Something different

Not a High Tea Adventure this time. Today we used Zac's iPhone to go Geocaching for the first time! There is a picture of me below with the cache we found, the log book was completely full and so someone had put in another one. There wasn't a whole lot of exciting stuff in the cache - pencils, kids toys - but we added a book, "Travels with Charley" by John Steinbeck. I had a cheap second copy I'd picked up at a thrift store. The hunt was fun though. I was taking a picture of Zac searching for the cache and when I looked down to turn the camera off there was the cache, right by my feet! We tried to find the first part of a more difficult multi-part cache, but well, it was much more difficult and it was time for supper. That will be a fun one to go back to find - with real shoes and jeans on.

Hibernation

So we took the winter off. You can't blame us. Only a brand new idea could get me to go out in the cold for any measurable amount of time. There was one high tea attempt by my parents. And a scandal! If they ever get me the pictures I'll explain their grand fakeout. Great weather in the forecast for this weekend, so maybe we'll take advantage of it. Either way, head on over to my other (and first) blog Bags of Crumbs and you can read about my gardening adventures.

"Squirrels are nothing but second guesses." (Zac)

In C.S. Lewis's The Magician's Nephew, Digory and Polly find themselves in a world between worlds, a wooded no-place. A few months ago, Zac and I found ourselves in just such a place. We found our way out again and when we set out to go on a high tea with Randy and Erica today we decided to find it again.


Being a non-location, it is difficult to say where it actually was. What I can say is that its on a kind of clearing that connects to the W&OD Trail and we got to it from the Tuscarora Creek Park in Leesburg, VA. It might be where the sewer line runs actually. Much like the puddles in The Magician's Nephew, this world has a series of manholes that rise out of the ground.


On the menu: English Breakfast Tea and homemade herb and cheddar biscuits and blackberry jam thumb print cookies.


Randy and Erica are pictured here. I think we might have tricked Randy into coming. But I'd say he had a good time.


A bad picture of me, but I have to prove I was there.


Zac was there too.


We had a lovely time chatting and enjoyed the nice weather. We even saw three deer out in the nowhere.

Of Note

I'm breaking form a bit today because I think this is a relevant announcement. For a while I've been keeping tabs on a new project, The Encyclopedia of Life (EOL), which is an online effort to catalog with scientific review every living thing. Quite an ambitious effort. I encourage everyone to check out the website, but keep in mind it is in the very early stages. Why I am writing about this today is they have just launched their Flickr site where anyone can post their own species pictures. This is the first step in opening the EOL up to public contributions.

On A Hilltop

This is a college edition High Tea Adventure starring my sister Kelli and her friends Jenna and Amanda. They departed The Masters College in Santa Clarita, CA on foot the last day of finals and hiked up a hill that has a cross at the top of it.

Such a struggle. (pictured: Kelli and the picnic basket I gave her)

Cheers! (From the left: Kelli, Jenna, Amanda)


On the menu was black tea, raspberry danish, and dark chocolates. Positively scrumptious!

The campus below. It looks like they had quite the view of the valley on this adventure. Good job girls! The High Tea Adventure Club is now officially a transcontinental club.

Spring Has Arrived In Wisconsin

And has brought with it new members (Zac's family, and mine too now). Their adventure took them near the Horicon Marsh. On the menu was tea, grapes, cookies, and the ever popular peanut butter and jelly tea sandwiches. Here are a few pictures from their outing:

Tracy and Forsell

Lydia, Calvin, and Abby

The lovely setting

Abby discovered that the lovely setting was also a bit muddy

Altogether a refined occasion.

Tea on the Potomac

Today's adventure in Red Rock Wilderness Park inducted two new members into the club. So let's welcome Lorraine and Linda (my mom), both from California. Yay! It looked as though it would rain on our party, but true to form, it stopped just long enough for us to have a lovely time. On the menu today was vanilla scones, tea sandwiches, and cookies. Each adventurer brought their tea of choice. We dressed more casually this time, it was really muddy. Things are starting to grow again in the woods, but for now it still looks rather more like a barren wasteland. Just the same, we had fun. Here are some pictures.


Linda setting up.

Zac pouring the tea.


Lorraine sipping away.


Pip Pip Cheerio!