London: Harrods, The Thames, Greenwich, and Parliament

The day broke in bright sunlight today, and I decided to visit the areas that interested me the most: Harrods and Greenwich. I had another amazing English breakfast at the hotel and hailed a taxi to Harrods in Knightsbridge. I had seen clips on television of Harrods before, but nothing could prepare me for the delights inside!

I am an avid chef, so visiting the food galleries was a real treat. Aisle upon aisle, room after room of amazing food... I think on my next visit I'll rent an apartment so I can cook after a shopping spree at Harrods!

Next, I hailed another taxi and was treated to a lengthy narrative by the cabbie as we made our way to Victoria Embankment, passing through Trafalgar Square and past Buckingham Palace. Once we arrived, I joined one of the Thames river boats for an afternoon cruise to Greenwich - which I highly recommend. The onboard guide was very entertaining and informative.

On arrival at Greenwich, I walked the town and took in the sights. Lunch was fish and chips, of course, and I couldn't have been happier as I toured the world famous Cutty Sark and Greenwich Market.

The journey back was quiet - no guide this time - and I enjoyed a peaceful trip back to Westminster. In the setting sun, I walked along the Thames to the London Eye, then crossed the river to see Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. Very impressive, to say the least.

My last evening in London was a quiet one. I dined in, enjoying excellent prime rib from room service, and I went to bed early since I still had one more thing to do in the morning before heading to the airport: Oxford Street!

The Egyptian Room at Harrods... a must see on any trip to London.

Am I really in London?

Pastry anyone?

Mmmmm...

Drool...

I got a real kick out of this sign at Harrods. Why? They feature Krispy Kreme, of course.

I found the taxis to be neat clean, and well operated by friendly and knowledgeable hacks. The taxis are expensive, to be sure, but you should take one just for the experience of a London cab ride. The drivers tend to know tons of lore and history, and if the fares were just a little more affordable I would have taken them all over town. The Underground is how most Londoners travel in the city.

Trafalgar Square as seen from a speeding taxi...

I found Cleopatra's Needle before joining my shipmates for a tour of the Thames. This is the 'oldest stone in London' according to some. The monument was brought from Egypt and dates to around 3000 bc.

This profile is recognizable around the world.

Cleopatra's Needle from on board ship.

The old power plant now houses the Tate Modern, a free museum of modern art.

This is the City of Belfast, a rather famous battleship which saw action in WWII and Korea. It now serves as a floating naval museum.

This new building is actually the London City Hall. Inside on the lowest floor is a huge satellite image of London which you can walk on and find various spots in town.

The Tower Bridge as seen passing under by boat.

Our river guide was chock full of Thames trivia and seagoing lore... cockney accent and all!

Cher lives in the roundish penthouse in the nearest glass building. Whoop-dee-doo... hahaha!

This is Canary Wharf, an up and coming part of London. Did you know that wharf is an acronym? It originally meant Ware House At River Front, according to our river guide.

This is the view of Greenwich from the Thames. The observatory is the small dome near the picture's center.

Here she is, the one and only Cutty Sark - legendary cutter of mid 1800's. Here's an extract from Wikipedia:

The ship is named after the short shirt worn by the fleet-footed witch featured in the poem Tam o' Shanter written by Robert Burns. She was designed by Hercules Linton and built in 1869 at Dumbarton in Scotland, by the firm of Scott & Linton, for Captain John Willis, and launched November 23 of that year.

The Cutty Sark was destined for the China tea trade, at that time an intensely competitive race across the globe from China to London, with immense profits to the ship to arrive with the first tea of the year. However she did not distinguish herself in this trade; in the most famous race, against Thermopylae in 1872, they left Shanghai together on June 18, but after two weeks Cutty Sark lost her rudder after passing through the Sunda Strait, and arrived in London on October 18, a week after Thermopylae, for a total passage of 122 days. Her legendary reputation is supported by the fact that her captain chose to continue this race with an improvised rudder instead of putting into port for a replacement and still managed to be beaten by only one week.

