Christmas Party 2010

Pre-party quiet time
The Great Gillespie Cookie Decorating contest:
Dylan and Peyton are serious about this cookie thing:
The 2 girls on the left were the eventual winners


Party time:

The living room with the fireplace video :)
Grandpa and friend:
The winning cookie:
All the kids - smile pretty everyone - let's see those camera faces:

Happy Birthday Dylan!

Dylan is now a teen-ager - can't believe that bouncing baby boy is now thirteen years old! Happy Birthday, Dylan.

He didn't want a party, so Kyle and Peyton came over after school for pizza and cake and a sleep over. Grandma and grandpa were lucky enough to be able to participate and receive a birthday hug. Or two. Or three :)

Lots of great presents!



Time for pizza - it was yummy - I haven't had Domino's for ages.

Cake and pie - that cake from Toojay's was most excellent.

Outstanding pie buffet from Perkins!




For his birthday, Dylan also got the last day of school before Christmas vacation! That's a very appreciated gift.

Pork Loin

This evening we grilled pork loin and had Laurie and Dylan over for dinner - pork loin, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes and broccoli. Chip is at work. It was very good. Dylan got a break from his homework, and Dick got some help from Laurie with the game.

Today is my Dad's birthday. He would have been 103 today.

Sugarwar

This morning, these cranes wished us a good morning outside the kitchen window. At home we have a couple dozen turkeys who greet us every day. This is quite a change!

This morning we did some caching in Jensen Beach, just north of the Roosevelt bridge.

Here are Dick's logs:

12/15/2010 You couldn't find Room at the top Visit Log
Dang!! Another DNF. We gave this a quick look but our time was running out. We had a lunch date with Sugarwar and had to cut the hunt short.
12/15/2010 You found Wolverine Visit Log
Being loyal Michiganders and life time Wolverine fans (Grads, children of grads, grand children of grads, parents of 3 grads) we HAD to find this one. And NO we did not bring this weather down with us! Signed the log and left our micro card. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Cxing's Very Skary Shari! Visit Log
We had some errands to run this morning in Jensen Beach and then a luncheon appointment. We got the errands done with some time left over and decided to grab a few. As the previous logger said, " The wife beat me to it"
Signed the wet log and drove on to the next. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Temporary Insanity Visit Log
We had some time before lunch to grab a few caches. This was a nice walk from the Cracker Barrel parking lot and a quick find of an interesting hide. Considering an earlier log, we have had quite a number of discussions about the etiquette involved in dealing with a find when in a group. If one simply shouts "Got it!!" and grabs the container, then they are depriving the others of the pride of the find. We decided that the best thing to do is to sit down, signaling that you have made the find and allow the others to continue the hunt if they wish. We know that such behavior cuts into the numbers for the day but it does allow others to sharpen their geosense.
The log is too wet to sign but we did our best. TFTC
12/15/2010 You found Payback Visit Log
The wooden structures threw us. We couldn't figure out what their purpose could be. Thankfully we were scheduled for lunch with Sugarwar. Not only did we have great ribs, we had a fun conversation about caching, families, life in Michigan and in Florida. In the process, they explained the arbors to us. We appreciated the hide. A container which obviously required some thought, planning and effort is so much more enjoyable to find than a film can under a rock. Thanks for your creativity.
12/15/2010 You couldn't find It's A Snap Visit Log
Not a snap for us today. Not sure what our problem was here. Perhaps we just didn't spot it or perhaps it's in or under the pile of fresh cut brush at GZ
12/15/2010 You found No Justice Visit Log
We love creative hides!! Another nice one. Signed the log and left a Compass Rose tag. Thanks for your efforts in creating the hide.

At one o'clock we met Sue Ellen and Gary at the Park Avenue Grill for ribs and conversation. They are a fun couple and we had a great two hour lunch! As Dick said, we discussed Florida, Michigan, geocaching and families - all favorite subjects of ours.

Successful Day

Cold, windy day, but clear skies. The wind was penetrating, but we had good luck geocaching. We found 13 caches on the 13th.

Met Laurie for lunch at Panera Bread, and Chip came and joined us for coffee. They invited us to dinner at their house, and we had yummy chili made by Chip.

