New Central PA Letterboxes

Maga11 and I were all excited to see so many new letterboxes introduced over the last couple of weeks. Business took us the direction of one. Although Toolman Luke did not join us, we still kind of considered it a Fortnightly Foray.

We navigated surely because we had taken photos in the suspect area last year. There is an amazing old mill not too far from the letterbox. Maga11 was not able to get enough information from the remaining structure to make a decent drawing however.

This box took some figurin' and plottin' and even a bit of climin' but it was so worth it. The location was something that you have to personally experience. All of your hard work will pay off when you see the beauty of the area and the craftsmanship that reflects where you are in the stamp image itself. You will be blown away! Thank you mystery box creators! I will be taking RGBisMe back as soon as his schedule allows.

When Worlds Collide

What happens when my trip to see Ravenboy perform in coincides with letterboxing with Sheba and Cyclonic!? The best of both worlds !!

RGBisMe and I took off Friday to see Ravenboy perform in Romeo and Juliet. We knew that Herman Cornejo was recovering from an injury so there was a chance Ravenboy was to take over on of the solos Mercutio usually dances. We had to see that. As we waited to take Ravenboy to supper, we played our favorite game of "name the dancer" as a few of the 90 odd dancers from ABT walked in and out of the Met. We fail to name probably 90% of the women correctly but know most all of the men. Many are Ravenboy's friends he has grown up with. The other's... well let's just say they are very attractive men and I remember their names. I actually got to speak to Mr. Cornejo as he entered the theater. I said, "Hi." and he responded, "Hello." Arron will give me the hairy eyeball me for even sharing that.

A supper with the boy was just what this mom needed. We laughed over Harry's Burritos and were dismayed that they had taken down the portrait of Chairman Mao. We all agreed that when the special lighted portrait of Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin and the riding crop goes, we aren't going back.

We asked Ravenboy where to look for him in the performance. He said he would not be performing the Mercutio solo because Herman was being replaced by Carlos Lopez for the entire Mercutio role. He rebuffed me for crying in disappointment and asked what we would like to see him do on stage during the busy market seen. I challenged him to lick the giant side of beef that one of the "extras" was standing near and pretending to sell.

This was the most humorous R&J we have ever been too. We had binoculars so we pretty much just watched our son. This was really wrong of us because we missed a lot of what was going on in the story and we were laughing during serious parts. "Laugh at what?" you might ask. Ravenboy not only licked the fake beef, he plucked the tail of a fake chicken and calmly walked over to "cough" the tail feather out into a group of dancers milling around in the back of the market place. Please do note that there are over 30 dancers on the stage at this time and no one, except their goofy parents are watching them. The main dancers are all doing grand things in the foreground and the background stuff, if done with a subtle touch just blend in. More tom-foolery included Sascha Radetsky, who danced the role of Tybalt, tackling Arron to the ground just to entertain us as we found out later. These guys are great. I am not a huge fan of ballet but I am a great fan of these young dancers.

We returned to Ravenboy's house and after some thrilling subway parkour, we gave him an early birthday gift. He has needed a new desk chair and we got him one similar to the Herman Miller style. He likes it very much.

It was surprising that any of us woke up in time to make it to meet Cyclonic and Sheba because we had been talking until 3AM. We grabbed some Starbucks and sat watching our Peggy's Park letterbox from a distance. We saw them come into the park and zero in the the box but, they didn't see us. We didn't want to make a ruckus and allowed them to grab the box to stamp up. It was at that point they looked over their shoulders and saw us watching. We all had a good laugh and commended them on their retrieval technique which we will use in the future.

Introductions and exchanges were made. I was honestly in heaven having so many of my favorite people around me. We all walked down to the Halloween Adventure letterbox and Ravenboy grabbed a subway to work (2 shows that day). It was at that letterbox we realized our happy party had walked away and left all of the clues to the boxes way back in Peggy's Park. Back we went if more boxing was to be had. We all hoped the papers hadn't blown around. I wasn't looking forward to rooting in the trash for them either. There, on the bench where we had been was an older fellow sitting by his bicycle. He was avidly studying a packet of white papers. The CLUES! Cyclonic politely told him he had left them there by mistake and the fellow handed them over with a confused look. I wonder what Miss Moon might think of Cyclonic's new letterboxing recruitment technique, posting clues in urban parks? Interesting.

