Geocaching in Lacey and Hawks Prairie

It was going to be somewhat of a nice-ish weekend, with some showers here and there, so we decided to sleep in a little bit, eat breakfast (Ben made breakfast burritos) and go find a few caches in the area.  They seemed to be popping up all over the place lately.  There wasn't much going on today because it was Sunday, there weren't any football games on and it was more of a chill day since we got most of our chores done yesterday.  

As we ate breakfast, I made a list of caches we could get in the area.  I focused in on the Hawks Prairie area around Martin Way.  There were about five we could grab before it got dark outside.  We finished breakfast and got warm clothes on.  We get into the Escape and head to Lois Lake, off of Carpenter Road for our first cache Zodiac Series:  Aquarius (GC8HDH6).  I saw there were some parking coords so we parked at those and had to wait a minute because someone was in the middle of the road and couldn't decide what they were doing.  They eventually moved and we were able to park and walk down the bark chipped trail.

We followed the coords down the trail to the edge of the lake.  There, it took us a minute to find the right tree.  We signed our names, got a picture and took the travel bug to move onto it's next destination.  We saw the ducks swimming in the pond as we placed the cache back into its hiding spot.

We drive towards Hawks Prairie to pick up one called Dirty Caterpillar (GC8D0Z9) near the Dutch Bros.  We parked as close as we could using the Escape to obstruct the views from the people in the drive thru line.  We get out and hope that we can spot it quickly.  Ben ended up finding in in the shrubbery, we took the cache and signed it in the Escape to avoid muggles watching us.  Ben gets out and puts it back where we found it.

Next, we drove over to the Puerto Vallarta parking lot to try and find Lots of Options Here >:) (GC8AVNQ).  We parked near the cache and started looking.  I knew we were looking for a nano in an obvious but obscured place.  We just had to check all the blocks until we found it.  There it was, a black nano that fit perfectly in the center hole of the blocks.  We sign out initials and put it back exactly where we found it.

We get back onto Martin Way and drive towards the cinemas.  Our next one was Behind Thy Scenes (GC8G7JV) and it was tucked between the cinemas and furniture store, on the edge of the parking lot down near below I-5.  You could actually see I-5 from the cache zone.  We followed the mini trail to the trees.  There was a small bucket hanging from a stick in the crotch of two trees.  We had to dump out some of the water that accumulated inside.  We signed our names and put it back.  There was no way to keep water out of this container.  Oh well.

Our last one of the day, LPC...NOT! (GC8EEA3) was on the other side of the cinemas in the opposite lot near The Rock Pizza restaurant.  We park as close as we can and we see the lamp post and knew it wasn't going to be there because of the title of the cache.  There was a retention wall keeping the bank stable so we started looking in all the holes.  According to the cache page, being tall would give you an advantage so I had Ben look.  He found it quickly and it wasn't as high up on the wall as we thought it was going to be.  We signed our names and put it back where we found it. 

We drove back home and got home around 3:30.  It was a nice little outing for some fresh air, some walking and it only rained on us a little bit.  We hung out with Calvin and watched some TV before making dinner, washing some clothes and getting ready for the upcoming work week.

Next Adventure:  More Caching in Hawks Prairie and Palindrome Day (Super Bowl LIV)

Doug's Birthday Party and Game Night with Friends

Doug's birthday was approaching and so I asked him where he wanted to go for his birthday and he said Red Robin.  I asked him if Friday was a good day and he said sure.  I called everyone and told them that we were going to celebrate Doug's birthday on Friday around 6ish.  Everyone was on board.  Sweet!  Now I gotta go to the store after work on Friday and grab a present for him.

That Friday, I went to work and then visit Grammie at the cemetery and told her about the week and what we were doing over the weekend.  The weather was a bit rainy but I found a break in the rain when I was hanging out with her. 

The ground was wet and soggy.  She told me to wish Doug a happy birthday tonight when we had dinner and I told her I would.  I went into Walmart and grabbed some little Cokies, a bag of Cheetos and a thermal shirt since he is always needing clothes.  I drove into Lacey and stopped by the Dollar Store to grab a bag to put all of his presents in and to find some party hats.

I assembled everything before driving into Hawks Prairie.  I got their early so I could get enough tables and chairs for everyone since there were going to be about ten of us.  I walked in and they asked me for how many and I told them about ten.  They said it would be a few minutes.  I knew I would have to wait for everyone for a bit I got there way early.  They seated me and there I waited.  The server came by and asked if I wanted anything while I waited for my party and I said that I would like a Dr. Pepper.  I let everyone know via text that I was there and we have our tables.

