You can take the GRITS out of Florida, but you can't take Florida out of the GRITS!

Monday, January 14, 2008

Fun Monday~ Websites that have changed my life


Hello again! This week's Fun Monday topic has come from Ann over in county Cork, Ireland. She wants to know what website we have found that has changed our lives. At first I thought this would be kind fo tricky, but then it hit me...D'UH! This is easy!!!


The first one is pretty damn obvious to anyone who knows me. It's Geocaching dot Com I know I sound like a broken record, but I have met the nicest folks and seen some of the coolest places since the fam and I started geocaching. In fact, I met my bestest friend through caching. I'm not going to get into what geocaching involves, but to keep it short and simple, it's sort of like a high tech scavenger hunt using a handheld GPS. People hide things (caches), post the coords on gc.com, then everyone gets to go look for them. I know it sounds lame, but trust me, it is so addicting and so much fun! It's a cheap way to get the kids off the couch and away from the TV. Well, cheap once you buy a GPS and a tank of gas! It's also a great way to get away from the normal tourist spots when you're on vacation, and see some "real" places that only locals know about.


In Florida, some State Parks are embracing geocaching by coming up with a neat idea. They have a "passport" that kids can pick up at participating parks. Once they have the passport, they need to locate the various caches located in different parks. Some are along long trails and some are short. Once they find the cache, they find a stamp inside that they use to stamp their passport with. I forget right now what they get for filling out the whole passport, but isn't that a great idea? Get the kids outside, teach them how to use a GPS and a compass, teach them a few things about nature and they have fun doing it! If you've never heard of it, check it out. I guarantee you'll be amazed to see how many caches are hidden close to you home.


BTW, this is a worldwide game. There are caches hidden literally all over the world...from the rainforests of Brazil to Iraq to Antarctica! It's crazy!! In case anyone's interested, my geo-name is "Gladeslvr & Crew". You can log on and checkout our profile and see all the caches we've found. There are even some pictures there.


OK, the second website that has made a difference in my life has been...drumroll, please...myspace. "MYSPACE!!!???" you say? Yes. I posted not long ago about my experience with myspace. Scroll down and read it. For some reason, a few of my long lost friends have myspace accounts and I have reconnected with them through finding their accounts. I have nothing bad to say about myspace. Nope, not me. I love it and am actually thankful for it.


Thanks, Ann, for this week's topic. I am looking forward to reading everyone else's and hopefully finding new inspiration!

22 comments:

Unknown said...

Oh yeah! I should have guessed what your site would be. :) I'll send out a postcard here in the next week or so, we haven't been caching much lately with the snow, snow, snow. Maybe we need to come visit you for a while. :)

kitten said...

I have heard of one other person mention geocaching, but have never checked it out. Maybe I should. Thanks for the link. I haven't ventured to my space or face book. I think I rather stay in the blogging world of comfort. Great post!

Sandy said...

I have heard about geocaching over at Lisa's but have never checked it out. Maybe I will.

MySpace? I tried it and hated it - too many buttons to push and places to go and I like just spewing my guts and hitting publish. My daughter LOVES it, though, so maybe it's generational.

thefoodsnob said...

That seems like a pretty cool site.


Lisa

SwampAngel65 said...

Lisa, you are welcome down here anytime! We can geocache our butts off with no snow to deal with :)

kitten, I like my blog much more than myspace. It's just that I can't find friends or family through blogging, but can through myspace.

Sandy, Yes, you should check out geocaching, especially if you have kids! Myspace is definitley NOT my main hangout, but it has served a purpose. It has brought me back in contact with friends I hadn't heard from in over 10 years!

Foodsnob...geocaching is so much fun. I have even been taken to some great restaurants in search of caches!

Anonymous said...

I sooo wanna try geocaching...where do you start? What do you need to buy? Any pointers??

Yes!!??

I never had the patience for myspace, but I'd concede it has changed the way people connect!

Joy T. said...

Heyyyyy I geocache! Ok I used to. But I stopped for awhile because there were only a few of us caching and the caches were slim pickings. I plan on getting back into this year though and I can't wait. I've missed it and it's become HUGE where I live now.

Kim said...

I have heard of this a couple of times, but never thought of trying it myself. It sounds like you have a great time.

Courtney said...

Oh man, I love geocaching! There was one cache hidden on the Ambergris Caye in Belize when I was there, and I found it! It was so cool to see where it had been! A friend took it to China after and hid it there. Great pick!

Faye said...

Okay, I've definitely learned something new from this week's Fun Monday. Never heard of geocaching but two so far have waxed poetic over this activity. Don't you just love having an interest that's a bit obscure?

Michelle said...

I have never heard geocaching before but it sounds fun!! Thanks for sharing that. I too have a myspace account. I use it to keep in touch with friends from high school and family members who I wouldn't be able to otherwise.

Tiggerlane said...

Geocaching sounds like a lot of fun! I guess I need to get a GPS.

And I'm about to abandon my myspace account - I've been phished so many times that I can hardly remember what password I'm using. Then again, it HAS been good for reconnecting with old classmates.

-Ann said...

Ever since we got the GPS, we've said that we have to look into geocaching, but we haven't. Thanks for the reminder!

the planet of janet said...

i have put a toe into myspace... but i just. dont. get. it. (meaning more like i dont understand how to use it...)

as for geocaching? i bet my husband would LOVE that....

ChrisB said...

Geocaching sounds like it could be a lot of fun. Everyone talks about MySpace but I have never even looked at the site~ maybe I should!

Alison said...

Never heard of geocaching...I couln't get into MySpace..tried it..

Anonymous said...

We've gone geo-caching. NLM, more than me. He actually got a couple army tins, painted them, stenciled them, and have them out there somewhere with loot in them (not real loot, but trinkets... you know what I'm talking about). Poot loves to find the treasures. What a cool idea Florida has. I wonder how we could get that started in our state parks. I'll have to check into that. Great Fun Monday post!

go_man said...

We agree! It's a great site and like you changed our world!

Hey, when you're not Geocaching check us out sometime at Geocaching Online In addition to our blog we have hundreds of links to Geocaching how-to's, information and more.

Karina said...

I've always wanted to do Geocaching...maybe I'll look into it now that my phone has GPS on it...wait, will that work?

And I've also found old classmates through myspace, people I never thought I'd speak to again, so that's pretty cool!

Anonymous said...

Just wanted to say hi! :)

Pamela said...

myspace??? ha ha. Surprised me.

maybe Geocaching would be fun if I had more time to travel.

Traveling would be fun if I had more time to travel

Anonymous said...

Never even heard of it, may go and check it out