Freedom from Want

Now

Then

Movin on Up

There is little Ravenboy and Asrai have in common with The Jeffersons other than the fact that they got found a great apartment on the Upper East Side in Manhattan. RGBisMe took advantage of what was to be a gray and rainy day to move some of their belongings to the city for them.

The cute studio apartment they have leased it so charming. It has very little overhead or natural lighting so even in the day it was a little dark but the warmth and charm they are going to add will brighten it up. They have some great plans for curtains and Ikea furniture. They have the idea of a lovely curtain fixture over their sleeping loft to add privacy and style.

My biggest thrill was watching them unpack their dishes and put them into the cabinets, making it their home. It was so heart warming. RGBisMe looked out into the courtyard from their balcony and called to a couple of cats that were enjoying the quite area. As we looked from balcony to balcony, we could tell it was a nice residential neighborhood.

We look forward to seeing what they do with the blank walls, open floor space and high ceilings. They have a marvelous space to work with and we wish them joy.

Flash Mob!

We were part of a geocaching event yesterday that was participating in an even larger event, a World Wide Flash Mob! Here is the link to the video. Some of the photos used look familiar.

Remember all happened within 15 minutes. This is my kind of gethering!

Four Coffees to Go

Maybe I should have said, "eight coffees" since it was both Maga11 and myself that toured downtown Lewisburg Coffee Shop Series. It was a very mellow Thurday and many of the trees that lined the streets still had some dazzling color to them. We decided to park in a central location and branch out and back to walk to the cute cafés in this letterbox series.

First was our walk the Cherry Alley Café. On the way we passed near our second destination and an art store, Brushstrokes, that I had to pop into in search of true indigo. A close Prussian Blue was all that I was able to find. Maga11 talked to the clerk about oil paints that clean up with water. There was a nice supply of Mastercarve carving material and carving tools but I am set for stuff like that.

We found the first cafe and walked right in. I placed our order and Maga11 found the letterbox. With a cup of coffee and chai, we sat down and sipped and stamped. This first box had been out for a while longer than the other three so reading through the log book was even more fun. We loved the way it was hidden and the drinks were some of the best we had. We only got smalls because we had to pace ourselves. Cherry Alley Café got my vote for best shop on the tour. The menu items and atmosphere were matched by the friendly staff and free wifi. We regretted not being the first to have logged our finds on location.

Back we went to Mya's Cafe. Maga11 and I had set up for the art's festival in this town a few times. It was always a chilly show because it was in April. I can remember standing on the street and freezing in the rain one year. Today was nothing like that as a mild breeze blew off of the Susquehanna. Town was not totally dead at this lunch hour but we were lucky enough to never have to wait in line at any of the coffee shops.

When we got to Mya's, I was excited to see the lunch menu and we thought we would check out the specialty item. Maga11 & I switched roles (not rolls) as she ordered a snack and I searched for the cleverly stashed letterbox. We met at a table in the center just before the shop started to get crowded. Maga11 had pruchased a couple of little slices of cheese cake and I opened the box. The log wasn't as full but about half of the finders had written nice messages. The stamp was nice but I wasn't sure what it was since I couldn't find the design for sure on anything around the store. This was a much busier café being on the main drag. The wait staff was friendly but needs to be educated on how to pronounce "gyros" from whence the name "heros" came for what some call a hoagie or sub(marine) sandwich. The cheese cacke, which granted was not labeled so maybe wasn't technically cheesecake, had a thin layer of creamcheese on the top and the bottom was more like ricotta cheese. It was so-so.

We were getting full but decided from the clue description that we would try for some soup at our next location, Zelda's. The store front says "Zelda's on the Park" and it is just off of the park. We were glad to walk through the area to digest our topsy-turvy piece meal dessert. We arrived, again no line, and the soup menu had plenty of choices including a vegan chili. Maga11 ordered a tomato bisque and I broke form and ran and got the letterbox. I think I forgot it was her turn or maybe she wanted to sit down. Sorry, Maga!

The café was very groovy and put together in a very self service way. Wifi was available here too. We chose a bad table to sit at because it was by a door the wait staff went in and out of and the back of my seat was whacked with the door many times. Our soups were a little acidic but not all together disappointing. I make my chili acidic too as a rule. This letterbox was my favorite in the way it was hidden and the stamp. The people who had found the series directly before us, Acme Amblers, are to be commended for gently cleaning the stamp in a thorough way.