Erika and Zach arrived before Doug and Jenn did and Erika was really excited about Doug's birthday bear cake.  I thought it was funny that Erika got him a bear cake.  It kinda didn't look like a bear at first glance but more like a dog, however, as you looked at it more and more it sorta did look like a bear.

Everyone but Mom and Grandma Karen arrived on time.  Everyone ordered drinks and we waited until everyone was there to order food.  They finally got there and we were able to order food.  I got the chicken Caesar wrap and fries.  Grandma dumped her drink over and we tried to help clean it up.  We made fun of her for being that person in a restaurant.

We ate, enjoyed ourselves and then Doug opened his presents.  The staff saw our bear cake and brought us some more plates and silverware, that was nice of them. 

The bear cake was good but had wayyy too much frosting on it.  It was still nice of Erika to get him a cake for his birthday.  For some reason we ended up taking home the rest of it.  Doug thanked us for dinner, his gifts and everyone coming out to celebrate. 

Happy Birthday Doug! 

The next day I went with Dad to the dump since our cans were full, I helped him at Grandpa's house and then I came home and we got cleaned up and ready to go to game night at Lindsay and Justin's house.  We were having a soup, bread, corn bread, chips, dip and dessert night.  

I brought gluten free pork sausage chili, corn bread and some chocolate cookies, Nicole brought chips, dip and some chocolate squares, Lindsay made chicken noodle soup, mulled wine and hot apple cider, Megan and Matt were bringing bread, both gluten free and normal, Josh, Heather and Lily came and brought chowder and some corn bread.  Celeste and Isaac didn't make it.  We definitely had plenty of food to go around.

We ate food, talked, shared stories since we missed out on NYE this year and other stuff that came up.  We actually ended up talking and visiting for a while.  It was getting late and some people had to head home.  The people that could stick around helped clean up the table and we played a new game called The Office Downsizing game and three rounds of Code Names.  We decided to play girls vs. guys and the girls prevailed all three rounds.  There was a round where I didn't know if we would come back from it but with some lucky guesses we were victorious!

We thanked Lindsay and Justin for hosting and we tentatively set some dates for February.  Ben and I got home just after midnight, got ready for bed and fell asleep.  This weekend has been busy so far.

Next Adventure:  Some Geocaching in Lacey and Hawks Prairie

A Little Snow

A cold front was moving into western Washington and we were told that some areas in the Puget Sound could get some snow.  I was hoping for another "snomageddon" since we bought a snow shovel last year.  This time we were going to be prepared.  I was looking forward to another couple of snow days.  I wanted a lot of snow.

I got up early on Monday and headed into work a half hour earlier just in case the roads were icy.  I saw there was a light dusting of snow that had froze to the Escape.  I was disappointed we only got a dusting of snow.  

It barely touched the tips of the grass.  I arrived just as my boss did and she was like why are you here this early?  I said they said the roads might be icy so I gave myself plenty of time.  She was like, oh good plan.  The rest of the week except Thursday I came in early so I got to leave early.  It was nice.

The next day, Tuesday, we actually got a couple of inches of snow on the ground and again, I was disappointed.  Where was all of this snow we were promised?  Apparently, the front missed us and everyone else, mostly to the north of us, all the snow.  I was upset.  That was my snow.  

Again, I left home and got to work early.  I didn't want to risk a car accident or getting to work late.  I spent my morning and afternoon walk outside just because I wanted to enjoy it while it lasted.  It came so late in the winter this might be all we get this year.

The next day it was cold but all of our snow was gone.  We didn't get anymore that winter.  We got it all last winter and probably won't get that much for another 4-6 years.  

This year was already starting to get disappointing with all the weird weather that was striking the globe.  This month, the entire country of Australia was on fire and it did a lot of damage.  About half of their native animals died due to the fires especially their koalas.  The rain finally came but it had already done the damage.  Was this year going to be awful?  I guess we will wait and see.

Next Adventure:  Doug's Birthday Party and Game Night with Friends

New Years Eve with Trish

Ben's mom got on the New Year's Eve gatherings before my friends did.  I always have this rule if someone asks me to do something with them first I will always do that first.  Trish got to us first so we committed to her NYE gathering.  We asked what we should bring and she said we are having lasagna so bring garlic bread.  A few days later I heard from my friends.  I told them that we've already committed to Ben's mom and that we will have to plan something for the next NYE.