Uptown was next with Imagine and Spook Central boxes. The day was a beautiful summer day and walking in this area so well known to me with these boxers was great. We chatted and visited while searching and stamping. Oh, did I mention we didn't log one find? A couple of Clueties found themselves our way and good times were plentiful. This is why our "F' count usually means pretty much nothing even after hours of boxing. It is more about the artistry, area and the folks for us.

After parting ways and telling Sheba to make sure Cyclonic didn't get too carried away at the Mermaid Parade, we went back to The Met to meet up with 50 other friends of ours. A bus trip from State College had come to watch the matinee performance of R&J. Between visiting with them and having a small picnic before Ravenboy had to go back for his evening show, I was beat! Gimme more days like this one!!

A Virtual Dose of Doxy

As a teen, did you ever hear that you are supposed to leave your zits alone? "Don't pick at them or pop them as they might spread." Well I had a virtual big festering zit that I just had to pop no matter how much it hurt or how satisfying it was to do it. I don't want it to spread and I don't want it to come back so I am taking an appropriate dose of virtual Doxycycline.

I need my letterboxing friends and family to stay that. I don't want to split people into those who agree with me and those who don't. Nor do I want to start a $|-|1† /_ 1$†. Life is just too short to alienate a bunch of people who enjoy this wonderful and odd past time. There are enough people in my life who don't really get the thrill of what I am doing.

Past is past and I want to box on. Join me?

By any Means Necessary

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. Not since I have geocached with a local competitive group have I felt compelled to kick myself over being angry and having to chant, "It's Just a Game" as a calming mantra. Letterboxing is filled with wonderfully creative people and their ideas. When a competitive edge of having to find every box they know exists or being hell bent on being first finders is introduced, I start to become disillusioned and dismayed.

Over the past couple of years it has been an extremely rare occurrence to have someone push what I felt was a letterboxing limit. The game is played differently by each player and surprisingly it does not lead to anarchy. It makes a wonderful mix of ideas and choices. It is when I feel someone's creation has been violated that I perceive a line has been crossed. Not everyone is going to agree on when that line is crossed nor what a personal violation is so I am going to try to make it clear what I, personally, feel is crossing the line. I think it might help to check out the link to By any means necessary.

One of the first times I can remember feeling the line was crossed was when a letterboxing couple at an event took my table box from me as I was trying to clean the stamp. I had turned away to walk a few steps from a remote corner of the pavilion to wash off the inks and looked back and find the rest of the box was gone. I spent 5 minutes looking around the 70 or so people to reunite the stamp with the box and log. I tried to keep it light and said, "You are going to need this," as I returned the stamp to the box. Was it necessary to take the opened box from behind my back? I was 10 feet away, visibly washing the stamp. In my opinion, a quick, "Are you done with this one?" would have been a much more ethical way of logging this box.

Different event, same couple. One distracted me with chit chat as the other started physically rummaging through my bag. I had printed off a specific number of clues to a "day of" box I had hidden which included the price of admission attached each set of clues. The letterboxer I was speaking to had already received a copy and the rummager was absconding with copies I had set aside for others who had singed up. I caught them walking away with them and said, "No no! you folks already have these!" I was shocked, felt violated and i retrospect, they were stealing admission tickets from me. Was that necessary? The same couple later took clues we had to a limited time box off of our picnic table at our campsite. I saw them walking away with them as we returned from sharing breakfast with other letterboxers. I just shook my head and thought maybe this couple was the one bad apple in letterboxing.

Sadly, I learned that others could sometimes have the attitude of using "any means". I am all a fan of Reverse engineering in almost any way, I learn how to plant betterboxes® with the knowledge. Threatening to call in favors from other letterboxers to gain WOM clues is pushing a limit. Rules I had set up to gain the WOM clues to some unique letterboxes were being bypassed. Why? For the "find"? To show they could do it? Sure you can, but why? I had access to the clues set up a certain way for a reason. What is wrong with playing the game the way the placer intends it? I found I was disappointed by a few more letterboxers who felt it was necessary to use means of threats to accessing these clues by calling in favors.

