Indeed, today my daughter and I hiked our way through the “Level Four Difficulty” terrain to the scene of the crime.  The geocache that yes, I RAN OVER.

First, my daughter checked to see what people had already written in the log.

Then, we dug out old coral and dirt from the original cache’s site and placed “Lonestar the Duck” in her new home.

We gathered sticks and twigs and built a nest for Lonestar to sit in.  Finally, after admiring our work and taking a few pix, we left Lonestar to the outdoors.

A hole is dug out under the duck. The attached ammo box is underneath the duck.

GUESS WHO RECEIVED TWO VISITS SHORTLY AFTER WE LEFT? 

To my GREAT surprise, I came home tonight to discover two people had already found Lonestar and logged their visits.  LOOK!

Log Date: 2/4/2012

This was a good choice for our first cache of the day. I’d have had a hard time if I’d been tired! I loved the cache container…looked so natural! AND I loved the story on the first page of the log book! SLTNLN Thanks for a great walk and a great cache!

Log Date: 2/4/2012

Caching with friends and family today. Quite enjoyed this one. Thanks for a well thought out cache – loved it. Nice contents. Great cache. TFTH

SLTNLN is “Signed log, took nothing, left nothing” while TFTH is “Thanks for the hide.”  Although considering the place we left it, it can also mean thanks for the hike!

If you are interested in seeing what caches are hidden near you, there is a phone app called c:geo.  It works with Geocaching.com and is free.  Simply download it, create an account and start up “live map” or “nearby.”  It is amazing how many little boxes are hidden all over the world, under our very noses.

Geeky?  Maybe.  But a lot of fun when you have a few minutes to kill.

Today was truly the best hiking/fishing/exploring/sneaking/rambo day ever!

This week my refrigerator runneth over.  Behold exhibit A.

I can’t tell you who put these skulls in my refrigerator or why.  But I can tell you where they ended up.  Outside for a photography session.  From there, they wound up on my entertainment center.

Exhibit B?  A deer leg recently slow cooked in the oven.  After I explained to my oldest that food should be wrapped, it soon became a barbecue dinner for him and his three friends.

Once the meal was complete, the leg bone became the focus of my dalmatian’s evening activities.

Deer meat is like crack for dogs.

Are you one of those people who has a neat and orderly refrigerator?  Or is yours willy-nilly like mine?  And even better, have you ever found something in your refrigerator that you could not explain?

Thirty-five million years ago, a two-mile-wide asteroid plummeted to the earth.  Its impact caused a series of tsunamis that carried the ocean’s water to inland areas that were once dry land.  After glacier and erosion activity over the years, the area returned to its previously dry state.

The marine animal life residue formed a substance called marl, a perfect ingredient for making cement.  In the early 20^th century, a company began digging this substance, thereby creating what is now known as the Lone Star Lakes.  Our favorite fishing spot, Crane Lake, is said to be named because the company left a crane in the bottom of the pit, now filled with water.

Today you can find fossils throughout the park, including giant Jefferson scallop shells, Virginia’s state fossil.  I cannot begin to explain the feeling of holding a three to eight million-year-old shell that has never been touched by human hands.

These lakes in Suffolk were all fresh water until Crane Lake was breeched by the James River.  This gives visitors a chance to fish both fresh and salt water in one beautiful park.

Saturday we spent the full day fishing, exploring and marveling at the wonder of this area.  We watched a bald eagle fly overhead and enjoyed gazing at flocks of cormorants and geese.  We fished.  We hiked.  We wondered at the beauty of the outdoors.

Never estimate the healing power of the outdoors.  NEVER.

Imagine pulling one of these things at a time out of a box.  Above?  Catnip, lemon balm and chamomile for infusions.  I also got two tea dippers, one for me and one for my daughter.  But even better?  A HAND WRITTEN page explaining each.  The catnip helps you fall asleep, the chamomile relaxes and calms the stomach while the lemon balm lifts your mood and keeps you alert.

Next came two aroma therapy bags as well as hops and mugwort.  Again, the handwritten note told me that the hops instantly relaxes while the mugwort will induce lucid dreams.  Putting both of these in a bag and placing the bag on your pillow will give you a naturally restful sleep!

Finally, SUSHI MAKING SUPPLIES!  A bag of konbu (I had to read up on that!), a rice paddle, seaweed, sushi molds and a “perfect roll” sushi maker, straight from Germany.  (Germany?)

Also included?  Another hand written page, front and back, with full sushi rice instructions.  ILLUSTRATION INCLUDED.  With today’s technology, I would have typed and printed it without a second thought.   How amazing to have hand written instructions made just for me.

Now that the new year is here, it’s back to both writing and visiting blogs.  I can’t wait to see what you have been up to!

What was your favorite Christmas or Hanukkah gift?  Who gave it to you and why did you love it?

Speaking of indulgence, I was blessed to have some beach time this weekend in nearly 70 degree weather.  HEAVEN.  While walking I found two whole sand dollars, a few jellyfish, sea glass and the very rare Ocean Coffee Maker.  Honest, you can look it up!

The jellyfish were especially interesting this week.  After taking pictures, I noticed they each had, well, personality.  Tell me what you think!

The Catholic in me loves the cross on this jellyfish.

I see an odd face in this.

I can't quite put my finger on what this face looks like. Bluto? Santa? A Wise Man? Bob's Big Boy? What do you see?

