Panera Tuesday

Decided to get some laundry done today since there's not much else going on today.

We went for lunch at Panera Bread to use their WiFi - we're paying through the nose for the iPad hotspot at home.  Too bad - it's Tuesday - no World of Warcraft - they shut down every Tuesday for "maintenance".  Not sure what that means!

Dick went caching with Chip - I stayed home to fold.

01/15/2013	You found  The Giraffe in Low Grass!		Visit Log
Caching with Mr Sharkie made the find quickly and took nothing, left jack squat. TFTC
01/15/2013	You found  1-95 Southbound Stretch!		Visit Log
While Mr Sharkie drove, I attempted to find the cache using the iPad mini the kids gave me for xmas. I had to switch to our trusty Garmin. The learning curve for the iPad is proving to be a bit sharp for me. Took nothing, left our pen. TFTC
01/15/2013	You found  Travel Bugs Need Hugs		Visit Log
While Mr Sharkie drove, I attempted to use the new iPad mini to find and log a few caches. The learning curve is still too sharp for me. Switched to the 62 and made the find. Took 0, left our flashlight. TFTC
01/15/2013	You found  Green Farm TB & Geocoin Hotel		Visit Log
Came out today with Mr Sharkie to visit this cache and launch our latest coin. Found it using the new iPad mini but still can't use it for logging the find. Thanks for placing this here. Took nothing, no trackables in the cache. Left our coin and our pen.

Tennis Tryouts

Went to Treasure Coast Mall to do some walking, and stayed for lunch at the food court.  I had Asia Chao, and Dick had Sbarro.  It was good, but guess what?  I like the Grand Traverse Mall better!  I think I'm a real homer.

 After lunch, we did some caching on the way to Laurie's.

01/14/2013

You couldn't find Where the Wild Things Are

Visit Log

We were trying to cache using only our iPad. Just not good enough to work it today. The arrow put us in the middle of the drive, we don't have the skill to load butterdish's cords.

01/14/2013

You found Butterflies Of Hoke Library

Visit Log

Caching with an iPad - the adventure continues! After strolling the mall and logging a DNF, we decided this looked doable. The kids gave me an iPad for Christmas and helped us download the Geocaching app. We have tried it a few times but when push came to shove, I grabbed the trusty Garmin for the final search. Today I was bound and determined to make the find using only the new gadget. From the car I was a couple of hundred feet off. Walked the line and watched the thing count down to about 140 and - - freeze. Shake it, shut it down, still 140 feet. I pushed into the brush, poked about, checked the thing again and suddenly it worked. Followed the arrow and scored the cache. No trackables found, took nothing and left our pen and a little stamper. Went back to the car and attempted to log from the field but that is another learning curve. Thanks for the find, it's our number 3500.

After school today at South Fork High School, Dylan will be going to tryouts for the tennis team.  He's a little nervous about how he will do because of his injuries from the fall yesterday, and also because he's still not feeling 100%.   I went with Laurie to pick him up at 5:00 after tryouts.  He was in a really good mood - everything had gone well, and he learned that he and his friend Taylor are among the best on the team even though they are freshman.  Dylan won two matches 6-0, and lost to Taylor 6-3.  He has a good feeling about it.  There will be tryouts Tu-Wed-Thurs  this week after school.

Dylan's BooBoo

We spent the morning at Laurie's, and prepared to watch the Michigan/OSU basketball game.  It began in the most miserable fashion imaginable.  Ended with hope - came close, but no cigar.  We were bummed.  This is their first defeat this season.  They are now 16-1

U-M Unable to Complete Rally at No. 15 Ohio State

Jan. 13, 2013

Site: Columbus, Ohio (Value City Arena)
Score: #15 Ohio State 56, #2 Michigan 53
Records: U-M (16-1, 3-1 Big Ten), OSU (13-3, 3-1 Big Ten)
Next U-M Event: Thursday, Jan. 17 -- at Minnesota (Minneapolis, Minn.), 6 p.m. CST (TV: ESPN)

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- After trailing by as many as 21 points in the first half, the University of Michigan men's basketball team (No. 2 AP/No. 2 ESPN/USA Today) rallied to tie the game in the second half at 46-all but could not take the lead from Ohio State (No. 15 AP/No. 14 ESPN/USA Today) and suffered its first loss of the season, 56-53, on Sunday (Jan. 13) inside Value City Arena.

Dylan went to at tennis clinic with Cyrus at Martin Downs from 12 to 3. He was wounded when he got home. He fell on the court - skinned his left arm rather badly, scraped his left hand, and has a big bruise on his left side. He also had a sight fever and wasn't feeling too well to begin with - so he's really out of it this afternoon. I just hate it when he doesn't feel well - but he gets lots of care and attention, of course.

