As I’ve mentioned already, I want to start writing more. It’s a hobby I’ve been in love with since I was a teenager, but one I’ve spent a lot of time ignoring. I hope to remedy that bit of failure and finally make writing a regular, sustained part of my life.
That, of course, is why I’m writing in this blog again. I realize I’m not likely to say anything earth-shatteringly important for anyone stopping by to read my posts, but it’s good practice. So thanks for stopping by and reading. I know you don’t have to.
It occurred to me a few days ago that writing requires a fair amount of inspiration, whether writing press releases, articles or novels. You can fake it to a certain degree with short projects such as articles or even research papers, but writing any form of fiction always requires a source of true inspiration. You can sometimes find inspiration by reading what someone else has written concerning a subject that interests you or by diving into an engrossing novel, but the truest, most valuable form of inspiration seems to come from actually doing something yourself.
Therein lies my new plan. I want to get out and do more this year. I love reading and watching a great movie, both of which are well and good – but it seems to me that I’ll encounter much more inspiration if I get out and look for adventure that I can call my own. Nothing crazy, of course. I don’t intend to sail a yacht off the coast of Somalia just to see what it’s like to have a close encounter with murderous pirates. I’m a married man with kids, so I think I’ll keep it simple and somewhere this side of deadly.
In fact, my plan is to look for activities not only compatible with the life of a family man who has responsibilities, but activities that are perfect for the whole family. A little camping, as many road trips as we can manage, hunting trips with the kid, etc.
One such idea was handed to me on a silver platter by my cousin during dinner last night. Ok, she didn’t actually hand it to me on a silver platter. We were eating at the time, but not with silver platters. Paper plates, if you must know. Yeah, that’s right – opulence. Boom.
Anyway, she said a word I had never heard in my life: “geocaching.” After her description and a bit of online sleuthing, it seems that geocaching is a game in which participants all over the world hide little caches of trinkets – usually something inexpensive but cool – in relatively hidden places for others to find. Once they’ve placed said cache, they’ll go to www.geocaching.com and leave a vague description of the hidden treasure along with the location’s coordinates and any clues they wish to impart. Others will take those clues, find the hidden site and take the trinket. In order to keep the site active, this person will leave a trinket of equal value so the next treasure who comes along. In this manner, a site can remain active for years, providing numerous geocache hunters with enjoyment and a little adventure.
It’s essentially a modern-day treasure hunt using a bit of technology and an occasional bit of riddle-solving. Perfect for the kids and perfect for me, since I in fact am still a kid who really likes scavenger hunts and the whole idea of buried treasure.
So it’s time to grab the hand-held gps device, dust off my staggering riddle-solving skills (which aren’t really staggering) and head off with the wife and kids on a modern-day treasure hunt through strange, treacherous lands. Minus the treacherous part.
If you’d like to know more about this really cool and only semi-geeky pastime, go to www.geocaching.com. I’m sure the people who contribute to that site can tell you a great deal more about this hobby than I can since they have actually done it before.
Happy hunting!
Tons of REAL treasure out there…but…one is mine.