In the end, clippers lost out to the steamships, which could pass through the recently-opened Suez Canal and deliver reliably, if not quite so quickly, which as it turned out was better for business. The Cutty Sark was then used in the Australian wool trade, and did very well, posting Australia-to-England times of as little as 67 days. Her best run, of 360 nautical miles in 24 hours, was said to have been the fastest of any ship of her size.

What I can't figure out is, how did my ex-wife make it on the bow of the Cutty Sark?

Here is the rear view of the Cutty Sark. The rudder is about 15 feet long, maybe more.

Lovely at any angle...

A look the center of Greenwich. It's too bad that cars are allowed here. I think the area would be better served if it were closed to vehicles.

Greenwich is filled with narrow alleys and winding streets, reminding me of Nantucket and other colonial-era seaside towns in the USA. Except that this place is much, much older...

This is Greenwich Market, which has been in continuous operation since 1700.

An admonition to the Greenwich market merchants from above.

If the cars weren't in the photo, this would be like looking at Greenwich in the Age of Sail.

Here is a fine view of the Thames and the London Eye from Westminster Bridge.

Eye in the Sky.

The Eye never stops moving... you have to jump in the pod as it moves by the boarding platform!

These lamposts would be awesome locations for nanos... I mean, *ahem* I really enjoyed the fine details all over the city of London, where even lamposts are finely crafted.

Along the Thames, not far from the London Eye, there are sculptures by Salvador Dali. These alone were worth the trip in my view.

Mmmmm...Dali...

This is just one fo the lions keeping watch at Westminster Bridge, not far from the Eye.

Now, it was a real treat to hear the world famous 'Big Ben' toll the hour. Most folks outside of London think that the name Big Ben refers to the clock itself. In fact, the name refers to the largest of 12 bells inside the tower.

Big Ben in the setting sun...

London: A Night Out In Soho, Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, And Leicester Square

Well caching fans, I have sad news. I didn't find any caches today! It's kind of embarrassing, actually, because I had a terrible night's sleep - waking up at 6:30 am and having gotten only 4 hours sleep during the previous 36 hours. I had a wonderful English breakfast and went back to the room, crashing until 5 pm!

I really needed the sleep, but it was a drag getting up and realizing that the day was pretty much shot. Nonetheless, I resolutely planned a great evening out and as luck would have it, that's exactly what happened.

I walked down to Soho and strolled the streets looking for dinner. My friend Nick has mentioned in the past that the Italian restaurants are quite good here, and he was right! I enjoyed a huge dinner for a reasonable price and I had a nice chat with the wait staff.

Moving on, I walked all the way down through Piccadilly Circus, Covent Garden, and Leicester Square. The night air felt great, and I stopped in a couple of bars for cocktails along the way. It was pretty easy to pick out the regulars in each bar from the tourists, and I met several interesting people during the course of the evening.

All told, I'm guessing that I walked about 10 miles and I got to see many of the popular places in London along the way. Tomorrow should be decent weather-wise, and I'm looking forward to exploring London in daylight...

The art galleries in London are as diverse as the former empire itself. I passed shops selling wares celebrating every culture imagineable.

I found this sculpture not far from the US Embassy, where I spent some time earlier in the day. You won't find this in Leesburg...

The garment district is filled with tons of shops which all boast tailored clothing. The prices were shocking, though.

Just after sunset I came by Nelson's Column. This is as close I got, since the light was gone and this is a spot probably best seen in daylight.

This is where I had dinner in Soho. The food was fantastic and I hated to leave, but the night was still calling...

Covent Garden at night. It's a laid back crowd here and I enjoyed talking with some regulars at the Nag's Head.

I was almost run down in London by wild horses! Actually, aside from Hyde park, I was surprised by the lack of horses in the city. I thought there would be carriage rides for hire, but so far I haven't seen any.

This is the statue at the center of Piccadilly Circus. I like the lighting in this photo.