After the basketball game (boo) Laurie, Andi and I went to the movies to see Silver Linings Playbook.  I was really impressed with Jennifer Lawrence's performance - it was such a different role than the Hunger Games - and she did both of them admirably.  The story is a fun story, even though it sounds a little strange to have bipolar disease be part of a comedy.  We all enjoyed it, except some of the hand held photography made Andi a little queasy.  We all agreed afterwards that if that couple marries, they should never have children!

We got to the movie too late to stand in line for popcorn, so when we got back to Laurie's we had popcorn for supper while we watched still more football...

At the end of the day, back at Loch Lane, I watched the latest episode of Downton Abbey - Yay!

Must Cache

Our next caching goal is to log a find on every calendar day.  We had never logged one on any January 12, so the search was on!

 Dick really wanted to go with Laurie and Dylan and kayak to Treasure Island on the South Fork of the St. Lucie River near Halpatiokee Park.

We checked with  South River Outfitters on Lost River Rd. in Stuart, and the times and days just didn't fit our schedules, so we bagged that idea and went looking for another one.

This cache was by the Phipps Park boat launch:

 01/12/2013    You found  Three Big Oaks         Visit Log
We needed a find on 1/12 and we knew this was an ammo can in the woods, our favorite kind of hide. Pulled up, slipped on the wind pants and quickly made the find. Took nothing but some trash on the way back to the car, (as well was the usual load of burrs and stick tights) left our card and flashlight. Thanks for placing a "real" cache for us to find and fill in this gap on our calendar.

After that, we watched much much football at Laurie's, and Laurie and I made Hot and Spicy Pork
for dinner.  Chip is at work.

Downton Redux

Watched the season opener of Downton Abbey again, with Laurie.  It's just as good the second time - I could watch it again!

Laurie made chicken with penne for dinner - it was great!

Dylan had to leave by six to go to tennis.  He has tennis every week on Tuesday and Thursday from 6 to 8.

My Kind of Day!

It all began at Walmart and Target, where we bought some groceries, some fun items in the one dollar section, and a messenger bag for Dick's new iPad.  It's remarkable how much fun you can have buying things for one dollar each!

Off to the ocean!  We went to the Jensen Sea Turtle Beach on Hutchinson Island to enjoy the beautiful surf, sand and sky.  It was very windy, and there were several kite boarders taking advantage of the stiff breeze.  It's always fun to watch them.  They were really going fast today.

Lunch on Ocean Blvd. at Chillin' the Most.  It was fine - too chilly for me.  Dick liked his shrimp bisque and wings.

Caching came next - we did an earth cache a mile down the road.

01/07/2013	You found Barrier Island & Dune Dynamics - Hutchinson Island		Visit Log
The schools are back up and running so we guess we are retired again. To celebrate, we came out to sit a spell and look at the ocean. Might as well grab a smilie before we leave. Thanks for the education, the smilie and the fun.

Just as we finished it began to rain.  But it didn't matter because we had already had a super day. :)

Played a little World of Warcraft with Laurie:

January 5 and 6 With Dylan

Laurie and Chip both had to go to work this weekend, so we got a chance to stay with Dylan two days in a row! 

 On Saturday, Peyton came over around 10:30 and stayed until after Chip got home.  The boys played on the computer and the xBox, and I must say that they were very well behaved, quiet, friendly, and good company.  And Peyton was good company for Dylan.  We had Cuban sandwiches from Publix for lunch, with chips and dip.  

Sunday was pretty much of a repeat of Saturday, except without Peyton.  We bought some chocolate donuts, and had them for breakfast...yum.  I got to play a lot of World of Warcraft, and I really enjoyed it.   After that, we watched the two hour season finale of Sherlock - omg Sherlock jumped off a building.  But never fear, he's not dead.  He's shown watching Watson briefly at the very end.

 We love staying with Dylan! 

 Laurie got home around 6:30, and we ordered pizza.  We came home after pizza.  We watched a little football, and then I watched the season opener of Downton Abbey - here we go, I'm hooked again!  Life is good.

Wherigo

We have never done a "Wherigo" before.  A Wherigo is a form of geocaching (sort of) which requires a special kind of device - such as an iPad, iPhone, Android, etc.  I really can't explain it fully, so I copied this paragraph from the Whereigo web site:

                 What if you could take video games outdoors?

Wherigo is a platform that allows you to build location based GPS experiences on your computer and play them in the real world. Imagine playing Zork, Secret of Monkey Island or Myst, but in the park around the corner, or on the beach during your family vacation. Rather than clicking the mouse and selecting a location to move your character, you physically move from one location to the next to advance the story. Rather than searching for puzzle clues on a screen, you look for them in the real world. Using Wherigo, you can create interactive tours, adventure games and puzzles... the possibilities are endless

It certainly sounds like fun, so we set off with Laurie and Dylan for Jonathan Dickinson State Park to find the Wherigo called "Simple".  It's actually the only one available within 50 miles!  So they are relatively rare.

