Wedding Photo Album

Although a week late, I've finally posted a few of the pictures of Tony & Veronica's wedding. We hope you enjoy them! Click the album above to turn the page!

Back from 4 Days Away

We're back after a trip to beautiful Lake George, NY with a detour in VT for an overnight. Stay tuned for some great pictures of Lake George (with some snow!) and a new Pepe letterbox left at the Lake!
More to come tomorrow. Off to unpack now.

You Don't Know . . .

The Rain takes it's Toll

Uneksia from NH has just posted that due to the recent rains and an area dam break, most towns in Hillsborough county have been overrun with water. This would include Hillsborough, Washington, and Henniker in New Hampshire and threatens the integrity of a huge amount of letterboxes in this area. Some of the nicest boxes Sue & I have ever hunted are located here; carved and planted by RTRW and Uneksia.

Uneksia has asked that we wait for her to check on these boxes before you look for them. Word will be posted both here and the local talk list, LBNE, once her inspection process is over.

Jimmy Hoffa???

Best Wishes . . .

Tony & Veronica

Tomorrow, Saturday, October 22 is the wedding date for Tony & Veronica of CT. Sue & I wish them the best for a long, happy & healthy life together. After enjoying many fun days on the trails with them, we will get to see them walk down the aisle together - and without hiking boots!

A Firecracker of a Series!

Patriotic Girl, who's sig stamp is a firecracker, has just set out a new urban series of 20 boxes that raise awareness to the best that Main Street has to offer in her hometown of Winsted, CT. This series is being done in conjunction with The Friends of Main Street and is called Friends of Winsted.

Patriotic Girl, in her clues, tells you to keep checking back to the clues on this work in progress, as more are being added as time goes on. Click the image from an antique postcard of the Soldier's Monument to get the clues to the first 20 boxes.

New Traveling Event Boxes Talk List

Click the image above to visit the new talk list

Ever planned a gathering and had to beg on all of the talk lists for any traveling event boxes? Ever wonder what happened to the traveling event box that you created? Now, She Who Plants from TN has the perfect answer. A new talk list where all of these boxes can be cared for and a place from which you can sign up for the boxes. She Who Plants will take care of the rest. Now if she could only stamp them all in our logbook . . . .

A Whale of a Schmoopie Day!

Closeup of one of the whales on CT's Whale Trail

The Schmoopies headed out to the Whale Trail in southern CT to spot a few of those wonderful painted fiberglass whales located from East Lyme right into Rhode Island. And what would a day with the Schmoops be without a few letterboxes? Really enjoyed Butterfly's birthday tribute to Lady & the Whippet, in Niantic, entitled Friends are Uplifting. It seems like yesterday when we first met Lady & the Whippet at the Winter Boxing Drives and said we had the perfect letterboxing partner for her - Butterfly! Well they hooked up, and have been great boxing friends ever since. This birthday tribute series is a great example of their friendship for each other.

We've Been Bizarro-ed!!!

An email of 15 minutes ago revealed the above image sent by that wacko - Bizarro. He warned he was going to redo the sig stamps of other boxers but we thought his mischief was just geared toward the southern talk list. Looks like we were wrong. Our poor pinecone - sorry, Phyto!

New Box 2 in Tahoe

Who is the . . .

What the Heck???

There's a new crazy on the block - the Letterboxing Southeast talk list block, that is! A boxer by the name of "bizzrro" has just posted a "threat/dare" that they are going after some well-known southern sig stamps of various boxers and is going to "make it better than you can. Dare I, OH HOW I DARE! In fact, I've already done it!"

This boxer has named Mark from GA, Eli and Aubrey, Red's Bunch, the drgdlgs and the 123 Family! Who is next? This can't be letterboxing - it's too bizarro for me! Hey - leave our pinecone alone!!!

Boo Hoo for Boo Boo!

It seems that something has happened to the Boo Boo Box. It left NY on September 15th and has not been seen since. Warrior Woman is investigating her options as to what to do - carve a replacement, carve the old Purple Heart box, or something different.