Here are Dick's logs for our 13 finds:

12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 6		Visit Log
After we posted a somewhat snarky log for a micro a few days ago, John&Jelene wrote us a note and suggested we give Boat Ramp Rd. a look. We did today and loved it! We had a lunch date in Palm City and our clock was running out but after finding one of our pencils in the previous cache, we had to give this one a shot. No pencil but we found one of our winter 2008 sig cards. We signed the log and left our pencil and our latest card. Thanks for the fun. We had to forgo the last two caches on the road, a reason to return.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 5		Visit Log
We were working our way along Boat Ramp Rd and we eventually came to number 5. Imagine our surprise when we opened the log baggie and found one of our pencils. What a hoot! We used it to sign the log. Thanks for the fun.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 4		Visit Log
Last week we received a note from the owners of this series after our somewhat snarky log on a micro. They informed us of this series and invited us to give it a look. We started our day with five micros, three of which had damp and moldy log "books". We truly enjoy finding containers which are large enough to leave sig items and swag. This series has been the most enjoyable on this year's Florida visit. I retrieved the container and brought it back to the cachemobile to survey the contents and to sign the log book. As we were finishing, a police officer pulled up behind us and asked if we were having any problems. I said "No everything's fine". His response was "Oh, are you Geocaching? We get a lot of that along here." We signed the log, left our card and a brass uniform button we picked up in Russia. Thanks for the adventure.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 3		Visit Log
Continuing our visit to the enjoyable caches on Boat Ramp Rd. we discovered this well camoed and hidden cache. Thanks again. We signed the log and left one of our new pathtags. Thanks for another fun cache.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 2		Visit Log
As promised by the owners, this series is making our day. We haven't found so many real caches in a row since last year in JD park. We signed the log and left some hand sanitizer.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp 1		Visit Log
Continuing the boat ramp series, we spotted the camoed container and for the first time on this Florida trip, we were able to trade sig cards. We signed the log and left a geo-keychain, then it was on to the next one.
12/13/2010	You found Boat Ramp Gate!		Visit Log
After receiving a note from the owners inviting (and challenging) us to do this series, we put it near the top of our ToDo list. After finding the well placed container, we signed the log and left a ladybug charm and continued on down the road.
12/13/2010	You found Savage Forest Fire		Visit Log
This find was, to us, quite disturbing. This was our sixth find of the day. The other five were a bunch of micros, three with with wet log books. This however is a cache which the owner has obviously put in a good deal of time and creativity. This is our kind of cache! Following the excellent cords to GZ, we spotted the unique, to us an any rate, well hidden container. Unfortunately, when we opened it we discovered that, other than the log, it was empty. Not even the usual collection of geojunk. It had been looted. Out of respect to the owners' efforts, we restocked it slightly with a Shrek ball, sunscreen and some sig items. This cache turned our day around. We skipped the micros and went only for real cache containerst he rest of the way. Thanks for your efforts.
12/13/2010	You found Future Exit?		Visit Log
Wow, another wet log book, this is the third one we've found in only five caches. TFTC
12/13/2010	You found Wild Wild Life		Visit Log
This is a fascinating spot. After signing the log, we took a drive back to the refuge. Saw a number of birds, including a pair of eagles. They also have a young deer back there. Thanks for bringing us here. The log book is wet and should be replaced.
12/13/2010	You found Markel Street Park-n-Grab		Visit Log
We parked and grabbed. TFTC
12/13/2010	You found St. Lucie Canal Overlook		Visit Log
Every time we take the expressway from our rental unit in Summerfield to the kids' house in Hammock Creek, the Nuvi dings to tell us there is a cache on each side. It was driving us nuts. We either had to find them or ignore them. We found Tourist Trap and then told the silly thing to GO to this one. It wanted us to park on 95 and jump over the edge. Even when we followed the roads on the Nuvi map that brought us back here, it still wanted us to "Make a U turn". When it's good, it's very, very, good. When it's bad, it's awful! This is a very neat place, we observed the boats with awe. TFTC
12/13/2010	You found Tourist Trap?		Visit Log
Every time we take the expressway from our rental unit in Summerfield to the kids house in Hammock Creek, the Nuvi dings to tell us there is a cache on each side. It was driving us nuts. We either had to find it or ignore it. We found it. The log book needs to be replaced, it is torn and moldy.

Sweet Sunday

Breakfast at the Flashback Diner - it was OK, but very crowded. We most likely will not return there.

We drove with Laurie and Dylan to the oxbow Eco-Center. As soon as we entered the driveway, it began to rain. Then we found out that the Center is closed Sunday and Monday. Oh well.

The sun came out, and one cache was found and we drove back to Palm City.

