Letterboxing Weekend: Part II

Since Mike had to be back to school early today for Aids Walk, I volunteered to drive him back and go spend some much needed girl-time with my friend, Erin. Christina enjoyed her letterbox adventure so much the day before that she went with us, too! We planned to look for two letterboxes, "Wild Thing" and "Jacob's Favorite Places: Oakhurst Dog Park," the first being in Grant Park and the second in, well, Oakhurst Dog Park. Erin, Christina and I headed out to Grant Park on a beautiful fall day. We walked all through the park past the pavilions and the pond and finally found the playground. I thoroughly enjoy walking through such big, lush parks like that in the middle of such a busy, bustling city. We found the playground and consulted the clue, but despite our best efforts we were forced to leave empty handed!

We tried our best not to let it get us down, and instead we wound our way through the streets in search of Oakhurst Dog Park. After circling the block several times we finally found the parking lot and walked into the park sans dog. We immediately spotted the Magnolia tree and benches mentioned in the clue, and followed the rest of the instructions from there. Odie was right there as promised, in one of Jacob's Favorite Places. Erin did the honors of securing the letterbox from its hiding space, and she, Christina and I stamped in on some stumps in the woods with the sounds of happy dogs running and playing in the background.

Odie's Hiding Place

Erin with her 1st Letterbox!

Odie

Stina after stamping in for the first time

After our success we decided to end on a high note and celebrate the find with some smoothies from Smoothie King. We enjoyed our drinks and walked around Edgewood, people watching, window shopping and browsing at Target. After Christina and I left Erin's house, we went back to Georgia State to visit Mike one last time before going home, and to try to find the School Daze- GSU letterbox. We didn't have any luck with the box, but we got to give Mike some extra hugs and I was able to get this great shot of the two of them:

Posing by the GSU Panther

Letterboxing Weekend: Part I

Mike and Christina decided to hike to the Indian Seats yesterday for their anniversary. I remembered that there was a letterbox there, and offered to let them use my stuff to find the letterbox. Christina wrote this about their day in my logbook:

"Mike and I hiked to the Indian Seats today to celebrate our anniversary. Since Ashlee knew there was a letterbox up there, she let us use her supplies to try to find it. The trail is about a mile up the mountain, and we hiked up it on a beautiful fall day full of changing leaves and a crisp breeze. When we got to the top we took pictures of the amazing scenery and enjoyed the Indian seats. Once some of the people cleared out we looked for Engaging. We explored the stairs under the lookout porch and found the box! We had a fun time stamping in on the benches, and enjoyed our first find ever! It was a really fun experience and a great thing to share together on our anniversary."

Not only did Mike and Christina find the letterbox, but there was a hitchhiker hiding there as well! They weren't sure of the protocol and therefore didn't bring it with them, but they stamped it in just the same! Here are some pictures of their finds!

"Engaging"

The Hitchhiker

View from the Top

I go to old Brenau so pity me!

So, yesterday was le suck. As I was getting ready for work Alex called and told me that he had been laid off. This was so completely out of left field and unexpected that we didn't quite know what to do. After he got home and we had our mutual momentary panic, we decided to go ahead and make the trek to Gainesville so that he could file his unemployment claim.

Not one to let that bitch, Life, get the best of me, I tried to make better of a bad situation by finding a letterbox! So while we were in the area we stopped by my alma mater, Brenau University, to seek the "Golden Tigers" letterbox. At first I was not a happy camper because I had planned on planting an almost identical stamp in the exact same location, but ultimately I decided that I was just excited there was one there!

The stamp, shown to the right, is the old Brenau logo that was in use during my time at Brenau. It looks simple enough, but the actual detail of the lettering on "BRENAU" and the swoops and swirls beneath the word are all done so perfectly! I was very pleased with the outcome. After finding the stamp under the crow's nest, I climbed to the top to stamp in, and promptly got eaten alive by the roughly 4237894732894023 mosquitoes that make the "nest" their home. The hitchhiker letterbox that I found with "Remember When" was too big to leave at "Golden Tigers," but I know I'll find a home for it soon.

I did not take pictures of the Crow's Nest, but I'll include some old pictures of the former Crow's Nest so that you can get an idea of what it's like (and see how beautiful Brenau is!)

