Trick or Treat

We surprised some friends by playing a trick on them this past weekend. It was a real treat to get a tour of their home and farm. With the frost coming on, the Elephant Ear plants were soon to die so we had some fun with them. Afterward, we went to a great restaurant for some RHINO FRIES! Below are a bunch of great memories of the day.

As Promised

Photos from the end of the chase where RGBisMe took a job in the rodeo.

Oops!

Look what can happen over the course of a month! We had to go out to an area where we hadn't been in about a year and checked on some boxes we had hidden in the area. Some were wet inside and some were lying in the open.

I am thinking it is another good reason to drop the placer a note if anything at all is amiss. They can then see a pattern if the box is hidden in an area where, for one reason or another, it keeps popping into the open. Not sure if it's critters, the weather , gravity or poor re-hiding. Let's be aware that things can shift and do our best to keep those boxes hidden.



Re-hidden as it was intended - for now.

Leaves are Fading

Our trip to the NYC was very rainy and whomever has drawn Maga11 or Toolman Luke's names in the annual gift exchange let it be known that the green van needs new front wiper bladed. Toolman Luke was banished to the back seat for abusing the EZPass the last trip to the city. It was abut a week past peak for some of the leaves on the way through the Poconos but there were areas through the drizzle that were still quite stunning.

Ravenboy has been cast is a wonderful duet this City Center season. We went to see him perform in Leaves are Fading in the first pas de deux with Yuriko Kajiya as his partner. He looked wonderful in the entire piece with the pinnacle being his single arm press lift. How anyone can make something like that look fluid and elegant is a secret to most of us. He effortlessly pressed the young lady with his left arm and smoothly sailed her in a diagonal across the stage. One generous reviewer stated that their dance was "youthful joy personified." I couldn't have said it much better.

There was a world premiere of another ballet right after the piece Ravenboy was in but we decided to cut out early in hopes that he could get away. We were in luck and took him across the street from the stage door to a cute little Thai restaurant, Topaz, for some late supper. He looked much relieved that the duet had gone well and his nerves would allow him to finally have a meal.

We had taken a letterbox in hopes of planting. It is an RGBisMe masterpiece. It will have to wait until another time. The rain slowed our progress and dampened any enthusiasms for a quick dash uptown.

Bulldogging by Old Beaver Field

On the second day of our Double Entendre weekend package provided by CPLE , they had us meet for a quick breakfast at Panera on Beaver Avenue. Stonefly had and enhanced level of maps and clues that he had organized himself, the tour package could learn a thing or two from him. Just when I was doubting if we were all really getting our money's worth, one of their representatives not only provided an excellent shuttle service but gave out complimentary coupons for their 2008 Boxin' Buns calendar! Sweet!

Campus was really low key that morning and allowed us easy access to many of the high traffic boxes without much problem. We learned that if we are loud and rude that a single cell phone user will move away from talking right in front of a secluded letterbox location. PA Paddler made some fast cash yelling "We Are..." at the Lion Ambassadors who are obliged to yell back "Penn State." Awesome photo opportunities everywhere from Old Main to the Lion Shrine. All stampers were tickled with the carved images even if the one carver was ungracious in receiving compliments.

The optimized route on campus allowed many, but not all, local letterboxes to be found. It took us right by the original "Old Beaver Field" location. We ogled the plaque which had a photo of many old beaver. Stonefly asked, "What's that aroma?" Must be lunch...

At Otto's! Someone ordered a really pale ale that was light but very hoppy. PA Paddler considered the Fish Tacos and RGBisMe recommended the Chicken Hawk. After the 3 shortest boozers ordered some Nittany Vineyard slushies, the real men (sorry there Hunter Jumper) sampled the brews. Apricot - Jolly Roger, many a fine beverage was tapped before abandoning one of us to seek out Reba's Rap.

It was a bittersweet moment but our tour guide reappeared with a surprise guest in tow, Birbanto. Exchanges and PTs were swapped.
We read of all of the many packages that this new CPLE offers. The Weekend Get Away package sounded great but the bonus that most attracted us to the Double Entendre weekend package was that it "guaranteed" one spontaneous event. This intriguing oxymoronic feature had us on our toes and we joked about what it might be. No one stripped naked and sang on the bar at the Millheim Hotel the night before (at least I don't remember doing it), the Nittany Lion didn't pop out to great us nor did Joe Paterno cruise by eating a Creamy Ice Cream cone. Our surprise came in the middle of exchanges near Beaver Stadium. Hunter Jumper exclaimed, there is a loose cow! It was a young, yet solid, calf that had escaped from someone who had just purchased it at the Ag Area and it was about to run into the traffic on Park Avenue. One of the tour guides encouraged us to take chase as they stayed to help Birbanto pack up his stamps. I do not yet have access to photos of this but they will be added - honestly.

