The Stamps I Earned....

I realized a little while ago that I failed to mention what stamps I earned while at the Candy Land event. So, here they are:

Hansel and Gretel-Event Box
M&M-Event Box
Everlasting Gobstopper-Event Box with Slugworth Bonus Stamp
Candy Land-Official Event Stamp
Vogel Family-Exchange
Hummingbird Family-Exchange
Scoop
Cookies
Gingerbread #1
Candy Land Kids
Mr. Mint
Queen Frostine
Lord Licorice
Grandma Nutt
Princess Lolly
Jolly
Gloppy
King Kandy
Sweet Caroline
Sweet Caroline Bonus Stamp
Silver Spoon and Master Explorer-exchange
The Pinata Box
Santa's Sweet Tooth
A Ssssnake Story
A Sweet Baboo

The Candy Land Event

The day finally arrived for the event that we've been anticipating for the past month or so. Yesterday morning, we got in Blue Butterfly's van at 6:00 a.m. and headed down to Humble for The Candy Land Event.

We estimated it would take us about three and a half hours to get to Mercer Arboretum, then we got on the road. We stopped in Livingston so that I could check on my HANK HILL box and the rest of my crew could stamp into it. This was a nice diversion after having been in the car for a while. The boys got to run around and burn off some energy and I got to see all the wonderful boxers who'd visited my box.

After getting on the highway for a little while longer, we arrived at the designated pavilion and were greeted by Mother of Five, Dewberry, and Sandibox. We presented Dewberry with our popcorn that we brought to share, and she rewarded us with a bonus clue for bringing a treat.

We sat at the "sweet treats" table and discovered there were some LB's hidden right there inside some of the candy boxes, so we got busy! Dewberry also let us know that there were several gingerbread men who'd gotten loose in the park, and if we saw them, there was a letterbox hidden near them.

After finding a few boxes and meeting a few people, it was our turn to start the Candyland game! We were super-excited to get our packet of clues from Gryzzled Gryphon, who also told BB and I about having found our boxes in Breckenridge Park in San Antonio (Thanks GG!). We started our game by collecting the CANDYLAND KIDS, then headed for our life-size game board. The boys had a lot of fun looking for the next colored square, near which we would find another Candyland figure. We earned 8 boxes in the Candyland game.

After finishing our game, we took a little break. We ate some sandwiches and talked and exchanged with other letterboxers. Then, it was time for us to go try to find a couple of more boxes at a different part of the park.

When we drove around to the other side of the arboretum, the first thing Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey noticed was the playground. We told them that if we hurried, we'd have time to play for a while before we left. We hit the trail and discovered the Busybees, RunsforChocolate, and Sandibox stamping into the pinata box. This was when I remembered that RFC was going to hide a box that day, and I hadn't recieved the clue from her yet! So, I asked her for the clue, and she kindly obliged me. When she was telling us where the box was located, I realized that this was going to be a temporary box, and that I wouldn't have time to get it that day. I was a little disappointed, but I understand that I can't get every stamp at every event.

That being said, we offered to let RFC and Sandibox take the images from the stamps we were planning to leave in the PINATA BOX. Then, we joined Batty B and oohed and aahed over all the candy/prizes located in the box. This one was a real treat!

After the PINATA BOX, we headed down the trail to find SANTA'S SWEET TOOTH and SSSSNAKE STORY. We ran into GG again and chatted with him for a moment, then we were on our way. We stamped into both of these boxes. As we were finishing up, a couple came walking down the path, so I told BB to go ahead to the playground while I waited for these non-boxing people to get out of sight. I re-hid that box and when I got to the car, BB was there with RFC. RunsforChocolate was nice enough to come back to the park and let us stamp into her temporary box before she went home. We really appreciated this extra effort that she went to in order to give us her special sweet treat. THANK YOU RFC!

After stamping in, Stinky Monkey and Roarin' Lion FINALLY got to play on the playground. They enjoyed every minute of it. Thanks to everyone at the event! We had a great time and enjoyed meeting old friends and new friends!

