Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Cumbies, caching, and catching some rays....how getting side tracked can be a good thing!

It had been a rough week and we were both looking forward to a weekend of relaxation, laughter and exploring.  The hands on the clock moved all too slowly toward quitting time, as it always does when a great expedition is on the horizon.   If you know any weekend warriors, or if you are one yourself, then you are familiar with the overwhelming feeling of anticipation for your next great journey.  The minute you return to the comfort of your somewhat neglected home (laundry in the hamper, dust on the shelving, cat hair on the couch, weeds in the garden…) you already have your thoughts in motion, gathering information that will help you in planning your next magnificent odyssey.  For this particular adventure it came down to one thing….would the  nasty, unpredictable, horrid, wet, dreary,  weirdest spring ever in New England weather cooperate with us and give us at least one day of half decent weather for our  travels?  I mean…come on!!!  Don’t take our whining(ok, it's J that needs a box of tissues…M never whines)  the wrong way!  If you know anything about the  two of us from our former blogs or crazy videos, then you will know that even the worst weather can’t stand up to our collective thirst for fun!  It’s just that….well, we’ve had enough and just wish for the stubborn sun to shine on us for once!!    The fickle weather app on Marcel’s phone gave us conflicting reports on where our best bet would be for traveling and as for my source….well, I feel sorry for poor Alexa.    If I asked her one more time to give me the forecast for the East Coast, I thought for sure she would have a complete and total meltdown of epic proportions!     As the sun began to rise on our first day of freedom from work, and the rich aroma of Cumberland Farms coffee began to waft through the house, we slowly but surely began to formulate our final plan.   It was a grand plan full of  “let’s just see where the day takes us”  and “whatever we do is fine with me!”  No arguing over destinations…just the amazing feeling of knowing that anywhere you are with your best friend is the place to be…the other stuff would just fall into place! 
Now....in the past we would have packed our adventuring must haves, double checked all of the things that I most likely forgot and bee-lined our way to Cumbies for yet another cup of joe.  Yes, we are hooked!!    As a side note, we recently broke up with a certain other coffee chain, and I’m not trying to start any trouble with you loyal D&D er’s but…. How do they get away with charging you at least  5.5 million dollars for a cup of coffee that you may or may not get in the way that you like it?   Trust us when we say our wallets and our taste buds are much happier!!  Anywayyyy….This ritual would be followed by a speedy, smoke coming from the back tires type exit,  you know… Bo and Luke Duke style, and then we would be on our way!!  But that was before we found Geocaching….   We have traded in our hasty departures for GPS mapping and taking the route that will give us the most hides (that’s caching lingo)  in one day.    We knew we were heading to the Worcester Massachusetts vicinity (thank you, Mother Nature) for a plethora of adventurous destinations, but what J&M Exploration would be complete without a little Geocache hunt??     Long story short… our five completely awesome abandoned, spooky, cool and totally amazing destinations turned into time for only one.    You might think that this would upset us.   How can Geocaching possibly be as fun as climbing into dark, muck and spider infested  places?  How can you compare searching  for, what seems like, hours for a 5x5 lock and lock with toys  inside, to listening for ethereal whispers from restless souls in sacred places?  The answer lies in  the quest for new discoveries!   This little hobby called geocaching has swept in and  led us to places we may not have otherwise had the pleasure of finding. (As you will read about in blog #2 from this expedition)  It is in the desire for discovery that our lives can be filled with wonder and joy….without discovery; we lay dormant like the dew on a snow kissed willow.  It is only in the thaw that the willow blossoms, only in the act of discovery can we, as explorers of life can flourish.   So it is  in that moment when we gaze upon new landscapes that our GPS has guided us to that we can reflect on just how much is out there to explore.   Whether it be abandoned ruins filled with history and intrigue or a cascading waterfall under a plush forest canopy…there is not a moment to waste!!  Our days on this earth are but a precious moment in an infinite measure of time, and so it is our mission to inspire you through our sometimes kooky and completely unpolished videos on YouTube to get out there and make new discoveries…get a little mud in your hair, endure a bug bite or two, know what it’s like to hike until you can’t feel your feet….and…..for the sake of every discovery that has not been made yet…Do whatever makes you feel alive!!!!  
-Jennifer and Marcel

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