Out and about in Garland

We headed out today to take our friends to find the cache next to Stanley the llama - only to discover Stanley was gone!!! They still found the cache, but what a bummer way to start the day off.

Instead, when they left to visit other friends in the area, we grabbed several PNGs nearby. Pretty easy, other than navigating the parking lot and waiting out muggles.

By far one of the most disappointing trips I've made, since I really liked taking my friends, especially my geocaching friends, to visit Stanley. Bummer!

Checking in on my night cache

I got a few emails and DNFs for my Creekside Night Cache, so while my buddy Jen is here with her boyfriend and his kids, we decided to go check it out. Their first night cache, and once they figured out what they needed to do, they really made good time out of it. Cache was in perfect order, and we dipped a few travel bugs from Seattle here.

Caching in Portland, OR

Since we didn't make it on the first try, and we wanted to spend more time with Jen, we decided to try again for caching in Portland. Along the way, we stopped for a few caches, mostly in cemeteries since those are my favorite.

The first stop was Twin Cities Cemetery Series-Greenwood, which right away gave me a creepy vibe (see picture below as to why). However, it was thankfully easy to locate so we didn't have to explore too long. On the way out, I was saddened to see all the child-sized graves together.



We then headed to the next cemetery cache, Twin Cities Cemetery Series-Mountain View. This one took some patience with a gentleman mowing the area, but wasn't hard to find. I was curious why some many of these had bushes growing over them, so that unless you were standing in the bushes, you couldn't read them.

After that, Evan had to stop for gas, and I noticed another cache very near. So, we decided to stop and look for it: Cousin's Cat. OMG. We were there forever, and still no luck. However, we did meet a fellow cacher who was supposed to meet his girlfriend for breakfast nearby, and he joined us in the search. Although not successful, still interesting, and I'm sure Jen got a lot of neat photos.

For our last cemetery on the way, we then headed to Twin Cities Cemetery Series-Fern Hill, which was also a quick find in a quiet place.

After grabbing lunch, and visiting yet another REI, we headed out for caching in downtown Portland. I love the cooler weather, makes it possible to enjoy the time outside, and we did. We found several caches on the walk around town:

Reappearing RR Smiles: Portland Streetcar
Squeezed In
Above the Lake
Grimm 20 Happily Ever Aftermath
15th Guardian
Level 4

We then heading away a bit to get a photo of a Volvo parts distributor for Justin, and grabbed this nearby cache: BLACK CHERRY # 15.

For our very last cache of the day before heading back to Yelm, we went to the first geocache ever hidden: Original Stash Tribute Plaque and spent quite a bit of time there. Very glad to have found that one, and I'm glad Jen made it happen for us. Picked up several travel bugs, which I'll be placing soon.

Stuck in the sand

After our cruise, we decided to stay an extra day in Galveston to relax and enjoy the beach. And why not find a cache, too?

We headed towards San Luis Pass and drove around to explore the area. Found some flamingos, found a cache, and generally explored the sand dunes. Evan decided to take a path into the softer dunes; this did not end well. A few minutes later, we were stuck in the sand and had to wait for a tow truck. Jennifer and I took this as a chance to walk the beach...for two hours...and get sunburned.



After getting unstuck, we headed back to the dock and watched the next cruise leave. We got Donnie and Angela (who had just arrived back in Dallas) to login the the Galveston Harbor Cam and take a screenshot for us for the cache there. Was an interesting experience.

Caches this weekend:
As the Pass Cache
Harbor Cam Cache