TALKK 2009

Mama Cache and I met at Caroline's Country Kitchen for a good breakfast. MC had a great plan mapped out for the day, so I was certainly excited to hit the road!!

We started out by going to a mystery location to get SQUAD CAR. This box was created, including the carving, by one of my favorite junior letterboxers, Babadge. He did a great job of carving the stamp and finding a clever place to hide it. Thanks, Babadge!!

Lucy Locket at the location of Squad Car--boy, I looked tired ALREADY!

After leaving the secret location, we went to a local cemetery to stamp into HONEY, THIS AIN'T VERMONT. This is a seasonal box by MC. I now have two out of the four seasons.....I guess I need to make plans to come back in winter and spring!!

We made our way towards Jackson to find two Blackberry Patch boxes. Our next stop was at the Centenary State Historic Site. Here, I met Daniel and stamped into the fantastic event stamp. MC left the event box with him and we went hunting for MC's box on the grounds. We found the box, and I stamped in and while MC looked over it and did some box maintenance.

Mama Cache performing box maintenance

Our next stop was the Mary Ann Brown Nature Preserve. There was one WOM box here, and I also have two boxes on site. We found the WOM box and decided to exchange our new signature stamps while we had our things available. We took our time and chatted while we did this. A family of hikers came along and probably thought we were nuts-o, but that's ok.

We went looking for my two boxes in a backwards sort of way. I recognized the place where I thought the first box was and stopped to take a look. It was there, but the logbook was in bad shape. MC helped me do maintenance on this box, then we were on our merry way.

With MC's help, I was able to find the first box in the series. It turns out that one of the signs I'd referenced in the clue was missing, but the box was still there!! I was thrilled that both boxes have lasted almost three years. Both of the IN SEARCH OF boxes are ready to be stamped into by the next letterboxer who passes through!

After making our way back to the trail head and grabbing a granola bar, it was time for us to go to the Audobon SHS to find a few themed boxes that Blackberry Patch had planted. This is a beautiful area. There was a turkey lurking at the front door of the gift shop, so we talked to him for a bit. This area has two ponds, picnic areas, historic buildings, and a few short hiking trails. Definitely worth the visit. MC and I spent quite a bit of time here and found a total of three boxes. It was a beautiful day. While we were on the trail, Blackberry Patch called MC and we made arrangements to meet back at the Centenary Historic Site.

MC and I went to Subway and grabbed a sandwich, then went back to the Historic Site to await Blackberry Patch and Big B's arrival. I even saw a bunny hopping around the edge of the picnic area while we were waiting.

BP arrived and we all greeted one another, swapped stories, and had a grand time. By the time we parted, it was dark. MC and I headed to Angelle's Laundry, a small and intimate restaurant where we feasted on lasagna and salad, with entertainment by a cowboy. We stayed until the kitchen closed, then it was time to call it a day.

The TALKK 2009 Group: Big B, Blackberry Patch, Lucy Locket, Mama Cache