Would you like fries with that?

So, orders for boxes keep coming in. It's strange, really, since this all started with me getting permission. The one for Back Bay is done and planted and they are talking about planting another. The Lynnhaven House was planted today. The two Norfolk boxes are still in the works. Nelson is building the actual boxes to fit the locations and I will make the logbooks once I know exactly how much space I will have inside.

But the most interesting "order" of all came from Portsmouth. There are four museums which are run by the same organization and they would like two boxes at each location; one outside and one inside. Outside would feature my carves and inside would have their own custom made stamps. (Would you like fries with that?) I was already stressing over the gas to drive back and forth ("Remember, this is a hobby, Jennifer!" Nelson keeps saying.) until my contact tells me that they plan to pay for the materials (carving material, logbook, and boxes)! Woohoo! I can go for that!

Nelson says to be careful about losing control of my own plants. I think it great that they want some ownership of them because it means they will look after them for me. What do you all think?

Permission is better...

Here's the proof. Comments from finders on one of my boxes:

"The gal behind the counter was thrilled to see "a letterboxer doing his thing...never seen one before, actually doing it..." I guess that's opposite of seeing a letterboxer not doing his thing and not realizing he's a letterboxer because you never even knew people like that existed in the first place :)"

"It was fun going into the gift shop and chatting with the two ladies at the counter. They are both quite into the whole boxing thing for not being boxers themselves!"

"Loved the location. Met the director and staff. Had a wonderful time!"

Well, that speaks for itself!

It's easier to get forgiveness than permission

Or is it? I recently planted 3 letterboxes. The first was at the Thoroughgood House. My contact, Starr, gave me the names of contacts at the Francis Land House and one other location (which is a mystery box, so I can't tell you where :) ). My contact at the mystery location, Kate, had many ideas of locations for boxes. After chatting back and forth in email, she offered to pave the way and send an email to her contacts for me. And quite an email it was!

I recently learned of a new activity called Letterboxing. Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining artistic ability with delightful "treasure-hunts" in beautiful, scenic places. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by following clues placed on a web-site, and then record their discovery in their personal journal with the help of a rubber stamp that's part of the letterbox. In addition, letterboxers have their own personal stamps which they use to stamp into the letterbox's logbook. More information on www.atlasquest.com/
Recently (location removed) was approached to be a letterbox site and we agreed. A letterbox is discretely hidden outside the building (and a bonus one inside.) There is no work to be done by any museum staff or volunteers as it is self-contained. The people who participate letterboxing appear to be nice and courteous, and a great many are families with young children - the sort of people many of us want attracted to our museums and parks.
If you are interested in learning more about letterboxing and possibly becoming a letterbox site, please let me know, and I will put you in touch with my contact.
To see our "Clue" go to www.atlasquest.com/lboxes/showboxinfo.html?gBoxId=72150or
* Go to www.atlasquest.com* type "Virginia Beach" in the location box* Click "SOS" for our box (we have a puzzle clue - harder than most)
* Click "The Francis Land House" to see their clue or "The Adam Thoroughgood House"
And please forward this to anyone you think might be interested.

Well, the response has been incredible! I am getting requests from all over Tidewater. I feel like I am taking orders for boxes (would you like a bonus box with that?) and I am really excited about placing boxes in all of these wonderful locations. Tiderwater has so many interesting educational and historical locations to share with our visitors. We don't have many locations that provide beautiful hiking since our area is so urban, so I feel that this might be a better tact to take for boxing here. Nelson is preparing to help me make more urban boxes than the typical lock n lock (thanks to a great meeting with "X" Marks the Spot this past weekend) and I am looking for images to carve. Already in one day I've had half a dozen requests! We are going to be very busy!

Big Buck

Here it is! Nathan's sig stamp is finished and I must say it looks good!

New Signature Stamps!

Well, we got our sig stamps! Yea! Blonde Bunny and Swamp Fox have come to life.

Of course, we'll still use our Casa del Sol VB stamp, too, when we all box together.

So now, Nathan has FINALLY agreed he needs a trail name to, which is a welcomed change from, "I'm just Nathan!" We thought Lil Buck would be great, since his great-grandpa is Buck Hodges. But NOOOOO! He won't be Lil Buck! "I'm Big Buck!" So Big Buck it is. I didn't have the confidence to carve our stamps with all that lettering, but I think I am going to try my hand at carving Big Buck's.

I've got 2 carvings under my belt so far for my black bear/zoo boxes that I plan to plant this spring. I have found 2 different deer pics and I will be carving next weekend. Stay tuned! :)

What is Letterboxing?

This site is basically devoted to the Hodges family letterboxing adventures. We plan to list our plants here (which are currently in progress) and possibly our finds, too.

What is Letterboxing, you ask?

Letterboxing is an intriguing mix of hiking, puzzle solving, treasure hunting, and rubber stamp artistry, topped off with the thrill of discovery. The basic idea is simple. Clues, usually posted on a web site, lead to the secret location of a hidden "letterbox." Inside the letterbox are a unique rubber stamp and a logbook. When the letterbox is found, the finder stamps the box's logbook with his or her personal stamp, leaving a record of the discovery. Then the finder stamps his or her own personal logbook with the box's stamp, creating a passport-like collection of hand-carved stamps. The letterbox is then secreted away again for another searcher to uncover. (taken from The Letterboxer's Compainion, by Randy Hall.)

To find out more about this fasinating hobby, check out this article:
Letterboxing: An Interesting and Inexpensive Form of Recreationhttp://www.savingadvice.com/blog/2008/01/02/101988_letterboxing-an-interesting-and-inexpensive-form-of-recreation.html

Or check out these sites to get started:
www.letterboxing.org
www.atlasquest.com
www.stampinthebox.com (great site for info on getting into letterboxing)
www.letterboxing.info (yet another info site on what it is all about)

The Hodges family blog is here!

The Hodges family has a blog. Soon to come: Letterboxing finds and plants.