When I was compiling the list of caches to visit, I came across Gnome’s Home (GCN3BM) which was the obvious starting point since the previously logger said that he’d left $100 and nothing had been logged since.  We drove around 2 wrong areas before finally arriving at our destination.  The cache was easy to find and full of loot, just not the $100 – someone beat us to it.  This was Zachary’s and Heather’s first cache so they each choose a prize, we left two prizes, took pictures, signed the log, sealed everything up and then headed off to the next destination.

Our next attempt was NFL – Not So Cheap Seats (GC1F84M).  Admittedly, we didn’t give this one a very good go.  The clue said that we may be able to see it from the trail…we couldn’t and even with the golf club that we brought along, the idea of walking through the woods 70 yds looking for a cache box that may or may not be there wasn’t my idea of a good idea given the copperhead population and our close proximity to the pond filled with turtles and frogs and other things that snakes probably LOVE to eat.

We did walk around to the neighborhood trail to see if we could access the cache from a different angle, but no luck, still woods to tackle.  Definitely city cachers!

Needless to say, the seven year old was a bit disheartened and ready to end the day but there was one more cache just around the corner that we wanted to attempt before calling it a day.

Darnall’s Chance (GC1J4KH) was a success and proved to be an interesting end to the day.

Zachary and Heather had come to Darnall’s Chance last year in search of a letterbox (LbNA 26010), they were successful so Zachary wanted to show me where it was.  When we arrived at the box location we were saddened to see that the box had been ruined.  Somehow the container had come open, the contents spilled out and the log book ruined.  The stamp was missing the stamp portion but the ink pad was still there and appeared to be ok.  We brought the box home with us and sent a message to the owner through the Letterboxing website.

We are willing to repair and replace the content of the box and replace it if that’s what the owner wants, or we are willing to hand over the contents for the owner to deal with.  Either way is fine with me, it’s just a shame that the box was ruined.  It has been out there for people to find since 2006!

So as Meatloaf says, two out of three ain’t bad.  It was a good day of caching.  Everything has been logged and we’ve located a bunch of caches and letterboxes to look for during out trip to the Outerbanks at the end of the month!  There are even geocaches in Chile so hopefully there will be more Tales from the Trails coming soon!

Of the 10 caches I had on my attempt list we were able to find 5.  Not bad for rookies.  One cache had actually been muggled (stolen/missing) so I’m not counting that as a DNF (did not find) because it wasn’t even there to be found!  That didn’t stop us from looking for it though!  LOL

So here’s a run down of the finds:

Gotteshäuser – Dreikönigskirche (Frankfurt) – GC1EDD4 – This was our first find.  Scott and I together with Mom found this one.  Here’s a picture of me and mom near the cache location.

Das Garenthaus – GC10XK8 – I think this was my favorite of the caches because the area where the cache was is so beautiful. 

Watching You #2 Der Christliche – GC1DHBH – this was a fun cache and thanks to the hint we were able to make a very educated guess about the location of the cache.  We narrowed down the possibilities and BINGO!

Jüdischer Friedhof – Frankfurt – GC1533X – Great fun.  A bit tricky, but fun.  You really have to be tall or willing to climb to get this one.  I’m a climber!

Finding Max Horkheimer – GC1BW3A – This one was tough at first, but after reading the hints and a little help from Max we were able to locate it in no time.  VERY TINY!

Baroda – We tried this one twice with no luck.  After reading the log of someone who found the cache after us it seems that when the cache was replaced by a previous finder it was placed just out of fingers reach….maybe on my next trip to Germany I’ll be able to locate this one.

Eagle Eye -  This cache is probably in one of the busiest sections of the city…the bus stop in the center of the city.  We were able to do several brief searches but no real deep searching because of all the people.  I will be attempting this one on my next trip as well.  I know it’s there and now I’ve GOT TO FIND IT!

Industrial Wasteland Frankfurt Ost – this was probably the most disappointing of all the caches.  Not only did we not find it the area was absolutely disgusting and dirty with trash.  It is near an old/abandoned factory of some sort and there is a lot of construction going on in the area.  I wouldn’t try this one again, in fact I couldn’t wait to get out of there.

Simon says: Zum Wasserpark – This one has me puzzled.  I looked twice on the same day with no luck.  The park is beautiful and the buildings here are really interesting.  The cache is very well concealed because I gave the place a THOROUGH check.  Until I saw the mouse that is.  Then I didn’t stick around very long.  The mouse sighting was on my second attempt though so I’d guess about an hour was spent looking altogether.

Coo Coo for Caching Geocoin – this is the first tracking item that I’ve placed.  I placed it in my first find  GC1EDD4, and by the time I got back to the hotel to log the drop someone had already picked the coin up.  The coin is now in a new home, it’s second cache and hopefully on it’s way to reaching the goal.

And here’s a picture of the Bull and Bear or the real name Simon Says: rauf und runter – GC143X8
 - in Frankfurt just outside of the financial district area…fitting given the recent crisis in the US.  We suspected the cache was muggled, but we looked for it anyway, and it was a great photo op.

All in all it was a good trip.  Germany has THOUSANDS of caches waiting to be discovered.  I’ll be heading to the Landstuhl area in a few weeks and plan on putting a new set of batteries in my GPS for that trip.  What a fun sport.

Our first geocache attempt (Mud Volcano Cache #GC16BJJ in Azerbaijan) was a bust or in geocaching terms a DNF (did not find).  But we had a good day, saw some beautiful sights and found what we think would be a great location for a cache near the entrance to the petroglyphs.  Hopefully our cache containers and goodies will arrive around the same time as the GPS and that way we’ll be able to place a cache AND finda cahce on our next trip to Gobustan.  Stay tuned.

I ordered my GPS today.  After MUCH reading and pondering I decided on the Garmin eTrex H handheld.  I figured we’ll start with the basic unit and if we really get in to this “sport” and find we need more then we’ll upgrade. 

Oh, and after I told Scott I ordered the unit he asked which one and looked it up.  His reply “Oh, that’s the same one I have.”  Hmm, I wonder why he didn’t tell me that sooner!  I thought that his GPS was the watch that he wears when he runs.  Guess not!

We are starting this blog site as an online journal of our adventures while geocaching.  This is a new hobby for us so check back to see how we are doing.  We are currently living overseas and hope to discover many treasures in the next few years.  Our goal when we return to the states is to find at least one cache in each of the 50 states.  What a wonderful way to get out, explore and see the country/world.

We are sjsmart on geocaching.com.  Hope to see you on the trails.