Geocaching January 2024

The geocaching year started for me on January 3 when I found Dad Jokes while running an errand. Click through the link to see what people posted as Dad Jokes!

A typical hiding area

During another errand I found Scouts Honor, which had to be the most blatantly out-in-the-open cache I have ever found. And yet, it is well camouflaged. It is in the picture below but you probably can't spot it unless you have already found it.

Somewhere in there

I attended a different Monday morning meet up on MLK Day (since the usual coffee club doesn't meet on Federal holidays). Afterward, I walked over to Paul's Scrap Parts #1, which was in the same shopping plaza as the meet up. I made the find fairly quickly, getting the log out of one small container that was in a larger container. After I signed the tiny log, I dropped the lid for the small container in the snow. Reaching around, I found a solid round object that I thought was the lid but was really an acorn in the grass under the snow. After more feeling around, I found a lot more acorns. Eventually, the lid was discovered and I was able to put the cache back together and into its place. Yikes!

A troublesome lamp post cache

The next week, I found End of the Sidewalk 2... after we had another snowfall. The sidewalk was mostly shoveled so the find was easy.

Huh, the road ends too!

While running errands, I found Why Emcee A cache? that was near a Baltimore Ravens rally.

Ravens Rally

Geo-view

I found an Unknown Cache (which involved solving a puzzle) called Pedal Puzzler near Lake Elkhorn, though not near enough to get a good picture.

No, that's not the lake

I found my first cache on the Odenton Cache Challenge Trail--#2: 100 Attributes Challenge. The trail is a set of challenge caches, each one requiring the completion of a different challenge. This particular cache wants the finder to have found caches with 100 different attributes, which I had achieved just through regular caching. I have qualified for about ten of the trails thirty or so caches, so I will be back!

Another typical spot

Cute Kid Pix January 2024

More photos that did not make their own blog post...

While my son was having his scoutmaster meeting for his Eagle Project, I had to hang out at the restaurant (The Corner Stable). I ordered the shrimp special and a pumpkin ale aged in bourbon barrels. Both were delicious. The meeting went well too.

Not a cute kid pic, sorry!

My younger son started working on his pinewood derby car for Scouts. Here he is smoothing down the axles.

Finally using power tools!?!

We went to the roller rink for the first time in a long time. Our youngest still isn't sure on his feet but he is working on it.

Rare (and lucky) shot of all three children

Getting help from mom

While geocaching, I ran across a random statue that seemed really random--like a random face and number of feet, random materials, random proportions, etc. How many people want their arms attached to their knees?

Unnamed work in Columbia, MD

We had a substantial snow day, leading to lots of sledding but only one picture.

Using the neighbor's hill

During one of the snow days, we went mini-golfing, indoors of course!

Putting into the corner hole

A bunch of posers

The final hole!

Before the AFC Championship, I went to a Baltimore Ravens rally at a local shopping center. The marching band and some of the cheerleaders were there, along with some uber-fans.

Side view of the band

Front view from back of the crowd

What a car!

I saw a hawk sitting on our backyard fence. I got a picture through the kitchen window. I tried to open the sliding door to the back but it flew away.

Usually squirrels are in that spot

My eldest participated in one of his fellow Scout's Eagle Court of Honor and did a great job. It will be his turn soon!

The Trail to Eagle part of the ceremony

Cute Kid Pix January 2023

More photos that didn't make it into their own post...

My church had another volunteer opportunity at the Baltimore Ravens stadium. For the January 1 game, we handed out programs, along with flags and special wristbands that lit up in sync with music at the stadium. The flags and programs ran out quickly but they must have bought lots of extra wristbands. It was a fun night but the game was sold out so no free tickets. Also, the Ravens lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers 13-16.

The stadium before the game started

Italian Sausage dinner with the program

My church has an early Saturday morning men's group that I go to most of the time. I got their a little early on the first Saturday and took a picture of the big manger scene outside.

St. Mary of the Mills Manger scene (outdoor edition)

We went to the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore because my eldest won tickets in our local library's summer reading program. It's a bit after summer, so we weren't the fastest getting there. We've been to the museum several times, so not much new to report, other than our children being brave enough to lay down on a bed of nails!

The first child to try it was our last child!

She's pretty light, it won't hurt, right?

Users had to push the button themselves!

One of the side rooms has experiments for small groups. We tried testing acidity of various liquids. It was fun and easy since we followed a step-by-step process.

Doing science!

Another experiment had us seeing how temperature alters chemical reactions. The alteration we were looking at was speed--how fast a liquid changes color when certain mixtures are added. Hot liquid changed a lot faster--17 seconds vs. 69 seconds!

