Traveling With the Thompson Twins

New Blog Page! :-)

2010-07-03T10:46:00.000-07:00

Visit the new blog page, Travels with the Thompson Twins
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travels-with-The-Thompson-Twins/129773753724645?created#!/pages/Travels-with-The-Thompson-Twins/129773753724645?v=wall

This is a facebook fan page! We're using this page to blog and share all the wonderful news about our letterboxing adventures.

The Thompson Twins are still letterboxing... And this blogger page will no longer be updated.
Please visit our facebook fan page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Travels-with-The-Thompson-Twins/129773753724645?created#!/pages/Travels-with-The-Thompson-Twins/129773753724645?v=wall

~ Tim and Linda
The Thompson Twins

Flying High With New Friends!

2007-07-22T18:26:00.000-07:00

We attended the Come Fly a Kite event at Cape Elizabeth an experience, nothing short of amazing!

The boxes were well placed and fun to search for...

The weather was amazing...

And the conversations were enriching...

All in all this event helped to clarify for us, yet another crucial element to this letterboxing hobby/obsession we all share... People

Jean Paul Sartre wrote, "Hell is other people..." What a cheery guy he must have been!?!

In my opinion, his hypothesis was and is way-off! The notion that, "Hell is other people" is: cynical, devoid of hope and totally unsound theologically! (But that's a topic for another discussion altogether!)

All the most vivid and enriching memories we have of the Come Fly a Kite Event are of people.

After finding 4 boxes planted at Fort Williams park, our plan was to sit and have lunch in the park and then hit the trail. But our plans naturally, easily and thankfully changed.

We Thompson Twins are relatively new to the letterboxing. Our F-count is pretty healthy, but we are new faces when it comes to events. As we started our pizza and lunch snacks we sat quietly on the lawn. Then letterboxer after letterboxer began to filter our way. What a great afternoon it became!

Shortly after we started lunch Queen Tiffiana and her lovely little girl, Violet came over to do an exchange. We chatted and shared stamps. One of our earliest finds as letterboxers came in Ellsworth, Maine. The box was the Busy Reader Bee, placed by Queen Tiffiana. It was so nice to meet her in person.

As we finished up our lunch a new face came to join us. He asked if it was rude to interrupt our lunch to ask for an exchange. We of course welcomed his visit. Our visitor was Conrad of the Buxton Boxers. We've emailed back and forth several times. And have been fortunate enough to find many of their boxes too. So, finally meeting was exciting. Before long his other half, FFersCraftyWife and their cute dog Tye joined the conversation. We especially enjoyed reminiscing about the Mr. Men books and The Letter People! If you haven't visited the Buxton Boxers' Town Farm Trail Series in Buxton you should.

The great thing about events isn't bouncing around from box to box and pumping up the F-counts, but meeting and spending time with people you only knew as carvers, planters and trail names in log books.

Earlier on in the day, we bumped into Crab Apple and Haint on the trail near the Portland Headlight. It was nice to swap stories and hints with friends we'd made in Skowheagan!

As the afternoon progressed we shared time with Phynstar an email buddy and one we'd enjoyed finding boxes from. The Wildcats who we'd only met in passing earlier this year. It was exciting to hear they'd listened to our podcast and read our blogs. Even when Alice told me I lied... "That the trail was a lot muddier and buggier then I described!" Ha, ha, ha!

Before long we met Mr. & Mrs. Muddy Paws. and their children. We loved hearing stories about boxing in Seattle. It was a great opportunity to thank them for their Forest Oasis series in Portsmouth.

The Bumper Bowlers crossed our path. And we swapped teaching stories with Mrs. Bumper Bowlers. We loved their family collection of stamps, each fitting the respective member's personality. (Except the cow her daughter chose.... But we liked it anyway!) :-)

We reconnected with Wanda of, "Wanda and Pete" and got her to stamp our book. (Still haven't come across your stamp from Skowheagan...)

Two boxers from Atlanta, Georgia even happened our way... Eidolon and Pinky!

Before long we were giving restaurant advice to Rose Island Fans visiting from Massachusetts!

The coast is never far from our hearts. We grew up downeast and meeting Limur was a great chance to talk about island life and boxing down in our old stomping grounds. (Thanks for the clue book by the way!)

