I have a secret to tell you!

Over the last few weeks I have talked with several local geocachers about the 11th Annual Picnic MEGA event on August 31st this year.  The thing that seemed to be a common topic of discussion among both new and veteran geocachers was the topic of cost.  "I can't afford to go", "I would go but it costs too much" and other similar phrases were common no matter who I was talking to.  It kind of amazed me how many people I talked to knew, or at least thought that there were massive costs associated with attending the picnic.  When talking with newer cachers I had to reflect back upon our first years of caching and I believe I found common ground to continue our conversation.  The first two years that Nana & I were caching, we never attended the picnic.  The first year we didn't even know about the event until after it had been held and the next year our schedules just did not allow us to attend.

Now I am not sure if the local officers/volunteers of Geocaching Hampton Roads will be upset with me or not but I am going to let you in on a little secret.   You can show up and attend the 11th Annual Picnic - and it won't cost you a dime!!!!  

It's TRUE!!!  With a very few exceptions - all geocaching events are free!  You can actually bring your entire family, show up at 10AM (or later) the morning (or afternoon) of the 31st of August, sign in on the log, take part in most of the games/activities, enjoy trading stories with both seasoned and new geocachers, some of which traveled from all parts of the country.  You can also browse through the tables set up by the vendors that will be coming to the event, take part in the discussion with the Groundspeak Lackey and geocache in and around Newport News Park without spending any money at all.

While it is true that you can do all the above for free, there are things and activities that you can spend money on if you choose to do so.  The vendors will have a variety of geocaching related items for sale, there are lunch tickets which you may choose to purchase and there are always auctions going on during which you may elect to bid on items.  There will also be a store for GCHR merchandise.  But all of that is optional.

Groundspeak is sending a lackey to attend our event so the first question that comes to mind is....  What's a Lackey????  A "Groundspeak Lackey" is a term used to refer to the employees and founders of Groundspeak who do the most basic tasks to support the overall needs of the community. This willingness to serve each other and provide recreation for a worldwide community is a core value of our company.  We accept the term Lackey with pride since we are beholden to the community for our success.

Amy (theworldisfun) is the Events Production Manager with geocaching.com.  She is super excited to return to Virginia as she moved to Seattle from Richmond a few years ago.  Details are being worked out with her visit, but she will host a "Meet the Lackey" session during the event.  Make sure to see her during the event and say hi!

And speaking of saying "HI"!!!  I, of course, will be there and will have a table set up to answer questions about GSAK and any other questions that may arise.  Please make sure to stop by and say HI!

As Always - Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!

SNAP!!! - Suffolk Nana & Papa