A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

caching

Trying to once again break through the geocaching wall

It seems my geocaching world has been much like my blogging consistency the past few months — pretty crappy.

Last year, I blogged every day of the year. It kind of burned me out and when I finally missed a day, it was somewhat refreshing. January was fine with the 20 Days of Chill, but then February came and I barely touched the blog.

March, April, and May have been somewhat the same.

While I can’t say that the full year of posts totally did me in, it definitely didn’t help. But I am trying to amend that. I need to visit blogs, read more, and get back in the flow. I’ve had this blog way too long to let it go away.

I need to get back into geocaching more to get outside and be moving.

The same can be said about geocaching.

I started with the game in 2008 and reached my peak in 2009, when I found 1,030 caches trhat year. Since then, it’s been pretty steady. But friends I’ve caches with have moved away or don’t cache as much anymore. And, honestly, it’s not as fun to me to go solo.

That’s kind of funny, if you think about it, considering I like solo board games. Anyway …

Last year, I had my lowest total since starting as I found just 138 caches total. This year hasn’t been any better as I currently have nine cache finds this year. Four of those are events, so I’ve found five physical geocaches in 2017.

Part of the reason is this area hasn’t been as active as it once was. For a long time, I had most of the caches placed around here. That’s changed in the past year or so, which will allow me to go out and cache locally again.

Some other reasons are the caches being placed. I realize not every cache can be a nice container in the woods. And I like the urban ones and park-and-grab ones as much as anybody else. But when that’s all you are going after, it can get a little tough on the fun aspect.

The game as a whole is healthy. I know people who live to geocache and have thousands and thousands of finds. There are millions of caches placed throughout the world. But with the apps on smartphones and such, it allows for people to quickly get into the game and, often enough, quickly get out of the game. That means the caches they places two or three days into playing the game might not be so well thought out and, at times, might be in bad shape. If they are out of the game, how does that help?

It doesn’t.

The reality, though, is that I still like to geocache. It’s a fun way to get outside, stretch the legs, and enjoy an afternoon of hunting for items. With that in mind, I know I have to get back into it and I will — I have plans on how to do it.

Some thoughts on those plans include:

  • Trying to plan a few cache outings with friends
  • Getting out and placing a bunch of new caches this summer (I have many ready, I just need to put the time in and find the spots/set them up)
  • Find a weekend or two to get out there and perform maintenance checks on my current caches
  • Slow it down when geocaching (ie: look at the surroundings more, take photos)
  • Maybe do some videos of the adventures and have some fun with that

The reality of everything is I am not going to probably be scoring 1,000 finds in a year again under normal circumstances. Now, if the ET trail in Nevada came into play, that thought goes out the window.

In the end, the game is fun. Just like any other flow, it will have positives and negatives when it comes to experiences. But for me, the experiences have been highly positive. It’s my hope that by the end of the year I will be back into the game with many more than nine finds. Only time will tell on that end, though.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

2017: Looking ahead

New Year’s resolutions are something many people do. They say it on New Year’s and a week or two later, they are done

I don’t believe in resolutions. I believe in setting goals and doing your best to achieve them. Though I will set/fix/change goals throughout the year as needed, setting them at the beginning of the year is more symbolic as it’s easier to keep track of.

I know there are things I need to do personally and professionally to keep moving forward, but these goals are all personal. Some are a little more serious than others, but they will be good for me to kind of see what I can do in 2017.

I went a little different with some of these this year. Some are kind of open-ended because I feel it’s easier and better to do that, rather than put a set result. You’ll see when you get to those.

Anyway, here’s looking at 2017.

Health

This is an important one for me

About a year ago, I had really taken hold of diabetes. I had gotten my blood sugars down, I was eating better, my weight was down … and then I fell off the wagon.

My A1C has gone up too much, I’ve gained weight and I started eating too many things I shouldn’t.

Being healthy isn’t a fad diet or doing anything with some of the things people see on TV (pills etc.) It’s eating better and exercising. Simple as that. Though clipping carbs out might help you drop weight, it’ll come back.

Being healthy is a life commitment, not a few weeks or months.

But with this, I’m not putting any numbers. I’m not saying where I want my A1C to be, or my normal blood checks, or my weight.

I know I need to be healthier as a whole. Take a few more walks. Get out more. Ride my bike (when it’s warmer). Maybe invest in an elliptical machine (I always liked them when I went to the gym… and I hate the gym, so that’s out).

But I also need to eat healthier. And make sure I drink enough water. And though I don’t drink a ton of it — keep pushing soda out of the diet. And try new things. In recent years, I’ve started to like several things I never used to like … so hopefully that can continue.

So this goal is simple … be much more healthy at the end of the year than I am now.

Photography

I took a lot of photos in 2016, but I want to keep that up. This might not be a trackable goal, per say, but basically, I want to continue taking photos and thinking outside the box.

