Their first one was described as an easy to get to, but not necessary to find cache, hidden along a lane. Leonard knew he was looking for a micro cache, slightly smaller than a 35mm film can. It was meant to be in the open but well hidden, and the instructions had been very clear - NO NEED to pull apart any hedges.
Leonard frowned. It should have been quite easy to find, given the title of the cache referred to the pine tree. After a while he found it, but the cache was in another location and was not how it should be. He made a mental note to send a detailed e-mail to the cachers who had placed it there so that they could restore it. Leonard prided himself on being a responsible cacher and felt smug and virtuous at his helpful behaviour.
Off they went to the next one. This was a nano-cache hidden around some old mine ruins. It was part of a tramway and was a great area for Tata to have a good run. There was meant to be lots of wild life around, but they didn't see any. The cache was nice and easy to find, due to the clue 'any old iron'.
The third cache was placed near a chapel. The man who built the chapel had been a miner and in his youth, spent much of his earnings on drink, often at the expense of his wife and children. Then one day he found religion and became a preacher, and he built three chapels, often working on them after he had finished a day's work at the mine.
The cache was a small lock and lock container. It was an easy find for Leonard. He took a copy of a Garmin Geo-coin.
Then Leonard and Tata went off to find a cache hidden near a tramway. The cache was smaller than a film canister and Leonard was initially fooled by the decoy. But Leonard was not one to be defeated, he hated to register a DNF. After another five minutes he found the cache.
Tia was rather impressed with her photo sitting on the river bank. She thought she looked so soulful. And apart from anything else she was showing such restraint, as she was dying to jump in and run through the river. She wished Leonora was with them to run through the river with her. Tata was convinced Leonora would soon enjoy it.
Sunday dawned bright and fair, and Leonard decided to nab some more caches. It was all about the numbers, and it was important to get his count up, some of the other local cachers were very competitive and Leonard did not like to be beaten.
Mrs Leonard rolled her eyes at him.
"Didn't you get enough yesterday?" she foolishly asked.
Leonard looked very pained.
He had been quite sporty in his younger days before he put on so much weight, and most of his spare time had been taken up wind-surfing or diving.
He would dearly have liked to continue with them even now, (in spite of his rather more mature figure), but he had taken up geocaching because at least Mrs Leonard could share it with him.
The things he did, the sacrifices he made, and nobody ever appreciated him.
Leonard sighed very obviously.
"I've planned a nice coastal walk especially because I know you like them," he said in his best martyrish voice.
Mrs Leonard had the grace to look slightly abashed. No more was said.
The first one was a nice easy find and the cache was a small lock and lock box. Leonard took nothing and left nothing.
The next walk involved the beautiful cliff top views that Leonard had planned especially for Mrs Leonard. But sadly although they searched for ages they couldn't locate this one. They couldn't figure out the clue either. It was a great area though and they all enjoyed the walk.
Then they had a fine walk through the woods to find the 'Fallen Tree' cache. The last time they were there was on a night cache so it was great to see it in daylight. Leonard took a travel bug.
When they got home, he uploaded the photos, and decided to use the night-time shot from the previous visit for the last one.
He wrote two entries for the first one. His second entry pointed out that the cache was in another location, and that he would shortly send a detailed email to the cache owners. After he had posted all Tata's photos and recorded all the finds, even the DNF, he worked on the email. He was so busy thinking about caching, Leonora never crossed his mind once.
It had been a good weekend in spite of that one DNF. He fell into bed and dreamed happily of his increased number of finds. Mrs Leonard dreamed of going for a walk that only involved one geocache. Tata dreamed of running through rivers.
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