Splinterheads, and my first tour guide...

If Geocaching interests you, and like movies, check out Splinterheads.

I stumbled upon the movie. Nestled somewhere in the sidebar of the tube, showing recommended other videos, was a bit from it, showing Galaxy (the female lead) explaining Geocaching to the shows main character, Justin.

Ok, so the movie isn't the best thing out there, everyone has their opinions. But I like it. I can relate to it. I like movies where I can relate to a main character. If you want to, look it up Splinterheads-IMDB. Justin is a guy, who works at a job he hates, feels compelled to stay home and take care of his mother after the death of his father, and is in a life-rut. Sounds familiar.

Now, I don't have a regular caching partner, unless you count my 4 wheeled one, which of course I would really be stuck without. But I did meet a fellow local cacher, who was wiling to take me along with her, her husband, and 2 kids, and play tour guide for a day. I learned a lot by watching someone else lead for a change. Now, Erin had a lot more finds, and only had started a couple weeks before me. I suppose having 4 pairs of eyes makes it easier to find things than 1? But her experience, just in how she knew right where to go, what to look for was evident right away. When you've found that many, you can recall earlier finds, and tell yourself "ah ha, I've seen something like this before!"

After parting ways that day, and having 8 more finds to my tally, I started to understand this Geocaching thing much better. I wouldn't change taking the hard road in the beginning for anything. That earned knowledge was worth it. But having a mentor, and guide sure does help augment what you were already learning. That day out was a game changer. Mostly for the better. I was even more enthusiastic. Maybe a bit too much. I wanted numbers. I wanted my "finds" to skyrocket. Which, they did. I found more, went after more, took more chances to get the numbers. But looking back now, I sorta lost sight of some of the finer points, like appreciating the surroundings, the views. I started staying out into the night to find them, robbing myself of seeing my surroundings. I am not blaming Erin, not at all, and I wouldn't go back and change a thing. I just had to change the game into what I wanted it. I had to decide what it was I needed. I needed a goal.

I met my first goal quickly. Average 1 find a day. I met my second. Go after tougher challenges and quit going after every park and grab. Then hit 100 finds. Place some of my own caches. Once I've accomplished those, I figured out my own direction to go after this. Balance.