Cricket anyone? I read recently that Australia is actually the world champion again this year.

Here is where I ended my evening out- Jewel Bar, at Piccadilly Circus. I was told that this is where the beautiful people hang out, so I HAD to take a look. Inside, I had a very pleasant chat with three lovely women who were quite happy to fill me in on things to do off the beaten path in London!

London: Hyde Park, The Thames, and Frinton-On-Sea

After a rough night crossing the Atlantic, I arrived in London a bit late and quite exhausted. There were many delays, both at the airport and in London itself, making for a difficult start to my visit. This was soon remedied by a walk in Hyde Park, right across from my hotel, where the gardens are in full bloom and numerous caches keep residence.

The park was fantastic, as you'll see below. I had a good long walk and only saw about a third of the park itself. Marty and I were talking about micros in urban areas recently, and these were a nice change of pace; they were well hidden in interesting spots with beautiful views.

In the early evening, I met up with my good friends Nick Hall and Opal Bonfante for a walking tour of the Thames. Nick and Opal are rising stars in the local media universe through their company SE1 Media, which produces programming for internet and radio. Their first podcast 'iPod Traveller' is a must for anyone who has an interest in European travel. Opal is also a presenter at a prominent radio station 'The Big L: Radio London', where she hosts a nightly radio program. You can learn more about Opal at her own website.

We enjoyed a very interesting walk along the Thames, spotting many notable landmarks. Nick and Opal also did a few sound bites along the way, hard workin pros that they are, and we eventually made it all the way to the Tower Bridge before catching the Tube to Nick's place.

Nightfall saw us making our way to Frinton-On-Sea with a carload of pizza and good times. Frinton is approximately 1.5 hours by car from London, and we made haste along the motorways so that Opal would get to her radio show on time. I have to tell you, it's a hair raising experience driving along at night as a passenger in a car that is driving on the 'wrong' side of the road! I thought we were bound for certain death a number of times...

On arrival, Opal went straight in to the broadcast booth and got to work, while Nick and I chatted with the station owner 'Uncle Ray'. Ray is a man of exceeding good humor and it was a real pleasure to meet him. The Big L is a legendary radio station, having been one of the Pirate Radio stations in the 60's and 70's. Nick did several spots with Opal live on air, while for my part, I simply contributed some background color, preferring not to taint Opal's image with my voice on the airwaves. Wait, what am I saying? Opal's image? Hahahaha!

It was altogether a fantastic day, though utterly exhausting. I arrived back at my hotel at 2 am local and collapsed - happy, tired, and thankful for my good fortune and great friends around the world. I would like to thank Nick and Opal for their many kindnesses, friendship, and good humor. They made this day one that I will remember fondly for many, many years!

This is the view as I entered Hyde Park. I sat in one of these lovely chairs while my GPS was initializing (which took a while since my GPS thought we were still in the USA) and was approached by a gentleman with a coin box. It seems that these seats are 1 pound 50 if you want to sit in them!

This was a fun micro to find. It's a 35mm film can with magnets under that square box, which serves as a speakers stand for those who wish to speak out in public on any subject. Inetersting area of Hyde Park.

Dangit, where is the micro on this bench?

Oh, there it is!

Hyde Park is filled with carefully tended flower gardens. This one went on for about 200 yards and was very peaceful.

Very nice, this one.

Here is one of the micros that I found today, which was on the street-side of the tulip garden.

Tulips always make for great close ups.

Someday I'll be able to compose photos like the pros... This is a nice pic, but not what I was after. I think I need to splurge on a wider lense.

This was a surprise in the center of London - a period house which is perfectly preserved.

'Hey look! Another tourist with... maybe... a snack!'

The swans regarded me with cautious interest.

I spotted this fellow at the end of my walk in Hyde Park. Lincoln, can you identify this fellow for me?

I joined my friends Nick Hall and Opal Bonfante for an evening stroll along the Thames. Nick, ever the comedian, deftly points to the 'You are HERE' spot on the street map. Lord only knows what Opal is up to in this photo...