01/04/2013	You found  Simple		Visit Log
Caching with an iPad mini, the adventure continues - We have never done a Wherigo before but since the kids gave me a mini for Christmas specifically for Geocaching we have been working on our learning curve. Zoroan and Sharkie took us by the hand and taught us how to load and use the app. Fired it up in the JD parking lot, read the first directions and looked at the arrow, followed it and watched the numbers climb. "Ah dad, I think it's over here" As I followed her, the arrow stayed the same but the numbers counted down. We answered the question, got the second directions and now my arrow pointed toward the park entrance but I knew it was wrong because we have been here before. Sharkie grabbed the beast and waved it around in the air. That did it! Now following the arrow made the distance count down. We answered the second question and got the next directions. Again, we knew where to go. We reached our destination, answered the final question and the final cords popped up. I clicked OK and - - they vanished. Fortunately both Sharkie and Zoroan still had them on their phones. We spent a frustrating period of time attempting to load the cords without success. Fortune smiled again because the better half of the BB crew had stayed back in the parking lot with the cachemobile. A quick phone call and she came to our rescue with the Garmin 62. We loaded the cords, walked the walk and made the find. Signed the log for each of us and returned as found. Thanks for placing this cache which today gave us quite an adventure.

 This is the Wherigo icon.

Okeechobee

   First we wanted to send Jana her shipment of Christmas gifts! Laurie had already sorted, folded, and re-boxed everything, and taped the new boxes for us.  We all drove over to FedEx to use Laurie's AA employee discount, and off the boxes went, headed for Jana.  Laurie had shipped Tom's things yesterday.

 Now Christmas is officially over.  Their tree is down, and all decorations are safely stored for another year.

   When we're in Florida, we always love driving out west to Lake Okeechobee, and today was a perfect day for it.  We pulled into Okeechobee just in time for lunch.  We ate at Lunker's - a favorite place from previous years.  What a great BLT I had!

Now for some sight seeing and some geocaching!  Across the street from Lunker's is the Lake Okeechobee Lookout - we walked out there and looked out  :)  It seems to be the place to be fishing today.

We found 6 geocaches in all, and it was a beautiful drive and a very enjoyable day.

Dick's logs:

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01/03/2013	You found Mass Burial		Visit Log
We love most cemetery caches. In Indiana and southern Michigan they are called "Spirit Quests". Each has a unique story and yet they have many untold stories which link them. We enjoy viewing the monuments and considering the family histories. This was the closest our iPad placed us, only 13 feet off. The log is sodden and unsignable. I thought I could replace it but discovered that I have forgotten to pack our replacement log books. We signed a sheet of paper and placed it in the container. Thanks for bringing us here and sharing this sad story with us.
01/03/2013	You found Grandaddy Oak		Visit Log
We found this one today on our trip home from an excursion out to "The Lake". Found it using geo-sense 'cuz we didn't have it loaded into the 62. Signed log and replaced as found. Since we are "furriners" we will have to do some research and find out the name of the tree growing up on grampa. Signed log and replaced as found. Thanks for adding to our pleasure on a beautiful day in which the windchill is only 60 degrees warmer than it is at home.
01/03/2013	You found Feliz Cumpleaños Jelene Sanchez		Visit Log
We started this series at the north end but we couldn't find the trail and had problems with our new iPad. Driving south, this one popped up just off a crossing and when we pulled in and parked the iPad gave us a fix just 33 feet north. Again, we couldn't find a trail. I followed the arrow and bushwhacked. Bad idea. After plowing through numerous spider webs, when I reached the cache I was covered in sticktights which resembled little green worms. No way are we going out to dinner until after I shower and change. Signed log and replaced as found. Thanks for the adventure.
01/03/2013	You found Sanchez Meets a GRIM End.		Visit Log
Our first day of caching with our new iPad. It got us to the parking area and 16 feet from the cache. Experience got us the rest of the way. Thanks for the fun and the smilie.
01/03/2013	You couldn't find Engine #65		Visit Log
This was our first day attempting to cache with the iPad the kids gave us for Christmas. At our first cache we lost a signal, here it indicated that the engine was 24 feet from the cache. Despite the presence of biker muggles, we gave it a good look but we were too hot and frustrated to score a find. Maybe on our next trip.
01/03/2013	You found Beginning of the Trail		Visit Log
We came out west today to have lunch at Lunker's and to check out the water level on the lake. Lunch was great (again), the lake is up (since last year) the view is still spectacular. Now for a cache. For Christmas the kids gave me a iPad mini. They helped me load the app so now I want to see if I can use it. From the parking lot by the lake pier it showed the cache and so we drove down here to see if we could find a cache just using the iPad. When we pulled in, we weren't getting a signal. We sat down on the bench to try to figure out the problem. We passed the thing back and forth for a while without success so I just grabbed the cache. We signed the log and replaced it. Thanks for the fun!