Thursday, December 31, 2015

Almost ready .... but a few late additions....

A few days ago we listed what was, at that time the top 10 winners of the "COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Day Winners.  Then we took a 4 day vacation down to the Outer banks and added 4 more winners to the list.

So just to be fair - here are the 4 most recent winners:



12/26/15 - GC3N224 - Launch Point - the CO is OBXbiker and the cache is located in Dare County North Carolina.  This is a really nice multi-cache that just may have you scratching your head for at least a minute or two.

12/27/2015 - GC64V38 - Cora Tree - the CO is SweetadOBX and this cache is also located in Dare County North Carolina.  A cute hide but the cache has a really nice back story to go with it.

12/28/2015 - GC38G6K - OBX Velkominn Respite - the CO is OBXbiker and the cache is once again located in Dare County North Carolina.  Clever craftsmanship went into this cache.


12/29/15 - GC3M5NZ - Baltic Hideaway - the CO is OBXbiker and the cache is located believe it or not - in Dare County North Carolina.

So now that you know all of the top contenders for the yearly winner - give us a day to think things over and we will let you know.

Till then... Have A Happy New Year,

Stay Safe
& Keep Caching!!!


Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

WHO WILL WIN???

As most of you know, on most days that we geocache, we usually name a WINNER of the "COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Day!

We started this as en exercise in getting those really "neat" caches some more traffic.  At the end of the 1st year though we were asked... But which one was best?

That is what started the "EXTREMELY COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Year Award.

So... here are the top 10 candidates for this years award (so far).
Note: We have several more days of caching ahead of us.

1/10/15 - GCYYWH - Humpback Bridge Cache - the CO is Pathfinder27 and the cache is located in Alleghany County Virginia 

3/22/2015 - GC5MWKKL - Lube Knot a Tree - the CO is bdramatic and the cache is located in Isle of Wight County Virginia.

5/24/2015 - GCT397 - Train Trestle Falls - the CO is Captain Crash and the cache is located in Clarion, Pennsylvania.

5/25/15 - GCJ8M8 - Auto Art - the CO is MsKardiac and the cache is located in Erie, Pennsylvania.

/13/2015 - GC5KWYP - TWISTED !!!!!!! - the CO is geospliz and the cache is located in Virginia Beach Virginia.

7/12/2015 - GC5TRPC - North of Tower - the CO is snowurchin and the cache is located in Virginia Beach Virginia.

8/14/2015 - GC5DN8E - Historic Salem - Roanoke Courthouse - the CO is Tanjent and the cache is located in the city of Salem, Virginia.

8/30/2015 - GC5KV2R - Scarp Metal - the CO is steve-n-kim and the cache is located in Norfolk, Virginia.

11/15/2015 - GC5YN7Z - The Life and Times of the Spit at Northend Point - the CO is everplaid and the cache is located in the city of Hampton, Virginia.

11/28/2015 - GC60HJC - USS PENNSYLVANIA (1837) - the CO is steve-n-kim and the cache is located in Chesapeake, Virginia.
Just a few geocaching days left... but in the meantime -- Pam & I are trying to figure out who the winner will be!

Please have a Merry Christmas,
A Happy Hanukkah,
A Happy New Year,
but most of all...
Stay Safe
& Keep Caching!!!


Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!


Saturday, October 3, 2015

Help for New Geocachers #2 - Patience

Patience is defined as: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

 
For geocaching, patience can be applicable in many ways:

1) Have patience with those first 100 caches.  Just cause you can't find it doesn't mean it isn't there.  Nana & I have over 7000 finds but we loved being surprised by hides we haven't seen before.  Log a DNF (Did Not Find) and maybe the CO will send you a hint!  Better yet, go back on another day and maybe it will pop right out at you.

2)  Have patience with the "Needs Maintenance" log.   We didn't use that nasty button until we had well over 2000 finds.  We only use it when the container is really dirty and needs quite a bit of TLC from the CO.  If we find a container that just needs a little TLC, we will try and do that ourselves to help out the CO.

