The Time Draws Near . . . .

for our First Ever Letterboxing Cruise!!!

37 excited letterboxers board the Norwegian Dawn early afternoon tomorrow, Sunday, June 22 for a 7 day journey of rest, relaxation, boxing and fun.

Our bags are packed, we've made all of the final necessary arrangements and now comes the waiting - until 21 New England area boxers join Sue & I at our home 10am Sunday morning awaiting the arrival of the chartered bus to the piers in NYC - home of the beautiful Norwegian Dawn - our home away from home for 7 days.

We'll have some stories to share with you when we get home! In the meantime - have a great week!

Happy Birthday - and Thank You!!!

June 16 is Sue's birthday and our 6th letterboxing anniversary!

Several months ago I sent out an email to some of our letterboxing friends asking them to carve a 2 x 2 quilt square for Sue so she could fashion a letterboxing quilt or pillow from all of the stamp images. The response has been terrific and I could hardly wait until Monday!

Tonight, unable to keep it to myself one minute longer, I showered Sue with quilt squares a plenty - 14 to be exact! Sue posted the following for those who made a contribution:


Dear Letterboxing Friends!


I am truly overwhelmed by your kindness and thoughtfulness in carving all of the wonderful quilt squares that Mark gave me tonight - from carvers/friends from all over the US! I'm not sure how I will fabricate the "quilt" as this point but definitely want to stamp the images on paper to frame for a special place near my quilting table.

Always in the background in support of Mark in this hobby, I am so thoroughly touched by this gesture that words cannot fully express my heartfelt thanks. Thank you all so much as well for all that you do to support Mark in this his obsession. You have no idea how much you all mean to us.

Love,
Sue

Cruising and Musing

The time is fast approaching for our First Ever Letterboxing Cruise 2008!!! And this pinecone couple is getting pretty excited! We depart a week from this Sunday.

After receiving permission from NCL to plant boxes on the ship (scavenger hunts, I called them - not wanting to use the word "letterbox,") we've been in somewhat of a carving frenzy. We have 2 series to plant of 6 and 3 boxes as well as 7 different forms of puzzles that, when completed correctly, earn the boxer a unique & very special stamp. And some surprises as well.

There are a total of 37 passengers in this little group out of the 150 that expressed interest in the cruise early on. In an effort to save the group an additional $100, we moved the cruise to June 22 to June 29; the last week before the summer price increases. In doing so, that eliminated many people who have school age children, graduations and the like. If we run this trip again - which will more than likely happen in a few years - we will opt for a week or two later departure so more boxers may be included.

Don't get me wrong - I'm pleased that there is a nice sized group of 37 and it will prove to be a great mixture of many good personalities from around the US. Especially where this is a new trip, I find comfort in the fact that if we fall flat on our pinecone faces at least it's to a limited crowd (and many very good friends of ours that will be understanding!) I've noticed that the first trip, like Dartmoor, is always the most difficult. Details to work out, negotiations with the cruise line, learning how to have Sue & I set up as a travel agency, etc. Now that the work is done, we'll just have to replicate our efforts and make improvements that we spot along the way.

Our Bed & Boxing event will gear up shortly after our return from the pink sands of Bermuda. Funny - we received several emails asking why our events always had a fee involved which eliminated those that want to attend a Pinecone Adventure but might not be able to afford a trip to Dartmoor, a cruise or a weekend at a B & B. We've thought about that pretty extensively and we're starting to think about a gathering - just a plain, old gathering without any costs to take place next year some time. And we might do it in VT. We'll see how that goes. Like any good idea, it has to percolate for a while!

There are no plans to do a diary type report of our trip. Don't know if you've noticed but we still haven't finished our last Dartmoor diary! (I promise I will, Bookworm!) But we'll try to keep a few notes to refresh our memory of any memorable events that occur on the ship. We also have a few other ideas of ways to report our comings and goings aboard ship and playing in Bermuda. Whatever we come up with, as usual, you will be the first to know!

Have a good week.