Today's Event

Blue Butterfly, Roarin' Lion, Stinky Monkey, and I had a rip-roarin' good time at the Candyland event in Humble today! We left at about 6:00 this morning to make our way down there, and finally got back to BB's house at about 9:30. We had a BLAST, and I really want to thank Dewberry, Mother of Five, and Sandibox for showing us a grand time today. I'll definitely add in more details later, but now its bedtime for me!!

Counts

Soooo....I went through my logbooks this evening and took a little inventory...just for fun. Here's what I came up with:

Traditional Finds: 307
Hitch Hikers: 20
Events Attended/Stamps: 7
Unofficial Event Stamps: 15
Exchanges: 62
Postals: 2
Personal Travelers: 43
Cooties: 4

I've also: Planted 26 boxes of my own
Carved 2 stamps that others planted
Planted one box that another 'boxer created
....and I carved two stamps this week that have yet to be planted
I also managed to attend one event and failed to get the Event Stamp for it....I'm sure I'm the only letterboxer in North America who would do something like that!

Flowers and Little People

Today, it was time for me to leave Blue Buttefly's house and head back to my place, but I wasn't going to make that trip without logging a few finds! I wanted to finish out the rest of the TRIBUTE TO JOAN: THE SEVEN DWARVES Series, and pick up a couple of others along the way.

I started out first by finding RAINBOW OF FLOWERS by Purpleintexkim. This one is out in a nice, peaceful, cemetery which is across the road from a beautiful hill-scape where cows graze.
While in New Summerfield and Rusk, I also managed to find HAPPY and GRUMPY. I messed up in the directions for the other Tribute box in New Summerfield and decided to skip Jacksonville today. I'm not too worried, though, because I'll be going back through there later on this week and will hopefully have all seven dwarves with me then! Thanks JB Kokopelli for carving such great stamps for this series!

Next, I was off to Palestine. I wanted to find SIGNS OF SPRING during this, the bleak mid-winter. This box is in a great park called Davey Dogwood Park, and I can just imagine what it would look like when spring is here and the dogwoods are blooming. I'm definitely going to try and make a point of going back there when things are in bloom.

Christmas Activities

Today, I celebrated Christmas at Blue Butterfly's house with her, my dad, and my brother's family (including Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey). I got to the house around 10:30 or so. We exchanged our gifts (I came away with some plastic containers and cammo tape!) and ate a wonderful lunch that BB had prepared.

After lunch, the boys played with some of their new remote control cars, then we settled in for a fun game of Candyland. Roarin' Lion somehow managed to win every game! I don't know what his secret is, but I have to find out!

At about 2:00, RL and SM went back to their house with their parents. Then, I started itching...and itching....and itching....I tried to figure out what was wrong...I was itching to find another letterbox! I knew there was at least one not TOO far from BB's house, so she agreed to accompany me to New London so I could stamp into EXPLOSION AT NEW LONDON. While we were out, BB also scouted out a location for a new box that she is going to be planting soon at a historical site.

We came back to BB's place and I settled down and carved a new stamp called OSCAR'S LUNCH. Look for it to be planted sometime in the near future!

A Wish for Letterboxers

Wishing you a rainbow

for sunlight after showers-

Miles and Miles of secret smiles

For happy golden hours-

Clues in your inbox

For ink and logbooks too,

And a host of friends that never ends

Each day your whole life through!

Annual Christmas Weekend Trip-Part 2

Sunday morning, we got up and were ready to hit the trail! We started out by trying to find the Lonesome Dove box, but realized we would pass by THE LABYRINTH box on our way there, so we stopped there first. There is quite a bit of construction on the church grounds (don't worry, we were there really early and the church worshippers hadn't arrived yet), so we had to carefully follow the signs to the Prayer Labyrinth. We read the sign for the Labyrinth and took the time to walk through this feature. I'm certainly glad that we stopped and took a moment away from our "rush of things" to enjoy the labyrinth.

After we finished, we decided to take the planter's advice and head across the street to CVS pharmacy, and start our actual quest for the box from there. We easily found this box.

