Bolt From the Blue Traditional Cache
Please note Use of geocaching.com services is subject to the terms and conditions
in our disclaimer.
You seek a small tin with log and swag, camo'd to blend in. Easy find, handicap accessible. Great stealth will be required, however, remember that your presence may be the most interesting thing to happen in Castalia all day!!
This cache is hidden in downtown Castalia, N.C., within sight of the volunteer fire department where the annual Fourth of July fireworks are launched every year. One thing about Castalia that most people don't know is that this little town holds a genuine World Record, and these fireworks were involved....
From the Guinness Book of World Records (1997 edition):
MOST LIGHTNING STRIKE SURVIVORS
On July 4, 1995, 38 people were struck by a single bolt of lightning while waiting to watch the fireworks in Castalia, N.C. Although they suffered considerable pain and trauma, all 38 survived the incident.
Also printed was an interview with victim Katherine Strange:
"We were just getting ready to watch the fireworks," says Strange, "which were supposed to start at 9:15, so we were all sitting on the ground. Then my son moved to a tarp with a crane under it. Well, it looked like a good spot to see everything, so we all moved over there with him. I remember asking what time it was, and my brother-in-law told me it was 14 minutes after nine - and all of a sudden, BOOM! We were hit by a giant bolt of lightning!"
Strange goes on to say that her nephew lost his heartbeat on the spot, and had to be revived twice by paramedics, once right after the strike and once in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. "My son Corey also lost his heartbeat, but he was revived by CPR at the scene. I was paralyzed from the waist down for a few hours, and truthfully, we all thought we were going to die. The pain was unreal - there's nothing to describe it......The funniest part of the whole thing is that some of our friends and relatives were right next to us when the lightning struck, but because they had shoes on and weren't sitting down, they didn't feel a thing!"
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
oevpxrq va
Treasures
You'll collect a digital Treasure from one of these collections when you find and log this geocache:
Loading Treasures