Once it has been determined what Warrior Woman will do, we'll send it to the next person on the recipients list. Thanks for your understanding!

State of CT changes Welcome Signs!

Just received this new photo via email from a friend that works for the State of CT Highway Department. It shows the brand new welcome signs that CT has put at all of its borders.

Letterboxing Tees Now For Sale

Want to own a tee with our slogan? How about Silent Doug's or Poison Ivy's saying? Get in touch with Irene of Hikers & Hounds to order your very own shirt. The theme is "What Boxers are Saying." Short sleeves come in a variety of colors and cost only $10! Long sleeves are slightly more and available in white and gray. Don't forget - Christmas is coming!!!

Oso Pardo at the Cape!

More boxes at the Cape to find! Seems like it gets more difficult to keep up with them each week! This series of 10 boxes, called Oso Pardo, was posted today by Mumma and Bunny Boy. Click the big Osa above to find the clues!

A New Box for Parents!

Remember those days of watching your children play sports? Rain, snow, heat? We've all been there and some still are! Our fondest memories are of watching our youngest son, Steve, as he sped down the field, dribbling a soccer ball in some away match in the countryside of some New England town in the pouring rain as Sue and I, with shaking hands and chattering teeth, held cups filled with stale coffee and ate soggy sandwiches. Ah - those were the days!

Well, Robin's Nest has just planted a box commemorating this rite of passage for parents in Sag Harbor, NY somewhere in the field where she watched her son play Tee Ball and then, Little League. This box will remain at this location until 10/10/06 at which time it will be pulled and the logbook will be given to her son to commemorate his 21st birthday! Don't forget to write a Happy Birthday note when you log in! Nice twist to this letterbox. It's called Mash Your Hash and Chew It!

We need your . . . .

After almost 3 years of running this website, we can use some help! Every week we rack our brains trying to come up with a relevant question for our Poll of the Week. Some weeks we actually succeed; and other weeks we fail.

So, we got to thinking [Did you smell the smoke?] that maybe our readers might have a burning question or two that they would like to see polled. Send us an email if you would like to have your letterboxing question featured as a future Poll of the Week. We reserve the final decision as to whether we use your question(s) and will give you credit as the writer. Now come on - get out there and poll!!!

A Butterfly, a Rooster & a Newt!

No, this isn't about the novel, Animal Farm or a new joke
[A butterfly, a rooster and a newt walk into this bar . . .]

It's about a new letterbox planted by Butterfly of CT entitled The Running Rooster and the Newt. Located in Lyme, half of this 2 box series features an RTRW-carved rooster. Click the rooster above to check out the clues!

Goodies are In!

This week's Box of the Week is BookWorm's UMass Exchange, planted in Vitznau, Switzerland. It's the first international box we've chosen. BookWorm's son is studying at UMass Amherst. He abroad for a year, studying at the DCT International School of Hotel and Business Management in Switzerland. She hopes to someday plant a companion box in Amherst and wonders how many of us will get them both!

Our Poll of the Week was inspired by the deluge we've faced here in the East this past weekend. What do you do in the rain - do you letterbox? Please vote now!

Ever Catch a Fly?

Looks like Dartmoor really made an impression on Don & Gwen! Their latest box is called Catching Flies. Located in Kernville, CA it is clued like the boxes in Dartmoor that they recently sought on their trip across the pond. Three different way points are mentioned in the clues and then you triangulate until you find the intersection of these 3 landmarks. Seems as if they also met up with the Baker's Dozen friend, Andy Wilkes, who spent several days with them.

While in Dartmoor, Don and Gwen stayed in Okehampton with Mel and Ray Quirk at the Bowerland Bed & Breakfast. Don told me that he left a box with the Quirk's so that there would be a hand carved stamp in at least one of the pubs or B & Bs in Dartmoor. For those of you that don't realize, most of the Dartmoor stamps, even on the moor, are commercially produced. While some might be hand drawn or original in design, the artwork is then brought to one of several stamp houses in England. They also have a large amount of store bought stamps as well. That is one of the largest differences, besides the clues, between letterboxing on each side of the pond. Welcome home, Don & Gwen, and glad you had a great time! Click the frog for the new clues!