Nick explained to me that when you see one of these posts, you are formally entering the City of London. The crest below the 'No Cycling' sign is offical notice.

St. Paul's Cathedral. The stonework on this church mesmerized me - great iconography and allegory.

The front entrance of St. Paul's is beautiful - this photo doesn't do it justice.

Here we are on the Millenium Bridge, which crosses the Thames. The bridge was actually closed during the Millenium celebration in London due to some harmonic oscillation difficulties.

Looking back across the Thames near the Millenium Bridge.

You could have knocked me down with a feather when I caught sight of this place. I tried knocking, but William wasn't at home...

I loved this hand wrought iron gate in front of The Globe.

Can you guess at the history behind this structure? It is the oldest wall in London, dating back over 1000 years!

The infamous Tower of London...

During our walk along the Thames we enjoyed many works of art, including this fine sculpture.

Riding the Tube with Opal and Nick. It is really quite small inside these train cars.

I was here!

Imagine finding this beauty on the Thames! There is a virtual cache here.

I kept looking for Dr. Who!

Nick and Opal do some sound bites in the street.

Opal demonstrates the opulence of a Rover, a British auto which is sadly no longer in production.

Here is Nick extending his 15 minutes of fame!

Opal hard at work in the Big L studios.

New Feature Added!

I'm pleased to add an exciting new feature: a direct link to an exciting podcast all about geocaching! I'll be linking various episodes in the near future, so keep checking back for the latest. For those of you already addicted to podcasting, a search at iTunes for 'Podcacher' will provide the direct rss feed. You can also check them out at http://podcacher.com/

So, without further adieu, here is a link to Podcacher Episode 38, which features an interview with my good friend CCCooperAgency! Enjoy!

(Note: I am still FAR behind in posting my January adventures, so stay tuned as I continue to compile our Paris photos!)

Your hosts Sonny and Sandy at Podcacher!

Paris: Day Five - Eiffel Tower Revisited; Musee D'Orsay

After a long and wonderful day at the Louvre yesterday, we retired briefly to the hotel for a shower and change of clothes and then made our way to have dinner with a Parisian family courtesy of a program called 'Meeting the French'. Our hosts were the Cornu family, and the dinner was very, very good.

During dinner, we chatted with our hosts about our adventures in Paris and discovered that Msr. Cornu is a curator at the Musee D'Orsay, where many of the most famous impressionist masterpieces in the world reside. I have always been curious about the connection between the legendary libation absinthe and the impressionist masters, and Msr. Cornu happened to be an expert on that very subject!

Before I could wink, there were two bottles of absinthe sitting before us, and I got my first taste of La Fee Verte under the tutelage of a master! The drink was quite strong, and had an herbal taste underlying the overt licorice flavor. It really was something special, and we spent the time discussing the impressionists at length, as well as french wine and cheese, the history of Paris, Msr. Cornu's adventures in China (where he met his wife), and many, many other views of the world.

Msr. Cornu asked politely if we would be visiting the Orsay during this trip and I mentioned that we hadn't planned on going due to the 3 hour (plus!) line to get in. He then offered to meet us the next morning at a side entrance, if we were at leisure, so that we could enjoy the Orsay with him on a private tour. SWEET!

Nightengale and I woke up early to get something out of the way before our mid-morning appointment with Msr. Cornu: our ascension of the Eiffel Tower. When we arrived at the tower, we were delighted to see no line at all and we went directly to the lifts for a short ride to the first level. Once there, we decided to get something warm to eat since it was quite chilly - two lemon crepes and a crocque monsieur, which were delicious.

The final lift to the top was pretty exciting. It's fast (straight up!) and you can see the ground disappear while your ears pop. The view from the top is incomparable, and we spent a good while taking it all in.