We even boxed a bit with Team New Hampshire, trying to see a blackbird 13 different ways in the Robinson Woods. You can read all about it in the Team New Hampshire blog: http://teamnewhampshire.blogspot.com/2007/07/anyone-see-my-kite-crash-and-burn.html

People are an all important part of boxing. One chat that sticks in my mind is one we had with Giddy. Giddy told us that he boxed for 2 and 1/2 years before he ever met another letterboxer. And now whenever he goes to an event he spends most of his time at the event site talking with fellow boxers. He told me he hadn't even boxed yet today. And that my friends was eye-opening.

Why attend events? The event stamps... Sure they're nice. The event boxes... Those are always fun. The door prizes... Hey, we even won one this time! No... none of these are the reason to attend an event. The reason??? Connecting with the fellow community of boxers. We've discovered the reason is people!

Now, we may not make the rounds from blanket to blanket or table to table... like some of you veteran boxers are so adept at doing. But we take joy in the moments you all take to chat with us. Who knows? Maybe someday we'll be the old vets taking the newbies under our wings. But until then we'll watch some wonderful new friends and learn...

Thanks to Happy Daze (Ray and Susan) & Mainekokopellian for all the hard work they put into organizing the event, I'm sure enjoyed immensely by all.

Jean Paul Sartre wrote, "Hell is other people..." But I think he was full of it! Because the friendships we've made and the conversations we've shared with all of you are worth their weight in gold.

The Hall of Mirrors

2007-07-16T18:17:00.000-07:00

Once, as a little boy I got trapped in a hall of mirrors. It was a horrifying experience. Twists and turns... Left and Right... Each new passage-way looking just like the last! I must admit, I cried like a baby.

Okay, okay you can stop laughing at me now! How dare you make fun of a little boy's pain?!? As you can see it still haunts me to this day.

We had a similar experience on the letterbox trail this past weekend . Our travels took us to Readfield in search of a box on The Torsey Pond Nature Preserve. A beautiful trail we must say. Leaving home in the middle of a rainstorm we dashed from our car to the trail, thankful to find a heavy cover of foliage to shelter us from the deluge. As we walked we could hear the tell-tale pitapat of raindrops. The gentle pelting of precipitation on broad deciduous leaves, as well as wide coniferous boughs marked our cadence along the path. Yes, it was raining but we were relatively dry.

A rumble of thunder sounded like a tympani over the breast of the pond. It continued for several moments. We, Thompson Twins looked warily to one another, wondering if we'd dodge forth coming bolts of lightning or be toasted 'neath the pines?!? Still we pressed on!

The letterbox clue called us to find a, "paper birch leaning on a rock". We peeled our eyes for the appearance of said tree.

The trail sloped gently down to the banks of Torsey Pond and provided a beautiful view of a reedy inlet of the pond. A loon's eerie cry echoed 'cross the surface of the gray, blue steel pond surface.

Back to that birch tree. We had to wonder if the letterbox placer was chuckling with mirth this very moment, rubbing hands together in mock merriment... This trail was littered... no... loaded... no... choked with birch trees. And I'll be a monkey's uncle if they weren't all leaning on rocks! And if it weren't for the ever increasing precipitation and ever approaching electrical storm we very well may have spent all night searching each every one of those ten thousand birches!

In a horrific moment I was back in the hall of mirrors. Trees of white all around us. Like bumping from one mirror to the next, no sooner would we peer around the base of one tree only to see another just off in the distance, just like the one before! It was madness! A fun madness nonetheless.

They say that insanity is repeating the same behavior over and over again without knowing it. That's what letterboxing is like sometimes. Oh the joy of that insanity!

We've learned that no letterboxing search is a waste of time, box found or not.

The sound of the rain. The scent of damp, mossy logs. The ever increasing view or rock-resting birches. These experiences we shall never forget.

As the loon laughed in the background, we packed it in and chuckled not unlike our waterfowl kinsman. Up the trail we trod. Trying to erase the hall of mirrors from our minds... But hoping we never really would forget The Torsey Nature Preserve Trail!

Have You Ever Been to...? Letterboxing in Maine

2007-07-14T20:01:00.000-07:00

Listen to our new podcast! Have you Ever Been to...? Bailey Island

Back to School??? NO, NOT YET!!!

2007-07-09T17:55:00.000-07:00

There's a crispness in the air. The trees are beginning to blush. And the groan of gargantuan buses splits the morning air. It's back to school time... Well, not really.
We just thought it was, as we started to search for the, "School Days Letterbox Series" in Topsham, Maine.

On a leaf and limb canopied trail just behind the Williams Cone Elementary School. We began our journey. Somehow we'd been here before... Perhaps it was in some letterbox addled dream. An episode of dejavu?

