Boxing in Ohio

Prairie Props

This weekend we had a great time boxing in Ohio.  We went to Greenville for the 4th time and attended the Big Top on the Prairie event.  The event started at 9am (an hour earlier than last time) so Boxing Turtle, Daddy's Favorite Princess, and I got up at 3am.  The kids slept most of the way while I drove in the dark and rain.  We stopped once to potty and get breakfast.

We actually arrived at the event about 15 minutes early but there were a lot of other people already there.  We checked in and hit the trails.  They were calling for rain and we wanted to get boxes before it hit.

Boxing in the rain

It was a circus themed event and the the trails were for the three rings of the circus.  We did the first two rings.  The first one had a lot of mosquitoes but I don't think it was as bad as the Story Time on the Prairie year.  I'm pretty sure it was much worse that year!

After the first two rings of the circus we headed inside for lunch.  We were early so we stamped some of the inside boxes.  One of them, they had taken a box if wooden circus toys (kinda like a kids puzzle) and made stamps of the toys.  It was such a fun idea.  They also had people dressed up and walking around with stamps.  But we were focused on other stuff and didn't realize that you had to talk to them before noon to get the stamps.

Greenville Cemetery

After lunch was the raffle.  We didn't want to miss the raffle but wanted to get the last ring of the circus outside before the rain hit.  We left Boxing Turtle inside and the Princess and I went outside.  We probably got 5 boxes before it started to sprinkle.  We got them as fast as we could and went back inside where they were still calling names for the raffle.  The Princess won a fancy hair clip.

At this point we were finished with all of the official boxes for the event and started doing some exchanges.  Because of the rain, the room was pretty crowded.  Boxing Turtle was getting bored so we left to look for boxes in town.  We planted a box in the city park and found some in a local cemetery & GyspyLadybugs house.  We also stopped at a local ice cream place and looked for a box but could not find it.  Another boxer pulled up while we were looking so we all looked together.

Wet Spring Grove boxing

We headed south to Dayton where we would be staying the night.  We checked into the hotel, got dinner at the Cracker Barrel, and went to a nearby cemetery to look for 3 boxes.  We got the first one, struggling a bit because we are not used to using a compass.  We went to get the second one and it started pouring down rain.  We stopped and went back to the hotel.  We showered, logged finds, and watched some tv.

Spring Grove Cemetery

The next morning we got up, had breakfast, checked out, and went back to the nearby cemetery.  The found the second box were were looking for the night before and went looking for the third box.  They had a tornado recently in Dayton and the far corner of the cemetery had damage.  We believe the stone we were looking for had been knocked over on the box.

After that, we got a box on the way out of town by Safari Man and fill up with gas.  Next stop, Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati.  I was very excited to box here.  I had heard so many good things about it and there were so many boxes to find.  We planned on spending a lot of time here and printed off 50 clues.  But it did not go well.  It rained, I got frustrated, and the kids were grumpy.  We only found 4 of the first 10 we looked for.

Spring Grove Cemetery

Then it stopped raining and our boxing got better.  We ending up finding 15 of 26 and 3 Hitchhikers.  Of course we had to plant a box here too. We also saw many animals while boxing-a fox, 4 turkeys, a baby skunk, chipmunks, squirrels, ducks, geese, and a hawk.  My original plan was to stay until 4 so that we were not getting home real late.  But at the end we got on a roll and stayed until almost 6.

Our grand total for the weekend (drum roll please) was 131 traditional boxes, 5 Hitchhikers, and some exchanges & table tops!  I took a quick look at my stats for 2019, I have 221 finds.  My next highest year was 2015 with 225 boxes.  Unless all my local boxers fall off the face of the earth, this year will be my highest finds yet <3

Shipwrecked Prairie Event

Event Selfie 

This weekend we went back to Greenville, Oh to the Shipwrecked on the Prairie event.  The whole family went this year!  We got up at 4 am and drove 4.5 hours to Greenville.  We checked in and hit the trails.

Last time we went the trails had standing water and the mosquitoes were horrible :(  But this year was awesome!  It started off warm but in the afternoon some clouds rolled in and there was a nice breeze.  We boxed outside until lunch.  Then came in to eat and stamps some indoor boxes.  Lil Ewok won a door prize.

Group pic with beautiful wildflowers

After lunch we went back outside.  The blacksmith was in his shop and the boys hung out with him while the princess and I found the last series of boxes.  When we were done we went back inside to get a few table top boxes and pack up our stuff.

The Greenville Union Cemetery is the Crown Hill of Greenville ;)  We boxed here two years ago and I was surprised at how many boxes had been planted since we were there last.  I wanted to plant a box there but didn't because there were already so many.