Next, we headed on to find the LONESOME DOVE box. This too, was at a cemetery next to a church, and it was getting late in the morning, so we tried to hurry before the worshippers arrived. The stamp image here was certainly appropriate for this location.

For our final box of the morning, we weren't very far from the Bob Jones Park where ROADRUNNER is located. There is a nice dog park here, and there were a few people in that area with their dogs. We found our road runner...then...beep!beep!....we were on our way back to Navarro County.

Luckily for us, it didn't rain a drop while we were letterboxing this weekend. It didn't start raining until we had started on our way back home. I wanted BB to try and get my Pinky & The Brain boxes, but the weather wasn't right for us....but there's always next time!

Annual Christmas Weekend Trip-Part 1

On Saturday morning, Blue Butterfly and I left my house at about 6:30 and headed north to the DFW area, with one thing on our minds....LETTERBOXES!! Our first stop was in Flower Mound on the shores of beautiful Lake Grapevine to find the Moose Series planted by Puddle Splasher. We'd been eyeing this series for quite some time, and were thrilled to FINALLY be able to make the trip to collect our images. They left quite an impression on us! After finishing up with this series, we ate lunch and headed to Murrell Park to find a BLUE-KISSED MOOSE and the bonus stamp that accompanies it. Next, we left the lake and headed to Heritage Park, where we found IN THE CREEK: LAURENS TURTLE, IN THE TREE: MEGHAN'S BIRD, and THE MOOSE-IC MAN. In her clues, the planter tells us that there is a geocache on top of the box in the Meghan's Bird hiding place. So, we took it with us a little ways away to stamp in. Just as we were finishing up, we saw a couple leisurely walking our direction. It turns out, they were geocachers looking for that particular cache! This was a neat experience for us, as we met our first cachers. We handed over their box, then volunteered to replace it for them.

After leaving Heritage Park, it was time to head back to another part of Lake Grapevine to Rockledge Park. The trails at this park were a bit difficult to navigate, as they have forged new trails and blocked off the old trails. We did manage, however, to find all the boxes we were looking for, which were: WHITE SAILS, THE LOST MOOSE, and THREE BLIND MOOSE.

After finding these boxes, we decided it was time to get a good supper, so we made our way to Cozymel's restaurant and had some of the best Veggie Fajitas a person could ask for!

Thrilled, Happy, and Proud

I'm excited to report that a find has been logged for the Cranberry Cruiser box. What makes it even more special is that the first reported find was from the letterboxer for whom this box was created. I hope he found at least half as much pleasure in finding this box as I did in creating it.

This box is located in Mother Neff SP, where I happened to catch a few pictures of some very lovely deer.

Pinky & The Brain

This morning, I got out and planted my Pinky & The Brain boxes in Ennis at Bluebonnet Park. I enjoyed this trail, although there is evidence of a certain kind of bug--litterbugs who have been in this park. The pond was nice and peaceful and I was thrilled to hide my boxes on this woodsy trail.

Now, I need to continue to get ready for our boxing marathon, which will start Saturday morning. I'm super excited about it and can't wait to start tupperware hunting!!!

My Letter to Santa

Dear Santa,

I know this letter may be a little late, but hopefully you can find room in your list of things to-do to read this letter and grant my humble wishes. The following is my Christmas Wish-list:

1. To be able to carve tiny stamps and find terrific hiding spots like Silver Eagle.
2. To come up with clever and funny boxes like Baby Bear.
3. To be able to solve mystery boxes like Dewberry.
4. To be a great 'boxing partner like Blue Butterfly.
5. To have terrific stories to go along with my boxes like Corazon.
6. To find as many boxes as Gryzzled Gryphon.
7. To have a tip-top letterboxing website like Sea Dove.
8. To be able to do whatever it takes to snag a special box like Puddle Splasher.
9. To be as friendly and accommodating as Mama Cache and Co. to 'boxers that I meet.
10. To be able to create a wonderfully fun series like Batty B.

As you can see, Santa, I'm not asking for much. Thanks for helping me out with this stuff and I can't wait to find all of these things under my tree on Monday.

