YES !!

2 days after our big disappointment, I check my e-mail to see that yet another has gone and found the cache. Unbelievable. I just forwarded the e-mail to my friend, no comments needed...really wanted to see if I would get some type of response. Oh Ya...a response indeed. They are convinced we are going back. And you think I was obsessed! Many e-mails and conversations later...a Saturday "pick-up" was suggested. Well, I work every Saturday...but yes it should still be day light after work. Scientifically, when you run the numbers...blah, blah, blah...it will be ....blah, blah, blah. In other words it IS there!

After "doing my time" at work, and managing to get out on time...we meet up, this time the rendez vous being in the Hobby Lobby parking lot...and not only are we obsessed, we are also paranoid, because we take a different vehicle! I guess we are hoping to out-smart the stake out! LOL The trip out to the cache was quick....the mood was DETERMINED.

No need to park, take the GPS or even shut the vehicle off, we just get out and walk right up to it. AND...it was not there! Had this been my first cache...I swear I would not be into geocaching today as I would be convinced that NOTHING is out there. We searched around for a few more minutes...with every sound someone made was followed by the words...you got it? ... nope ... find it? ... nope ... got it? ... not yet ... find it? ... no ............
and then suddenly I "see " it ... and with that the first good words of the day...."I THINK I got it"

Did you ever want to have one of those great moments where the whole scene is played in slow motion with some really cool music in the background. Music like maybe ... Eye of the Tiger ( wink, wink) well this was the moment. If there were muggles, cops, baby strollers or even a stake out... we didn't see it. But we had the cache. I was snapped back into reality (literally) with what sounded like a photo shoot. If you know me, you know I HATE to have my picture taken ... but, they did go through a lot for this cache with me ... so okay, 1 picture! for all you cachers out there ... go easy on the comments, after all I did just finish a 13 hour shift!

We did end the day with a celebratory dinner. And the chance to write off another DNF. Maybe the obsession came because it was our first time out caching ... maybe because it was a previous DNF ... I know some people say it is in the hunt .... others say it is in the find. Some even get all caught up in the hide ... But for me and GC1MTTZ it is in the name...

Past, Present and Future!

YES !!!

Still looking.....

Full of burgers and running on caffeine...we go back to the scene. The new strategy ( otherwise known as plan E) parks us in a new location. We get out, GPS's are powered, and we walk right up to the site! We are stoked! We are wrong! It is not there!

Sometimes ( especially when you are trying SO hard to find something) something happens that you lose all sense of everything. This would include sense of direction, sense of worth and common sense. Suddenly our GPS units are a piece of junk, and can't be trusted...so we begin to search EVERYWHERE! I think it was when I was on all fours searching through gravel, when 2 ladies walked by with a stroller, ( true story here) and the 1 lady says to the other..."somebody must have lost something" And in my mind, I am thinking....Yes, we have totally lost our minds. We are two adults, we are not invisible , we are not 8 years old, we are 2 people who will probably be taken away and committed! With that thought...starts the laughter, the " I can't believe this " laughter. Where the tears are coming down the cheeks. The Oh my gosh, my gut hurts laughter , the we are insane laughter!

It was with the turn of my head ( to wipe away the tears) that I first see the cop. We are so far beyond stealth mode that there is no turning back. The cop SUV is circling, and decides to park and watch. He is a short distance off, and had he had a cup of coffee, this would have looked like a stake out. It was when the "other" SUV pulled up and parked a few feet away, that we decided...maybe we should leave.

Not making eye contact with "them". We quietly got up, brushed off the debris and nonchalantly meandered back to the vehicle. My only whispered words..."Dude, you know they are totally running your plates"

The drive home was a little quieter. Actually it did make me think...who would I call to bail us out? Hmm...I wonder if my friend has "friends" or better yet..."friends with connections"

So...another day is done...the cache still not found.

One of My DNF's

Ahhh...GC1MTTZ one of my DNF's. This cache been used as a conversational tool on several occasions. And then... just recently a friend of mine says, " let's JUST go find it." So, ( it just happens) as I open my mouth to say my typical response, of how I am so busy, I have to get such and such done for a deadline...and all the other excuses I usually come up with...I just say...Ok, let's do it!

So, here I am, in the middle of the week, when my desk is piled high, with "my to do list", with things in the yard that probably need to be... "mowed, mulched or weeded, with all my deadline projects hovering in the background...what am I doing? You got it, I am getting ready to go out geocaching.

The suggestion of lunch had been brought up, and they were convinced they were going to walk right up to this, ( I WAS convinced THEY would walk right up to it) so ... ya, we could do lunch after the find. Why not! Sounds like a plan.

As I was getting ready, I was picturing a nice light lunch outdoors on one of those patio restaurants...you know where all the cool people go...sitting there relaxing, having lunch, acting like they have no cares, no deadlines, no stress. Ya...I can picture this. Ok...enough about lunch, let's just get the cache!

The plan was to meet up, at a mid-point and drive in together. So, it was on the drive-in that I realized I was actually getting nervous ... about a stupid cache! But, all was cool, we discussed "our strategy"...and "what we know for sure"... that is when I finally had to admit...I don't know ANYTHING for sure, when it comes to this cache. Change in strategy... we will approach this cache, like we have never been there before! Good Plan!

We get " to the scene" both GPS units going ... I am having a little deja Vu ...or maybe I should call it flashbacks ... but I know ... my friend is gonna walk right up to it!

Did I mention... I don't know Jack ( with Jack being an expression, of course) we start the search out pretty casual ... then more intense ... then the " you have got to be kidding"...this was JUST found ... it HAS to be here! Hours later, yep I said hours later ... we go back to the vehicle and re-group! Focus people ... Focus! LOL After re-reading the logs, the description, and the logs again ... we realize there are no "hidden" clues in anything we read. Being a little stubborn, we are back ... we are searching ... we (I am sure) are looking like a couple of idiots!

Not wanting to admit defeat..we try the lunch idea. Just to let you know... there are NO patio restaurants, there are NO relaxing people, there will be NO sipping drinks in the sun! Which just goes to show you , how my "mind" always wants the perfect scenario! Haha There are a couple of "slightly intoxicated " people sitting in a dark bar...so that's lunch...hey give us a break...there are only a couple of options!

The relaxing lunch has turned into inhaling burgers. As it turns out, we re-look the original log...and yep, we got a whole new strategy...

I think we are really on to this now!