What will it do to the neighborhood?  The traffic?  The quiet?

For the first week, all rides were free.

Now, all you folks out there who have subways and light rail… begin to laugh.  When the trains actually opened, people lined up for hours in 90 degree heat to ride the new “amusement park ride.”

Of course, the kids and I only rode it to see where our tax dollars went.  (I’m lying.)

I must ask, how many of you have ever felt queasy on a LIGHT RAIL.  Not me!  (I’m lying.)

Our ride was an eventful one, from the moment my son fell asleep on a light rail employee’s shoulder to the ride back when we were subjected to copious amounts of gas compliments of the man next to me.

Because I love you all, I have saved the best for last.  The very ,VERY best.

As you can probably guess, the opening of The Tide has brought new and interesting people on to our normally quiet little corner.  Families, friends and everything in between.  Today, I saw my favorite.

A completely average family.  Two beautiful children and a doting Mom.  In a pink and black tutu.  With laces up the back of the outfit.  And bright pink leggings.

This woman is a complete mystery to me and I will forever be intrigued.  Who is she?  What does she do for a living?  Why the pink and black tutu?  And finally, who is her personal trainer… because frankly, her back ROCKED in that outfit!

This past Friday morning began like all other summer mornings.  I got up early and prepared myself for work.  After a long busy day, I came home and fed the animals, packed and loaded the car.  The moment I got in the car my mini vacation began.

My brother, his girls and my mother were a few hours ahead of us.  I only get to see my brother once a year, so these five beach house days have been much anticipated by all.

On the way down, my brother picked up a bushel of live blue crabs.  Saturday’s dinner was sure to be an absolute feast.  But with the 100 degree heat, the crabs would have to be cooked and refrigerated the night before.

Much discussion ensued.  “If we clean them outside then we will have to smell them all week.”  “Steaming them just means a slow death.  We really need to crack them.”  “I KNOW!  LET’S CLEAN THEM IN MOM’S NEWLY DECORATED BATHROOM!  THEN WE CAN SIMPLY CLEAN UP THE BATHROOM ONCE WE ARE DONE!”  (Maybe they didn’t say “newly decorated,” but that is what I heard!)

Oh sure, it sounded like a good idea.  In that sentence though, “Mom” meant ME.  And “my” beautiful newly refurbished bathroom.  If I knew then….

My boys were in charge of what we referred to as “the killin’.”  The bushel of crabs was brought in to the house.  During this process, crab juice trailed across the floor, over the carpet and in to the bathroom.  And no, it wasn’t me who brought in the crabs.

The next hour and a half involved two boys opening up crabs, cleaning out the insides and plopping them in to a tray.  When the tray overflowed, they screamed for me.  I dutifully ran downstairs, collected the tray and brought it up to the kitchen.  Many trips later, I was told the job was complete.

After “the killin” the boys were instructed to strip down, separate to two bathrooms for showers and hand the clothes to me for immediate washing.  When I peered in to my beautiful bathroom, the murder scene caught me in my tracks.

The lesson I learned in that very brief moment?  There is no physical way to gut crabs neatly in an enclosed space.  While my boys struggled with skin tears, pinches and putrid crabby innards, the inevitable happened.  Raw seafood went flying.  On to the toilet.  The inside and outside of both shower curtains.  On the newly pasted wallpaper.  On the ceiling.

And the icing on the cake?  A literal river of crab juice that flowed across the floor, around the corner and under the sink.

Whose FLIPPING IDEA was it to clean the crabs in my bathroom!?

With five hours of sleep under my belt, a full day at work and a two hour drive, I found myself scrubbing two bathrooms after midnight last night.  I had to scrub every-single-surface on every-single-thing, five times over.   Cleaning the carpets came next, followed by two loads of laundry and hand scrubbing the tile hallway on my hands and knees.

This, my friends, was the beginning of my vacation.

Would I rather have done all this than be home house cleaning?  OH YEA.

Today, the unswimmable 54 degree water filled with thousands of huge red jellyfish did not deter me from enjoying my first vacation day.  Neither did the tourons who tailgated us while honking  because my “learning to drive” 15 year old son was going 40 mph instead of 45 mph on a FOUR BLOCK STRETCH OF ROAD.  And they HAD to get to the Beer-Thru IMMEDIATELY to restock their supplies.  Today, I chose to enjoy every single minute I had with my extended family.

Can you guess what we ate for dinner tonight?

I have not witnessed what comes next.  Some people boil crabs live, some steam them… but this family?  They rip the back off the crab.  My oldest says it is instant and much more humane than boiling them alive.  He’s done all three methods and believes this is the best.

When I came home from work yesterday, there was a bag of cleaned crabs and five hungry boys in my kitchen.  Not only did they catch the crabs but also cooked, ate and cleaned up after themselves.

I asked one of the boys to hold a cleaned crab for a picture.

In that moment, I learned something.  If you hold a blue crab near your dog’s level, it is an invitation for a quick snack.  It seems only fair!  I also learned something else.  The minute your dog whisks away your son’s hard-earned catch, it will be taken right back by a pack of hungry boys.

Sorry Emma.  The crab might have gone down easy enough, but I’m certain it would have been painful in the end.  Hope you liked the dog bone you got instead.  It might not have tasted like crab, but we saved you from certain discomfort.  You are welcome.