No, we'd visited this trail several weeks ago hoping the "School Days Series" had been replanted for the spring. Alas it had not. But after reporting an attempt to it's authors 4soxsfans, the boxes were replanted and ready for searching.

This six box series was our second trip for the day. The hunt was full or fun and some enjoyable challenges. We recommend it highly.

Finding the first box was a snap! (Because we'd tried it several weeks before... prior to the series replacement for the spring.) Dodging rusty barbed wire (and probably tetanus!) we soldiered on.

Thrills and chills abound on this letterbox trail. You'll find yourself circling pine trees. Don't get too dizzy or you may find yourself plunging headlong over what I might call a, "cliff of death!" (No, I'm not kidding! These woods may look idyllic. But there's a drop out there, like I've never come across on the letterbox trail!

After circling what seemed like a half dozen pine trees we stopped in hopes of ceasing the spinning in our brains. And read the next clue. This one called for us to make our way down the side of the KILLER hill I mentioned before. WHAT!?! We had just turned ourselves inside out & dizzy circling pine trees. :-) Oh well, letterboxing often is an adventure. So we said, "Bring it on!"

I (Tim) took the lead. And my lovely wife crab-walked behind me down the hill. Lending a hand for support, feeling so glad I chose to wear my heavy tread boots, we pressed on. I couldn't help but think of Calvin and Hobbes speeding down deadman's hill in a sled! That was us! The Thompson Twins speeding headlong toward letterboxing immortality. Of course, we made it down the hill alive! (After all you wouldn't be reading this blog if we hadn't!)

The bottom of this mammoth climb led us to the last half of our six box search. One of the boxes in this series was tagged with a most unique clue. Let's just say have your eyes peeled for "numeral shapes" (Thank you Mrs. Thompson Twins for your sharp boxing eyes and clue sleuthing acumen!)

The end of our search led us up a winding hill, as darkness enveloped the dewy woods. Perhaps this darkness led to our missing the 4th box? Perhaps not... Maybe it was a band of nefarious chipmunk thieves who carried it off?!? I guess we won't know until we visit the school house trail again.

School bells are ringing for letterboxers... School days, school days good old golden rules days! Here's to summer vacation! Here's to halcyon days of boxing and hiking! Let them never end!

Redemption on the Trail

2007-07-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

We're so pleased with the "On the Commons" letterbox in Brunswick, Maine for several reasons....

#1 We've renewed our passion for nature.

#2 The series is planted on a beautiful trail.

#3 We found out it's okay to fail... (Is there really any such thing as failure on the letterbox trail?) :-)

#4 We finally found it today!

Okay, okay... if you read our last blog you found out that we stumbled and fumbled the first time around "On the Commons". But in our failings we managed to bump into a couple of bunnies on the trail. The box went unfound, but the bunnies were a wonderful bonus! This occurrence was refreshing! It re-taught us that the joy of letterboxing is not necessarily in the find. Joy in boxing is more often found along the way.

Whether it be bunnies or a sunset or a tree or whatever mysterious phenomena you find ... The joy of letterboxing is definitely in the journey!

Today we feel redeemed and vindicated all at once. After much research on the term, "sleeping giants" and some serious head scratching and some second guessing, and some mental imaging... we decided to go back.

Upon arriving at the Brunswick Commons we walked quietly down the trail. Watching, savoring, enjoying the woods all the way. Sans clues we found the spot quickly and in short, triumphantly found the box!

We felt, in the words of Frank Costanza from Seinfeld, "Like a phoenix rising from Arizona!"

Isn't it sweet to revisit a locale where you once were stumped, and leave with a new stamp in the logbook? It certainly was sweet for us! As the sun shone it's way down along the horizon, we walked out savoring the sweetness of boxing success.

What have we learned? To walk slow. To stop and smell the flowers. To see what begs to be seen. (This time it was a sassy squirrel just over our heads... by standing still we invited him in to chat!)

So often we rush down the trail and forget to take time to see. Friends we are blessed with a beautiful state and an abundance of thoughtfully placed boxes to partake of. Let's not waste it in a fevered rush. Let's savor it!

So get out there and search. Get out there and see. Get out there and savor it all. The trail is waiting for us!

(Click below or hit "enter" or "spacebar" to advance the slides in our photo slideshow...)

Boxes or Bunnies?

2007-07-07T09:49:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how a box sometimes becomes secondary to the letterboxing hunt itself. After all what's more important? Finding the box? Or is it what we see, hear, smell & sense along the way? I'm sure there are differing opinions on that. But we (The Thompson Twins) lately seem to be falling into the latter category more than the former. Often it’s what we see and hear that makes the letterboxing trip.