Your friend,

Lucy Locket

Mother Neff SP and Georgetown Trip

Yesterday, I got up EARLY and drove out to Moody in order to find a few boxes there. I drove into Mother Neff SP with clues in hand. I stopped at the Ranger's station to show them my pass and get a map, then drove around to where I could find the boxes. When I drove around, I saw the Ranger unlocking a gate, so I just presumed that was a "no access" kind of place and turned left instead. WRONG! I realized I was driving out of the park. The gate that Mr. Ranger was unlocking was to the Day Use Area, and that was EXACTLY where I needed to go. So, I turned around and headed to find my treasures.

It was nice and quiet that morning. I think I was the only one out there enjoying the trails for most of the morning. This park is a nice one, and with the Wash Pond and the Indian Cave, there is a great deal of history here. I found HORNED OWL #2, FIRST TX STATE PARK, DADDY LONG LEGS, THE CCC Co. 817 SERIES, and BAT BOX #2-NEFF BAT. I left a HH in one of these boxes, also, and ofcourse planted a new box.

On my way out, I saw a deer cross the road in front of me and noticed that the little deer had a friend waiting for her. I stopped my car and took as many pictures as I could of these beautiful creatures. They certainly stayed near the road for longer than I anticipated! Then, it was on to Georgetown!!

Blue Butterfly and I had visited Georgetown previously, when we came to do the DELICIOUSLY TASTY COOKIE SERIES by Batty B. We're very fond of the parks in Georgetown due to our adventure there. Anyhow, a few more boxes have been planted there by Boots Tex, Baby Bear, Lone Star Quilter, and a few others, so I certainly wanted to treat myself to these boxes!

I started out at Blue Hole Park. On the trail that leads to THREE LEGGED WILLIE, a couple of trees are down across the path, which made it a little more difficult to count paces as you're climbing over. As always, though, Boots Tex made it worth it! A great stamp with a great story is what I found hiding under the rock. I also found GEORGETOWN QUILT BLOCK, and JIMINY CRICKET in this park. I even left a box called NAP TIME for others to enjoy.

After my adventure here, I headed to Berry Springs Park. I was able to see more of this park on this trip than last time, and I certainly enjoyed the hiking trails. It was nice and peaceful, and a man was fishing in the catch-and-release area. I started out by visiting the cemetery and the donkeys, then found TO HELL AND BACK, BERRY BUSY BEAVER, and SQUARE DANCE QUILT BLOCK. By the time I'd found those boxes, it was getting close to dark, so I had to call it quits and head back home. I was lucky that day that the weather was nice enough for boxing, but it kept most people away from the parks. Now, I must start planning my next trip with Blue Butterfly. We're going to take our Second Annual Weekend Before Christmas Letterboxing Run.....who knows where it will take us??

Slimy, yet Satisfied....

...Well, that pretty much describes how I feel right now. Today, it was drizzling most of the day, but I wanted to get out and enjoy letterboxing...so I did! I'll write more details later, but I will say that I planted two new boxes. One is called CRANBERRY CRUISER and is located in Mother Neff Park in Coryell County. The other one is called NAP TIME and is located in Blue Hole Park in Georgetown. I hope the finders will enjoy these boxes!

I'm a Carvin' Fool!

Today was a very nice day as far as weather goes, but I chose to stay inside with all of my windows open and let the breeze blow in. I did manage, however to carve three stamps. Hopefuly, they'll be planted before the year is over. I'm sort of in the stages of planning a little jaunt for tomorrow, where I can find quite a few and plant some, too. Stay tuned!

Sweet Tooth

The last time we saw Dewberry, she mentioned that she and Mother of 5 were putting together a Candyland-Game-Letterboxing Event that Roarin' Lion and Stinky Monkey would enjoy. Blue Butterfly and I were excited to find out about the final plans for the event! As soon as I saw the event posted on AQ, I signed us up for it and called Blue Butterfly to let her know. We're very excited about attending this unique event and we know our little 'boxing buddies will be thrilled to find all the extra-special clues that day!

LET THE COUNTDOWN BEGIN!