We Lived, Breathed and Totally Loved OR!!!

So ya think we had a great 10 days in the wonderful state of Oregon and the fantastic Live & Breathe historic gathering?
Hell ya!

And to prove it, we've started a diary of our trip. It's not quite complete but we'll be adding to it as the days go on. Hope you enjoy it.

Oh -you'll find the story at a different location - one you might want to bookmark!

Still Time to Sign Up for Bed & Boxing . . .

There is still some time to sign up for Bed & Boxing - our next Pinecone Adventure. We've extended the signups for 2 more weeks. At present, there are 30 people signed up. Initially, there was only about a 2 week window in which to sign up and then Sue & I hit the Oregon trail.

If you are interested in attending, you can find all the info you need at our special Bed & Boxing webpage.

Notice the nifty, retro logo to the left? It's our logo for the event and has been designed by PA's own Crayola Posse members True Indigo and RGBisMe. They also designed the winning patch for our Newboxers list and our recent First Ever Letterboxing Cruise. Sue & I love their work which is why we keep going back, asking for more! Thanks Terri & Jim, we really appreciate the wonderful work in such a timely fashion and exactly what we wanted!

It's All About the People!!!

Our recent 10 days in Oregon have answered that age old question - "What do you like most about letterboxing?"

At Live & Breathe, we met the most awesome boxers - DeniseRows (who embarrassed us with her excitement when meeting us,) SandiBox and daughter, Miss Moon, SHH and Triple T, the GA contingent who impressed us with both their boxing abilities and their friendship (Hi 123 Family!), Poodle Dudes & Spiral Seeker, Shiloh, Wassa and so many more that we met, exchanged and spoke with for a few minutes. And the most excellent Live & Breathe committee - who pulled off what we feel is the most important gathering besides that very first one held in Killington, VT with those original letterboxers back in the day!

And then - Sue & I went to the coast for 6 days where we met more wonderful people! The restaurant owner who gave Sue a petrified shell when she asked about finding agates on the beach, Roy & Kay - volunteers at the Depot Bay Whale Center who showed Sue & I our very first whale as we were gazing at the Pacific in one of those lovely pulloffs that dot the coast, Yiker & Spike and their family who took us under their wing for a day of boxing, made a terrific lunch and shared their love of family and the area in Corvallis, and Heron A Foot who shared her playground in the Heceta Lighthouse area (pictured above) and, along with her husband Eran, showed us how to hunt for edible mushrooms while boxing (they were delicious in an omelette I made the next morning!) Yiker and Heron gave up their precious time to spend a day with us and Sue & I are so appreciative to have shared that special time with them; allowing us to get to know them better and, as usual, parting as more than just boxers but friends.

So where is this all leading, you ask? Sue & I planted 5 new boxes in Oregon (besides a new addition to the Musician's Series in Portland - Thanks Gamecock!) and we're going to call them "Memories of Oregon" and each box will be dedicated to one of those amazing people we met along the way. We hope to have the clues up in a few days. The places we planted them are very special to us but the people to whom they are dedicated are even more special!

Back from Oregon But Not Happy About It!!!

Well, we're home as of late Saturday evening from our 10 day trip that included the Live & Breathe gathering and the ensuing 6 days on the Oregon coast! And what a 10 days it was!!!

What can we say about Live & Breathe besides a fantastic time was had by all! Excellent clues, artfully-carved stamps, terrific locations and some very unique ways of hiding boxes. Sue & I cannot thank Mitch/Der Mad Stamper and his committee enough - Raqs Enigma, Marmalade, Camp Fire Lady, the Buppsters and Rad Rhymer. Camp Adams was an ideal location with over 200 acres of old growth forests with some challenging trails as well as moderate and easy venues. Clues ranged from straightforward to those puzzles and coded devils that DMS loves! We were pleased to see that most of the clues were either challenging or required a bit of thinking to solve. Sue & I were able to participate in our first night boxing on Saturday night as well.

This committee thought of everything. There was no stone left unturned when it came to the planning aspect - great meals, coffee & trail mix/snacks in every cabin, a bottle of water to be refilled so as to avoid cumbersome water bottles, a gorgeous patch for each attendee, a commemorative booklet with very informative articles (and a clue on the cover!) and a commemorative travel coffee mug and flashlight as well.

The photo in the top left is the re-creation of the main page of the LBNA homepage - one that Mitch designed back in the day. He told me that one day he was sitting in his living room and was looking around. He spotted some of the items he had photographed for the LBNA homepage and thought it would be a great display for L & B (Live & Breathe.)

One of the highlights was the excellent event stamp carved by Raqs Enigma. It took Raqs over 80 hours to complete and was a thing of beauty. We hope it will be either planted somewhere permanently or put on display at future gatherings. It was really remarkable!

Also displayed was an array of patches from the Dartmoor 100 Club in the UK along with a very nice note and sig stamps of the membership including Godfrey Swinscow. Other patches included regional and special patches from around the US.

We will detail more about the gathering and the wonderful time Sue & I had boxing at the coast after the event as this week progresses so stay tuned. The gathering was terrific and again, we thank the committee for their 2 years worth of work in organizing and planning this event. And the boxers attending - they were also great with a nice reprresentation from the East coast, the South and West. And even Alaska (DeniseRows.) While we didn't have time to exchange and talk with everyone, those that we did proved our theory that letterboxers are the very best of folks.

On the right you will notice 2 of the crazy masquerade ball attendees dressed for Der Mad Stampers Masquerade Ball. I wonder who they might be?

More to come later along with clues to about a half a dozen new boxes that we left along the coast and one new addition to the Musicians' Series in Portland.

Live & Breathe Event is Almost Here!!!

We can hardly wait - the 10th anniversary of letterboxing's We Live and Breathe Letterboxing event is only 5 days away!

Sue & I, along with travel companions Dave & Deanne, leave early this Thursday morning for an 11am arrival in Portland. After a night's rest at McMenamin's in Troutdale, we head to Live & Breathe on Friday morning.

Then the fun will begin! We hope to record thoughts of the event from the over 300 letterboxers in attendance from around the country. We'll also be taking copious amounts of pictures to share once we return.

After the gathering on Sunday morning, Sue & I will be heading for a nice condo across the street from the beach along the Oregon coast. There we'll rest from the busy gathering activities and enjoy all that the coast has to offer.

We wish you all a great few weeks while we're gone and wish those of you heading to the Live & Breathe event a very safe journey! Early thanks to Der Mad Stamper and his wonderful staff for all of the hard work that they have poured into this gathering over the past year. I'm sure it will be one that all of us will remember the rest of our lives!