Another Geocache and a new very tragic cause to support....

While the weather was making up its mind here we decided to go on a geocache. We being my son and I, one of my neighbor's children, a beautiful, engaging, intelligent single mom (Chris) and her two children.

We went to try and find two geocaches at the Association for Research and Enlightenment (ARE). One was a microcache in the healing gardens. There was no healing to be had while the four boys were running around. It didn't take them long to find the large sheets of ice in the water ways there and start smashing them. Apparently they don't know what "Stay on the path" means either. They all had a great time though.
We did not find this cache. While the adults were looking like crazy, the kids were busy doing things I would rather not know about. We broke for lunch and then went on to cache #2.

ARE has a number of cool features. The healing gardens is one and includes a very cool bamboo forest. The reflexology path is another. The Labyrinth is my favorite. They have a massage therapy school, and they also have a large building where they host prayer, meditation, classes, and a store.

The second cache is a multi-cache. The multi-cache has two or more parts to it and each part leads to the next. In this case, we needed to find a specific brick in the labyrinth. The brick has two numbers on it. We had to perform a mathematical calculation on the numbers to get the last part of the latitude and longitude of the coordinates for the actual cache. With the clues we found it. The second part of the cache was .35 miles away in First Landing State Park.
Finding the second stage was actually pretty simple. The clues were good and we went right to it. Success!

Someone had the bright idea to race back to entrance of the trail. My legs were hurting from the 40 minute wind sprint fiasco of a soccer game I had the day before (we didn't have any subs). Almost everyone started running. My mind said "GO!", but my legs totally ignored it. I was urging them into a run, but I was still walking. After a few seconds of internal pleading, I got the legs going in a slow jog. Eventually I was able to move into a belabored and awkward sprint. Only by virtue of the sheer length of my stride was I able to win this little race.

Upon leaving the park we happened upon a woeful scene. It is to this atrocity that I must direct your attention. This cannot be allowed to happen anymore. Small children should not read any further. I warn you, one of the pictures below is graphic and is so sad it will surely call forth a river of tears for you as it did for me.

The dolphins are in danger, this is nothing new. However, the whole tragedy has yet to be revealed. I am so sorry I have to show you such a heinous crime, but the longer we refuse to face it, the more dolphins will end up like this one.

You will want to turn away, but don't.

They need our help.

The first two pictures below are symbolic of what dolphins are, the third is of what dolphins have become in some areas. We must fight this. Only you can prevent this from happening near you.


Please, I beg of you, don't let this happen in your neighborhoods. Fish nets are almost kind compared to this.

On that note I hope Tuesday brings happier thoughts and events to you.

-Mike