2014-12-14: Roaming Around Sumter County, FL

Today was another day to be outside enjoying the fresh air, Geocaching, and exploring new areas. Yesterday we went south. As usual and with no particular destination in mind, we jump on the Turnpike heading north getting off on Hwy 50 and head west. We drove all the way out to Sumter County, caching through Tarrytown, Webster, Center Hill and Bushnell. It a nice drive up through there with a lot of oak lined roadways.

Then we came across the Dade Battlefield Historic State Park. On December 28, 1835, Indian warriors ambushed 108 U.S. soldiers at this site, and only three soldiers survived. This ambush started the Second Seminole War. Within the 80-acre park is a hiking trail, natural Florida landscaping, and a few memorials.

Passing underneath I-75 to the west, we found the Florida National Cemetery. And we like Geocaching in cemeteries because of the history there. Though we're not used to seeing all the headstones of the same size and lined up in perfect rows.

Also nearby and even more interesting was the Wild Cow Prairie Cemetery. Not much is known on the history of this Cemetery, but the graves date back to the early 1800's.

A few more caches later and we decided to call it a day and head on home. It was another great day of exploring the back country roads and small towns of Florida.

2014-12-13: Two Events and Some Random Caches

Because of today's date 12-13-2014, it was a day for Geocaching events where cachers get together and share stories. Our first event was only a mile away from home. It started at 10 am and we gathered for 11 minutes. Therefore it was called: 10-11-12-13-14! So after quick hello's and a little cit chat, we disbursed.

Some of us headed down to Winter Haven, FL for the next Brunch Time event. Along the way, we stopped to grab a couple of other caches too. When we arrived at the restaurant where the next event was being held, it was standing room only! So another few quick greetings and off we went down the road.

A couple more caches later and eventually we found one at Sample Park on the shores of Lake Hamilton. After finding the cache we strolled down by the lake to enjoy the view.

The next cache took us south to Lake Wales and then east on FL-60 over to the Flaming Arrow Scout Reservation. Not a really big day, but a good day seeing some caching friends and exploring some new areas around.

2014-10-26: A Power Run, A Tree Climb, and a Lakeside Stroll

Today's Geocaching adventure takes us south of Orlando and down into Osceola County. Last year another Geocacher decided to hide caches along US441 from Holopaw all the way down and beyond Yeehaw Junction. For 40 miles and about every 520'-600' there's a cache hidden. This is whats called a power run. Not much in the way of exciting or fun caches, but definitely a way of increasing your find count.

We started out a little bit late in the morning and we took Candy's granddaughter along with us. Well the only sightseeing down that way is the occasional group of cows or a floating butterfly. She was having fun for probably the first half. But after 41 quick park & grab caches, someone was way past bored by now.

There was one unique cache mixed in with the rest called Treediculous. It was rated a Difficulty of 5 and a Terrain of 4.5 on a scale of 1-5. All I know was that I get to pretend I'm a kid again and climb a tree! Yippee! I guess I climbed up about 20 ft and looked all over for a well hidden micro cache. I spent about 30-40 minutes up there looking under moss, among the leaves, different branches, but could not find it. While it drove me crazy, I still had fun. Having a DNF just means I get to climb it again the next time I'm down here!

Even though there were hundreds of caches left for us to find, we called it a day and drove back north up into St Cloud. We then stopped at Chisholm Park on the SE banks of the East Lake Tohopekaliga. There we enjoyed some of the more natural aspects of the lake with the large oaks and various wildlife.

The last stop before heading home was the recently renovated Lakefront Park located at the southernmost part of East Lake Tohopekaliga. We strolled the paved walking trails, took some photos, and the granddaughter got to play on the playground. It was a nice end to a beautiful day!

2014-08-23: Florida's First Coast St Augustine and Anastasia Island

Today Candy and I took a drive up to St. Augustine to visit her family and do some sightseeing where she grew up. And of course we couldn't pass up Geocaching while we were here. We spent most of the time at Anastasia State Park.

Our first virtual cache was a short hike to the sight of the Old Spanish Quarries where much of the Coquina was retrieved to use in the construction of many of the early buildings. Including the fortress Castillo de San Marcos.

We continued hiking some of the trails and even went over to the beach side to enjoys the views. But we didn't stay long. It was August and we weren't exactly dressed for the beach.

The last Geocache of the day was called lighthouse view because it was in view of the lighthouse. It was a nice relaxing day enjoying the outdoors, hiking, and spending time with family.

2014-08-10: One Weekend / 1800 Miles!

While today's post may be short, it covered 1800 miles in just one weekend! During our summer road trip, we had dropped off Candy's grandkids at their father's house in Maryland. While the son was staying there, it was time to pickup the granddaughter. 

After work Friday night we quickly packed, hopped into the car and got a head start. We made it almost through Georgia and stayed the night in Richmond Hill, just south of Savannah.

On Saturday, we hit the road early and drove all the way up to Westminster, MD. With granddaughter in the car, we made our way back southbound. Just north of the Richmond, VA beltway I decided to call it a night.

Sunday came and we drove all the way back home to Florida. Wow, what a trip! From Google maps it was 1809 miles. Add in all the gas, food, and overnight stops and it was probably more like 1825 miles. Sadly the only Geocaching we managed was during the stops. Total caches for the weekend add up to only 5.

The one cool thing we found was on the way back. We stopped in Port Wentworth, GA for gas and saw a sign for Sweet Tea Grille. With a name like that how can you not eat there. Out front they had this huge chair which made for a nice photo opp!