Today we experienced a first.  Geocaching.  Although I had seen the word around, I did not know the meaning of it.  So this weekend I decided to learn just what  geocaching was all about,  and found that "geocaching is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other participants in the activity" (definition courtesy of Geocaching.com). 

We decided to go on our first adventure after lunch.  What better way to get in a little exercise?

To get started, I signed up for to become a member of www.geocaching.com, and then I downloaded the Geocache app on my phone.

We chose a location, and used the map icon through the app to guide us to the location.  The cache (item)  is hidden by another person at a specific location. 

Once we made to the destination, we had to put the GPS down and use our eyes to find the cache.  The first location we went to we weren't able to find it.  So we moved on.  I really didn't want the girls (or myself) to get let down because it longer than desired to find.

The next cache was hidden in nature.  I must admit...it took us a minute to find it, but it was so worth it.  The girls were so thrilled when we found it.  The hiding place was so neat and really camouflaged in nature.  It is evident that some of those that hide take great pleasure in making the search fun for others.  Each cache has a logbook, and each person or group signs it to let those know you found it.  You also log your find on the website. This lets future searchers know the cache is still active.

Some caches live trinkets for fellow cachers, the girls took an old hotel key card and St. Pat's button, and they left glittery stickers and a stamper.  The find really made us all want to continue so we found another location not that far away, and went on our search.  It took us a shorter amount of time to find the cache.  It was hidden in a similar place as the first cache that we didn't find therefore finding the second cache made us go back to our first. And guess what...we found it!  The girls looked at our adventure as "our own Amazing Race"...they love this show.

This was a great family adventure.  The girls wanted to do more, but the site only allows three locations per day unless you are a premium member then you can get 6,000. 

If you haven't tried it, I would definitely recommend it.  You should wear gym (tennis) shoes and outdoor clothing.  You should take in account the terrain and difficulty.  The website www.geocaching.com shares a lot of info about getting started.