A new donut shop opened nearby, Shipley Do-Nuts. I went one day at 11 a.m. and they had closed half an hour earlier due to running out of donuts! The guys said they are tweaking their workflow. I went the next day at 9 a.m. and stood in line for half an hour to get a dozen donuts. They were yummy but not outstanding.

Outside the shop

Typical counter

The yumminess that came home!

I went to the Dutch Country Market in hopes of finding Turkish Delight. My youngest just finished reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and was curious about it. The lady at the market's candy counter did not know what I was talking about. Strolling through the candy aisle, I was shocked to see this product for sale...

What the Amish?

Cute Kid Pix September 2022

More pictures that didn't make their own post...

One of the birthday celebrations had our youngest getting some weaponry from Hyrule (the land where The Legend of Zelda series is set).

Ready for action!

Our oldest son joined the marching band at his high school, which means we are going to football games on Friday nights. 

Half-time performance

End-of-game performance

Our friends were out of town and let us pick up their weekly farm allowance from the Gorman Farms CSA. The have a full share which meant a counterful of vegetables. The peppers would have outnumbered the tomatoes except we received two pints of cherry tomatoes!

Many veg!

I volunteered at another Baltimore Ravens game, handing out programs and flags to game attendees. The Miami Dolphins fans did not want a Ravens flag though most took the program. It was fun, if tiring. Since it was the home-opener, the stadium had no extra seats to offer to the volunteers. I went home, which is just as well since the Ravens lost  42-38.

Tailgaters across from the stadium (at 9:30 a.m.!)

Me and my credentials

When I finished, the first quarter just ended, so only cheerleaders on the field

Me and Johnny Unitas

Ravens vs. Packers December 2021

As a part of things getting back to normal, I've started volunteering again with my church group that hands out programs at Baltimore Ravens home games. I went this last Sunday when they played against the Green Bay Packers, whose record was 10-3, putting them at the top of the AFC North Division. 

As "stadium staff" I parked at a free lot that's a five-minute bus ride to all the action. Our volunteer group did the usual check in and was assigned to hand out programs at various gates. I was assigned to Gate A, which is the main entrance. Before we started, I had a chance to look in at the field and see players and others warming up.

The stadium before the fans got there

The best volunteer opportunity is working the hospitality tents, which are just outside the stadium. People can pay to have a catered pre-game party. Volunteers check the IDs of people coming in to make sure no one is mooching off someone else's party. The day was pretty cold (low 40s), so maybe that would be a tougher gig. 

Hospitality tents

Gate A

I was happy with my location. Some of the other gates get a lot fewer fans coming in, which can result in a lot of down time. Standing around and waiting for people to come in can get boring. Gate A had a steady flow into the first quarter of the game. The gates are usually shut down by the end of the first quarter. Once the shift was up, the volunteer coordinator gave us complimentary tickets to watch the rest of the game.

My product and my ticket

Before going to my seat, I saw the line at Shake Shack was short. I bought some dinner there--a burger, fries, and a shake (the water was also compliments of the stadium).

Shake Shack meal

The only problem was the shake still being frozen. Nothing came up the straw! I used the straw as a spoon and was able to enjoy it that way. I would have been better off getting a hot chocolate from another vender.

I started my way up to the 500 section and saw a ridiculous line for the men's bathroom!

A line up the stairs!

As I went up, I took a picture of the Baltimore skyline.

Baltimore (and the parking lot)

It took me a while to get to my seat. I realized that I could have done better choosing my ticket from the pile of complimentary ones. My seat was one row below the very top row of the stadium. My view took in the whole field and the rest of the stadium.

View from Section 504, Row 31, Seat 11

The game was almost at half time, with the two teams tied at 14.

The halftime show had two main performances. First was the Drill Team from the United States Air Force. They marched around the field doing formations and tossing their rifles around in amazing synchronization. I didn't bother trying to take a video from my bird's-eye view.

US Air Force Drill Team

The other entertainment was an acapella group called The Trills. The six-person group sang a variety of Christmas tunes to the delight of the audience.  

The Trills

The rest of the game went poorly for the Ravens. Green Bay was able to advance their lead by fourteen points. When the Ravens failed to convert on a fourth down with less than ten minutes to go, I decided (along with a lot of other patrons) to make my way out of the stadium. As I walked to the employee bus, I saw the fireworks go off from the roof. The Ravens had scored! As we rode the bus, we heard the end of the game. The Ravens got the ball back and with less than a minute to go, they scored a touchdown. The coach decided to go for the win with a two-point conversion. They were unable to get the ball in the end zone again, so they lost the game 30-31. People on the bus were upset because the Ravens, though very aggressive, have not done well in the past with the two-point conversion.

It was a fun time anyway.