3)  Have patience when at GZ.  Remember, you are new and not all caches jump out at ya!  There are numerous things you can do to help clue you in on what the cache might be.  a) Read the Hint!  b)  Read the previous logs - sometimes the way the log is worded can give you a real good clue as to where or what type the cache may be  c) expand you search area - not all phones or GPS units are the same - just cause my GPS says GZ (ground zero) is right here doesn't mean yours will.  Nana & I each have identical mid-range GPS units and usually, hers is 20' off from mine!!!  d) If all else fails - try this one little trick - take a couple of steps back from where you think GZ is - - - then ask yourself one question - - - If I was going to hide a cache near here - where would I hide it - - then slowly walk around and look for the best place!
4)  Have patience with yourself - do not get down on yourself for not finding a cache the first time you look.   Remember two things  a) This is supposed to be fun - but nobody said it is easy.  b)  Think about this - people have been caching since the year 2000.  How often did you find a cache or see someone acting funny and thought "gee, wonder what is up over there".  The caches are hid so your average Joe doesn't find them.
5)  Have patience with your fellow cachers - We do not mind giving hints to our finds but we really would prefer you not to ask for a hint until after you log at least one DNF log.  Other cachers give hints freely but then again - there are owners who prefer not to give any hints.

Hint: the best place for hints is at an event!

As Always...

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!



Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!


Thursday, October 1, 2015

Alara's Wacky Adventure - 2015 edition

Once again, alara, our friend and personal caching guru, has decided, once again, it is time to test every one's fortitude.  Usually once a year, alara comes up with a caching trip to test himself and others.  It is usually an overnight trip to some distant location followed by a 1/2 day of more of hiking, elevation changes, scenery and at least one geocache.

The first time I heard about a wacky adventure was in 2011 when we did "Thousand Steps Cache' (GC59AF) in central Pennsylvania. 

For 2015 alara has picked a really nice cache - GC2JJJD - McAfee Knob Challenge.  How many times can you say you hiked almost 9 miles and got only one cache???  Check out the cache page.

October 9, 2015 - Nana, myself and of course alara will be spending the night in Salem Virginia.  Saturday morning (9/10) at about 7:45 we will be at the parking area on Virginia Route 311 for the Appalachian Trail.    At about 8AM, the group I already know about plus any others that want to come will leave the parking area and start on our way.

Please read the cache page!

Please bring plenty of water!

Hope to see some of you there!

We will be posting pics!

As Always...

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!



Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Some GREAT News concerning Trackables!

Once you have been geocaching long enough, you will decide to buy some trackables.  Then you will decided to set them free into the world to see how far they can travel.  The thing is, from our experience, more often than not, they tend to disappear.  Not sure why but we have heard all sorts of excuses:  didn't realize they were supposed to put them back out, lost them, thought they put them out only to realize a year later they were in the bottom of the back pack (but still never put it back out).

After losing almost 40 trackables, we stopped buying them, except one or two real cute ones, but still we try to go to great lengths to make sure we do our best to try and get them where they want to go.    
Anyway, towards the end of our local mega-event here in Hampton Roads - The 13th Annual GCHR Picnic - I noticed the trackable area was still pretty full of trackables waiting to be picked up.  Once over there I noticed a bunch of what appeared to be the same trackable.  After reading them carefully, I realized some really nice cacher was putting out free proxies for people.

After getting home, I contacted her and got some proxies from him and then asked her some questions about what she was doing.  She answered all my questions and then gave me permission to talk about her here, where she may end up getting a little more business.  So, if you have lost a trackable or two, or maybe you are one of the lucky ones, read below to find out about proxies and how she makes them for you.
A sample of a proxy
McKenzie-Binns is the name to look up and you can do that right on geocaching.com.  Send her a message and ask her about creating a proxy (or two) for you.  After getting you free proxy, other proxies will cost you about 50 cents each,,,, yes I realize that is a tremendous amount of money but I am sure you can search the couch cushions for extra change {lol}.  She also does this in his spare time and she does have a regular job so please do not expect your proxy to hit a cache in the next day or so - give the man time - after all, million and millions of people read this blog (hah!) and they all will be contacting her for proxies (double hah!).
this note will be attached to the chain on the proxy
How many trackables have your put out?
The other side of above
Over 500 so far but 300 were for my own collection. I own over 1,500 trackables and I like keeping them in the game to travel. I hope to have 500 more done of my own by the end of the year. The problem will be finding big enough caches for them all. LOL I actually took 200 Proxies to the Block Party this year. My Inbox has been crazy since!
How do you charge for proxies after giving the first one for free?
Really I do this for fun and to add to the game. I have charged Fifty cents per Proxy Button if people wanted more. It covers what I pay for the metal button parts, ball chain and laser printed laminated tag. They have been surprisingly durable.