Speaking of Dartmoor, Silent Doug and the Clueless Letterboxer (Jennifer) will be in Dartmoor this month! Several recent emails from the Clueless one (she's far from that) revealed her increased level of excitement for this trip! We started discussing their trip about a year ago so they've had all of that time to whip themselves up into a Dartmoor letterboxing frenzy! Be safe and we'll see you both soon!

Horseshoe Bay Seahorse Box Found!

Just received an great email from Rich, who just returned from Bermuda, where they found our Horseshoe Bay Seahorse box. Apparently, Rich was second to find the box. Someone else had beat them to the box but didn't have their sig stamps and just wrote their names. Glad to see this little seahorse is still well!

Boxing Bands Hit the Road Again!

I sometimes think that our boxing bands get more travel time and put on more mileage than we do! We received some emails from letterboxers hosting gatherings in October asking if we would mind sending our wristbands to their gathering. They never asked us but our bands are on the way!!!

Look for our green and a few of the pink bands left from the Flamingo Caper at the following gatherings:

October 15 (Saturday) - 3rd Annual Boxtoberfest Gathering
Challenge Grove Park, Cherry Hill, NJ
Host: letterboxingbee

October 22 (Saturday) - Tarheel Treasure Hunt
McDowell Nature Preserve, Charlotte, NC
Hosts: 3Ms

If you would like our bands to make an appearance at your gathering (and not us!), please email us at mjpepe1@comcast.net. Thanks!

A New Box with the Help of a Turtle?

Click me, my little pretty!

Last fall, The Baker's Dozen, our group that went to Dartmoor, had a reunion of sorts at Deanne & Dave's. While there, unbenownst to me, Sue was talking to Alexis (Talking Turtle) about how one of my most favorite movies of all times is The Wizard of Oz. And Sue never thought another thing of it.

Shortly before Christmas, a package arrived from Lex and the rest of the Alphabet Bandits of NY. Alexis had mailed a gift for both Sue and I. My gift was a beautiful carving of the Wicked Witch from Oz. If you've never had the pleasure of seeing one of Talking Turtle's creations, you have surely missed seeing something great. This turtle can carve it up with the best of them! I have kept that stamp in my drawer until yesterday. I've decided that it is much too nice to leave squandered away. So, like a good parent, I will give the Wicked Witch her wings and she will soon fly off for a place where all who dare can hunt and marvel at her dastardly beauty.

A Letterboxing T Shirt with a Twist!

Irene, of Hikers and Hounds, has announced on the Mid Atlantic list that she'll be selling t shirts with the theme "What Boxers are Saying." These shirts will be emblazoned with the LBMA logo on the front and sayings of different letterboxers on the back. We were very flattered when Irene asked permission to use our saying "Get out there and box!!!"

Here are the list so far as taken from Irene's post:

"So many boxes, so little time" - Tempus Fugit

"Box like nobody's lookin' " - Poison Ivy

"Box Softly" - Hikers & Hounds

"Get out there and box!!!" - Mark and Sue Pepe

Keep an eye on the Mid Atlantic list for details as to when these boxing tees are available.

What to Do in the Rain

In the East, our forecast for this coming weekend is rain, heavy rain and more rain. Some say we may end up with over 5" of rain by weekend's end. Here are some of our suggestions of some activities that you may want to consider during this soggy, upcoming weekend:

* Go letterboxing anyway!
Use that big golf umbrella that's in your trunk that you keep moving around with your backback and hiking boots.

* Clean out your crafts section in your closet.
Who knows, maybe you'll find your old signature stamp or that HH you thought you placed!

* Contact all of the placers for all the letterboxes you ever found!
That could take a while!

* Check out Atlas Quest.
See the fine features that are offered there.

* Do some research and carve a stamp for that box that's been bouncing around in your head
but you never seem to have the time to get started.