This paragraph of my blog has been removed and amended 6/26/07 thanks to to a sincere amendment of setting things right. Do as ye will, harm ye no one.

Rooting through bags, logging WOM boxes that are limited for specific reasons, digging up clues by plugging in box titles to the end of URLs are probably a means that 90% of letterboxers never use. Of the 10% of those who do it have, 9% have the decorum to know you don't seek those boxes or at least you don't log them.

I am not sure where I am going with this. I think I just wanted it to be clear as to when I feel lines have been crossed so it is clear in the future. If my way of playing the game is too rigid in your opinions, please don't seek my letterboxes. I think there are plenty of others who can understand this point of view so I will continue enjoying letterboxing and chant my calming mantra...
"itsjustagame,itsjustagame,itsjustagame,itsjustagame,itsjustagame,itsjustagame..."

Spikes Opening Night

Reviewed by DaBraLady
It was a beautiful night for baseball as the sun set over Happy Valley. Our seats were just to the left of home plate and offered an amazing view of Mount Nittany.

The Williamsport Crosscutters just became the NY-Penn League affiliate of the Phillies this year, while the Spikes just became affiliated with the Pirates. Ironically the Crosscutters were the Pirates farm team last year, so many of this years Spikes were last years Crosscutters.

The game started out a bit slowly, but the atmosphere at the ballpark was wonderful. The standouts of the teams became apparent very quickly. D'arby Myers in centerfield for the 'Cutters went 3 for 4. At 6' 3" and 170, the long and lanky 18 year old had a nice swing and moved well in the outfield. The 'Cutters first baseman, Mike Durant was an intimidating figure at the plate. His 6' 5" 230 lb. frame belied the fact that he is only 20 years old! He smacked a beautiful homerun in the 8th inning giving the 'Cutters an insurance run. Relief pitcher Brian Schlitter really brought some heat. After being a little wild at first, settled down nicely to get the save. He averaged over 90 mph with his fastball.

The Spike's Justin Byler went 3 for 4, but he got little help from his teammates. They left too many men in scoring position, including a bases loaded opportunity late in the game. Relief pitcher, Ronald Uvideo, clocked a fast ball at 99 mph.

The 'Cutters won the game 2 to 0.

We had a wonderful time and enjoyed a nice fireworks display after the game. It was a bit disconcerting to realize how young these kids are. The oldest was born in 1982! The youngest in 1989! Damn, I could have been their mother!

Finger Lakes

A weekend hiking the area around Seneca and Cayuga Lakes offered up beautiful scenery, excellent hiking and some great letterboxing opportunities. This area is one of my all time favorites and RGBisMe and try to make it up at least once a year. It had been a few years since we did more that just hike the gorge trail at Watkins Glen, we were mostly focused on geocaching then but remember being disappointed that the letterbox hybrid in or near the park didn't really have a stamp that seemed to go with it. Sacajawea Stumper had an airplane stamp. We were confused and thought maybe we didn't understand the clues or area. As it turns out, what we didn't understand that many geocachers just didn't get letterboxing.


Janila and I were paired for the weekend and I have to thank her for driving my sorry butt every inch of the way. I did not offer to drive once and I am sure she was glad for that, HA! I did get way into her gps mapping program. When it has sat lock that little baby is one sweet piece of helpful navigational equipment. I felt weird without of of my paper maps so I was constantly tucking one off to the side, just in case we lost sat lock. Yeah, I bogarted all the park maps Jan, I promise to make you copies and send them your way.

The boxes we found in the Finger Lakes area were all really sweet but a real feather in my cap was the Finger Lakes Mystery box. I had intended on seeking it last year but either time or finances did not allow. To have all of the clues in order and find this box was so sweet. I think Jan laughed a few times at my broad grin over supper. Supper was another victory. We made it just in time for eating at Seneca Lodge and I had my favorite veggie Sunburger!!