Yesterday afternoon we were boxing in Brunswick. We were on a dusky, dewy trail shortly after a drenching rainstorm. The scents were mossy and damp. The sights were dim but lush. The sounds were somehow magnified by hanging crystalline raindrops on outstretched branches and ferns.

Along the way the clue pointed out a bench... not for sitting, but for it's proximity to a side-trail. The description of the side-trail told of a ferned swampy area... We chose to check it out. Wide eyed we viewed a tiny trail traversing fern beds leading to a wide, mossy bog. It was a rarely viewed sight. But one worth seeing. Squirrels and chipmunks clearly thought so too. They chattered and chirped eagerly in our presence as we checked out this bog. We'd never have been graced with their companionship if we'd never visited. Sometimes it's the side-trail where the best memories are made.

Anyway... the search for the box was unsuccessful in an "F-count" sense. But so successful as a soul-enriching experience. Heading toward the end of the trail we found the best sounds, sights and experiences of the day! Spying yet another side-trail... perhaps the box was there? We stepped lightly down the side-trail, a most unexpected visitor appeared. A gray-brown bunny burst from the underbrush. We watched as he hopped quickly down a small pine-needle peppered embankment. He sped purposefully under ferns, around fallen logs and through the forest primeval. Not leaving our view for fifty yards or more. What an unexpected encounter! It was our first bunny sighted on a letterbox trail and hopefully not the last.

Believe it or not... It wasn't the last one that day! We, The Thompson Twins, watched our little friend for quite a time until he slipped from view. The letterbox search continued.

As I, (Mr. Thompson Twins... Tim) searched the underbrush for the box, I nearly bumped bodily into a second bunny! He sat totally still, wide-eyed and staring at me. You've heard of those, "one with nature" experiences? This was as close as I've ever come... Quietly beckoning (Mrs. Thompson Twins... Linda) she joined me eyeing our second close encounter of the day.

The bunny’s ears were magnificent. Nearly translucent. A pale velvet covered pink. It seemed he'd never move. It seemed we'd never move. In awe and wonder my thoughts turned to the digital camera in my backpack. Could I capture the image of this creature? Would he run as I tried for the camera? I had to try. Carefully and quietly I reached back... I got my hand on the zipper... Slowly, tooth by tooth I unzipped the pack... Open! I bent my arm awkwardly into the bag.... Moving aside log-books, markers and other backpack litter. I found it! I pulled and the bag rustled. The bunny bolted but our hearts leaped.

A photo opportunity lost. But moments engraved in our minds forever! So the question stands... Is it the box found? Or is it the hunt? Boxes or bunnies... You decide!

Stone Walls, Guardians of the Maine Woods

2007-07-05T18:17:00.000-07:00

Robert Frost wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors". Have you ever read his

meandering poem, "Mending Wall"? It's worth a read if you never have.

Image provided by: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Stone_wall_20041106.jpg

(Find Frost's poem at: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15719)

Frost describes how he and a neighbor walk the wall and repair it each spring. He tells of hunters chasing their prey and tearing apart a wall. He describes the way in which winter snows and frosts push and pull on the carefully placed stones. And tells of finding gaps big enough for two to walk through abreast. I wonder what Frost would have said of letterboxers?

I've only planted a few letterboxes. And have never planted one in or near a stone wall. In fact, I think it's frowned upon. And I can see why... Stone walls are amazing, don't you think? Robert Frost thought so too! He wrote, "Something there is that doesn't love a wall..." I do love them. And have often marvel at their constancy.

Walls that have stood as time marches on. Gathering moss and weathering the cruel elements.

Why chance their destruction by planting a box in or near them?

We Thompson Twins cringe wistfully when we read a clue that directs us to a stone wall. We've had terrible luck whenever it comes to a letterbox hidden in a near a wall. Most of our "letterbox attempts" have been related to stone walls.

Again today, we searched for a box in Lewiston. And once again the clue led to a stone wall. Something inside me said, "Here's another attempt." And yet another voice said, "Tread lightly... protect the wall." So, we took it easy. And walked away without logging a find. But the joy in letterboxing is in the journey, not necessarily the find.

I'm pleased to report the wall is intact. And our boxing journey was full of great sights... sounds and smells! We spotted a family of ducks bobbing around a reedy pond edge. Several squirrels passed our way. And we even saw a large gray one try to tackle a crow! It was quite a sight.

