Any one here gone geocaching? Any tips or stories?

Yes! I heard about it from Famogram on the 100 Lb. Club last year, and checked out the website. We were going to Maui, and I thought it would be a fun way to check out areas we normally wouldn't see. And it was! We didn't find the first cache, but found two others and it was a lot of fun. We tried to find one cache near where we live, but were unsuccessful. Haven't been since then, but we'll probably try some other Maui sites when we go to Hawaii in January.

My tip is to read the comments from people on the websites because you can figure out if the cache has been moved or stolen, or sometimes there are good hints from the people who've found the caches.

We were doing some geocaching, until DH had to have knee surgery this summer. He still finds it difficult to do much walking, so we stopped going until he is able to go again. I miss it and since we had to stop, there have been lots of new caches in our area. We find the caches in our area from the website www.geocaching.com. We certainly aren't experts, but it is a great family hobby that gets you moving and involves the kids as well. The getting started tab on the geocaching website has plenty of information to help get you familiar with geocaching "rules" and "etiquette". We've never hidden a cache, only found. Someday when we start again, I hope to have time to place some caches.

Another similar hobby that doesn't involve a GPS receiver is letterboxing. It is great fun, and it relies on written instructions, and following clues, instead of locating by latitude and longitude. We've found all of the ones in our area, but still enjoy hunting down more when we travel. You can find hides at www. letterboxing.org. If you don't have a receiver yet, you may want to try letterboxing first. Many people who are interested in both.

I'd love to hear more from you if you decide to try either one.