Fanboy 2015

Over the weekend, Alex and I made our way back to Knoxville, TN to celebrate all that is magical and amazing about geekdom.

 

This was our second year to attend the Fanboy Expo and this time was even more incredible than the last!

 

You see, this year Alex chose to participate in the festivity of dressing up and it changed the entries experience for him.  Instead of being just a quiet bystander, he became a little rock star (at least in his own mind).

 

The fun started off right away when we caught an elevator ride with none other than world famous wrestler and actor  Adam Copeland, whom you might also know as The Edge. He held the lift for us as soon as he say Alex and schooched over to make room for the chair. He then proceeded to smile and tell Batman how much he liked his costume and was just an all around super nice guy.

 



Of course, observing elevator manners, I did not make eye contact till we were exiting Adam was telling us to have fun. Then I realized what a perfect photo op/childhood memory moment I just flubbed up!! D'OH!! There were literally hundreds of people in his line by the time we saw him again.

 

Still, I was super impressed by how friendly and down to earth he was and that in and of itself was a great memory for me.

 

After that, the excitement just kept on rolling! (wheelchair pun)

 

There were lots of people dressed up in their Cosplay as various characters from movies, TV, and comics.  Everyone was so nice and Alex didn't quite know how to react when he was the one that people were coming up to and asking to have their picture taken with him.  Let's just say, the word "Chick Magnet" was thrown around quite a bit that day!

 

It really had a great impact on his self esteem and confidence around strangers that people actually noticed him and wanted to get to know him.  As a parent, it was a heart-strings kind of time to see my baby boy blossom like that.

 

There was one picture that was particularly touching to me and I want to share that story with you...

 

It was gentleman in a wheelchair dressed as Professor Xavier.  He was posing for photos left and right with people and so I asked him if he would mind taking one with Alex. When I rolled Alex up to him, he smiled really big and shook his hand and began to talk to him, then they posed for the photo.  As we were leaving, I heard him say something along the lines of, "And that's the reason I do this." 

 

It touched my heart so much that he felt a connection to Alex and that they had touched each other's lives in a positive way. A silent brotherhood of support.  At least that is how it felt in my mind...but, of course, that could just be what the Professor wanted me to think! (X-Men joke)

 

We met several more incredible and exuberant folks during our time at the Expo and I wish that I knew their names so that I could thank each and every one of them individually. 

 

It was such an unforgettable time and I am already plotting out his costume for next year!!

 

 Here are a few more photos from the Fanboy Expo that you might enjoy:

 

 

River Song! My favorite of the companions!

 

James Marsters



This photo made him happier than
all the rest and I still
have no idea who these
characters are, but he sure did!!

Me in the TARDIS...
couldn't resist looking
for a Mad Man in a
Blue Box.

 

HCG part 3: Random Scenes

I thought I would finish out my short series on our visit to Cowpens with just some random photos.

SPOLIER ALERT!!  THERE ARE PHOTOS OF THREE CACHES CONTAINED IN THIS POST - STOP NOW IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO SEE OR HATE SPOILERS OF ANY KIND!

As I seem to have run out of time to do an in-depth review of all of the cool caches we saw on this trail, it seemed a fun idea to just post a few of my favorite photos from our adventure. Thanks for reading so far and I hope you have enjoyed it enough to decide to take on the Historic Cowpens Trail for yourself. At the time of this post, they had done a second order of the coins and you can still turn in your passport and get one of your very own!

Although I know there are much older coins, I believe this is the oldest one that I have actually seen in person. Jody was able to pick up several little travelers to join us on our adventure that day!

 

 

Another happy little traveler

Wannabemay grabbing the smiley and about to sign the log



Yes, we made this mini cachers participate
in finding the caches.

 

This was one of my favorite caches
on the trail...I just loved it!



Wannabemay photobombing while making the grab!!

One of my favorite stops was here at the Fabulous Big Splash. The cache was a creative hide and I loved Vegas-style sign that the business had on their front.