What made you think of putting out proxies?
There are a few reasons. I started noticing that I rarely came across a trackable in the last few years. When I stopped at a cache most trackables were MIA and I was marking a lot Missing. I have over 100 Missing Trackables myself. Since I had purchased Wearable Buttons before that came with Copies I though I would make some for my Geocaching Events too. I looked into buying a machine because in the long run it would cost more to have the amount I needed made elsewhere. I found another design that worked to make my own Proxies for my personal collection. I started offering to make some for friends, then I started adding Proxies to some of the Wearable Event Buttons, more people asked for them and here we are.
How long have you been doing this?
I have been making Proxies in general for over six years. They were the typical laminated paper kind so I could save my money for buying New Trackables of course. However they didn't get noticed much and were scrutinized often. I picked up my two button machines about six months ago and I have had a good response. My trackables get noticed and moved more now! :o)

Are there any rules, guidelines, or things that geocachers who want your proxies can do to help you and make the process easier?
*You can Get 1 FREE Proxy for any 1 Trackable you Own! MIA or NOT! Email: McKenzie~Binns through Geocaching.com with the tracking number. The Trackable must be on the Profile you contact me from. I’m trying to help more trackables get into the game. I will Grab your Trackable, make the Proxy and drop it in a cache to travel. It will be made on a 2 ¼” Button, with chain and a Laminated Tag with this info.

**If your trackable is Missing please be sure it is MIA and for at least 18 months unless you have been notified it has been destroyed or un-retrievable. If your MIA trackable re-appears in the future (It has happened years later.) you can ask the Proxy holder to discard the Proxy.

***You can have a Proxy made your trackable you still have in your possession. This way you can take the actual trackable to events while allowing the Proxy to travel in the game. If you do this, please do not grab or move the trackable as it will mess up the mileage and the location of the traveling Proxy.

****Please be sure to put that you have a Proxy traveling on the trackables page. This will help the finder so they will know what to look for. This will also help you avoid having cachers emailing you that they did not find the actual trackable.

User's Profile: http://coord.info/PR1KBPB


So there you have it.  Simple, right?  I will let you know as soon as my proxies hit the trails.

So, as always...

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!


Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!

Sunday, September 20, 2015

Just another GREAT!! geocaching day in Hampton Roads

It was early Saturday morning (9/19) when we left SNAP!!!-land and headed out to pickup our partner for the day - alara - yes folks - it has been quite some time since Team TNA has been out on the streets, seeking those ever-elusive caches all around the area.
A beautiful view
So after picking up alara and then stopping to fill our tummys, we set out on a very bright morning in Yorktown.  It is always lovely on the beach but the sun was trying to blind all of us as we gathered the information to answer the questions on the areas newest Eathcache located right on the beach.
Nana & I near GZ
We took our time through out the day, moving from one cache to the next, moving down our list.  Yes we did log a DNF, actually two - one at the beginning of the day and one at the end of the day.

There were also several caches along the way (s
ee the details below) that we wisely elected not to attempt.  If we arrive at ground zero (GZ) for the cache and find too many people loitering around the cache, we will usually bypass the cache as to not reveal it's location to other non-cachers.  It is always better to leave it for another day than to have the cache destroyed or moved by curious on-lookers.

I tried something new with GSAK the week.  I found a really nice MACRO that is supposed to generate a list for you that will be the shorter route.  Your run the Macro, tell it where to start the day and where to end the day and it automatically puts the caches in the optimum order (even using parking coordinates if needed) to cut down on running all over the place and to minimize your driving time.  It also prints out the list so you can keep notes on it and gives you the option to print a map.  See Macro "Cache Route 3".

Our List for the day:


answer are NOT here
1.  GC602XB - Chesapeake Bay Impact Crater - hidden by Fltravelers - the newest Earthcache for the Hampton Roads area - really simple and don't forget to explore the beach area and all the stores while you are the area.
DNF
2. - GC5JRPD - YT micro - hidden by jaimjaimison - yep - our first DNF on the day but reading the logs - we were, by far, not the only ones.
alara was having fun also!
3. - GC5JRQV - Abe is watching - another hidden by jaimjaimison - our 2nd find of the day came in less than a minute and we even considered going back to the previous DNF but decided against it.