That day both Ben and I went to work and when I came home I started getting a bag packed up for the evening.  I went through our games and chose Phase 10 and Ticket to Ride since those games take a while to play.  Ben got home shortly after and he gathered his stuff.  We decided it was his turn to drive his car up.  The weather wasn't all that great either.  I had to get a cache on our way up somewhere so I could finish the 3, 2, 1...GO Challenge and grab our Goodbye 2019 souvenir.

We put everything in the car and headed out.  We told Erika we would be back sometime the next day and to feed Calvin in the morning.  I had no idea what she and Zach had planned for the evening.  I looked at my phone to see which cache we could grab that was quick and easy along the way.  There were a few in Dupont we could get so I checked them out.  A couple of them involved trails, one was in a rock wall near a restaurant and one was near a hotel hanging in the tree.  We picked the one near the hotel hanging in the tree called In a Green Thing (GC8GHJY).

I gave Ben directions and found ground zero.  I got out and tried to find it as quickly as I could in the dark with a flashlight.  Plus, it was raining and I didn't want to get absolutely soaked.  I ran around each tree and looked to where it might be.  I knew it wasn't going to be really high or on the ground.  I had to find the correct branch but it never zeroed in on so it took a while.  Ben finally got out of the car to help me find it.  We eventually found it and I got into the car so I could sign it without all the rain dropping on me.  

I got out, put it back quickly and we were now on our way for reals to Bonney Lake.  We called his mom to tell her we were on our way.

We got to Bonney Lake and stopped at Safeway on the way through to get some garlic bread, snacks and drinks.  We got to his mom's house just after 7ish.  We brought in our stuff and handed her the bread to put in the oven since the lasagna was done and cooling.  We dumped off our stuff in the downstairs bedroom and got ready for some lasagna, garlic bread and salad.  We chatted about random things as we ate food and made fun of how much Amy eats at dinner time.

We cleaned up the table and got ready to play some games.  Yes, we did make Amy play games with us for a while as 70's rock and roll music played in the background.  We started out with Ticket to Ride and since we haven't played it in a while we had to brush up on the rules on how to play.  My strategy was to finish as many routes as possible and try not make it look obvious.  We played Uno for a little while until it was almost time to bring in the new year.

Trish and Ed got sparklers and booze to toast to at midnight.  We turned on whatever news channel showed the fireworks at the Space Needle as we counted down.  5.....4.....3.....2....1.....HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  We have now entered the year 2020 and like always we hoped it would be better than the previous years.  

We toasted and drank a little bit of champagne.  I gave Ben a NYE smooch and then we went outside to light sparklers.  The darn lighter wouldn't light them.  I struggled with it for a few minutes but eventually got some of them to light.

I went inside and we played a couple more games, 10,000 and Uno Attack, until almost 3:00!  It was so time for bed.  We all said goodnight and Ben and I headed downstairs to get ready for bed.  I was exhausted.  I passed out instantly.  It was a very long day.

The next morning I slept in until 10:30-11.  The bed was so uncomfortable I felt so old getting out of it.  I was the first one up so I decided to make breakfast for everyone.  I brought a bag of breakfast potatoes, used Trish's eggs to make scrambled eggs and cut up some sausage I brought at the store the night before.  I cooked all of it, threw it all in a bowl and mixed it all together with some cheese.  The perfect breakfast scramble.  Everyone eventually got up and had some breakfast.

We watched the rest of the Citrus Bowl with Michigan/Alabama and Alabama ended up winning that one 35 to 16.  I talked Ben into going out towards Sky Island, which was our closest easy unfound cache, to go grab a cache for the Hello 2020 souvenir.  Offshoot (GC6M691) took us a couple of minutes to pinpoint but with our deduction skills we were able to find it and sign it.  

We headed back to his mom's house for the Rose Bowl.     

Oregon and Wisconsin faced off in what they call, "The Granddaddy of Them All" because of its stature of the oldest of all the bowl games.  The game was pretty close the entire game.  It was Wisconsin's game to win it but gave it to Oregon at the end of the game.  Oregon won 28-27.

We played more rounds of 10,000 and Uno Attack while the Sugar Bowl played in the background.  Georgia ended up beating Baylor 26-14.  As it approached evening, Ben and I decided it was probably time to start getting ready to head home.  We gathered all of our stuff out of the kitchen and our bags downstairs.  We thanked Trish for hosting NYE and that we would have to plan another time we come up for the weekend.  We all decided that it will probably be at the end of February for Ben's birthday.

We headed home and got there around 7ish.  We unloaded the car, got cleaned up and relaxed before we went to bed to start a new work week.  

Happy 2020!  I sure hope this year is better than the last three.  We will see.

Next Adventure:  A Little Snow