The best part though was meeting a genuinely sweet local man named Mathias who stopped long enough to ask us what in the world we were doing and then to share some stories of his life and his late wife and of his love of wrestling.  We had a very pleasant time visiting with him and after he told us he was a veteran, we gave him a military-themed coin we had collected from a previous cache (not a trackable kind) and once he discovered how much my son liked wrestling, he gave us a magazine from 1977 for him to enjoy!  It was only a short time, but those are the moments that make the game of geocaching worth playing!
 

This was Jody's, James', and Alex's first ever reward trail and the enjoyment of the hunt was only amplified by the excitement of reveiving their free coin at the end!  The Librarian was super helpful and shared in the joy when she gave us our coins.  Here is Jody receiving hers and a photo of the coin itself.  I love this coin and think it is absolutely gorgeous!

 

 

After a long, hot day of caching, we decided to make a detour and explore one of the nearby farm stores that where you can buy fresh homemade ice cream as well as the less well known raw milk (that was what James had his heart set on and he was not disappointed!).

 

 

I will leave you with this last glimpse of South Carolina.


On the way home, we were delighted to see that the giant peach no longer looked like a giant baby's butt with diaper rash, but that the repainting and refreshing job had been completed and it was its same iconic self again!!

Historic Cowpens Geotrail: Lest We Forget

I can't imagine a better weekend to cache the HCG than Memorial Day weekend.  Everywhere you turn in this town, you are reminded of those who gave their lives and their service to keep our country free.

One of the caches on the tour led us to the Veterans Memorial Park where we paused for a few moments to pay our respects and appreciate the view.  The Memorial Park was created to honor the men and women of all branches of the armed forces and the stone monuments are inscribed with the names of those from the area who have served our country.

 The cache located here is a fun little one to find and we had the pleasure of meeting two fellow cachers, TheMagish and Sorcerr, whom we had been just a few minutes behind of for almost the entire time.  They had traveled up all the way from Georgia and were having just as much fun as we were on the trail that day!




Behind the park you will find another marker of local history at the Cowpens Depot and Museum, where the emphasis is aimed toward its WWII naval history.

Some of the most fascinating reminders of the town's patriotic history are the painted murals located throughout the town. 

Following the caching route will take you to one very impressive mural designed to commemorate the first and second USS Cowpens naval ships.

The first USS Cowpens, "The Mighty Moo" was a WWII aircraft carrier and was launched on January 17, 1943.  George Dean Martin, owner of a drugstore in Cowpens, wrote to President Franklin D Roosevelt suggesting that an aircraft carrier be named for the nearby famous Revolutionary War battle, Cowpens.   In those days, carriers were named for battles, so the ship was named USS Cowpens.

The second USS Cowpens, also known as “The Thundering Herd”, the USS Cowpens is one of Seventh Fleet’s finest ships and the epitome of the best of the 21st century United States Navy. The USS Cowpens is currently assigned to the naval force in Yokosuka, Japan and part of the USS George Washington Battle Group.




One of my favorite memorials to the town's military past was this mural painted on a building downtown.  I do not know why, but I just found it absolutely entertaining the way the artist painted individual militia men in each window!


Cowpens truly does their best to remember and honor their past and there is no denying that it only adds to their charm and appeal!

Chipmunk in Chains

Friday was an awesome day full of unexpected fun!

I started the day out by working on the Batmobile for a pint-sized Dark Knight.

God bless that precious veteran and
the gift of song he gave to
us that day!

Then I met a couple of fellow cachers, Susan and Paula, for lunch at a tiny hometown café where everyone ended up misty-eyed by an impromptu serenade from the sweetest little 80-something year old veteran with a voice that would have made the angels themselves weep. 

There was hardly a dry eye in the place, and certainly not the eyes of the sweet little lady he was sitting across from and to whom his song was directed.


I wanted to take a photo or a video, but I did not feel that this was my moment to capture, this was his and should be simply savored in the moment.

All of this was followed, though, by something else sweet that gives you chills....ice cream in the local coffee shop! 

