After finding our initial box in June 2002, we have since found letterboxes in 18 states and placed them in 13 states; 4 countries: Aruba, Bermuda, The Netherlands, Great Britain; and on a cruise ship! Thanks for stopping by our website and we appreciate your continued support.
"Have fun and just get out there & box!!!"
Email us: mjpepe1@comcast.net (Mark) or suepepe1@comcast.net (Sue)
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Ever Leave Your Lunch in the Car?
Deanne, the Lazy Letterboxer just posted a new series, Build Your Own Burger. She says it's dedicated to "all those letterboxers who left their lunch in the car because they didn't want to carry it and then somehow never made it back to the car until the end of a long day and kept wishing they would come to a build-your-own-burger stand in the woods."
Who would ever be that stupid as to leave their lunch in the car as they proceeded to hike at Hartman Park searching for boxes over the course of many hours and almost 9 miles and then be foolish enough to wish for a burger stand in the woods? Would anyone be that silly? :-)
This summer's heat and humidity has really gotten me down. This is the reason why I haven't posted any more to our continuing saga of Mo' Fun in Michigan. We do not have air conditioning in our home so the last thing I feel like doing is sitting in front of a computer in this crazy weather. Hopefully we'll have more to share on Monday and Tuesday. The weatherman promises that there'll be a break in this heatwave by mid Saturday. After the holiday weekend, there will be more to our trip log, including the boxes and beauty of Mackinac Island.
Wild Rover has another hobby besides letterboxing! He drives in demolition derbies. Bill told me this on a recent Boxing Drive. You can watch Bill win the trophy, hopefully, this Friday at Waterford Speedway in CT.Who knows, you may even get the first demolition derby letterbox exchange! Go, Wild Bill! Sue & I wish you the best of luck and be safe!
Friends Tony & Veronica are at it again! They continually seem to find new ways to play this game. Their most recent foray into this pastime is called Eye in the Sky. Check out the novel way in which they've chosen to clue this box! They still must be flying high from their recent engagement! Speaking of which, Sue & I placed their Balloon HH, that commemorated their engagement, somewhere during our recent trip! We found the ideal lane in which to place it! Check out the Eye in the Sky clues here.
Not sure how new this site is since it's owner has been interested in letterboxing since 2000, but we're very jealous on it's look! A very well-designed site - simple, clean and very effective. Click the Diva's image above to take a look see.
Box of the Week is The Dawnlander'sConnecticut State Seal that they exported to Indiana on a recent vacation there. We've seen the image of this stamp and like her other creations, this is a truly remarkable one. The Dawnlanders, along with Koyote, were the forces behind the wonderful Four Directions letterbox series.
In one of our recent email "conversations" with SpringChick, we were discussing our letterboxing counts. She replied that she no longer keeps count of her finds and exchanges, like several other people to whom we've spoken. Sue and I have decided that we'll keep our counts private and have taken them off of our website. We will continue to post our individual finds. Numbers are becoming less and less important to us - the reality is that 100 or 1000 finds don't make a difference as to how much we enjoy this game.Just like age - it's only a number!!! :-)
Along those lines, our Poll of the Week asks your opinion about number crunching and the method you may or may not use. Please vote the choice closest to your personal belief.
Where do we begin? It was 10 days of sheer craziness and 2400 miles later we returned home tonight with 83 new finds and 23 new exchanges! It was a whirlwind trip that found us in 6 states and Canada. Sue & I have made some great new friends along the way and found some wonderful letterboxes as well! Managed a few first finds and picked up 5 HH's along the way - not counting 2 that were given to us to take on their maiden voyage - one from SpringChick ["Blue Guitar"] and the other from LockWench ["Road Trip."]
We'll have much more to tell in the coming days, along with some pictures. Michigan is truly a wonderous place. The Great Lakes are just that! Western shore of the lower penninsula has that azure-colored water of the Caribbean. The resort communities and picturesque Traverse Bay offer some breath-taking scenery. And the wineries ~ Sue and I helped the local wine-producing economy while we were there; bringing home some great new selections to enjoy at a later date.
Our 4 days on Mackinac Island were magical! No cars or motorized vehicles of any kind are allowed on the island. The only way to get around is via walking, bicycle or horse-drawn carriages. We even saw the FedEx delivery guy on the back of a horse-drawn carriage delivering his packages! You really can't help relax at this much slower pace. The walk around the complete perimeter of the island is only an 8 mile walk so Sue & I stuck to our feet for transportation. The island has many hiking/biking trails with some great outlooks and scenic areas. More on that later.
The Great Lakes Gathering was a real special time! Sue & I were welcomed with open arms at the gathering and many had such nice things to say about our website. We got the opportunity to attend the logbook making seminar given by Doglvrs and the mystery clue seminar by SpringChick. Both were very educational. We were asked to present a short talk about our trip to Dartmoor last September and I think we've enlisted a few new recruits for our Fall 2007 trip.
Well - more to come tomorrow. Have a ton of email to wade through. Glad to be back and thanks for checking in!