Once the cold had set us to shivering, we decided to move on to the next part of our day: Musee D'Orsay. A quick cab ride had us there right on time, and we met our new friend at the side entrance. The balance of our morning was spent in Msr. Cornu's place of work, admiring works of art that, like the Louvre, I had only ever seen in textbooks. It was a wonderful visit, and I look forward to returning the favor to Msr. Cornu and his family one day soon.

The Eiffel Tower revisited. I'm glad that we came back to check it out, since the view (and the structure itself) are a 'can't miss'.

Brrrr! It was about 20 degrees colder on top, and the wind was blowing at a good clip.

This pic is for Marty: the radio antenna on the very top of the Eiffel Tower. I got dizzy for a moment taking this picture - the tower is a lot higher than you think!

We enjoyed a crepe and crocque monsieur in the tower. Man, they were good!

L'Arc de Triomphe in all it's splendor.

The Seine as seen from the top.

Is that how far we are from home?

The Musee D'Orsay - the royal palace for the Impressionists. Hard to believe it was a train station in it's previous life.

The coutryard of Musee D'Orsay, which is worth the visit on it's own.

Who is she longing for, I wonder?

The display seemed a bit odd, but Vincent might approve.

The clock at Musee D'Orsay - Rufnredy mentioned being in this spot, as I'm sure many of you have.

Even the smallest nooks and crannies were beautiful!

Coming face to face with with this dancer was amazing!

A young both looks back at us across time.

Another of Nightengale's favorites.

Joan of Arc in all of her glory...

Days Three and Four: The Louvre

Our third day in Paris was spent exploring at our leisure, and we took in a great many of the local sights on foot. The camera stayed in the bag most of the day, though, since it was raining pretty steadily. As you might expect, the food was spectacular everywhere that we went and we learned something about Parisians that helped to shape our approach to Paris, namely, they are completely shell-shocked when it comes to tourists!

Since we live near Washington, DC, we could relate to the people of Paris on this level - and we decided to take a different tangent when dealing with 'rude' waiters, shopkeepers, vendors, and the like. By taking a few extra minutes to ask them about themselves (where they came from, how long they had lived in Paris, where their families resided, and so on) we were able to get past the natural defenses of most and had a much easier time of things. I'm not saying that this paid off every single time, but most of the folks we encountered reacted very positively to our genuine interest in their lives.

We did blunder in to discovering a faux pas in Paris, though. Here at home, it is quite natural to touch someone's arm when speaking to them, but in Paris this is a definite no-no. There is no touching, it was explained to me, unless you have known the person for some time. This took some getting used to, since I don't normally think about it in the course of normal conversation.

Our 4th day in paris was spent in the Louvre with a personal guide - a lovely French woman who was as passionate about art as anyone I've ever met. I'll let the photos do the talking here, but I would like to pass along this gem of advice: if you are going to the Louvre, book a tour of some sort. The tours get in without delay (the line is normally 3 to 5 hours!) and having a guide is definitely a bonus in this huge museum.

The sun finally broke through at the end of the day.

Napolean III's dining hall. I'll bet the food was every bit as good as the hall itself! If only I could be a fly on the wall back then...

This is part of Napolean III's residence at the Louvre, which was so lavish that it defies one's ability to comprehend.

The Egyptian collection at the Louvre is the largest outside of the Cairo museum, in fact, only 5% is on display at any given time.

Nightengale takes in the sights.

Yes, peek-a-boo, I see you too!

Flying buttresses and breathtaking staircases adorn the various buildings of the Louvre, which was for many years the royal palace.

Here he is again, this time in a stone doorway.

We kept seeing the Green Man all over Paris, and never in greater numbers than at the Louvre.

Nightengale really loved this sculpture.

The details in these works is stunning.

One of our favorite sculptures.

Because I was numb all over, I didn't realize that photography was forbidden in this part of the Apollo room and I snapped this photo of a medieval crown, only to be very firmly rebuked by a Louvre guard. The stones are REAL, and they are HUGE. The crown is solid gold.

