Thursday, January 26, 2017

S.L.O.G.G.E.R.S. - OUR FIRST ADVENTURE!!!

After more than one failed attempt - mainly due to the ever-changing weather of the Hampton Roads area - a small group of S.L.O.G.G.E.R.S. finally managed to pull off our first adventure.

What are S.L.O.G.G.E.R.S.????  Well, through several different iterations of the acronym - we finally settled on Sexy Looking Older Geocachers Going Everywhere Relatively Slowly.  Or, in other words, mature geocachers who can't move as fast as the young ones!!!



We all met up at First Landing State Park about 10AM, visited the Trail Center to check on the condition of the trails, and then headed out to see if we could locate some of the geocachers in the area.


Somewhere in the middle of our day we came upon a tree, slightly off one of the trails.  Mysteriously, it appeared as someone had been doing quite a lot of work on a small out-of-the-way hideaway.  A cabin in the woods?  One of the ladies in the group had a small "Peanuts" figurine of Lucy, so we stopped for a few and let Lucy explore.  I was told later, that even though she enjoyed the small cabin, she elected not to stay.

Someone has been doing some remodeling!
Lucy liked it!!!
A little over 3 miles later, after almost 3 hours, we finally made our way back to our vehicles.  After resting for a few we made our way to a local eating establishment, laughed about our day, and then decided we must do this again!!!

I will try to put together another group outing in February.  Hopefully we can find a weekend where the temps are not too cold.  It was also suggested, that we try something in Newport News Park!!!

Stay tuned for further details

We all had a great time!
Till next time...
Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!


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


On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching
On Instagram at: snap_geocaching

Sunday, January 22, 2017

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

Last night, January 21, the GCHR Hidey Awards were held.

SNAP!!! Geocaching was lucky enough to win four awards!!!




The first award we received was for Outstanding Cache Page.  GC4TTVJ - A Trackable Wormhole - Destination Australia was awarded the SILVER award. 




The second and third awards we received were for Outstanding Cache Hike and Outstanding Scenic Location.  GC6G5BZ - Take the High Road With SNAP!!! won SILVER in both of those categories. 


Then to top things off our Geo-Art "SNAP!!!-land" won GOLD for Outstanding Cache Series/Geo-Art.


Additionally we received a Certificate of Recognition for:
Most Likely To Use Their Name As Part Of Cache Name.

We want to thank all of the geocachers who either nominated or voted for one of our caches.

We appreciate all the votes and awards.

Stay tuned... we have some more coming soon!!!


Till next time...
Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!


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


On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching
On Instagram at: snap_geocaching

Saturday, January 7, 2017

The Winner For 2016 is...

The Winner of the "SUPER-COVETED"

 SNAP!!! Cache of the Year for 2016!

So last week we teased everyone with the FINAL 14!  
It is now slmost time to name the winner...
but first:

The idea of a Cache of the year came to us in 2011.  We took each of the winners of the Cache of the Day and laid them all out and eventually came down to 3 or 4 best of the year.

2011 Winner

GC59AF: Thousand Steps Cache
Nana & I at step 1000 - hint: there are still more steps after that one!

2012 Winner:

GC3PTB0: Smithfield's Porcine Parade

Note: The Smithfield Visitor's site (click here) actually lists Geocaching
(and this cache) as an activity to help bring in tourists!

Papa and one of the pigs!

2013 WINNER

GC44RDE - The Key is the Key

THIS CACHE IS NOW ARCHIVED

but there are plenty of replicas around

Another great WVTim Cache

2014 WINNER

GC4XD7M - The Hermitage Gardens: A Walking Tour


2015 WINNER

GCT397:  Train Trestle Falls

The cache is on the other side of this tunnel!



Now to 2016

In 5th place:
GC2GW5D: Benedict's Brother-In-Law
Sometimes you find surprises while geocaching.  Nana & I love caches with history.  This one qualifies both as historical and a surprise find.


In 4th place:
GC6C9HP: Dead or Alive
A really nice put together multi-cache located in Surry County.
The scenery is really nice here too.

In 3rd place:
GC6MYT6: Peace. Love and Gadget Caching!
A truely great gadget cache!!!

In 2nd place:
GC7C06: Witch's Leg
Most of you already know, we love historical caches.  Also, Nana loves caches in and around cemeteries.  So every once in a while we run across a truely great cache that is in a cemetery, has some great history and in this case: has a spooky story to go with it.  We were on our way to Canada, traveling up Rt 1 along the coast, when this cache appeared on our screens.
If you are ever up this way - make sure to put this cache on you "Must Do" List!!!


So, FINALLY:
The WINNER of the 

"SUPER-COVETED"

SNAP!!! Cache of the Year

for 2016 is:

GC190EK 


EVIL

hidden by: Frogmen83


proof:

but truth be told,
it was a group effort.


