take about an hour. Of course I was again itchy to grab a few caches. We stopped at one called ‘Ghost Train’. It was on an old wooden train bridge. Brian made the find! So proud he saw that one as I was going away from the structure.
We didn’t get to the sale until 4:30 and the place closed at 6:00. I did power shopping. I picked up mostly some Christmas decor and a few Christmas gifts. I got a few things I want to embellish too.
We were going to a smorgasbord, but about 5 lines had 30 people each waiting to get in. And they all will get in and touch all the serving spoons, you get my drift. We ended up retrieving a few caches, one at a tiny cemetery and the other in the parking lot of the restaurant. We had to leave and come back as a full tour bus was right near where we needed to look! They would have wondered why those people were messing with the lamp skirt. Ha ha!
There is a smaller restaurant under the smorgasbord and we ate there. The cheesesteak was a mess! They cut all the way through the bun and piled all this marinara sauce on it. I had to cut it up to eat it as I couldn’t pick it up.
There is a 40k square foot gift shop-it goes on and on! I found an owl wind chime and some Burt’s Bee facial cleanser I needed.
I asked Brian to stop one more time for a cache as I have always wanted to see it. It was an old grist mill in the heart of Amish country. It was getting dark, so I turned on the handy phone light app and although it was 20 feet off, we did find the ammo can.
We had a pretty fun day and found 10 caches in two days!
I think Longwood Gardens will be my next blog post. Sean and I went on Sunday. I have never seen such a variety of tulips in such an array of colors. Here’s a sneak peak!
Since Sean didn’t go to Los Angeles, he wanted to see some place different, so he booked a room at the Revel Casino down in Atlantic City and said we could join him. Now it’s nice to see something different, but in April, you are going to miss a lot of the outdoor experience. It figures we did have summer like weather for a few days ‘before’ we went down to the beach, but unfortunately the temps went down 30 degrees and it was also windy and foggy besides chilly. The two places Sean wanted to see were closed on Thursday! Lucky for him and Brian, I wrote down some geocaches I thought would be interesting to find, two being at the places that were closed. They both agreed it would be something to do before heading to Atlantic City. We were in Stone Harbor, NJ and our first stop was at the Wetlands Institute. Sean is doing a research paper about NJ wetlands!
We did get to go in the next day and checked out their indoor exhibits. Sean went up in that look out yesterday as both Brian and I were weary of the circular stairs. We want to visit again when it’s nicer out.
There is a inside joke about every time I am close to the beach, it’s windy! See my hair! This is me with the 1st geocache find in hand. The other hand is holding my custom made stamper with my geocacher name on it. Stamp and go (and I do sign the date too-so it saves a little time, but looks nice with the red ink).
Our next stop was to the Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary. It’s been here for 66 years and we have never seen it!
I knew the geocache here would be fast and it was. Another place that will be worth a trip back to see when it is green and lush…and full of birds! We had a few Chickadees giving us the business though.
One more look near the beach and it was 3 for 3! The little film canister blew away on me and Brian had to get it with a stick! We went behind a fence to see the beach and ocean and there was about a 10 foot or more drop due to Hurricane Sandy last October 2012.
Foggy and gray!
Sean on Friday at the 88th St. beach where there was a geocache hide(we didn’t find that one as the sand was really piled up)
So we asked the man at the Stone Harbor Museum (where we found another very nicely kept cache-4 for 4) where to eat and he mentioned Fred’s Tavern. We went and had the best burgers! I haven’t raved about food in a while, but these were on brioche rolls, so extra delicious.
We looked for one more cache near an ice cream parlor. It was a nano-Sean and me looked everywhere. Brian stayed in the car and generally if you tell him to find a nano, he can. After I logged it as a DNF (4 for 5), the CO emailed me and told me exactly where it was. The next day we went back and this time Brian found it.
Photo credits mostly go to Brian!
Next post Atlantic City!