We invited them to dinner tonight (burgers), and then went to the grocery store.

Dinner went well. Dick made a big salad and grilled the burgers and some shrimp. We discovered that our house is very nice for entertaining.

Narnia

While our friends and relatives in Michigan are buried under tons of snow, with high winds and blizzard conditions, the worst we've had in Florida is frost and freeze. The annuals that are always planted at this time of the year have been bitten and look dead. These palms give an idea of what the foliage looks like around here now.




Round Robin tennis for Dylan this morning at the Martin Downs Tennis Club. It was very much fun to watch. He played four singles matches and one doubles match. Lost the double and won all of the singles :)

Entrance to the tennis club:

Dylan is the tall one in the navy blue:

We went to Laurie's for a sandwich and some WoW ( I took a nap). Then we were off to the movies.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 3D at the Treasure Coast Mall. We all liked it very much - the special effects were very well done, and we loved all of the main characters. The new young actor who played Eustace Scrubb really did a fine job. Lucy, of course, has always been my favorite. Dick even liked it. Chip was at work.

So full of popcorn that we skipped dinner :) You just have to love it. (Please notice that Dylan is taller than Laurie! How did that happen??)

Friday at the Lake

Laurie, Dick and I drove out to Lake Okeechobee to do some geocaching and sight seeing combined. We're back to having great Florida weather - sunny and 72 :) The drive out to the lake is on a beautiful country road lined with trees and shrubs and palms dripping with Spanish moss - very picturesque.

We walked out on the big pier, which we shared with the birds, and got a great view of the lake.

Dad and daught:


Grandma and Mommy:




It was unusual to see these two (or more) species of birds "flocking together". The darker birds have orange feet and straight orange bills.


There were five caches found, and one of them was big enough for Laurie to place the travel bug she found a year ago - it got packed away with the Christmas things, and so it just showed up this week! It's back on it's travels now! There were a couple of frustrating DNF's, but we had a good time looking anyway.

We ate lunch at Lunker's in Lake Okeechobee, which turned out to be a great place with yummy sandwiches.





This is the only four-legged wildlife we saw today - and they weren't very wild:



We got back to Palm City just in time to pick Dylan up from school, and spent the rest of the day hanging out at their house. Laurie's new computer is all hooked up, and the new monitor is attached, so Dylan was excited when he got home. Our game has a new expansion with lots of changes and additions, and so WoW has become even more interesting this week. On most days he doesn't have much time to spend playing on the computer, but today he made up for it!

In the car line at school this bumper sticker caught our eye - Dylan is in that class too, so we were interested to see it.



Our day of caching:

12/10/2010 You couldn't find Allapattah Watering Hole
Gave it a quick look but our clock was running down and we had to get to Hidden Oaks to pick up the youngest Sharkie.

12/10/2010 You found Allapattah Flats Trail 3
TNLNSL-TFTC No cow pie dodging on this one.

12/10/2010 You found Zeke Made Me Do It BillyBob
I was dodging cow pies and marveling at all the spots where an ammo can could hide when Mrs. Sharkie scored the find. TNLNSL - TFTC

12/10/2010 You found Foxy Brown
After a drive to the lake we had to get back to Palm City to pick up our grandson from middle school. We kept one eye on the clock and the other on the GPS as we drove east. This one popped and we discovered the smallest Lock-N-Lock we've ever found. Some critter likes it, he's been gnawing the camo. We left our card and a lady bug charm. TFTC

12/10/2010 You couldn't find Fire In The Hole
No joy today

12/10/2010 You found Behind the Bell
An AMMO CAN!!! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! We really like to be able to swap swag.
Today we teamed up with Sharkeie Crew for a drive out to the lake with the goal of finding a cache large enough to hold a TB. That is not an easy task in this part of the world. Our experience so far is that no more than 1 in 10 caches here are in regular sized containers. We've grabbed our share of micros but today we just weren't in the mood. Thanks for bringing us to this interesting neighborhood. It's an old song but, "Were it not for Geocaching, we would never have come here".
Took nothing, left our card and some hand sanitizer. Thanks again for the cache.

12/10/2010 You found Why Here?
Today's goal was to drive out to the lake with Sharkie Crew, enjoy the scenery, and find a regular cache to drop a TB into. This cache accomplished the first goal. As to "Why Here?", it's pretty obvious that at some point in the past, folks were free to drive in the area, perhaps to drop air boats. Now to find one of those rare and elusive regular sized containers.