Secret Garden Traditional Cache
clarksintn: Archiving in hopes another cache can be placed in close or same area.
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Difficulty:
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Terrain:
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Size: 
(small)
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A secret public garden tucked away in downtown DC behind the most
intact late-Victorian home in the country. A perfect place to share
your secrets.
Great news! Even though I'm no longer in DC, a fellow cacher has
volunteered to adopt this cache, so it should be back up and
running soon. Check back for updates.
This is a nice little walled garden in an unexpected spot -very
well done and pretty secluded for the area. A good place to bring
your bag lunch if you're in the Dupont area. I'm frequently
surprised by how few people are here.
The garden is part of the "Brewmaster's Castle," aka the
Heurich
House . If you get a chance, you really should a visit to the
mansion as part of your stop at the cache – it’s a really beautiful
place and one of Washington’s best kept secrets. Click on their
link for tour info. Also, they’re in some dire straights
financially, so please consider making a donation either online or
while you’re there.
To get to the cache, you must go inside the garden, so make sure
you use the following instructions to get inside. PLEASE BE AWARE
THAT THE HOURS ARE SOMETIMES SPORADIC, and for various reasons the
garden will often be closed. The garden SHOULD be open Monday
through Saturday from approximately 10 or 11 am to about 4 pm,
weather permitting. (In general, winter seems to be seen as weather
that does NOT permit, so your best chance is during the summer,
late spring and early fall). If one gate isn't open, try the other.
And by the way, just because the entrance near the cache is shut
doesn't mean the park is closed. Be sure to give the handle a turn
to see if it's unlocked. Your last chance is to ring the bell and
sometimes the very friendly staff will be willing to help you out.
Please, though, if you do need to rely on the caretakers to get to
the cash, be gracious and make a donation in honor of their
assistance.
Because of its sporadic availability, I wouldn’t recommend this
cache if you have to travel long distances just to get this one, or
if you only have time for only a single cache in DC. But if you
happen to be in the area and don’t mind the possibility of not
being able to get to the cache, it really is a special place. If
you do get there and find it closed, you can always stop by another
cache I’ve set up just a few blocks away:
Church Ruins Park.
I also use this cache to help support a local artist’s
PostSecret
project (click on the link for more info.) In the cache are a
number of postcards that have already been addressed. Decorate the
blank side with some art and a true secret you've never told
anyone, then mail it in anonymously. See the picture of the
postcard below for more instructions, and please send me a quick
note to let me know if the cache is out of them.
Also, a little warning: you might have a hard time finding this one
without looking at the clue, especially if you’re trying to be
inconspicuous. This is city cache and so I had to hide it very
well. PLEASE do the same when you find and return it and please be
very discreet. The cache itself is a small, flat, white candy
tin.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Qverpgvbaf: gurer ner gjb ragenaprf. Rvgure sebz Arj Unzcfuver Nir, gb gur yrsg bs gur Urhevpu Ubhfr, be ba Fhaqreynaq Cynpr. Abj gur erny pyhr:
'gjrra jnyy naq hea
Treasures
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