When Sean was little, Brian and a pal who also had a young daughter, took a road trip up to see the work of Laurence Gieringer in Shartlesville, PA. I didn’t hear a lot about it, but in my mind’s eye it was more like a train board setup. Since we were about 30 minutes away from it on our day trip last weekend, we decided to go see it again all these years later. I was told it hasn’t changed in years and years.
Here’s the story right from the webpage:
Laurence Gieringer founded Roadside America. The story goes that young Gieringer’s love of miniature models began around 1899, when he was five years old. From his bedroom window, the young Gieringer could see the lights of the Highland Hotel at the crest of nearby Neversink Mountain. From his distant vantage point the building looked like a toy he could snatch from the mountain and add to his toy collection. One day he set out to get that seemingly miniature building, not realizing how far away it really was. Soon he was hopelessly lost in the woods and was not found until the next morning.
Fortunately that experience did not dampen his love for miniatures. In his adult life Mr. Gieringer became a carpenter and painter. Over his sixty-year career Gieringer amassed quite a collection of tiny, detailed buildings and accessories that became one of the worlds most famous and amazing miniature villages. Mr. Gieringer today is one of the world’s most respected builders of miniature models. (he passed away in January of 1963, over 50 yrs ago!)
In the 1930’s word of Mr. Gieringer’s amazing model railroad and miniature villages spread through the local neighborhoods.
What a sweet inspiration for Laurence to think the faraway hotel was a miniature!
Here are some shots from our visit. Brian, my hubby took them all. Most are a bit overexposed so you can see the detail of the layout.
So you can see the sign is in disrepair. So sad!
It’s such a huge layout! See the teens of the right there?
We got to see the light pageant when the lights were dimmed and all the houses were lit up. Then there was a movie on the wall and Kate Smith sang ‘God Bless America’
It would be a shame to see this place close down. I think it’s worthy of the Smithsonian Institute!
Sunday was my hubby Brian’s birthday and we decided to go somewhere a few hours away. We headed just above the Reading area to one of Pennsylvania’s ‘nature wonders’ Crystal Cave, Roadside America and the West Reading area.
I happen to turn on my phone (it’s not working anymore….died today) and saw where a geocache was just hidden about 45 minutes earlier. We turned around and headed back to yet another ancient cemetery cache. Sean got out of the car with me and we headed to the far end of the white washed wall. Sean actually had to climb over the wall and there it was, it was nicely camouflaged with fake ivy! So neat to be the ‘first to find’ for the second time.
The GPS took us down a winding road, but we saw lots of scenery too.
After a quick lunch, we got to the Crystal Cave area. There were balls of snow along the roads which we haven’t really seen down this way all winter.
I had to climb a rather steep hill to the entrance of the cave. I’ve been having problems with hills and since using the bike, I can see a little improvement, but I still had to stop a few times. After the tour, I was surprised at actually how steep the hill was!
The cave was found by mistake in the 1871. Two farmers were blasting for limestone (valuable for enriching the soil) and found the cave!
The cave itself was pretty neat. Brian took some great photos. It’s thousands and thousands of years old!
The ‘ball room’….there were actually a few weddings in here-one they had 100 people squeezed in here! That’s the altar to the left.
See Abe Lincoln?
When all the lights go out at the end of the day, 100s of bats fly out of the cave to fly through the night! Eek!
At one point, the guide turned out the lights and it was black as pitch. I felt and retrieved Sean’s hand. : )
They got a few inches of snow here the next day. We actually got more. It’s all gone now.
Next post-Roadside America!
My son Sean was nice enough to drive me to my hair appointment today. Afterwards my mom wasn’t up for company, so Sean and I headed for SaladWorks. I got the same salad I had a few days ago, not as good as the way the first place made it. Funny how that happens. This one was heavy on the lettuce. The tuna nicoise is a good one though.
So lo and behold, there was a geocache around the back of the shopping center. Brian and I had stopped there last month and it was to dark to look. Within a few minutes we had it as it was hanging in a bare Weeping Willow.