That means continuing the Photo Blogging Challenge for throughout 2017, as well as just going out and taking photos. I’d love to try and aim for doing a few of the videos (like my year-end one) of photos maybe every few months, but we’ll see about that. Basically, I want to challenge myself to get better and more creative with my photography. I’d also like to learn Photoshop more in-depth than I know it now.

Blogging

Blogging in 2016 was rather interesting, obviously.

I set out on a bit of a mission and ended up going a little stir crazy by posting every single day. I’m not going to say I won’t do the same, but the odds are I don’t. Once I get past January, it’ll slow up a little as I won’t want to go every single day.

That being said, I do want to have more posts this year that are solid posts and not filler. I like challenges. I enjoy the photo aspect. I want to make sure I am putting quality (at least in my mind), and not just a post to post something.

I also truly want to visit more blogs this year. I got away from that this year because I was posting all the time and I miss it.

I am going to aim for 200 posts this year and visiting as many blogs as I can. I’d also still like to revamp my about page as much as possible!

I also might have a couple of other writing challenges in mind that I am trying to shape up and plan out.

Baseball

Ahh, the Summer of Baseball. I can’t wait to be back in the parks watching games. I will not be doing 75 games again — at least I don’t think. But I think a goal of 50 games is good and would be fun. I want to continue visiting new parks and just watching games.

 

It’s very relaxing and a lot of fun.

That being said, I also want to have a few weekends this summer that aren’t baseball dominated. As much fun as I had last year — and I did — there are times I just wanted to relax on a weekend and kick back and I was at a game. Now, I love the games. But sometimes .. it’s nice to be away, too.

So, my goal is 50 games. I’d like to see a few new stadiums. I’d like to do one — maybe two — big baseball trips during the summer where I spend a week or so pretty much all baseball. I’ll keep scorebook at every game, stamp my passport in every place where I can and I’ll enjoy it as much as I always do.

It’s a great game and I look forward to the 2017 Summer of Baseball!

Board games

I didn’t play as many games as I would have liked last year. With all the baseball traveling I did in 2016, weekends from spring until fall were pretty crowded. That meant not going to the game group too often, thus meaning I was playing far fewer games.

And that stinks as I really enjoy playing games.

One of my goals is to start playing many more solo variants or solo games. This allows me time on my own to play some fun and competitive games. I own a lot of games that have solo variants and I also have games that are solo only — so there’s no reason I can’t do this. It allows me time to relax and refresh and challenge myself. It also helps me just be able to play a hobby I truly enjoy, even when there isn’t a group of people around to play.

I’ll put down a few goals to reach, though.

  • Learn and play each game in my collection that has a solo variant
  • Unwrap/punch every game I have that I haven’t done this to yet
  • Go through collection and if there are games I will never play … sell or trade.

Geocaching

Every year, geocaching is in my goals. Last year was a very lax year for geocaching. I didn’t find many, I didn’t place many, and I kind of got away from the game.

There are a few reasons for that, such as because the game has blown up so much it’s hard to find good caches without driving for a bit. See, most of my area is cleared out and those that aren’t I like to keep around for a time that me and a couple of others might want to go find a few.

But these days, with the advent of the smartphone apps and such, hides are becoming a little tougher to deal with. I can only find so many lamp post and guardrail hides.

I do miss caching with others, going on fun hikes, and making memories with caching, though So this year I am aiming to find 200 caches. That should be highly doable. Heck, if done right, I could get half that done in a weekend.

Geowoodstock is in May this year, in North Carolina. I’m not ruling it out by any means, but it’s a longshot. I’d like to hit several other events this year, though, so we’ll see what happens.

I’m going to stick to just the 200 finds as a goal this year. I’m not going to tier it as I want to make it a little easier in hopes that I can get back into the game.

Organization

I think I am pretty organized at work. I utilize my work calendar quite well and usually have everything line up.

Personally, not as much.

I want to get more organized in 2017. That includes utilizing my personal Google calendar, as well as a life organizer I purchased. There might be a little more to this thing than I need, but I am going to give it a whirl. It will probably take me a few weeks to “set it up,” but that gives me time to think things over more — both about this year and long-term things. So, that will be cool. In the end, I want to be able to look back at 2017 and realize I followed something a bit better and didn’t feel like I was always disorganized.

Personal

Again, this isn’t measurable. But, I want 2017 to be a year of “happy.” I want to feel happy. I want to be happy. I want to improve as many things in my world that I can. It can be anything from being more active within the family to making sure my finances keep improving, both short-term and long-term.

This isn’t really something I can do anything other than at the end of the year, look back, and say “Yes, I am in a better place personally than I was at the beginning of the year.”

Hopefully I will keep improving and pushing forward. That’s all I can try and do.

I hope you all have a wonderful 2017!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

A geocaching quandary … stone walls

If you are a geocacher, the odds are you’ve encountered the ever-so-famous stone wall hide. These can be done in several different ways, be it hidden at the base of one, in the middle of one, or even accessing from the top. The thing about these hides, too, is that it evokes a lot of different sides regarding them.