I do not tend to frequent this area, so I had no idea that this place was there and after consulting with the employee behind the counter, I was beyond delighted to find that they would be more than happy to host my next Geocaching event! It is the perfect place for an evening of board games.  It is always exciting when good things just fall into your lap while you weren't even looking!

The NinjaChipmunk on coffee? God help us all!!

Well, how do you wrap up such a bright and exciting sort of day? 

In handcuffs in the back of a police car, of course!! All for a good cause with lots of laughs all around, I assure you!  Special thanks to the sweet officer who did not blink an eye when I walked in and asked to be put into the back of a squad car just to have my picture taken with a little yellow bracelet for a contest...the handcuffs were his idea, nice touch! What a sport! I tell you!!  I would say his name, but promised him nothing would implicate...I mean identify..him in this public display of insanity.

 I felt I had to respectfully decline when my cohort in crime, Susan, suggested a good tasering might make for an even better photo and certainly a more memorable moment and it was when my gentleman officer, smiling widely began reaching for his gun while not seeming to be disagreeing with the bright idea, that I decided fun time might be over now!.

If nothing else, I had a Tall Tale that I could walk away with for the next geo meet up!!  And that sweet muggle officer had a tale of insane cachers to tell as well!  Not to mention the dozen hugs and kisses we planted on his cheeks for being so sweet and open minded! He must have been terrified by this point, but he never once stopped laughing.

 I send him my biggest thanks of all...though I promised not to use his name or number in case he would get in trouble.  Thank You All the Same, My New Friend!!

Thank you to Susan for inviting me out for the day and encouraging me to skip my usual schedule of day sleeping and to instead get out and embrace life on a beautiful day!!   I could not have imagined a better way to spend my Friday!

Caching the Historic Cowpens Geotrail...Part 1

Though I had entertained high hopes of attending the festivities at Geowoodstock this year, at the last minute these plans fell through and I found myself with unexpected time on my hands. 

I figured this was an excellent chance to cache the Historical Cowpens Geotrail that was recently released in South Carolina. 

If you do not already know about this trail, it is a reward trail in a lovely area of Spartanburg County.  Just like most reward trails, you print out your passport, find a certain number of caches, fill in the code words inside those caches, then turn in or mail your filled out passport to the predetermined officials. 

As there were only 16, with just 12 being required to receive your reward should you be super pressed for time, I figured it would be rather easy to finish in the course of one day.  But what fun is doing a trail by yourself, so I invited along three more fellow cachers and off we went!




The four intrepid cachers off on an adventure

The trail is set up to honor the Battle of Cowpens, widely regarded  as one of the most brilliant tactical operations ever fought on American soil. In other words, we kicked butt!

Due to the restraints of adhering to business hours, we decided to begin our adventure at the local library.  Thanks to a previous find on a local trail, I knew exactly what we were looking for and how to find it.  The mini-cachers decided to take this time to stage their own battle with a friendly game of chess. 

As both sides were familiar with the game and tactical strategies, this was not quite the landslide sort of win that this area was used to seeing, but both kids had fun.


After signing the log, Jody picked up a new travel companion in the form of a cute purple monkey, and we made our way to the downtown area. 

I must tell you that the from the first moment you step foot onto the sidewalk, you are met with a constant stream of Southern charm and small town quaintness, the likes of which are rarely seen any more.  You will be in wonder as you wander around the small shops and local flavors while feeling like you have stepped back into a simpler time and place. 

Truly, Cowpens is one of those rare places that puts a huge smile on your face, the kind that you don't even realize is there until your cheeks start to hurt.  

That feeling alone is worth the drive there and the time it takes to discover this hidden jewel of a town.

Though the trail itself only took us around 3 hours to complete, we ended up spending almost the entire day here just enjoying the sites and smells and tastes, while enjoying the good fortune of meeting several very charming and endearing locals who only served to enhance our good memories of a day well spent. 

I look forward to writing more about our trip in a future post.  As inspired by the town itself, I feel no need to rush through, but rather to spend some time and enjoy the moment.