PA Paddler met up with the feisty pawing animal first and it tried to charge him. He shouted and it veered away from traffic but decided to take a tour of Beaver Stadium and the Bryce Jordan Center (BJC). He ran back for his vehicle as Hunter Jumper hunted down a stranger and jumped into the his car. The chase continued as we all did what we could to corral this frightened and angry animal. Stonefly closed in just as RGBisMe was finishing his short stint as "cow whisperer". The agitated bovine gave the pacifist a butt then a good toss as Stonefly watched aghast! Eventually, the calf was cornered near the BJC. Hunter Jumper called campus police for assistance and made the new owner of the cow cry when she mentioned that there would probably be a few new movies on You Tube that evening. Puddleby comforted the crying bovine buyer with a hug.









We all met back where Birbanto was waiting to say goodbye. The tour guide drove him home but returned with a small token snack to commemorate the guaranteed spontaneous event. RGBisMe is all grins as he shares Cow Tails with the group!

The day was waning but more boxes were yet to be had. The local HH Resort was visited by some of us and then some Summer Fun. Although the tour provided clear instructions, it didn't mean that we couldn't get confused as to which way to go. The men differed in opinion but it took one of us ladies to really mess things up.

In all honesty, a better boxing day was never experienced and we have the CPLE to thank. Two of The 4Rhines had to sign on for the abbreviated tour so we had to say good bye to them with the view of Nittany Mountain as a back drop. We gave our final wolf whistles to each other and made a special trip to go and pick up Cpt. Morgan on the way to DaBraLady's cabin in Poe Valley. We needed to give PA Paddler and Hunter Jumper some privacy anyway (see last photo.)

Happy Valleys and Balcony Parties

You can keep your Mount Joy and Intercourse, just up from Pleasant Gap is our favorite place in the whole wide world, Happy Valley. We all booked the Double Entendre weekend package provided by CPLE.

We met up with Hunter Jumper and PA Paddler at an intermediate spot on the tour that was already in progress, it was an overlook with a view of Penns Creek over the Coburn area. Our drive to the vista was warm and drizzly but the colors in the Poe Valley area trees just popped! the red maples, yellow oaks and blue-green pines made a visual symphony. I didn't want to block the view with my backside so I ducked for RGBisMe's photo. Table for 4?

They were so organized! The tour guides had provided maps and an agenda. PA Paddler was a task master and made sure that all of the clues were in order. He pulled out the Swan Lake, Sylvia and Don Quixote letterbox clues from his meticulously filed clue sheets (also provided by the tour guides) and off we went down the mountain. Onto our bikes, we had to take Hunter Jumper's riding crop away from her. Whipping the bike was doing no good and some of us were getting jealous. We sent the men up for the romantic swan box who then had a bonding moment with a grouse. There just wasn't enough time to get all of the boxes on the rail trail that CPLE had available for us. We need to comment that the tour was well paced but they have to recognize that those who have signed up for the Double Entendre weekend package spend a lot of time laughing and cutting up. We were in the middle of nowhere when we looked at our watches. We had only and hour to change for supper if we wanted to make it in time for our reservations at the swanky Millheim Hotel. We were meeting Stonefly, Puddleby and DaBraLady there. It was swap night and were told by the were to dress similarly to whom you were to end up with. PA Paddler and I chose an orange and dusty sage theme while the other three ladies sported avocado cable knit tops. RGBisMe and Stonefly chose to watch. It was a regular balcony party. I was glad to have met up with skinny Cpt. Morgan although I am not sure if I need to blame him for the late night distress I later experienced. I will blame him for the fact that all of my blogging notes were either illegible or totally incomprehensible. Does this mean anything to anyone... "Laser surgery office as a good pick up spot." "There's puddin' at the buffet." Thanks Cpt. Morgan for confusing my night.

Do Unto Others...

What extent do our actions affect others in the context of new comers to letterboxing? My personal memory includes being received warmly by jbzfarm with my first excited inquiries as to what other letterboxes might be in central PA. If they had not answered my email or had been brusk in their reply, I wonder if my current enthusiasm for letterboxing would be as strong. I might have gotten the message that letterboxing was not for me if I had been treated as an interloper, outsider or newbie.

I was recently reminded by the Stonefly of the 4Rhines what it is like to move from the role of student to mentor. The 4Rhines have some people in their area that are just becoming familiar with and interested in letterboxing. Stonefly said it was a newer experience for him to have folks reaching out for advice on the subject and he remembered when he asked the same from us. He looks back to the times he requested clarification from veteran letterboxers and uses their responses as a guide to how he treats people who are now looking to him for some instruction.

We try to take our best experiences, the ones that made us feel accepted and welcome or inspired us to keep working on some difficult clue and emulate those moments when we are in the position of sharing advice. Hopefully we learn from any negative experiences in a way that we choose not to pass them on as thorny rights of passage. There is no need to have the mind-set of, "I learned the hard way and you will too."

Striving forever to be a good student as well as a decent mentor, I can get frustrated with how I see others sometimes handle those roles. I get disappointed in people who seek letterboxes and want speedy victories and difficult clues clarified for them on the spot. Sometimes it seems they have no patience for anything that doesn't offer immediate gratification whether it be an email response or big juicy hint to mystery clues.