Last stop, onto campus for 7th St. Cafe. Campus was quiet and although the sky was getting grey we enjoyed the walk. It was still mellow and the leaves on the ground were bold splashes of color. The 7th St. Cafe was a little more stark but the outdoor patio over the stream was a nice way to finish the day. We were able to enjoy stamping and reading the logbook without feeling rushed to leave and took our time before walking back to our car.

Thank you Kelly & Ben for this enjoyable series. We ate our way through town in hope that when we stopped at Wenger's Grocery Outlet on the way home that we wouldn't as hungry as we usually are.

Susquehanna Valleys

After a brief 3 hours of sleep, RGBisMe and I woke up to go hiking with Janila and Sepia Slipper. We were tired but had good memories of the evening before. They say that Hallowe'en is the time that the veil between the spirit world and our own is the thinnest. The new solar lights had were dotted through the cemeteries we drove past that night and the next early morning had me convinced of that. They were spooky like they never had been before.

This was the last day before Daylight Savings Time took effect and we hoped to find a good handful of letterboxes while visiting on the trail. The drive to our destination near Halifax had us discussing geocaches and letterboxes. We wondered how the owners of either felt when the clues or write up mentions the other is nearby. I have always found that as a geocacher, if I mention in my online log that a letterbox is nearby (without naming it) it will give a heads up to other geocachers who might either want to be aware, avoid or check out the box. Awareness is a good thing so that the stamp isn't swapped out of the letterbox as a trade item by accident. When a letterbox mentions the location of a nearby geocache in it's clues it can encourage the same kind of interest or awareness but can be a spoiler if the geocache is a multi-stage cache.

With a delay getting our breakfast, we were almost late meeting Janila and Sepia Slipper. We all got to the same location as the sun was high enough to light the way but not enough to warm the mountain chill. We hiked and were successful in finding the first two letterboxes in the golden morning light.

A bit of a drive to the next location allowed me to enjoy the scenic valley. With planning for Scotia's Scary Secrets, I hadn't been too far south for a while and forgot that the trees there might still hold some color.

We drove into the parking area to seek a letterbox series called JEI Conservation Area by teachers' pet. We could hear gunshots in the distance and it reminded us all to keep on our blaze orange for our gentle hike along the many trails of the area. A few ticks started making appearances as odd moving freckles here and there. By the end of the day we knew a full body tick check would be needed.

The well paced loop took us searching for six letterboxes. We had success for all boxes we sought in this park and all were in fine shape. The trails were friendly enough that we could walk at a good pace and still freely catch up with what had been going on in each other's lives. Finally, the last box brought us near our cars and we drove on to find a snack and some gas before heading on to another park and then into Harrisburg.

We were royal slack boxers in town. We had only planned on having time to hike the trails but the speedy and efficient Janila and Sepia Slipper shared their clues with us so that we could prolong our visit and check out some boxes of the Booshmen we had been wanting to see. Speaking of the Booshmen, who did we meet right after stamping into a couple of their new boxes? The mighty Booshmen themselves! They were up for a nice visit right there on the lawn and made time to exchange with Janila & Sepia Slipper. We had been talking about them earlier on the trail as to how we felt they were such conscientious letterboxers. This showed in the way they cared for each stamp they took impressions of and didn't get discouraged if letterbox or personal traveler clues weren't quite coming together. They were careful and patient and we were glad to see them again on their own turf.

As the sun finally started to fade, we tried to find a location we were a little vague on it's starting place. My feet were tired and we had 10 more boxes than I had ever thought we would have that day, but Janila's positive, "What do we have to lose?" made us game to try. A wrong turn was fortuitous in that it dumped us right into the parking lot we were looking for but the final box was not to be found.

We parted ways with Sepia Slipper and Janila. I look forward to the next time we can get together because they are not driven by number of miles or boxes but by the good times we are having during the time spent.

We ran into the Booshmen in three parks that afternoon and we waved farewell to Janila as we stood and talk to them for a good spell. The younger Booshman was interested in taking advantage of one of my PTs and I was glad to comply. It gave us a chance to get to know each other better and share letterboxing styles. I was getting hungry and asked how to get back to a nice Mexican restaurant I had seen by an earlier park. The elder Booshmen was glad to tell us that the same folks owned another restaurant just blocks away. Our initial take on them has been reinforced, they are thoughtful Booshmen indeed.

Our evening ended with a very good meal. Not even the tick I spied on RGBisMe's arm could spoil the good memories of the day. He took it outside, put it on the curb and returned to finish his warm meal as we looked through the stamp images we collected. Each one holds a different memory of a day spent in the valleys near the Susquehanna River.