I know some of our readers love postal letterboxes. Initially, Sue & I participated in PLB's to a minor degree, as a method of seeing the carving and artwork of boxers from parts of the country we might never see in person. Then they started arriving, like crazy. The mail clerks at the post office knew me by name - I was there 2 or 3 times a week!
Then it hit me - while this is a way to enjoy stamps from other parts of the country, wasn't something missing? Sure there was - the hike and the fresh air and nature - all of those wonderful elements that first brought us to letterboxing. What about visiting those out-of-the-way places we never knew existed? PLB's allowed us to take the 100 foot walk to our curbside mailbox and that was about it. Not nearly the same; not nearly as rewarding. We've since stopped signing up for PLB's but realize that there are some that enjoy them and frequently participate. And that's cool, too. Remember the letterboxing onion I talked about in our interview? Different strokes for different folks.
Well, along that same vein, SpringChick has just posted a very humorous take on PLB's. Please stop by and read it and bookmark her website. She is one talented lady with a flair for writing, who, I think, has her finger on the pulse of this game. SpringChick has been an email acquaintence for over a year. Sue & I will finally get to meet this terrific lady on Saturday, when we join 60 or so other letterboxers at the Mo' Boxin' at Motown gathering in Michigan. Wish you all could be there. In the meantime, read this post by SpringChick about the Moe Dern Family.
The car is packed, the clues have been printed and arranged in order of our travel, Boch's Circus is in place and we're ready to hit the road. Behave while we're gone and be nice to one another. We'll be back before you know it!
Thursday night Sue & I head out to Michigan for a whirlwind tour of the Lower Peninsula as well as Mackinac Island and finally Cleveland. One of the trip's highlights will be our visit to the Great Lakes Gathering - Mo' Boxin' in Motown. We hope to have a slew of pictures to share with you on our return of that event and the great Michigan coastline.
In the mean time, be good to each other and "get out there & box!!!" Caio!
Lock Wench, from NY, just posted her ideas for new letterboxers that might be a little hesitant to attend a gathering. Let's face it - we were all newbies once but hopefully, these Newbie Survival Tips might make you feel more at ease. Don't hesitate to attend a gathering since it's one place to really get acquainted with the wider letterboxing community and will allow you to finally put a face with a stamp!
Phyto & Isoceles have announced a new gathering, Boxing By the Bay - A Gathering in the Maine Style, which will take place on the scenic Belfast coast on Sunday, September 4th from 10am to 3pm. Keep watch on this page for further developments. Sue & I just love letterboxing in Maine - it's one of our most favorite places!
Our letterboxing wrist bandswill be traveling with us to the Great Lakes gathering. We have also been requested to send some down to the Stone Mountain Gathering in Georgia. Just wish we could train these bands to stamp into a few boxes for us! [I know, that would be cheating!] :-)
With vacation time almost here, our thoughts turn to strange and foreign letterboxing lands! This week's Box of the Week features such a vacation destination - Boston - and the Boston Tea Partyletterbox.
Sue & I are also preparing for a strange and foreign land as we begin our Michigan trip this Thursday night after work. After that time, there will be nothing else posted here unless we find a friendly library or internet access at a hotel. If not, after our return we will post a trip report of the Great Lakes Gathering that we will be attending this Saturday, June 18 as well as box reports for NY, Canada, MI, IN, OH & PA! Look for pictures of the beautiful Great Lakes shoreline as well.
Our Poll of the Week asks for your favorite gathering attribute. Please vote now!
We heard from The Engraver today. She's a little disappointed that more boxers haven't found the complete state map of all of CT's counties. In order to give everyone another chance, she's extended the time you have to find this series! The gathering has been postponed until the fall - details to come. So [I'm sure you know what's coming] . . . . Have fun and just get out there & box!!! and find those 8 counties!
Have you noticed the recentflurry of letterboxes being planted in Syracuse, NY by Lock Wench? Check out the boxes there. In a recent email to her, she explained that all of her boxes are within a 10 mile area and can be done in a day. While our eyes are constantly on the "What's New" portion of the letterboxing.org website, our recent attention to Syracuse is due to our upcoming trip to MI next week.
Syracuse is our first stopping off point for a night's rest before we head out to the Dearborn/Detroit area for the gather. While Lock Wench just recently started letterboxing, her mom told her about this hobby back in 1998!See - you should all listen to your moms and letterbox!
CT letterboxer, Chuck Straub, of Chuck & Molly fame just posted his latest & greatest. Click the image above to see the clue and name of this new box. Welcome back, Chuck! While you are on his site, check out the Mansfield Monster Mash stamp images and photos from the gathering of last year.
Boch's Circus as it chugs its way from Maryland to Connecticut
Phineas Boch, ringmaster and circus owner extraordinaire, has announced that his hit circus from Maryland is enroute to Kensington. Proxy ringmaster, Marco Peperini, along with his lovely wife Susanna, will transport the circus to Michigan on their upcoming vacation. This world-renowned circus will play a one day stand at the Hudson Mills Park on Saturday, June 18. There are strongrumors circulating in the circus underground that additional acts may try to join this wandering group of performers and animal acts. Further information will be relayed to our readers as it develops.