Thanks goes out to the entire crew:
C_Otter, Nana, chihuahuak94me,
micromagnet and shipwreck99
who provided moral support, suggestions,
hints, took pictures and movies, shouted encouragement, etc.
but most of all, Thanks to 
 my 2 good AACC buddies who got wet with me:
DiverVan & mbbaumann


Till next time...
Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!


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


On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching
On Instagram at: snap_geocaching

Thursday, January 5, 2017

2016 Winner of the "SUPER-COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Year!

First of all, we want to thank all you readers out there:
1)  those that take the time to read our blog
2) those that leave feedback or drop us a note, an e-mail
3) or those that come up to us at a meet n greet just to say Hi!
and everyone else.  
____________________________________________________________________

The 2016 Winner of the "SUPER-COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Year Award!!!

I guess a brief history lesson would be appropriate here.  In our second year of caching, while traveling back to Suffolk after a long day of caching, we would talk about the best cache of day.  It didn't take long for this to develop into The "COVETED" SNAP!!! Cache of the Day Award.

The idea of a Cache of the year came to us in 2011.  We took each of the winners of the Cache of the Day and laid them all out and eventually came down to 3 or 4 best of the year.

This year we are having a terrible time figuring out who the winner was.  We have worked on the list and have the FINAL 14 figured out and have decided to sleep on the list for a few nights to make sure the winner is the right one!

So, who is in the FINAL 14!

Back in April we ran across this really interesting Multi-cache near Surry.  GC6C9HP - Dead or Alive - hidden by kekj.  A really well laid out cache that involved a little more than the average cache.

Also in April, we ran into a cute little cache in Virginia Beach - GC68RXX - Swirly - hidden by steve-n-kim.  Interesting and cute, very cute.

We really like crafted caches so when we ran into - GC5ZJ9N - Old Virginia Beach KOA Marvel - hidden by KangaCacher and maintained by Episcodad it was a sure winner for the Cache of the Day Award.

We were in Charlottesville in June and ran across a very scenic cache - GC15ENQ - All Seeing Cache - hidden by Team Quanderers and adopted by Helpercache.

While on our trip to Canada in July, we found GC2GW5D - Benedict's Brother-In-Law - hidden by gamestermike89 - a historic cache!

An interesting Virtual Cache we found, also on our way to Canada, was - GC7C06 - Witch's Leg - hidden by The Duo Plus ?

The main target of our trip to Canada was - GCBBA - Geocache--Canada's 1st geocache - hidden by ken kane.

While on our trip to Canada, we took a side trip to Prince Edward Island to locate Virtual Cache - GC7C82 - Elevation Zero - hidden by LaurieM and Dad.  This is our Northern-most cache!

Gadget cache:  GC6MYT6 - Peace, Love and Gadget Caching! - hidden by Geo Cord Buddy.

In late July, nan & I organized a group attack on: GC190EK - EVIL! - hidden by Frogmen83.

If you are ever passing through Scott County Virginia on Rt 58 - make sure you stop at GC3EY94 - HWY 23S TB DEPOT ~ TRAVELING THE TRACKS WITH KENNY - hidden by Scott County Tourism.

In August, Nana & I found this cache on our first try!!! GC2CKWN - GeoNana - hidden by Laura's Boys.

Another hard to find cache makes the list with - GC6P4YV - Bamboozled III - hidden by AllstarSS.

Last but not least - just off off I-95 near Rt 58 is a small peanut company store in a very old trading post.  Free samples of all their peanuts are inside but outside, under the front porch, you will find - GC4MK50 - Nuts for Virginia! - hidden by humphr1d

Nana & I will announce the winner soon!!!


Till next time...
Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!



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


On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching
On Instagram at: snap_geocaching


Wednesday, January 4, 2017

CONGRATS!!!

On January 1, 2017 we had the first AACC event of 2017.   Part of the festivities was the awarding of the coin below to the winner of last years contest.

The winner gets this unactivated geocoin!

The WINNER?   Congrats to Wheels!!!

We did have quite a few cachers enter the contest for next year!!!


UPCOMING EVENTS

Here is a list of the upcoming events in Hampton Roads
 Mark your calendars – hope to see you at some of these events!
_______________________________________________________
Saturday – January 7 – Virginia Beach, VA
GC6HYJ2 – 10 Years! Milestones M-n-G and Hidey Awards!
Emmanuel Episcopal Church
5 till 9 PM
Thursday – January 12, 2017 – Hampton, VA
GC6Y60T –AACC January 12, 2017
Moe’s off of Coliseum Dr
4 till 6 PM
Thursday – January 19, 2017 – Chesapeake, VA
GC6Y60R –AACC January 19, 2017
Moe’s off of Eden Way
4 till 6 PM
Saturday – September 2, 2017 – Chesapeake, VA
GC6WWBC – 15th Annual Geocaching Hampton Roads Picnic
Chesapeake City Park
9 AM till 5 PM

Till next time...
Stay Safe & Keep Caching!!!


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


On Twitter at: @SNAPgeocaching
On Instagram at: snap_geocaching