Calling All Bed & Boxers!

Most of the planning is out of the way for our First Ever Letterboxing Cruise!!! on June 22 to June 29 heading to Bermuda. With 37 excited boxers who have been given permission by the cruise line to hide boxes onboard, something tells me we'll be the craziest ship asea and maybe a floating Dartmoor!

Our thoughts now (of course!) turn to our next Pinecone Adventure - the Bed & Boxing event to be held in the quaint village of Jackson, NH the weekend of November 14 to 16. The photo, at right, is the Honeymoon Bridge, a local attraction.

The 3 inns participating are The Inn at Jackson and Whitney's Inn - both in the village of Jackson and Glen Oaks Inn, located nearby in Intervale. By the first week in July, we'll have a special webpage setup with descriptions and pricing for the 3 locations. Prices will include 2 nights stay and 2 full breakfasts. Additionally you will be charged for taxes and the Welcome Buffet.

The Welcome Buffet will be held that first evening, Friday, November 14 at The Whitney's Inn in their private White Birches room. The charge is $15 per person; $10 per child and must be reserved when you place your room order. You can choose any of the 3 inns where you will breakfast both mornings but the Friday night buffet will be held in Birches. Please tell your reservation taker the number of people for the buffet. Menu includes Chicken Divan, Vegetable Lasagna, Macaroni & Cheese with Lobster, vegetable, salad, bread & butter, cheese and fruit platters and non-alcoholic beverages. Alcoholic drinks may be purchased at your own expense.

Reservations will open early July and must be completed by August 1. A 50% deposit will be required at the time of reservation. Your buffet fee will be added to your room. Stay tuned for details on room accomodations, prices and other specifics.

Please sign up for the event if you are interested here. When the Bed & Boxing webpage is ready for you and reservations are open, I'll send an email to the group registered at the event page. Hope you can make this newest boxing adventure that has been in the planning for almost a year!

In the interim, all 3 inns have given us permission to hide boxes on their grounds. Our hope is that the boxing community will plant boxes for our group to find during the coming summer or fall months. If you decide to plant boxes on their grounds, just go to the front desk of any of the above-mentioned inns and explain what you are doing, then plant your box. We ask that you include the tag line "Planted for Bed & Boxing" in your clues and you publish your clues on LBNA and/or Atlas Quest Monday, November 10 - Thursday, November 13. This will allow attendees the ability to print out these new clues Friday before they depart for this exciting weekend.

Sue & I hope that you can join us. With the almost 70 people already signed up, there will not be an organized group to hunt for boxes on Saturday or Sunday. We encourage small groups of boxers to head out on their own. We can all enjoy each others company at the individual inns over breakfast, at Friday night's Welcome Buffet and a meal being planned for Saturday evening back at Birches private room. Come along with us, pack your boxing gear, some warm clothing and enjoy all this area has to offer during this special weekend!

Can You Hear the Barking???

I'm sure you must!

Bookworm, Sue & I spent some quality time with the dogs on Sunday. It's been a little embarassing that we've only nabbed a few of those puppies - since the location is right around the corner from our home and we started it all with our Dog Walk Series and the challenge of encouraging other letterboxers to carve and plant their own favorite pooches!

It was amazing to see the number of dog-related (and other!) boxes that continue to pop up in Bicentennial Park. I learned from someone who knows the park much better than I that there are over 50 boxes here - counting the mysteries!!!

It was so cool to walk around and find these pooches knowing that a hair-brained scheme of ours began it all. This is such a great place to walk - with or without your dog. Recently we read in our local paper that the town is adding on another trail to this park very soon. Can that mean that there will be more dog-themed boxes to come? We certainly hope so!

Our thanks to all of the planters who have made this a fun, safe place to box on any given day. The Worm, Sue & I ended up with 26 boxes in the roughly 4 hours we were out. Not bad when you think that before October of 2006 there wasn't a letterbox in site - or hidden! So come on down, bring your kids & dog(s) and maybe a box to leave behind. It's great fun and we hope the planting never stops!