When we were done at the cemetery we headed to a local pizza joint that had a box.  They were in the process of remodeling and were only doing carry out and delivery.  We got the box and had to look for a different place for dinner.  We got supper and started heading south to Richmond, In where we would stay the night.  We stopped in New Paris along the way and planted our box that we planned on planting in Greenville.

Crown Hill Selfie 

Sunday morning we got up, had breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and went to Crown Hill Cemetery in Indy to box some more.

My husband and I rarely box together and anytime he is around he drives.  But I drove the whole trip so my husband navigated and read the clues.  He about drove me crazy.  He would not let me touch the clues!  We missed a box in Crown Hill because he overlooked the clue.  Next time, he drives.  I guess next time I go to Indy I will have to box somewhere other than Crown Hill.

We had a great weekend.  My AQ logbook says I got 107 boxes.  I need 12 more to get 1,000!  We took some HH from the hostel but only found one on the trail and it was one we already had found.  We left a few fleas for others to find :)

Storytime on the Prairie Event

This weekend we went to the Storytime on the Prairie Event in Greenville, OH.  We had a funeral on Friday so I got up at 4 a.m. on Saturday, drug 3 of my 4 kids from their beds, and drove 4.5 hours to the event.  The drive up, mostly in the dark & rain, went fast.

My 500th find!

We arrived at 10 a.m. and jumped right into table tops, event boxes, exchanges, and other indoor boxes.  My kids love the table tops with all the interesting boxes people put their stamps in.  One of the indoor sets gave me my 500th find!

Lunch was at 12:30 and a raffle afterward.  The princess's name was called right away and she was so excited.  R2-D2's name was also called.  Then we went out to the trails.  We were told that the trails would be muddy so we brought rubber boots.  We had also heard people talking about standing water on the trails and the kids wanted to do those first.  All of the stamps were awesome.  There are so many talented carvers out there.

Kids playing Pooh Sticks :)

They kicked us out at 4, we went to our hotel, ordered a pizza, watched tv, and rested.  In the morning I ran into some boxers in the elevator that we didn't exchange with the day before so we did it in the parking lot.  After we loaded up and ate breakfast we headed back to the event site to get boxes that we missed.  We also went to a park with more event boxes.  The stamps were great but the mosquitoes were horrible and we missed 2 boxes fighting them.

After we had almost all of the event boxes we headed to a local cemetery and several other boxers did too.  We exchanged with some folks there and helped/got help from boxers there.  If someone was watching, I am sure it was funny watching us all driving in circles, scurrying out to stones and trees and back to the vehicles, and then off again.

Local place we stopped for lunch.

We had lunch in Greenville, got a box there and one down the road.  Then we headed for home.  I had a Girl Scout Day Camp meeting Sunday night that I needed to go to.  The ride home was bad.  The kids fought a lot and we stopped a lot for food, potty breaks, etc.  I haven't done the math myself, but AQ says that I am up to 599 boxes, wow!

Wonderful Weekend

Our 400th box!

This weekend Daddy's Favorite Princess and I went to the Tools, Techniques, and Treats 2014 Event in Greenville, Ohio. We met a lot of people and had a great time.  We had two milestone moments while we were there. We found our 400th box (woo hoo!) and we could add another state to our list of places where we have letterboxed.

Outside box

On Friday we basically left home as soon as the boys got out of school and we headed north. We had originally planned on staying in Richmond, In but decided to stay in Indy instead (long story). Saturday morning we drove to the event and the boys dropped us off. They all went and did other stuff.

At the event the princess and I took some classes. We learned how to make logbooks and felt pouches. Then we looked for letterboxes and had lunch. After lunch we tackled event boxes and exchanges. The princess got tired of stamping after lunch so she took a painting class and played with some other kids.

People stamping

It was so cool to meet some Indiana folks. I find their boxes, see them post on the boards, get their LTCs/postals, and I got to meet some of them! Who knew you had to go to Ohio to meet Hoosiers?

After the event we went back and stayed another night in Indy. Since it was supposed to be a "big" letterboxing weekend my noxer hubby said that we could box in Indy some (I am always talking about how much I would love to box in Indy). I brought some clues for Crown Hill cemetery just in case.

The princess painting

We got to the cemetery at 9:30 and it was 27 degrees, yikes. The kids stayed in the warm car for the first few boxes. We boxed for about 3 hours before the kids got tired, hungry, and fussy. Thankfully we found a restroom at the cemetery or we would have left sooner ;) We looked for 19 boxes and found 17 and a hitchhiker.  We stumbled on some other letterboxers too.

We also stopped and got a box on the way home. I now have a total of 431. I would like to say that I want to hit 500 by the end of the year. But unless we go to more events I don't see that happening.

Fam walking thru the cemetery