Perhaps planting a box several feet away from a wall would allow planters to use it as a clue, and allow the hunting boxer to appreciate it from afar?

One thing is certain. Stone walls are intriguing landmarks peppered all throughout the Maine woods and countryside. We will often encounter them as we follow our clues. Let's admire and respect them. After all... Robert Frost wrote, "Good fences make good neighbors."

Defaced by Letterboxing?

2007-07-02T13:28:00.000-07:00

Risks are inherent when you take to the trail. Sprained ankles are a possibility. Ticks are prevalent. And there's always the potential of passing into a potent patch of poison ivy. All these and more may happen to you on the letterbox trail... These risks are minor really.

But... none of these problems takes away the smallest bit of enjoyment from the wonderful hobby (obsession) we call letterboxing!

Would you believe it's possible to be defaced by letterboxing? Really it is! I'm not kidding!

I myself never would have believed it, until one fateful Saturday of boxing in late June...

Alas it was not permanent disfigurement. But "marked" nonetheless.

On this past Saturday afternoon. We, The Thompson Twins set out boxing in the southern half of Maine. We had read of a new fourteen box series in Buxton, Maine. And thought we could put together a nice day of boxing with this search as the centerpiece.

The series is called, "The Town Farm Park Trail Series" and we'd recommend it as a invigorating hunt. As the planter notes in their clue the trail is rough in places and in the process of being revitalized, but this little letterbox series is well worth your time. The stamps are creative and fun!

As we traveled down the trail our first hazard came in the form of swarming insect life. Mosquitoes, black flies and various other biting flies are abundant. We did not forget our bug spray but these were determined little blood-suckers! We absolutely enjoyed finding new boxes, but these flying phlebotomists looked for unprotected flesh to feast upon. You can tell the determination level of a mosquito by where and how often it bites. Well, these little buggers did not hesitate to try and bite me square upon the eyeballs... every 3 to 5 seconds. So on a scale of 1 to 10 of ferocity... 10 being the highest. I'd rate these mosquitoes about a 562! This my friends is not the disfigurement I mentioned earlier. Just a fun sideshow on the trail. Still we pressed on...

After our second or third box we settled into a steady rhythm of happy boxing bliss. Traversing creaky bridges, stepping through slightly muddy trail holes, and searching/stamping/and searching on and on! It was a wonderful day of boxing to say the least.

As we found a box I, Mr. Thompson Twins would ready the log book recording the number and name of the box then I'd hand the appropriate colored markers to the lovely Mrs. Thompson Twins. Between the two of us we have developed a smooth and efficient boxing technique.

Soon I noticed Mrs. Thompson Twins was removing her marker caps with her teeth, then coloring the stamp and deftly replacing the cap by guiding the open marker to her mouth and interfacing it expertly with it's removed cover. Quite amazing! But oh the chance she was taking, by doing this. I marveled at her bravery! (Remember this little snapshot later on... And I'm sure you'll soon see why.)

Just past the halfway point of the letterbox series we emerged from the thick wooded trail into a complex of ballfields. The eighth box was just to the right of one of the fields in the woods. As we stepped carefully through the trees we found the sought after box and settled down to stamp it into our logbook. The first color needed was a deep almost purple blue. Mrs. Thompson Twins again quickly removed the marker cap with her teeth and held it precariously there as she colored the stamp. I waited for her call for a 2nd color which did not come... Instead I heard a muffled exclamation. Something like, "Oh man! I can't believe I did that."

I looked up at my beautiful wife only to see her defaced and disfigured by her own hand! On her right cheek was a large mark not unlike a deep purple bruise. Disfigured on the letterbox trail! I couldn't believe it! No, not by bumping into a huge tree... No, not by tripping over an exposed root... No, not by banging into a mossy rock... Instead, poked in the face by the wet tip of a deep blue, watercolor marker.

We both chuckled (her first and I soon followed.) And then both gave the mark a spit bath. Something I hated when my mother did it to me as a kid. You know what I mean. Tongue to thumb, rubbed too hard on a dirty face. It worked somewhat. We removed most of the "marker bruise". By the time we continued on searching the defaced Mrs. Thompson Twins was a bit less defaced and a bit more cautious when returning the caps to our wet markers.

We finished our search. Headed back to the car with 14 new stamps in our logbooks. The smell of bug spray heavy in the air. And a fading blue, purple mark on one of our faces. And letterboxing memories we'd never forget.

Boxing in Buxton will never be the same. Thanks Buxton Boxers for a memorable letterbox hunt!