Funhog, early Sunday morning. Must have been a tough night!
Sue and I were privileged to host Funhog over the weekend. We spent Sunday, along with Jennifer/The Clueless Letterboxer [who proved she's far from clueless!] hikingSleeping Giant State Park in Hamden. Great time despite the heat and humidity.
We were all rewarded with a nice pizza dinner, where we were joined by some great friends from MA, RI and CT. It was a time to gossip, laugh, plot and just plain enjoy everyone's company. But you should see how Funhog left our spare bedroom - it's a pigsty! :-)
Last Saturday, The Lazy Letterboxer & The Letterboxing Ham, Sue & I attended Letterboxer2002's Trail Days Gather in Danbury, CT. While the attendance was small, some 15 boxers at most, it was a great time in a more cozy atmosphere than some recent mega gatherings. Great to see old friends. As we headed out to find some boxes, two women walked by on their way to the main table. One of the women looked very familiar, sporting a Nancy Drew t shirt, but she would had to have been from such a far distance that I just threw the idea out of my head.
On the final box before heading back to the gathering, we noticed an Atlas Quest mini pencil in the box and it all made sense! Not the pencil - but the woman who caught my attention! It was Amanda from Seattle! So as soon as we reached the gather location, I walked up and introduced Sue & I and we exhanged and spend some time talking. She handed me a baggy filled with some of those Atlas Quest pencils and said Ryan had sent them for us. Look for these pencils in CT in a box near you as the summer progresses - we may even sprinkle the Michigan area with some!
I met Desi & Darren (drgdlg) on the trail this weekend and mentioned that I had lost my bracelet. Well, someone else wrote them & said they found it and thought it was Desi's bracelet. So they are sending it to Desi and she is going to give it back to me. That bracelet is turning out to be it's own little hitchhiker!
I'm amazed at the emails I've received from around the country. I've taken all of your advice to heart and have decided to stay in this game and remain a moderator on the big talk list as well. Your emails, coupled with the advice of a special pig I know, helped me reach this decision. I heard from someone that if I leave, then the trolls win. A very nice email also was received from an LBNA founder. A different local boxer had nice words - it's not what people say about us good or bad but the footprints that we leave behind.
Where do I start? Well - I'm disgusted, discouraged and disheartened.
Why are people so mean to each other? Last time I checked, this was supposed to be a hobby; a pastime at which we find enjoyment. The latest flame has had me reconsidering my position on the talk list as a moderator and in general, in letterboxing.
After every flame, we loose more people from the talk list. Yesterday Boxdn from Louisiana just gave up. Unsubscribed from both the LBNA talk list and our Newboxers list. He's had enough. Sick of the nonsense, as am I. I wonder if our letterboxing forefathers had to put up with this junk?
Not sure what will happen but I don't know if I want to be associated with a sport that has so many mean-spirited trouble makers. While I know they are in the minority, I'm just worn out. This latest flame was like the proverbial straw and the camel's back. Maybe it's time to just walk away. I plan on spending some time at the Danbury gathering with Sue and several respected letterboxing friends. And there's a special friend with which we'll spend some extended time this weekend. Between this group, I hope I come away feeling better than I do now.
What happened to "Have fun and just get out there & box!!!"
We hope you'llcome up and say hello to Sue and I at this Saturday's Trail Days Gathering in Danbury, CT. Visit our Gatherings Page with all the details. Up to date info can be seen here, at Letterboxer2002's gathering page. Per his request, we'll have some of our boxing bands for sale that day.
Our Box of the Week, Petroglyph Series, by Donutz, has been getting rave reviews on the talk list and from private emails I've received. It's located in Colchester, CT and has the attention of many boxers in this area. Try to get to this one soon!
SpringChick covers the subject of using aliases in letterboxing on her new website.
Why? What benefit is an alias? Are there times that you shouldn't use one? Visit her new blog and explore this very timely subject by clicking the Alias image above. This chick can write and you can learn an awful lot from her spring, summer or fall! [ Sorry! :-) ]
Letterboxing enthusiasts hide and hunt weatherproof containers in remote or scenic places. Each container holds a logbook, a rubber stamp and stamp pad. The planter of the letterbox distributes clues to it's location via the internet, Word of Mouth, on websites or via other means. Clues can be easy to difficult. Finding a letterbox may require a combination of skills such as mapreading, orienteering, and puzzle-solving.
Letterboxers carry their own logbook and personal stamp when hunting for hidden boxes. Upon finding a letterbox, they will imprint their own logbook using the found stamp, and leave their own stamping or personalization in the letterbox's logbook. Some artistic letterboxers carve and even design their own stamps and logbooks. Letterboxes are hidden in various locations throughout the world.
Letterboxing has its beginnings in Dartmoor National Park in England, where the first letterbox at Cranmere Pool was placed in 1854 by a Dartmoor guide named James Perrott, who left his calling card in a container there while guiding tourists through Dartmoor.
bravenet.com
