OMG, my first cache hide ever! I'm very excited to have gotten into caching and what better way to celebrate then placing a cache myself! Plus, the bonus of a holiday just around the corner to theme my cache around was too perfect to pass up.
You might have guessed by the theme and the date placed that this cache is honoring the Fourth of July. I would like to dedicate this cache as well to those who have defended our freedom throughout American history so that we may live our lives as we please and geocache to our heart's content. I would also like to remember a fallen cache that was, in fact, my first find ever in Edsall Park by the name of koz's klunker cache.
I have seen many travel bug hotels and wanted my own, but I never necesarily liked how easy some travel bug hotels were to find. This may be another easy travel bug hotel find for you, or you may be a little challenged by this. The cache is in a purple pencil box from my elementary days, but it may not be as blatant as the color scheme suggests.
Please leave all the travel bugs you want, but remember to take a lesser or equal amount to what you place in the cache. The FTF prize features many small trinkets, a $5 gift card to a local eatery, and a small block game as a time passer. Also, the FTF prize features a brand-new trackable inside the cache that is in honor of all those who continue to fight for our freedom, but focuses directly on the Navy, the service in which I serve.
Please DO NOT take the American flag taped to the inner part of the cache's lid. The flag is for decor.
Now, the cache's placement is behind the playground in Edsall Park. The playground is easily accessible from the parking lot by a path by the Edsall Park sign. At the playground, you will have a choice of where to go next. If you see George Washington's trusty steed in the playground, follow the trails from which he has come. If you begin to bushwhack, you are in the wrong spot and the poison ivy and spiders you might accrue might make you feel like King George III after he received the Declaration of Independence.
This cache was placed in accordance with and with permission of Fairfax County and Fairfax County Park Authority's Laws and Ordinanaces involving geocaching. Since this cache is placed in a Fairfax County Public Park, this is not a night cache as the rules state the parks may only be accessed from dawn to dusk. Please respect the natural flora and fauna around you. Again, you do not need to bushwhack to this cache if you follow the clues above carefully.
Congrats to flowerman for the FTF, beating out kiisikwa (STF) by 9 MINUTES! Thank you all for your early morning dedication and enjoy the cache!