"A Weighty Vulpine turns the key?" Mystery Cache
"A Weighty Vulpine turns the key?"
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This is 3 of 4 caches within 5 miles of Market Harborough. The
clues to this cache are in the story below. The above coordinates
are nothing more than the general area, They have nothing to do
with the actual location of the cache. You need to solve part 1,the
story puzzle, before leaving home.This will get you almost there.
On arrival part 2, will pinpoint the cache.
PART 1:- THE AQUARIUM
She awoke slowly. It was cool and dark. Her eyes tried to focus but
the lighting was too dim. Where was she? Looking around she
realised she was next to her husband. He was asleep on a seat. She
peered ahead, tilted her head and squinted. The view was most
unique she thought. She watched a light blue fish swim by. An
Aquarium. That's it, they were at the aquarium. Her husband had
decided to stop by and have a rest. They were heading for their
holiday cottage on the edge of the north yorkshire moors for a few
days.
"They really need to fix the air circulation in here", she
thought. "Its a bit stale".
She watched as a fish swam by circling through the underwater
grass. "This is so peaceful".She thought. "We should have visited
sooner".
She thought of the last five years. Her husband had moved up in
the company. The money was good. They had been able to afford the
cottage and could afford a nanny for two year old Emma. But he
worked long hours and they lost some friends as he moved into the
executive level. They needed this break.
She could see through the window of the aquarium better now. Her
eyes had adapted to the light. She watched as the sand swirled as
the current moved across the floor of what must be a huge tank. She
glanced at her husband, he was still asleep. "I should wake him",
she thought.We need to get going". But he looked so peaceful, and
he needed some rest. The company had little tolerance for those who
didn't perform well and he planned to be at the top three years
from now.
She watched a school of small brown fish swim by. Her mother made
the best apple pie she thought. "Mum's apple pie, how odd I would
think of that", she mused as she smiled to herself. "I should ask
the attendant to turn the fans up"."But I suppose they know what
they are doing, there must be a reason its so stuffy.Maybe they
have to keep it this way for the fish". She glanced at her husband,
he wasn't exactly James Bond, more like double oh six, a bit
short!, but she loved him.
"I wonder where Chris Franks is these days", she wondered. O.K.
now that was really a strange thought, "why would I think of Chris?
It was ages ago that I had a crush on him". She blushed and stole
another glance at her still sleeping husband.
Her mind wandered to the previous Christmas. They had driven down
to see her brother in the west country. It had been a rather
pleasant visit, She, Emma and Stephanie, her sister in law, had
spent hours riding horses across the meadows. While her husband and
brother in law, had nothing better to do than attend a local
football match which ended in a boring nil-nil draw. She was glad
she didn't go with them.
She saw a brightly coloured piece of seaweed drift by. The
aquarium was damp. It was so peacefull she hadn't noticed before.
She laughed to herself."No doubt they don't expect overworked
executives and their wives to stay so long and sleep off years of
corporate stress".
Five years of marching up the corporate ladder was paying off.
Soon they would be moving. They had looked at houses on the
riverside of London. She had really liked the area's on the
outskirts, but her husband was determined they would move to the
more ritzy area. Well that would be fine, but she knew he would be
working even harder to afford that area.
She was eight when her dad had bought Benny for her birthday.The
brown and beige pony was her best friend,"my goodness Benny". she
gasped."I havn't thought of him since, I don't know when. How very
strange to think of little Benny now".A little tear welled in her
eye.
The water was a bluish green. She could see beads of condensation
on the outside of the glass. It was so clear and beautiful she
thought they just might want a small tank at home.
They had been married nine years before Emma had been born. It was
the most wonderful day of their lives,"Did Henry ever sell his old
mini? She wondered."Now I can't keep a straight thought in my head.
Emma, Henry, that old beat up mini". She chuckled softly and
watched a green fern like plant wave silently from the sandy floor
or the aquarium.
She was getting sleepy again. A nap before driving on would do her
good. It would be well after eight before they got to the cottage,
she thought.
She reached over and held her husbands hand as she drifted off to
sleep and dreamed of Henry's old mini, sunny summers, soft green
grass of fluffy clouds against a deep blue sky.
The floor of the aquarium was still damp and smelled musty.
THE END
Well that's the story. In it are clues almost to the cache's
location.
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PART 2.
The question is :- How many steps in total on the staircase?.
The first number doubled, will give you the last number for the the
longtitude. The last number +3 will give you the last number for
the latitude.
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The cache is a medium tupperware box in a black plastic bag.
Please hide cache well when replacing it, in same location of
course.
Please don't put any spoilers on entries or give any hints as to
the solving of the puzzle. Ta.
Please log any unfound searches, so that I can monitor the cache.
Please double click on the symbol below and rate this cache at
www.geocacheuk.com
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
N pybfr fybj ernqvat bs gur fgbel jvyy uryc. Jbeqf zrna zber guna gur cybg. Gur cynpr lbh trg unf gb zngpu gur pnpur'f anzr. (Vs lbh ernyyl ner univat gebhoyr jvgu gur chmmyr, r znvy zr sbe na rkgen uvag.)
Treasures
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