This is one of the ceiling vaults in the Apollo room.

There were wonders around every corner. In fact, I refused to believe that this was the real Venus de Milo until our guide became visibly irritated with me! But this is it, and I was at a loss for words.

This is one of the most recognized sculptures in the Louvre! I won't spoil it's identity...

If only I could have shone a ray of sunlight on this scene! I love the IM Pei pyramid in the courtyard of the Louvre.

Le Musee du Louvre from our favorite entrance.

This is how you know you're near a government facility in Paris...

The Jardins Tuilieres, where we spent a fair amount of time during our stay.

Here I am in the Louvre... Wait! Isn't this the place where The DaVinci Code guy... errrr... I mean, what a fantastic spot!

Paris: Day Two - New Year's Eve

We woke up early, enjoying a truly amazing breakfast at the hotel restaurant before wandering out into the bright chilly morning. Since we had no specific agenda, we decided to stroll back along the Jardins Tuilieres to the Place de la Concorde and onward to the Eiffel Tower.

The walk was refreshing, though we were both pretty chilly once we arrived at the Eiffel Tower. The lines for the tower were 3 hours long (!) and there were a couple thousand folks milling around, so we enjoyed the gardens, took some photos and then hopped in a cab back to the Louvre.

We explored the shops and cafes in our home neighborhood and enjoyed a light lunch in one of the cafes, but our clocks were winding down pretty quickly. We didn't sleep much on the plane and had a short night's sleep, so we both decided to catch a nap before the New Year's Eve festivities kicked off.

We woke up late, around 6 pm, and groggily prepared to ring in the new year. A short stroll from the hotel we found a fantastic restaurant and dined on roast chicken with french onion soup. The food was amazing and thus revived we headed out toward the Champs Elysees for the third time since our arrival.

The crowd was HUGE - I would estimate about 50,000 at least. We settled in to a spot for the big event and watched the Eiffel Tower as it lit up at midnight, sending sparkling light all over Paris. Champagne corks popped everywhere and the celebration started really cranking as the alcohol kicked in. Within 20 minutes Nightengale and I were scrambling for cover as revelers began shooting fireworks of all kinds - in every direction, including into the crowd. The air became thick with the smell of champagne and black powder, and for a few minutes I thought it likely that one or both of us would be hit with either a rocket or a flying champgne bottle!

We made a safe escape to the Jardins Tuilieres and enjoyed a more orderly procession back to the Louvre. On arrival at the hotel, we watched TV coverage of other European celebrations and settled in for a long night's sleep.

The Champs-Elysees at dawn on the 31st. Paris is just waking up.

Here's the Place de la Concorde at sunrise.

Nightengale and I spotted this interesting building while walking towards the Eiffel Tower - there was moss and lichen planted all over it!

Our quarry rises before us. Our bellies stuffed with a french country breakfast, we forge on...

At last! The view from below...

We're looking straight up from the pavement under the tower.

New Year's Eve and our hotel was lit rather nicely, as were most of the Parisians we encountered.

The Eiffel Tower sparkled at the stroke of midnight on New Year's Eve and the crowd of several thousand on the Champs Elysees went wild!

Here is Nightengale at 12:01 am on January 1st, 2006. There were fireworks everywhere!

Paris: Day One

Nightengale and I arrived in Paris around noon time after an all night flight from Washington, and after a quick nap, we set out to see a few sights. We walked the Jardins Tuilieres and the grounds of the Louvre and marveled at the sheer beauty of our surroundings. The amazement of that first day never faded - we were in awe for the entire trip!

This is the obelisk at the Place De La Concorde...

Our friend Pericles can be found near the Louvre.

Some sculpture along the Jardins Tuilieres!

Here is fuzzy night shot of the Louvre through Napolean's arch. That's what I get for not bringing my tripod to Paris!

This lovely lady is the site of a virtual cache - which I didn't know when I took the picture!

We were rewarded at the end of the day with this beautiful sight of the Tower.

