(no subject)

[senoritafish]

For the first time, the fry and I attended an "Event Cache" - where a bunch of local geocachers get together at a certain point, and some bring things call "travel bugs" and "geocoins" to exchange - these are items or coin-like things with unique number codes, which are supposed to be moved from cache to cache, sometimes with a specific goal in mind ("get Nemo the Fish from the Atlantic to the Pacific"). I got to meet quite a few people who I'd previously only known by username.

Wherigo hint
Newport Beach CA
Sharp VE-CG30
12 September 2008

The above was a major hint from a new kind of cache called a "wherigo" (Where-I-Go). Unfortunately, you can only do them if you have the very expensive type of GPS unit that you can download little programmed modules to.



Basically, it's a sort of story puzzle to figure out; the story (this one was about a mysterious circus with a Black Tent), leads you from one clue to the next, and finally to a traditional cache. We just tagged along for it with the person who did have the right type of GPS, and helped look for the clues. It was quite fun until we got to the end, and while we were looking for the actual cache, Angus got something in his eye, started panicking and yelling like someone was gouging it out. Took a few minutes until I calmed him down and meanwhile we were getting "The Look" from several people, wondering why he was reacting so excessively.

Then we went back and had lunch and looked at all the Bugs and Coins - I wasn't quite clear if you were supposed to take any unless you had one to trade, so we left them alone. They provided lists of all that were there, so I think maybe you were supposed to enter them as "sighted" but I didn't realize that until later.



Also one of the other cachers was trying to get people to sponsor her for an "Autism Speaks" fundraising walk - I was polite and non-committal but the more I hear about that organization, the less I like it.