This cache is placed in honor of the incredible West LA Geocachers, an amazing community made up of some fantastic people...
While I live closer to Downtown, I often made it out to the many West LA geocacher events before the pandemic, where I became part of the great community and got to know some wonderful cachers.
Sunflower96 is alwayssss there for a lifeline, even when it's the 10th cache that day I'm reaching out to her about. I am incredibly grateful for her responsiveness and patience, and I admire the enthusiasm she has for solving sooooo many puzzle caches, and guiding her geo-friends with less puzzle aptitude. I have not met any cacher that gives back more to this game and I am so happy to be caching in the same area as Sunflower.
KatQ2u is quite the prolific cache hider, blanketing the Venice and Marina Del Rey areas with a plethora of fantastic caches (even a couple in which she uses "Qumex Style" as the hint... and for that I'm incredibly honored). Her maintenance skill are second to none, and I, as a CO with many caches myself (and less responsiveness to maintenance), understand and appreciate how much work that takes. Plus, her caching name has a big Q in it... how cool is that! I still remember that Kathie was one of the first cachers I went out on a caching adventure with after an event early into both of our caching careers at Desanos.
While he certainly doesn't live anywhere close to West LA, gsmX2 treks in all the way from Ojai to be a part of the West LA cacher events, and brings his incredible wealth of geocaching knowledge and with him. He is driven to find creative ways to improve the game for those around him, and we certainly owe him a great debt of gratitude in spearheading the weekly zoom meetings that have been ongoing for the past year and a half. (Oh, and of course I can't forget the cutest geo-dog, BellaGeo, who is the first animal I've ever known that has the capacity to type coherent sentences and post them on the geocaching website).
Ever see what looks like a drug deal happening at a geocaching event? It’s probably Geojudy slipping me a container or unactivated trackable. When she isn’t bestowing geo-gifts upon me, Geojudy recounts the adventures of her global travels. I am particularly enthralled by her description of her adventures in Madagascar. Geojudy is the only geocacher that gave me her Instagram, which I happily follow to keep up on her adventures.
U_Dac... or should I say, my informal geocaching life advisor. I fondly remember our lengthy talks about your work in local government (which just so happens to be what I hope to do in the future!) I remember even back in 2018 discussing my college and future plans with you and your salient advice that I took to heart. You're one of the fantastic leaders of the West LA geocachers and you're an incredibly dedicated cacher. I am amazed by how quickly you respond to geocaching app messages (I always seem to miss them) and I always appreciate your genuine care and compassion that is omnipresent whenever I interact with you. You are truly a cornerstone of the geocaching community!
TropicalJoe, where do I begin? Maybe my first event, where you bamboozled me with your signature humor from our very first interaction. When you found my I Saw The Sign mini-powertrail, which were a bunch of similar, boring placements, you were the one cacher to write a completely new, unique, and lengthy log for each one, and I was extremely happy to read each and every word. I have made several of your whimsically crafted caches my milestone finds and I have great reverence for your N.U.T. case endeavors. (I think I've tried that once..... and it took me way too long to find, I am amazed that you have found so many that way). I have also found more caches placed by Tropical Joe than by any other cacher in the Los Angeles basin!
Phoenixagua, I remember meeting you at the car racing geocaching event at Rancho Park. I remember that you did not come equipped with any hot wheels, so I gave you one of mine that I brought.... and it won the whole thing! Maybe I should have kept that one to myself.... It's been great getting to know you and I'm so glad to have talked to you at quite a few West LA events.
Elacb, I know you're no longer caching, and probably won't find this cache, but I just want to say that I appreciated the few times we got to know each other and cache together. Your dedication to geocaching-related goals is unmatched. I can't believe you biked 50 miles to find the caches necessary to complete the Album Challenges in Culver City. Oh, and I love your fondness for bike riding... it's hard to find other cachers to ditch the car on a huge caching adventure. And you were the first cacher I ever met who was around my age, which made for the exchange of some truly relatable caching stories for one of the first times.
I am sure I am missing many amazing West LA-based geocachers, but these are just a couple that come to mind. As I move to the East Coast next month, I just wanted to reminisce on the phenomenal community that I am leaving behind and say that they have made my geocaching adventures so much better. I love how many connections I've gained and the support system I have in whatever LA area I'm caching.