Me and my Alpha class posing at the top, Senior Year (Jan 2008)

Again on the stairs: Courtney, Sarah, Elaina, Audrey, Nyssa, Amber, and Me (From Top to bottom, left to right)

Me and Tonya at the foot of the Crow's Nest, next to the Brenau Ideal (May 2008)

This is a reflection of Pearce Auditorium (the building behind the Crow's Nest) as seen in a reflection on a stone bench on campus (all visible from this letterbox!)

Heatwave

So I attempted to find a letterbox yesterday, but to no avail. I am getting super restless and frustrated because it has been SO long since I letterboxed, but I'll tell you...this heatwave ain't makin' things easy.

It was probably around 105 yesterday, and the letterbox in question, Matilda's, is very much an outdoor box. Although no hiking or strenuous activity is required, Matilda's Art Gallery is outside and very woody, which lends it's helping hand to the poor starved mosquitoes that feasted on my tan and supple legs during the fifteen minutes we managed to stay outside and look in the sweltering heat.

It was a disappointing loss, but rest assured, I will try again.

I think Letterboxing may be a Fall sport for me...

My First Plant

I actually carved the stamp for my first plant on the very first day I went letterboxing with Tonya. She and I discussed the possibility of doing a Brenau series, but I thought it would be fun to do it with a twist. This one is hidden at the Mellow Mushroom in Gainesville because that is where the first classes for Brenau were held before the campus was completed. Here is my clue:

1. Find Mellow Mushroom, and park out back. 
2. With your back to the building, follow 3 lamp posts to the back of the lot. 
3. From the last lamp post, turn 90* to an arrow that will point your way.
4. From the tip of the arrow, spy a cluster of trees just beyond the parking lot borders.
5. Approximately 11 paces from the tip, find the tree alone and to the right. 
6. Behind this tree and below a rock, you will find something to help you "Mellow Out". 

May 15, 2010

Alex and I went to Windermere Park today; a small, relatively unknown park in Cumming, Georgia. The main appeal, for me, was a letterbox of unknown status called "Remember When: 1st in Series..." a letterbox that had not been found since 2008. However, another letterbox, "Ashton" also resides there, too. Since Ashton was pretty much a sure thing, we began our hunt looking for her.

It was a little difficult to find, and the directions were not exactly what I would personally consider straight forward, but I am so glad that we took the time to really look. Not only was Ashton a cute stamp, with a bonus stamp of a little bone, but Ashton was also planted in the prettiest location to date. As I sat down to stamp in (after Alex pulled Ashton from underneath a rock beyond the fence) we were surrounded by lush, green trees, birds, squirrels, and the tranquil sounds of the river rushing over the rocks below. I don't know if it was a creek or a river, but I do know that I wouldn't trade that moment for anything.

So after finding and replacing Ashton, and enjoying the scenery around her home, Alex and I started back down the path toward the unknown letterbox. We didn't have the highest of hopes, but after some careful searching...WE FOUND IT! Okay, okay...so maybe Alex found it since he did all of the heavy lifting and digging, but I cheered him on!

So 'ol Kilroy here was hidden in a hole inside a hollow stump, positively covered in dirt and yuck. The mess was definitely worth it though, because not only did we get to confirm the stamp's continued existence, but I also got to repair some water damage and... I found my first hitch hiker!

A hitch hiker is a letterbox that moves around from place to place and is re-hidden each time by the letterboxer who finds it. My hitch hiker was carved and planted by BOXDN, and originated in Louisiana. It traveled to Georgia early on in its letterbox career, and finally came to rest alongside Kilroy in the Remember When box. Where will I plant it next...?

May 10, 2010 Part III

After finding so many letterboxes Amber and I were feeling like a pair of daring, accomplished letterboxers, and we wanted something more. After prowling through a very, very old, local cemetery and coming up empty handed, we decided to try a more recent plant at the Hopewell Christian Church and Cemetery in Suwanee. The spooky "Chernabog" stamp certainly did not disappoint.

By the time we got to the cemetery it was dark gray and drizzling outside--perfect cemetery weather, and the Chernabog's hiding place among the graves was exactly the spook we were looking for!

On a sidenote, see how much better hand-carved stamps can be (please excuse poor stamp quality, I had a difficult time getting the stamp to fit in my ink pad!)?