Andean Trekker Visits Smithfield, Virginia

Cacher Andean Trekker shares some really great stories about his personal adventures.  Recently he was in Smithfield, Virginia to do a bit of caching and here is his story.

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Smithfield, Virginia...Ham Capitol of the World and a nice geocaching city tour 

 We approached Smithfield from the east. We were in Newport News so we left the peninsula via the James River Bridge and picked up some nice geocaches on the way. This town is famous for its hams. As we approached from the southeast the first thing we saw was the town's waterfront. It was full of shops. The waterfront buildings are beautiful. From there we went to Main Street to find the tourist information center. After getting oriented we headed out on our walking tour of Smithfield. Our first stop was a store/restaurant called "A Taste of Smithfield". 

It was fun to go through the shop that specializes in selling hams and peanuts. The samples were great there. We left with a stock of chocolate covered peanuts. We visited the Old Courthouse next. It wasn't open but the prisoner stocks out front made for a good photo. We moved on to the city museum. At the museum we saw the oldest ham, the largest ham and saw a video on the city's record breaking "World's Largest Ham Biscuit". The museum was free and worth the time. The town's tourism center has joined up with local geocachers to incorporate some caches into their walking tour. 

 We visited and enjoyed finding Brick Walk (GC11VZ8). The historical houses that are beautifully preserved will take your breathe away. The coffee shops and bakery will draw you in just by the aroma. Of course one of our favorite caches was a simple park and grab at the tourism office. After completing the walking tour we headed out of town to the southwest. We stopped to grab Hot N Cold (GC2WJQ5). 

 We pulled into the parking lot of the business next door. It was just a short walk across the grass to the GZ for the cache so off I went. I started my search and was coming up empty. I'm the type who feels somewhat shy about searching for a cache where I know I'm probably being watched. Usually when I find that a cache is in front of someone's workplace where they can observe you from their desk, I'll avoid it. So, with the cache eluding me I headed for the car. Just then a voice calls out, "You aren't giving up yet are you?". 

It was one of the co-owners of the cache and she encouraged me to give it another shot. I did and was still coming up short so she gave me a good hint. Not only did she give me a hint she brought me one of her pathtags as a reward for my tenacity. It was a pleasure meeting bdramatic! We said good-bye before hitting the road on a long trip to High Point, NC. We really enjoyed our visit to Smithfield and hope that you'll get the chance to visit too!

 

Fun Event on Doomsday (not)

This is a great little story from Andean Trekker about how he spent his 'end of the world' day.  And also - how this is a very big beginning for his family also.

The Mayan Apocalypse and Geocachers - 21 December 2012

Mayan Calendar Geocoin

Geocachers braving the cold at the Cline Observatory

For months we've been hearing all the hype about the end of the world coming on 21 December 2012. According to the news there were a number of folks who really believe that the end was really coming.  We heard about folks in Russia paying big bucks to sleep the day away in a bunker. Others spent lots of money to go to some village in France that was supposed to be one of the few places that was to survive the destruction. A few others were reported to have sold off everything and partied as thought there would be no tomorrow. The distorted version was that the Mayan calendar predicted this date as the end. In fact the Mayan calendar simply resets, starts over or cycles again on 21 December 2012. With all the hype a group of local geocachers thought it would be fun to get together the night of the 21st to take a look at the skies over the northern hemisphere at the Cline Observatory at Guilford Technical Community College. After all, if there was some kind of super special alignment of the planets wouldn't an observatory with its high powered telescope help us see it?  A local geocacher named markcase (also a science teacher at a local high school) organize the event.

About 7 p.m. sumajhuarmi and I made it to the assigned coordinates. We were some of the last ones to arrive. Having obeyed the instructions included on the cache page we were ready for the cold. We had the layers on. I in my long trench coat and Peruvian chullo (knitted tobagan). Upon arrival we signed the log for It's the End of the World! (GC41MQ9) and were quickly escorted onto the telescope platform. Prof Tom English and an assistant controlled the computer that slewed the telescope into position. We took a look at several stars, star clusters, Jupiter and four of its moons as well as our own moon. The images were spectacular. We had to wait for patches of clouds to dissipate but that just gave us an opportunity to visit more.

It was a cold and blustery night but a great time for a get-together and celebrate the fact that the world wasn't going to end this way. Remember Y2K and all the fears that generated?  Jesus himself said that only the Father knows. We need not fear the prophecies of those who regularly predict the end of the world or the second coming on a specific date. They simply don't know what they are saying.

We wrapped up this educational experience with a group photo and some cookies thanks to the thoughtfulness of sumajhuarmi. We thanked the staff of the college and markcase for organizing the even. It's great to be back in the USA and have the opportunity to get to know local geocachers through events like this. Later in the evening our youngest daughter contacted us from Mexico where she was with her boyfriend to meet his family. They had taken a balloon ride over the Aztec pyramids near Mexico City where he arranged a romantic marriage proposal. She said "yes"! Instead of the "end", 21 December 2012 is a beginning" for our family!