This corner of Burke could definitely use some more caches, so I'm coming up with a series that brings some of my hobbies to you! This is a traditional cache that requires very little buschwhacking. The park closes at sundown.
This cache is all about philately. What the heck is philately? Well, it’s stamp collecting! Some have called it The hobby of kings and queens. Me? I'm just a guy raised in the suburbs of Cleveland, Ohio. I collected stamps as a kid in the 1980’s (although, I gotta admit, I hid that fact from my friends). Until COVID struck and kept me confined to my home for weeks at a time, I hadn’t touched my collection for 30 years. That said, I've never lost interest in the subject. A few years ago, my dad, brother and I even took the train to the World Stamp Show in NYC! And now, the quarantine has given me the time to pull everything down from the attic and organize my collection.
From the time the first postage stamp was used in 1840, stamps have done two things: enabled your letter or parcel to be delivered from point A to point B, and have told some type of story. They teach you about historical events, important people, and artwork. Even on that very first postage stamp, the British "Penny Black," was an engraving of Queen Victoria. Stamps tell you stories about countries and colonies that no longer exist, like Ceylon, East Germany, and Zanzibar.
We are pretty lucky here in Northern Virginia, because small stamp shows routinely come through the area, and most are free. Here is a website that lists them: VIRGINIA STAMP SHOWS
It is a common misnomer that stamp collecting is for old nerds. Stamp collecting is for EVERYONE and it’s cool as heck!
Please obey FCPA park visitor hours (sunrise to sunset).
I've filled this cache with tons of stamps for people to examine and put into stamp albums, pin to your cubicle wall, or whatever else you want to do! There is also a pencil inside.