Happy New Year 2014!

Had a fabulous time at the HNY-14 event (GC4Q44X) with TaGeez, WikidKriket and SnakeyLicks in Roseville on New Year's Day!

Meeting in the church basement, about 150 Cachers from Michigan, Ohio, and Windsor gathered for this  5th annual event. Knights of Columbus served a pancake breakfast. The Eastside cachers held raffles and gave out door prizes, and Caching Fire (my event dragon in a cool bow tie and a new top hat) was a hit at the Trackables table. 

After socializing, we grabbed our loaded GPSr units and headed out for 308 brand new caches! TaGeez and I contributed six caches each. 

This year the crew also sent out an email .GPX file with all the cache listings. Super-easy upload into our smartphones. I feel we definitely had an advantage after mastering GeoSphere over the last year. Kriket and I each created FTF log templates for quick logging and easy time-stamping.

Team Free Range Lobsters garnered about a dozen FTFs and a half-dozen STFs in the (high of) 18° weather! Our first targets were in a "park" near Partridge Creek. It turned out to be an undeveloped tract along the river - over icy hill and snow packed dale (atop frozen ponds and matted down tall grass - filled with lively mice) - exhausting! The boys were like children in the snow - drawing 2-toed bird tracks and "hiding" behind reeds. It's so great they get along so well!

We were joined after a relaxing dinner at Hamlin Pub by Fiona-the-wonder-geo-pup, ProBob and GeoConsumer for our last 5 FTF's!

All-in-all an awesome day! It wasn't a numbers run - it was quality family time! 

It was an exciting way to kick off a new year. I'm so geeked I created my 2014 New Year's Geo-resolutions:

1. Continue my CaD to at least my birthday (March 2nd = 2 years)
2. Find 38+ Multis
3. Find 10+ Earth Caches
4. Complete the MGA14 series
5. Start attending other area's events
6. Continue our focus on Larges and Virtuals
7. Money-permitting, grab Power Island
8. Grab the Virtuals in downtown Chicago

I'm wishing all of you a healthy and successful 2014!