Someone else commented that there were praying mantis nests and we saw a few.
There was a cache in a historic area at the sight of the Frazer farm. All that is standing is the big fireplace, some foundation and an oven.
To begin with, we had to find the entrance in a nice neighborhood. It was a 1/8 mile hike down somewhat of a hill. This is one of the first hikes I have done for a while. It’s about 5 miles from the Brandywine Battlefield.
I can’t believe this has been standing going on 300 years!
I believe this is the oven area. It was used until 1920!
Funny to see detailed signs in the middle of the woods
The hint was to look behind the big rock with the split in it. There’s the tell tale wood stuck there and a peek of the ammo box! It’s been here since 2001!
I took that big mug there in the background as it had a travel bug on it! It’s traveled 1,400 miles so far!
Nice to see this amazing place and picturing Mrs. Frazer giving the soldiers a hard time! She must have been feisty! There is a Frazer, PA near where Brian grew up!
Since last I updated, we have all had colds, Sean getting the worse of it. I missed work as I was just too achy to even try go. A week makes a big difference!
The three of us went out last night (Monday) which doesn’t happen often. Sean drove in the rental car. His car is ‘still’ in the shop as there is a suspension issue they are trying to get the insurance to check out. Sean is pretty sure he hit a curb as the jeep took out the entire left side of his car. We drove by the restoration place last night and Sean’s car was sitting outside. It’s been 3 weeks. The guy who did this had hardly anything happen to his vehicle-someone who made an illegal u-turn didn’t have to go through all this!
Anyway, we had a gift card for Bertucci’s and went to one near Wilmington, DE. Earlier in the day, here had just been a shooting just miles away at the courthouse-the gunman shot his estranged wife and another woman to death and the police got him. It was a custody issue and two lovely ladies were killed. Crazy!
We also went through a 5 Below store which has cuter and cuter things each time I go there.
I mentioned that a geocaching friend had a hide near a British pub, so we went like 1/2 mile down the road. The cache was said to be decorated for the local Philly ice hockey team the Flyers-in orange and black. We looked at benches, near pipes, behind signs, etc. with no luck. This was all in a dimly lit area. I think we didn’t look low enough! We may go back on Thursday for dinner as it’s a nice place to eat and we had eaten there before. We headed down to a big ‘cement city’ shopping area and after sinking in mud, found a little camouflaged box (fake leaves glued to the top). We looked for one more and again we didn’t see the travel mug holder. We shopped in Trader Joe’s for healthy goodies and came home.
Remembering President Lincoln on his birthday
When I got home I decided to look at the satellite for a number of geocaches along the route where we just were and wrote down info for 10 of them, one being south bound and the rest north.
I had some insurance issues with blood work I had done in November. Brian and I went over to the doctor yesterday to pick up blood work and ask why they haven’t submitted info to the insurance. Boy did they hustle! The office manager was very nice. Asked me if I was stressed out, yes I am! My blood pressure has been a little high lately. I know stress can make you feel a lot worse than you are! My blood work wasn’t too bad. I do have a bit of a Vitamin D deficiency so I will be taking mega doses of it once a week for 3 months to get my numbers up. People are usually deficient in the winter, but I may have trouble absorbing it. I sure hope it helps. Maybe my joints will feel better too!
First of all, this is my son’s car and he seems alright.
What happened…he was driving south on Rt. 1 and at a intersection. A man decided to exit a convenience store on the other side of the road and make an illegal ‘u’ turn at one of the busiest intersections in Middletown Township to also go south. It was a clear night, about 9:30. Everything happened in a flash. This is a 2005 Taurus and he keeps it in good shape. He was very shook up when he came home. His friend was nice enough to follow him most of the way home as the alignment is now off. I hate that it’s the left side as he was inches away from that dented side and door handle. Broken glass from his window was everywhere and he has cuts on his hand. He feels that his guardian angel, his late gr grandmom Ruth had to be with him. She surely drove around those roads a lot and it was near where my younger brother started his career as a master mechanic too. I hope it can be repaired as he’s only had it 1.5 yrs and is still paying on it.
