How Do YOU GeoCache?

Geo cache- ing is rediscovering childhood. My husband gleefully found a website about and for an activity called "geo-cacheing". It was the perfect solution to a weeks long Christmas break, long periods of rain, and the old bag of tricks of "read, color, draw" was wearing thin on the young occupants of our household. It even upped the ante when it comes to ordinary hikes. Hiking is not my preferred activity, being a little housebound book and internet nerd, but I struggle through it, because the fresh air, bugs and sights usually give my children joy. Four years of it, though, begins to wear thin on the excitment, and geocacheing seemed an optimal solution to "kicking it up a notch".

The children and my husband were out for a long time on a Saturday. They came back gleeful and pink-cheeked. I was intrigued to actually offer to venture out with them the next day. After our trip had started, the most noise and bluster and cheer was emanating from my formerly work-weary husband. He kept a close grip on his Iphone, and when I suggested that the kids actually be the one to use the GPS, he promptly handed my son MY Iphone. He kept his.

We found one little treasure box inside a hidden film canister (they make those anymore?). My daughter excitedly found her own box in a neatly decorated box, labeled "GeoCache" with specific instructions to take an item, leave an item, and move an item to another spot. I could see where this game could get really complex and interesting.

We had invited friends and their children, and I truly got into the spirit of things. I had brought along my car's GPS component and was desperately trying to find our last hit of the day. I soon gave up but chatted comfortably with our friends as we watched our children slow down. Except for one. Behind me there was some struggling and grunting, and I turned to see my husband on all fours, hat off, gloves on, and half of his body immersed in some brush beneath a formidable boulder. He couldn't give up that last one, quite so easily. "I  know it's here, " he huffed. I started to say something, but one of our friends hushed me, and laughingly said, "You know, you gotta just let them go, sometimes", he said.

So true.