Picture Perfect Letterboxing....or not

This weekend, we ventured out and tried something new.  We went letterboxing.  Several weeks ago, Warren and I were introduced to this new hobby and decided we needed to try it with our family.  So, we chose a family name ("Music Hunters") and purchased our family stamp and convinced Harper and Chris to try it with us.  (I guess I should be honest and admit that I really was the excited one.)  Anyway, we decided to make a day of it.  So, we found clues for the letterboxes on the north side of town in Gator Creek Reserve, packed lunches and headed out.

Chris will freely admit that I have a tendency to build things up in my mind.  I set high expectations, which nothing can ever live up to.  I imagine events panning out as if in a movie....picture perfect (see picture on the right, which was somewhat staged and taken as soon as we got out of the van to get started).  Very rarely, if ever, does that happen.  This was one of those times.  I was very excited to actually get outside with the boys and walk some trails, while going hunting for letterboxes.

As we drove into the reserve, we came across a huge turtle crossing the road.  I could not have planned that any better.  And, that's where my picture perfect fairy tale ends. 


 





We got out of the car, sprayed the boys down with bug spray and headed out.  Warren started reading our clues and as we headed to clue #1, Harper said "Mommy, I want you to carry me."  What?  This was not part of my plan!!  Both boys were supposed to be skipping along the trail, looking for snakes and other wildlife.  (Remember the first picture, above?)  Luckily, we did see a second turtle, which diverted Harper's attention for a few minutes. 
We easily found the first (of five) letterboxes and exchanged our stamps.  Harper continued to ask to be carried....though that quickly became more and more of a whine, until Chris picked him up so we could keep moving along.  (Keep in mind that Harper is a very solid 48 pounds....and we were only about 0.1 of a mile into the at least mile long hike.)  Again, not part of my plan.  At this point, I imagined the boys to be sooo excited by finding the first letterbox that they just could not wait to find the next one.  That wasn't quite how it actually went.

However, we continued....because I made them.  The second clue told us to "seek the 0.2 mile marker."  Easy....or so we thought.  After we walked what felt like half a mile, we decided we had passed it and should turn around.  We started working through the clues backwards, until we found letterbox #5!  Now, at this point, Chris was carrying Harper (who was being eaten alive by mosquitoes...and he is, of course,very allergic to bug bites) and Warren and I were carrying the water bottle, hats and letterbox bag.  Chris kept Harper on the trail as Warren and I made our way through the woods to find the letterbox.  We set our hat and water bottle down and exchanged the stamps.  Bad move!  As Warren and I were stamping, Chris decided to go ahead and take Harper back to the car because he was getting bitten so badly.  (That wasn't quite how I envisioned that going either.) 

So, being a good sport, Warren continued along with me to find the last three letterboxes.  We easily found the next two, leaving one letterbox left.  And, after searching and searching, Chris texted and suggested we come back to eat lunch in the van and head home.  WHAT?  Seriously?  Problem #1, we were not leaving without finding all the letterboxes.  That was not in my plan.  Problem #2, Chris and Harper were sitting in the van while Warren and I were hunting the letterboxes.  This was suppose to be a great, fun, family activity.  Problem #3, we were suppose to enjoy our lunch on a blanket in the reserve (not in our van).  Problem #4, I forgot to pack a blanket.  Ok, so...after partially admitting defeat, Warren and I decided to head back to the van.  Along the way, we did spot a pretty big snake in the middle of the trail.  The snake seemed to be playing chicken and after realizing he was not going to move, we decided to tip-toe around him. 

Once back at the van, I just couldn't swallow coming so close and not finding all five letterboxes.  I decided to head back out one more time, by myself.  Um, hunting for letterboxes, in a nature reserve where we just passed a big snake, by myself, was definitely not part of my plan.  But, after using three different apps on my phone (thank goodness for my compass, the letterbox app and my Runkeeper to tell me the distance traveled), I found the last letterbox!     

With that, I joined the boys in the van, grabbed my sandwich and we headed home.  No, we didn't eat lunch on the picnic blanket that I didn't bring.  Though it didn't go as planned (what does?), my heart still felt full as we pulled in to our house...

and realized we left Warren's Ninja Turtle hat and my Tervis water bottle back at letterbox #5.  Given that the reserve is at least 13 miles away, this was definitely not part of my plan....which, at this point was par for the course.

So, this was the story of my life.  The best laid plans.....while our first family letterboxing experience didn't quite go as I had envisioned, we still spent time together and, trust me, made lots of memories!  And in the end, that's what it's all about, right?  

(Just in case you're wondering...Chris and I left the boys tie dying t-shirts with my brother and sister-in-law while we headed back out to the reserve and on the trail to rescue the hat and water bottle....and yes, we found them, right where we left them!  Don't you love a happy ending?)