Follow the rules of the road! Stuff like this is awful and it could have been worse.
This Friday and again today, I headed down to the neighboring town’s yearly huge book sale. They advertise that there is over 70K books and I do believe them! Being the book lover I am, I can’t pass up a sale. There was even a geocache in the parking lot to look for. Too bad it was so cold yesterday. I had looked at it via the satellite shot a month or so ago and didn’t I sit down ‘across’ from where it really was at the end of a bridge. The problem is I couldn’t reach right for it. I actually wondered up and down the bridge for about 15 minutes. I went back on the website and emailed a guy who had found it after 3 tries. He sent me back a detailed explanation. Today I had Brian. I swore it was the ‘right’ on my side, but it was on the other side! Then I couldn’t find my pen, so had to use a pencil in the SUV.
We didn’t go hog wild book wise. In fact Sean didn’t buy anything.
We decided to go to the New Castle (Delaware) Farmer’s market, but took a detour so Sean could see the old area of the town. Brian and I had been there a few times. I got out and took a few photos, this being my favorite:
See the trio of tree and fence tops?
We then headed to the farmer’s market. I was having major hurt issues with my knee down to the back of my calf. Think I did something Friday night getting out to retrieve a cache. (That’s an entirely different story!)
At the market, we found young Amish people selling donuts. They were much more in cost than the ‘DD’, but they are larger and fluffier. Best I ever had! Have to be careful eating those!
We also went to ‘The Hut’ and when we pulled in the parking lot, we saw Sean’s old Taurus that he traded in 1.5 yrs ago! Someone who works there owned it. I think Sean was super surprised. He took good care of that car (his 1st car) and when he saw it, he said ‘that car took me back and forth to Penn State many times’. Where he traded it in for his newer Taurus is about a 1/4 mile away. But the chances of us seeing it again, just wow.
We went to get gas, found another guardrail cache at the station next to it (drove in circles a bit, guess the attendant wondered what we were doing) and then hit the Goodwill where I found a few bird tchotchkes, one of which is a Marjolein Bastin for Hallmark.
I mainly bought crafting books at the sale earlier, ribbon embroidery and drawing for my mom and a few historic fictions along with crafts for me.
It was nice to have Sean along. He was a little depressed at first, some job issues going on in the family and I guess he feels that his time in the sun isn’t coming along fast enough in the job field. The economy is still not great and I think Sean will have to move away from here when he is done with his schooling.
Saturday night (Dec. 22nd), the three of us went to our church. It’s been a while for all three with the guys’ work schedule. Afterwards, we enjoyed some cheese steaks (Brian and me) and Sean got a white pizza. I looked on the phone and there were a few caches I could find to make it to 200 total. Now it is dark and rather chilly and the guys both agreed as they know I enjoy caching so much. Sean hasn’t been on many finds, but he has the app on his phone too! The first place we looked was in a housing development with large homes. It was in a wooded area behind a playground. I sent Brian in with the phone, he had no luck and I then came in. It was just too dark to find. : (
So I remembered a lamp post one in a nearby parking lot that we had to avoid in the summer as wasps had taken over it and were all over the area. This time Brian looked and couldn’t find it. I got out and it was ‘under’ the base, very wet and almost too difficult to sign. I didn’t have my geo bag with me, or I would have replaced the log (I did the log replacement on 12-12-12 for a bison tube one. I had printed out an assortment of them). This was #199. We were in Delaware caching.
Ok…where is #200? There was yet another lamp post one not too far away. Brian missed the turn, we went and looked around the Christmas stuff at Kmart-hardly any sales, so we came back to the cache area and drove around the different parking lots until we pin pointed the exact one. So I found a cute little cache box and took a pewter keychain that says ‘I love Dalmations’ which my brother happens to have! I left some coins and here I am posing under the lamp post!
Collages & Creative Goodness 