our Letterbox adventure
Are you familiar with Letterboxing?
I wrote about our failed attempt a while ago. Feel free to read about it while I describe our latest excursion.
In a continuing effort to keep the boys from spending 20 hours a day having their brains sucked dry via electronic devices, we re-checked the Letterboxing site to discover the addition of a box buried not far from our home.
The boys welcomed the chance, after a thunder storm, to hop in the car and go in search of said Letterbox.
(Special note: Youngest came downstairs dressed in full pirate regalia, Middle rejected this costume as "silly," Youngest reacted by being appropriately pouty and left his wooden pirate gun, hook and hat at home. His spirits lifted shortly after we pulled out of the driveway.)
With directions in hand, we drove about three miles to a park nearby....
We took turns going over the instructions once we got to the park. There was some discussion of interpretation but we guessed we'd figure it out as we went along.
We walked past the dog park and into a wooded area.
It was damp and cool (remember the thunder storm?) and slightly uphill.
We followed the paved path long enough for me to feel slightly winded as IT WAS UPHILL and began searching the landscape for a wrought iron fence.
Just around a curve and up another hill we spotted it - the remnants of a fence from an estate.
We turned left and traveled further into the woods and higher on the hill. At one point we came across a larger fence separating the park from houses and had to double back. We had forgotten to look for the tree with the white rectangle on it...
having spotted the tree, we started to get excited. Maybe there WOULD be a box hidden in the location we were searching.
Our next instruction was to walk 100 paces up the hill into the woods.
THE WOODS.
We were pretty excited at this point as we spied the rock mentioned in the directions.
It wasn't far from the tree shaped like a vee....
And there, just next to the rock, covered with sheets of bark -
we found it!
It was carefully wrapped in a zip bag and contained a pen, a notebook and a stamp and stamp pad.
There were a couple of years worth of stamps and notes and signatures from people who had visited.
We left our marks and made some notes - Youngest wrote about not being allowed to wear his pirate equipment and I left my blog address, and then we stood and talked about where we were and reveled in our success.
We headed out of the cool wet woods and back towards the trail, the bottom of which was blocked by a long, locked board.
We stopped to read some old looking graffiti - about Erica and Phil.
I'll flip it so you can read it too -
ERICA & PHIL
4...A WHILE!!!
LIFE
OH YEAH!!!
Middle drew an arrow toward the word LIFE and wrote: GET ONE.
So much for "leave no trace" adventures in the woods.
When we got back to the parking lot I invited Middle to practice driving - which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
I wrote about our failed attempt a while ago. Feel free to read about it while I describe our latest excursion.
In a continuing effort to keep the boys from spending 20 hours a day having their brains sucked dry via electronic devices, we re-checked the Letterboxing site to discover the addition of a box buried not far from our home.
The boys welcomed the chance, after a thunder storm, to hop in the car and go in search of said Letterbox.
(Special note: Youngest came downstairs dressed in full pirate regalia, Middle rejected this costume as "silly," Youngest reacted by being appropriately pouty and left his wooden pirate gun, hook and hat at home. His spirits lifted shortly after we pulled out of the driveway.)
With directions in hand, we drove about three miles to a park nearby....
We took turns going over the instructions once we got to the park. There was some discussion of interpretation but we guessed we'd figure it out as we went along.
We walked past the dog park and into a wooded area.
It was damp and cool (remember the thunder storm?) and slightly uphill.
We followed the paved path long enough for me to feel slightly winded as IT WAS UPHILL and began searching the landscape for a wrought iron fence.
Just around a curve and up another hill we spotted it - the remnants of a fence from an estate.
We turned left and traveled further into the woods and higher on the hill. At one point we came across a larger fence separating the park from houses and had to double back. We had forgotten to look for the tree with the white rectangle on it...
having spotted the tree, we started to get excited. Maybe there WOULD be a box hidden in the location we were searching.
Our next instruction was to walk 100 paces up the hill into the woods.
THE WOODS.
We were pretty excited at this point as we spied the rock mentioned in the directions.
It wasn't far from the tree shaped like a vee....
And there, just next to the rock, covered with sheets of bark -
we found it!
It was carefully wrapped in a zip bag and contained a pen, a notebook and a stamp and stamp pad.
There were a couple of years worth of stamps and notes and signatures from people who had visited.
We left our marks and made some notes - Youngest wrote about not being allowed to wear his pirate equipment and I left my blog address, and then we stood and talked about where we were and reveled in our success.
We headed out of the cool wet woods and back towards the trail, the bottom of which was blocked by a long, locked board.
We stopped to read some old looking graffiti - about Erica and Phil.
I'll flip it so you can read it too -
ERICA & PHIL
4...A WHILE!!!
LIFE
OH YEAH!!!
Middle drew an arrow toward the word LIFE and wrote: GET ONE.
So much for "leave no trace" adventures in the woods.
When we got back to the parking lot I invited Middle to practice driving - which I'll tell you about tomorrow.
Comments
Been meaning to post about it so enjoyed yours.
How lovely.
Tell Middle I'm a little disappointed at his comments re Youngest's pirate regalia and that he should pay greater respect to the obvious impact his opinion has on his younger sibling.
And that I may just have to kill him with a tray if he insists on behaving like, you know, a brother.
maybe the boys need a gps so they can geocache.
We got "lost" in the Mashpee River Woodlands when the kids were young. It was only for about 30 minutes but they would never go back with us.
ihsrqz
Oh. Siblings with comments.
Gotta love them.
I am some impressed with all your summer activities.
Did you put the box back where you found it or hid it somewhere else?
Eager to hear about the driving.
paola
fun times. I can't wait to be in the woods with no mosquitoes.
jbhat
And the trippy part is interpreting the instructions.
Yay you!
I like Pirates.
I am telling the boys about this when they get home from school.
ErinH