* Start your own letterboxing website!
If I can do it, so can you!

Whatever you decide to do, please stay safe! Have a good weekend!

S & R Do It Again!

More Rocky Neck Boxes!!!

It seems we now have 14 more letterboxes in Rocky Neck State Park, CT. Lauralei has planted a new series of 14 called Denizens of Rocky Neck. If you haven't been to this park that borders the shoreline, you must. Nice hiking trails in a wonderful setting - a lovely combination of beach, surf and woods. If you have been, you now have 14 more reasons to take another trip!

Jars of Hansel & Gretel!

Jars, from Canada [not Jars of Clay from MA as I originally reported!] has just planted a new series of 6 boxes called Hansel & Gretel. This new series is located in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Each box is listed on Atlas Quest as an individual box. Our above link is to the first box - you'll have to search for the others. This series is for all - the young and young-at-heart!

Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!!!

In all of our reporting about the Flamingo Caper, we seemed to have missed a milestone on this website! At some point yesterday, we hit our 200,000th visitor. That's not hits - but visitors!
We can only say Thanks to all who stop by this little waystation in the blogosphere. We appreciate your support and continuing emails.

Another Weathergleams Mystery!

As you may know by now, Maine is one of our most favorite states in which to letterbox. The Weathergleams have been known to plant a difficult mystery box or two. In fact, in a recent Atlas Quest chat, I met "Mr. Weathergleam's" sister, who also admitted their clues were pretty tough. She was visiting the 'gleam family this past summer and attempted several. Click the Whaleboat above to read their newest clue.

A Funny Caper Story

We're sure you've probably had enough of hearing about flamingos and gatherings! But, we have a very funny story to share that occurred during the Flamingo Caper.

As you know by now, live detectives-in-waiting were in different locations around Leominster as part of this gathering. No one but Deanne & Dave and Sue and I and the detectives themselves knew about this twist. I had people asking me in the parking lot of the Plastics Museum, where we met, if "the hikes would be long," should they "bring walking sticks or hiking boots," etc. Also, some of the carvers asked if we needed real weatherproof containers. Just like leading lambs to the slaughter! Of course, by their second stop, the boxers caught on to our premise very quickly but the initial stop was a surprise.

Well, Talking Turtle and Elizabeth of NY made their way to their very first stop - a small pocket park, where the clues told them to "look for Sherlock Holmes on the park bench." After parking the car, this pair walked up to the bench, where they saw a man looking quite disheveled. Talking Turtle (Alexis) went with our group to England last year so she knew Deanne and her wild sense of humor. The instruction sheet in the clue dossier each group was given said that to obtain the letterbox, the boxers must ask the question, "Do you know where I can get a good detective?"

So, following directions, Alexis and Elizabeth proceeded to ask the man on the bench the question - "Do you know where I can find a good detective?" To which his answer was "Sherlock Holmes." Alexis stood there waiting but he didn't do anything! Apparently they must have creeped him out because he got up from the bench and started walking away. Alexis then asked if he wanted them to follow him, thinking Deanne was really making them work for this stamp. After following this man for a block and a half and seeing the look of trepidation in his eyes as he continued to look over his shoulder at these 2 determined letterboxers, our heroines decided that this must be a homeless person who had nothing to do with the gathering but was just enjoying a rest in the park!

Shortly afterwards, the real Sherlock appeared! Apparently he had gotten lost on his way to the park!

F1000 Times Two!

Sue & I would like to acknowledge and congratulate 2 CT letterboxers who reached F1000 at the Flamingo Caper on Saturday - Veronica of Tony & Veronica and Corinna, the Engraver's daughter. This is some milestone you both have reached - great job!

Goodies Are Here!

After a hiatus due to the preparation of the Flamingo Caper, our weekly items are now back on track! Box of the Week is Flamingo-related. It's sewsobizzy's Flamingo Feather Bed, located in beautiful Leominster, MA [or "Leminsta" as the locals might say!]

Our Poll of the Week asks how many talk lists you read. Please vote now!

Flamingo Caper Report