The next morning offered up some more really great letterboxes. It was an honor to find a couple Cock o' the Trail letterboxes. I had been reading about them for years and to stamp into one that had been designed in 2001 was very special. Sugar Hill and Watkins Glen Centennial were both in places I was glad to have visited. I had been quite close to the latter seeking a geocache years ago but the Finger Lakes Trail hadn't taken me that far up the gorge. I was glad to have this letterbox take me to the area. It was a little dark so the photos will not do the area justice. Jan is all blurry because she was a speed demon and had her Coke already. I neglected getting my morning tea and my shutter finger was slow.


Meeting so many wonder people at the 2007 Finger Lakes Gathering was the best. I missed having RGBisMe along but these warm and witty people kept me smiling and enthralled. Janila and I boxed for hours in this lovely park with some new and old friends. Hiking along with Lock Wench, Party Pig, Phoenix, BibliochickMS and Tamsyn we overcame the challenges of graffitied snag ("DON'T SAY IT OUT LOUD!") and marvey marking after Pig's pigments. My favorite quote of the whole weekend came from Party Pig. After letterboxing as the above mentioned group for well over an hour and having made exchanges hours before that, he turns to Janila after she made a witty comment and says, "Who are you?!!"

Although we weren't able to get The Pirates Wife, I had the chance to eat at the most famous vegetarian Moosewood Restaurant. Poor Cyclonic and Pink Panther were shooed from joining the small table with Janila, Tamsyn and myself but I later found them at a very merry table ("I want to sit at the Kiddy Table") near the bar. The poor service far outweighed the good eats and I have no desire to return. Bummer.


Next day was a landmark for Janila. After a few false starts (my bad) Cyclonic and Pink Panther nudged us on in the right direction and then we got some momentum. Somewhere in Shindagin Hollow, amidst those 13 boxes and a brief rain shower, Janila stamped into her 1,000 letterbox. Cheers and a nice little rest for our team of 4 as Jan posed with her golden box of malted milk balls and drink of choice. That series of boxes had Jan grinning over her prime rib back at Seneca Lodge and I guess I had to chuckle at her a few times. Life was good.

I did plant a box while in the area. It was a Hazlitt Red Cat wine themed box and I cannot yet find the clues. I swear I was not drinking Red Cat, have never boxed while intoxicated. I am wondering if I should just say, "It's out there, somewhere." Cyclonic and Pink Panther will be first finders, for sure. ;)

Pennsylvania was calling so we enjoyed a wonderful new series of Williamsport area letterboxes on the way home. The 4Rhines have put out some really supurb fishing themed boxes, Stonefly's Fishing Adventures. You will enjoy the locations, clues and and marvel at the detail of the stamps. The long weekend was over all too soon. Thank you to everyone for making this trip possible.

Mountain Springs & River Valleys

What a fun day Maga11 and I had letterboxing through the mountains and river valleys. The day started early and we had a drizzle filled drive to the east. We chatted about the local strawberries being sold then saw an Indigo Bunting along the road. As we traveled along the same route and Maga11 was able to log into 3 new letterboxes. She was first finder for one near Hartelton.

We sought a few near Lewisburg and although we weren't always successful we enjoyed the area that each and every letterbox took us too. Visiting, laughing and enjoying the area as the weather just kept getting nicer as the day progressed. Springs and creeks, mountain and rivers; we traveled quite a bit today.

I loved sharing a neat grocery outlet, Wenger's in Mifflinburg, with Maga11. They have some amazing deals on different items. Although we couldn't take advantage of the frozen food, we grabbed some snacks for the trip. Although I turned my nose up at the idea at first, I enjoyed the sponge cake and ate it along the river.

After a very tastey lunch, I found it really odd to be checking out the areas where the missing DA had last been seen 3 or so years ago. Maga11 said there was a show that had 3 different psychics taking them to this same view above the river. They all concurred that he had been taken there. Beautiful area, strange story but there are many strange things that happen when Maga11 and I get together.