Are they good? Are they bad? Should they be banned? So many questions come from this topic.

The reason this came up to me is because I recently received an e-mail about these hides from somebody, asking my thoughts.

Basically, it was at a presentation. Somebody, during the question period, mentioned “not hiding caches on or in stone walls”

Obviously, this will depend on things. This presentation was for state parks, so there’s likely going to be different thoughts and regulations in that setting. One person noted it was part of the state permit (it, apparently, is not) and they also said it’s a geocaching.com rule (which, in my research, doesn’t appear to be truth, either).

The person who I was e-mailing with about this noted state park rules do note that you can’t hide caches in ‘archeologically sensitive’ areas, meaning somebody could say a stone wall fits in the category. However, he said, an “old farmer’s stone wall” doesn’t necessarily qualify for that distinction. An abandoned foundation in the woods is different than something archeologically sensitive.

This got me thinking, though. A stone wall hide can be good, if respect is shown to the area. Geocaching, though, has grown a ton in recent years. Heck, even since I started in 2008, it’s grown rapidly. There’s now apps and all sorts of ways for people to play the game much easier than when I began.

My response was as follows:

If I was to hide in a stone wall, I’d want it to be very obvious. Reality is the game has grown to huge levels, and not all for good. With it so easy to play via phone and all, so many people are doing it and not learning it. When I started, it was before paperless, so there was a lot of “work” to do. A lot of newer cachers think the cache should be right at the coordinates they see (despite not understanding an iPhone in the woods isn’t going to be great), so if they are close, they’ll torch a stone wall before realizing maybe they needed to be patient and look. You can always tell when a set of newer cachers have looked for one in a stone wall though …

In the end, when it comes to state parks, I think it’s up to the person giving the permit. You have to make the distinction of what can and can’t. I always believe it’s better to make caches like that easy, though, in the hopes that people don’t destroy the wall looking for an ammo can.

So what say you, geocachers? What are your thoughts about stone wall hides? Should they be done? No? And if so, how should they be done. Drop a comment below and I’ll make sure the person who originally contacted me sees the responses.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

Back to geocaching

This past weekend I went to New Hampshire to visit some friends.

And the extra-cool part is they both cache, so I finally got to get some geocaching in (as well as a baseball game).

Finding caches!

Finding caches!

This isn’t going to be an uber-long post, but it felt good just to be out and make some finds. For the weekend, I nabbed 30 (in New Hampshire and Maine), so that was nice. But one thing I noticed — I’m not that good at this game anymore.

There were some “easier” ones that we DNFd and there were others that took way longer than they should have. Further, I realized how self-conscious I am with the game anymore. I have a hard time looking for things for too long as I don’t want people looking and thinking I am up to no good.

I have a baseball road trip coming up in a few days and I hope to grab a new state while I am out and about, but it’s not as fun to go by myself.

That being said, it was a nice thing this past weekend and I really enjoyed getting out and about a little and exploring some.

Geocaching isn’t as fun as it once was for me, but I still enjoy getting out with friends, finding a few, and just being outside.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

It’s always nice to get out and find some geocaches

It’s been a while since I had a caching day.

A week or two ago, a couple of us went out to tackle a state park and grab some geocaches in a new challenge. The idea is to find a certain amount of caches, get a stamp in a passport, and get a coin out of the deal.

Nice to find an ammo can in the woods!

Nice to find an ammo can in the woods!

I also helped places some of the geocaches in the challenge, so that’s been pretty cool, too.

To be fair, though, I don’t have to speed through this challenge as those who placed caches for the challenge will get a coin. Still, I’d like to “complete” it to feel like I’ve earned the coin that way, too. The first stop was one of the parks where we got six caches. It’s a local park — and one I haven’t been to before. It was a lot of fun to do and it was really good to get back out and geocache a little.

Geocaching has taken a slight backseat for me. There are some reasons with how the game is, but in the end, I still love it. I like to get out and find caches, and I also like to place them. But one thing is for sure, it’s not always fun to go solo. I know a lot of people like to cache solo, but I like the social aspect of the game.

It’s probably why I enjoy events so much.

Geocaching has taken a turn for me, that’s for sure. It’s like anything else, though … it goes in cycles for me. Take, for example, last year. I hit several mega events and had some good months where I went on good runs. Other times, not so much.

And that’s kind of how it is now.

I go on a spurt where I cache a bunch, then do something else, then go back. It’s good that way, because it keeps me caching.

I definitely want to plan a couple of caching trips for this year to be able to do a few number runs. It’s also possibly the first year in a while where I won’t go to a mega event, but that’s OK. I’ll still get some fun caches and events along the way.

How about those of you who geocache? Do you go in spurts or are you steady? I have found this is the best way for me because I have so many interests and hobbies — but I love hearing about others!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!