4. - GC5TRVW - Burnt Ends - hidden by the coastalgypsies - this is a rarity, a regular (and I mean a real regular) in a small wooded area.  Real easy find.
Geocaching friends
5. - GC5VPMR - Sitting Duck - hidden by gigiwoll - gigiwoll has only hid 3 caches and I think everyone one of them is well worth your time to go look for.  this was a cute little cache and our only hesitation was the fact that a muggle had his car parked right in front of the NO LOITERING sign.  To top if off - the muggle was fast asleep with his feet hanging out the window - Wish I could have got a pic of his feet hanging out right in front of the sign.  Always think of those things after the fact.  Oh - the cache - well worth the visit (of course).

6. - GC5PFXK - How the USCG Helped End Selective Availability - hidden by everplaid - another cacher that has some great hides.  A very simple puzzle and a very easy find.  

7. - GC2A496 - This little piggy went Wii Wii Wii Wii - hidden by Chihuahuak94me - Nana & I have been trying to find this cache for years but every time we come here there is a car with a muggle in it parked right at GZ.  Today, same thing, in fact, we think it was the same car as last time!  No joy here!

8. - GC5X5ZX - Squirrel - hidden by diamonddragon1 - We allowed ourselves to think to hard on this one - which made us wander around for far toooooo long.  Once I stopped thinking and just stood back and looked at the area for something different - there it was!

9. - GC5J6RV - The fungus among us - hidden by gigigwoll - yet another great cache.  This one got a favorite point from us!

10. - GC5WCA6 - Comb Bay Park #1 - hidden by Ramblin Roses 3.  Quick find for experienced cachers.  newer cachers - try not to make it so hard - look for the obvious!

11. - GC5MRVW - Read between the lines - hidden by bigpapa92 - Another cache we skipped because of an event going on very nearby.

12. - GC5HZ41 - Fle house - hidden by coastalgypsies - another very simple Park N Grab (PNG).

13. - GC62P97 - Northhampton Presbyterian Church III - hidden by Grandpa Gene - really enjoyed the short walk to GZ for a very quick find.

14. - GC5RY81 - After-Dinner Mint - hidden by kajots.  Just another simple Park n Grab.

15. - GC5VQ17 - Ozymandias, King of Kings - hidden by Grandpa Gene - decided to walk to GZ instead of driving but it was a nice walk.  We made the find quickly but this is another one that could confuse a newer cacher.

16. - GC61WJZ - Me - I gotta Home - hidden by Grandpa Gene - just another really quick park n grab.

17. - GC5Y6A8 - Sleep between Red Court hidden by Mipe7 - believe it or not another quick Park n grab.

18. - GC5VRX0 - Green Cones behind Red Circles - hidden by Grandpa Gene - we actually spent several minutes here before making the find.

19. - GC52X0G - Two Sides of the South - hidden by Grandpa Gene - we could have spent far too long here but got really lucky right off the bat.  Loved the old armory.

20. - GC5Q7EE - Buzzkill - hidden by elisachristine - neat idea at a really neat old cemetery.  Thanks for bringing us here.

21. - GC5ZADX - Just lookin' fur a home - hidden by Grandpa Gene - muggles parked right at GZ - maybe next time.

22. - GC5DNK2 - VASCIC Trail MP 0.6 - hidden by chrbundr - our 2nd DNF on the day but it was not due to anything other than tired eyes.  We tried far quite a bit.

At the end of the day we ended up with 17 finds and 2 DNFs.  Yes we skipped some others but we will be back!!!

We awarded two caches with favorite points but both of them were owned by gigigwoll:  Squirrell and The fungus among us.

At the end of the day when such conversations take place.... The fungus among us was named as the WINNER.  The winner of the "COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Day Award.  Congrats!

We have updated the 2015 Winners of the “Coveted" SNAP!!! Cache of the Day Award  page and it can be reached by looking to the right side of the page (when at the top).

As Always...

Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!



Suffolk Nana & Papa - - - or just plain ol' - - - -  SNAP!!!