The Annual CCCA Event: All I Want For Christmas!

Nightengale and I saddled up for a ride to Mt. Joy, Pennsylvania for the annual holiday event held by CCCooperAgency and Friends - which is a 'Must Attend' in our book. The event has grown exponentially in just one year, and it was standing room only when we arrived at the event location.

We got to meet many, many cachers from all over the place, sharing good food and lots of caching stories. Once everyone was fed, we all headed out for 8 hours of night caching in various caravans. It was darn cold, but we managed to pick off over 60 - that's right! 60! - caches before heading back to Virginia!

I enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces, and making several new friends. Of course, everyone got an Airsafety bracelet, and during the dinner there were hundreds of geocoins floating around.

Keep an eye out next year and mark your calendars - this event is not to be missed! Thank you to CCCA and Friends for a really first rate event!

Here are two of my most favorite people in the world - Carl and Molly, better known as Mocadeki. You will never meet two nicer people, and I was very happy to see them again. In fact, I gave Molly a big ole holiday bear hug til she squealed! They hid some GREAT caches for the event, which were enjoyed by all.

Here was the scene as we drove up to the event: standing room only! There were probably 200 people in attendance from all over the USA!

This is Trev, of Trevalyan's R&R, one of our local legends, and a heck of a good guy. I was glad to hear that he wasn't being force moved after all!

Here she is: the world's #1 geocacher and host of this increasingly popular holiday event - CCCooperAgency! WOOWOO!

Robert, of the MD Geocaching Society, shares a few insights during the 'feast and meet' part of the event.

Is this a black swan, or is it a goose? Nightengale fell in love with it!

Have you ever seen anything like it? There were gazillions of ducks and geese here - but the truly wild ones stayed far away from shore.

Mocadeki had some very fun and clever hides in this beautiful park near Mt. Joy.

High adventure on the trail with the night caravan!

Cachin' With Norm

It isn't often enough that I get to go out caching with friends, and I was very happy to head out with Norm on this fine Saturday to make some finds near Springfield. We managed to knock out a few tough ones, managing to get the truck stuck for a few minutes, and like many cache outings we probably walked A LOT farther than we should have! Thanks for a great afternoon cachin, Norm!

"Yes Honey... a loaf of bread, gallon of milk, and fill the car with gas. I'll remember... honest!" Norm fields a call in the field.

Easy does it as I walk the slippery slope up this wet tree...

Here I am, clinging for dear life while reaching for the hide. Fools run where angels fear to tread!

Since Norm drives a Range Rover, we thought that this wee bit o' mud would be cake to drive through. WRONG! The Rover got stuck and was in danger of sliding down the hill in to an electrical transmission tower - but thanks to Norm's cool performance un der pressure, the truck was extracted after just a few minutes of wrangling.

Norm plays fetch after a hard day of cachin' madness. See the mud on his truck? I told ya we were stuck!

NoVa Night Owls

There was a great turn out for this event in Chantilly, hosted by FlyingMoose to provide a social venue for cachers during the holiday season. Despite the rain and chill, many of the attendees went night caching after the event!

FlyingMoose put on one heck of an event, and everyone came away with new friends, new stories, and in most cases, new caching items. My hat is off to FlyingMoose, PyroNorm, and 2Wheel'in for doing such a fine job with this event!

PyroNorm and Rufnredy share a plate of pizza and some caching stories. Geez, Norm, with a pony tail like that I'll bet every white tail buck in NoVa has an eye on you!

"Tell me what you know!" FlyingMoose extracts cache information from an unwitting suspect!

'The next winner is..." FlyingMoose pulls door prize tickets out of the cache box.

Oh, the anticipation is killing me! (L to R) Divervan, Mrs. Artweld, Nittany Lady, Artweld, and HoboDude watch the door prize drawing.

"So how was the food?" Baja Clan and PsyOp have a laugh during the door prize giveaway.

Gaiter Man and Beachbuddies - two of the most challenging hiders ever!