I also have much less regard for the type of established letterboxer who has the need to drop names. I do respect the history of letterboxing, who and how it's evolution has been shaped, and the fact that not everyone wants to participate and share their clues on the same level. I however refuse to fein interest or have a mini-orgasm over the fact that someone carved a stamp for some historic event that I have never heard of (*gasp*) or solved a set of clues that are of no interest to me. This is probably the same reason I do not like perpetuating many of the online inside jokes that not only leave new comers (to the game/group/ area) feeling left out but are tedious to whomever chooses not to be included. Opposite to the beliefs of some, I do not think such foolishness fosters camaraderie; it creates exclusive groups that frequently come across as cliques.

On a basic level, everyone wants to be accepted. We were all new once, at everything. Remember what it was like the first time you created a decent piece of artwork, solved a difficult math puzzle, or successfully hiked up a steep hill. When we can draw on those memories we have less need to draw attention to our own accomplishments and our guidance of others who are just getting excited about the game can be more supportive and less critical.

WLBX

Well before I moved to State College I lived in Lewistown, PA and enjoyed listening to the two radio stations that could easily be picked up. There was the AM station, WKVA that my mother played when I was a young child. I remember the many used car lot commercials and was cheered by the end of Paul Harvey's talk show wishing me a "good day." As I grew and my musical tastes changed from my mother's, I chose to listen to the Lewistown's FM station WMRF. I looked forward to Casey Kasem's weekly American Top 40, hoping to hear if any of Frankie Valli's newest songs might actually make it up the charts. Many of them did.

Many of my idle moments were filled by mindlessly listening to the radio. The tunes became a soundtrack to my adolescence as I sketched, etched, painted and drew. I would find a way to jerry-rig the antenna so that my battery run Mickey Mouse head radio might play me some tunes all the way in the basement where I worked for hours in our home-made dark room. The music saw me through a summer of developing film and prints after I had successfully marketed myself as a portrait photographer to the region's Pony League baseball teams.

The hour commute to and from college was eased with music from WMRF until reception was lost on the far side of the Seven Mountains. State College radio stations had nothing to offer me so a lot of the time my thoughts were taken up with how to make the best out of learning at Penn State. A large college and my easily distracted nature were not a good fit. After a couple of years, I abandoned the idea of pursuing a degree and got a job in Lewistown.

It must have been during the couple of years I was in college that my musical tastes changed again. For the first time that I could remember, I found myself trying to tune into a different radio station out of Harrisburg, PA. I had moved my bedroom into the attic of our house, perhaps it was this move that allowed me to open up to the classical music that WITF offered.

I have never been one to easily make friends and have rarely sought out opportunities to make acquaintances. Like music, the people in my life have often been like songs playing in the background of my life with a few favorites that I would tune into to sing along with.

Recently, I have been lucky enough to have letterboxers whom I have met and befriended come to visit me while they are in the area. Cyclonic and Schizokeet came to State College the first weekend in October. We spent some time visiting in our home and then made a trip to Otto's for some brews and more conversation. The evening, like a good concert, could have gone on for days but RGBisMe had to work in the AM and our friends had to make it to their camp site at Greenwood SP.

This past weekend, Mr. Yuk, Longstockings and the Pirate visited. The came into town on homecoming weekend to pick up a package we brought to PA for them from GA. They were also glad to find some local letterboxes like Archaeobirder's Elms of PSU. During the time they spent in our home, RGBisMe and the Pirate played many a hand of Uno while Mr. Yuk, Longstockings and myself chatted about many interesting aspects of letterboxing. I could have, like with the other dear couple from the weekend before, talked with them for hours. The moment they left, RGBisMe said to me, "Fill me in! I only caught snippets of what was going on." We spent the evening smiling about the many ideas and things that had been shared.

I have been looking forward to this coming weekend for quite a while. Jbzfarm and the 4Rhines will be coming to the State College area for some letterboxing and visiting. We only had about and hour or so together at the Knoebel's camp out before commitments pulled us in different directions. So many great thoughts and jokes to share, grabbing a few moments with them will be wonderful and I know will feel all too short. I will have to keep in mind Lotus and Leafcutters are trying to plan a trip to the area soon after that. That will keep my spirits up.

Maybe letterboxing is like being tuned into a favorite radio station. On WLBX, each personality I have met is a tune I wouldn't mind hearing again. Letterboxing offers many varied playlists and I am really enjoying the genre. Having so many wonderful folks come into my life and take the time to visit with me fills me with a harmony that I can only define as friendship. Thank you, my letterboxing friends for filling my days with your varied and joyous music. Your ideas, love of nature, care and spirit will keep me tuned in to WLBX; every song you play is sure to be a hit.

A Thousand More

There is something about this time of year that just calls us to hike Thousand Steps. It didn't hurt that jbzfarm planted another letterbox up there. That temptation was enough incentive to have us agree to leave the cats alone for 5 hours as we hiked the 1,000 block steps to the level where the letterboxes are. Having two quality letterboxes on that hike by jbzfarm should be enough to make anyone want to run right up there (allow at least 2 hours) but the views are bliss. A group of Mennonite youngsters agreed that it is the perfect Fall Sunday (SGL) outing. I hope our random photos might encourage you to make the hike too.


This reminded us of Mososo Kruppe's first sig stamp