I’ve been wanting to try geocaching for awhile. I love the thought of going on a techie treasure hunt, but up until recently, I was too afraid to try it since it usually involves walking or hiking. We were going to go to the gym today, but a laundry malfunction threw us off, so we had to bring some wet clothes home to hang up to dry. We decided to go ahead and take a walk, and that just escalated into “Hey, let’s try this geocache thing out.”
WARNING: Apparently, geocache spoilers are a thing, so if you don’t want one, please don’t continue reading this post. Watch this video instead that has nothing to do with geocaching (if you don’t care about spoilers, you can skip the video or continue after you’ve watched it):
The cache we found was fairly easy to get to. It was a virtual one, so no physical log book, and I had to answer a question via email to the local caching crew so I could sign the logbook online. But answer the question and sign the book I did, thus logging my first cache.
The place where this was located is a place we’ve walked by many times, usually deciding against going up the stairs. The stairs aren’t bad really. They’re a bit uneven and stony, but we only avoided them before because they seemed so daunting. I was still tired by the time I got to the top, but that could also have something to do with the fact that the tier is right there in the sun, and things have started to heat up again after our three days of cool and rain.
We were going to try another one but decided to wait. In finding the cache, we walked across a lot of grassy terrain. Most of my walking as been on level surfaces. Man, they are not lying when they tell you changing up the terrain will pose a challenge. We wandered around the park a little longer, passing by the museum there. It was closed, but we got the info on when it’s open and it might be something we do this weekend since we altered our original plans a bit.
Other than that, it was a fairly uneventful day. I put away all the laundry when we got home, which is a pretty big achievement since I usually procrastinate a day or two on that. I fluffed around online, watched some of the Crossfit Games replays, talked to my nephew, then finished this blog.
And with that…I’m off to shower and sleep.
A.
The Romance Factor 
I’ve never really looked into or understood geocaching — conceptually, it seems interesting, but I’m like, “Wait, what am I looking for? What’s the end goal here? Do I have to talk to strangers?”
It seems both daunting and surprisingly entertaining.
I suppose the argument could be made that you’re not really looking for treasure and that it seems like kind of a pointless activity. But it’s fun to follow a GPS compass, and it feels pretty neat when you get where you’re supposed to go.
You do not have to talk to strangers, so that’s a bonus.
Also, I got a badge at http://www.geocaching.com, and I’m sort of a fiend for any type of badge. So for me, that was kind of a bonus.