Onward, Geocacher!

I know that many of my tens of fans have been anxiously awaiting updates to my meager blog. So here it is. Winter is over, and the caching is in full swing. There are many caches that have been done since last I posted, but I won't go in to detail about them all - maybe I'll just share some highlights and some pictures. I am proud to say that the Wheaton's Wanderers cache team has found over 50 caches. I know it doesn't sound like much, but believe me, it is. Especially when you do one cache that takes 2 hours. I'll start there, the most recent one.
My new partner in crime is Mark, as many of you know (don't you love the way I speak to a crowd?). Last weekend we did one in downtown Columbus, which was a multi-cache - we went from point to point, finding clues on plaques and statues to guide us to the next coordinates. I am almost ashamed to say that I knew very little about some of the awesome buildings downtown until now. Did you know that there are two monuments showing letters home from soldiers in front of the Statehouse? Well, there is. I don't know how many times I've driven past, and just didn't know it or even see that there were gianormous stone monuments there. And for Christ's sake (He Is Risen), I've never even seen the Santa Maria replica before. Geocaching is great that way.
Mark and I have had many geocaching adventures, including a day in Granville which was pretty cool - there are a lot of caches in that area. In one place we discovered a full deer skeleton which we poked with sticks, and a giant hole in the ground that looked like the work of a meteor (at least, that's what we imagined it to be). I'm sad to say I didn't have my camera on that occasion. One other weekend we drove down to Circleville and did a few caches - I was happy to stop at a bar there and SMOKE inside. We also hit what I believe to be all the caches in Grove City - we did about 10 that day, which is a record for me. That one included a trip to a restaurant called Josiah's. We were there with the after-church crowd, and felt a little out of place, but damn - I swear to you it was the best stromboli I've ever had (never mind the fact that I'm fairly certain I got strep bacteria from that place, or else god punished me for even being there).
So - here are some pictures. Now that I have this out of the way, hopefully I can start posting on a more regular basis. Enjoy.

The Santa Maria. As Mark pointed out, can you imagine sailing across the Atlantic Ocean on that? The answer is.. no. 20 points to anyone who can tell me what the Horse Latitudes are. No points if I've already told you. And also, the points don't matter because they don't go toward anything. 

Schiller Park. This wasn't on a cache, just a walk. But hey ... its damn pretty. 

Can you see why this would be suspicious? A cache hidden on a gas meter outside a public building.

Finding the cache. It takes guts to stick your whole arm in to the hollow of tree. 

In a cache, down by the river. 

Need I say more? Such is life. 

My gps I set down after finding the cache. Can you see the cache? 

Signs of life in March - it was the only bit of color anywhere, under a log. 

A swan, just hanging out in the canal.  

Gio's pizza in Circleville. Where I enjoyed a smoke indoors. And I won't lie.. Mark enjoyed a puff or two.  

Hawthorn tree? It had spines, so Mark lovingly refered to it as the 'Jesus Thorn Tree'.  

Mark running back to the car for a pen. Bad, unprepared geocachers. This is also from Circleville, along the river. 

From Circleville, this one was about Chief Logan, someone who had something to do with Indians. I forget now. Look it up.