O'Hare Airport Virtual

On one of our trips back to South America we were routed from NC to Chicago's O'Hare Airport, then to Houston and on south. It was kind of out of the way but that's alright because we were flying free on air miles. We made the best of a couple hour layover by searching out the first terminal airport cache I've ever heard of. Maybe there are some more out there. This ones a virtual, which means it was placed before Groundspeak restricted the placement of virtual caches. We got off our Continental flight at terminal B and followed the GPSr needle a quarter mile to the next terminal. The instructions said that even with the signal bounce we'd experience if we stayed close to the window it would work out. I got to the location and started looking for the alpha numeric sequence somewhere about ground zero. Sumajhuarmi found what we thought could be the sequence of numbers but I was concerned that what we'd found was too precarious to survive so many years. ORD Layover (GC5165) was placed 4/25/2002. Since to get credit I had to enter the seven characters from the sequence into the last part of a URL and since I didn't have Internet connectivity while there, I continued looking for any other options. I figured I would take all the options and try them. The cache page said that I'd get an unavailable page message if I entered the wrong code. Thanks to this cache I passed my time in O'Hare with some entertainment. I probably provided a little entertainment to the curious travelers watching the guy walking around the terminal like he was confused and lost. When I made it to my destination I logged it and sure enough sumajhuarmi was correct. We had the right code! This cache has 105 favorites and 1816 visits at this writing. If you are traveling through the Windy City's airport, be sure and plan the time you need to get over to this cache inside the terminal area. Thanks to Flickr for some of the photo work.

Cusco Plaza Tour

If you are touring in Cusco be sure and visit the Plaza de Armas (the main city square). A local geocacher and tour business operator who goes by the geocaching identity of Chacana has placed four fine caches throughout the city and surrounding area. "Chacana" is the name for the Inka Cross. Check out the wrought iron railing in the picture. It's an Inka Cross. The human Chacana placed a multi-cache with five stages in and around the Plaza de Armas and then leading you out to a very interesting site. I can't reveal the secret to the site as it is part of the requirement for the last stage of the multi-cache. If you geocache you'll enjoy finding the different stages of this multi-cache as a unique way of getting to know some of the sights of Cusco. Check out Plaza Tour Cusco (GC2W02K). If you are traveling to Cusco and need a tour guide be sure to visit Juma Inka Tours too!

In Cusco be sure to visit Hatunrumiyoc Street. It runs off of the Plaza de Armas to the northeast and ends directly in front of Jake's Cafe (a popular restaurant with tourist). Hatunrumiyoc is famous for the Inka stones that are now part of the foundation of the Archbishops residences. One stone in particular is renown for its 12 sides. These stones are perfect fits and were placed without mortar.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse is considered by some historians to be the turning point in the Revolutionary War. It occurred on 15 March 1781, 231 years ago this week. Quaker General Nathaniel Greene, for whom the nearby city of Greensboro is named, fought a delaying battle, planning to lose ground while depleting British resources and resolve. He was successful in his plan although he ceded the ground to the British. As a National Military park geocaches are not allowed on the grounds. The closest cache, which commemorates the men who fought here, is Hawk 7 (GC14E0), and is a multicache.

There are several reasons I am interested in this location. One is the high concentration of geocaches about. Another is the Quaker history. Not only was Nathaniel Greene a "wayward" Quaker (he was fighting after all) but the nearby community of New Garden was a Quaker community. Some of my ancestors were living in that community some years before the battle. The Friends were quick to provide medical care for the wounded from both sides. Another reason is that I had a great grandparent who found in the Virginia line (one of three successive lines of defense employed by General Greene during the battle). Come in the fall and enjoy the beautiful trails and fall colors. While you are at it visit the multitude of geocaches all about!

A special thanks to slowlysheturned, NCReedplayer, learn_nc and Eric Fink for the photos

Anne Lee's Grave

Recently we traveled to the northern hemisphere experiencing the sudden change from summer to winter. One of the highlights of our time in North Carolina involved getting out into the woodlands again. It was an unseasonably warm winter day when I was able to visit the grave of one of the daughters of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. As I approached the private cemetery in the woods well off the main highway I found myself in a quiet, peaceful location. The winter leaves were everywhere. It looked as if the family plots are still being maintained by someone. The cache is hidden at a respectful distance from the graves out in the woods. As a history enthusiast I might have come here anyway but having a cache here made it that much more enticing. Anne Carter Lee came south to Sulfur Springs outside of Warrenton, NC in 1862 with her mother. The Civil War had her famous father completely occupied. She was only 23 years old when she contracted and died of typhoid fever. This had to have been a terrible blow for her father. To be far away and unable to be with his daughter in her death must have hurt deeply. She was buried on the property of the Jones family. To return her body to their Virginia home would have necessitated crossing Union lines so General Lee agreed to her burial on the land of the Sulfur Springs Hotel owner. Just six months before his death in 1870 Robert E. Lee was able to visit the Warren County grave. At that time he was in poor health. In 1994 her body was removed to the Lee Chapel and Museum in Lexington, Va to be located with other family members. Be sure and visit the regular sized cache Annie Lee's Grave (GC2471J) located near the grave site.