• Birthday: November 1st, 1974,

• Blood type: A (Negative)

• Place of birth: Suburban London

• Height: That of five apples

• Weight: That of three shiny apples

• Good at: Baking cookies, International Studies, making pancakes for friends, origami, bows, shopping for friends, shopping WITH friends, buying things

• Favorite food: Apple pie made by Mama (A.K.A. mum or Mary)

• Hobbies: Traveling, music, reading, eating yummy cookies her sister Mimmy bakes, making new friends, and going on adventures

• Favorite words: "friendship" and "best"

• Collects: Small cute things like sweets, stars, goldfish, etc.

• Best school subjects: English, French, history, music, visual arts.

• Description: A bright and kind-hearted kitten. Very close to her twin sister Mimmy.

Hello Kitty was originally created by Sanrio designer Yuko Shimizu in 1974. Shimizu left the company in 1976. The second designer, Setsuko Yonekubo, took over for four years until 1980 when the task was given to Yuko Yamaguchi, who still holds the position.

The character originally appeared on small novelties for young girls, such as coin purses. Hello Kitty was given an English name (Kitty White) because British culture was popular with Japanese girls at the time of her creation (though the name is rarely used in popular culture). Kitty's name came from one of the cats that Alice kept in the book Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll. When Hello Kitty's boyfriend "Dear Daniel" was created in 1999, designers took his name from the 1971 film, Melody, which starred Mark Lester as a character called Daniel, and features songs by the Bee Gees.

Hello Kitty's fictional world includes a whole array of friends and family members. Since 2004 she has even had a pet cat of her own called Charmmy Kitty, and a pet hamster called Sugar. Charmmy resembles Hello Kitty but has more cat-like features. Charmmy Kitty was given to Hello Kitty by her father, George White, and Sugar by Dear Daniel.

There has been some suggestion that Hello Kitty has its origins in Maneki Neko, and that the name Hello Kitty itself is a translation of Maneki Neko, which means beckoning cat in English. It has also been noted that the character shows a resemblance to the character Miffy, designed in 1955 by Dick Bruna and that the line drawing style is not original.

Hello Kitty has been marketed in the United States from the beginning and has held the position of U.S. children's ambassador for UNICEF since 1983. She really came to her own during the late 1990s when several celebrities such as Mariah Carey adopted her as a fashion statement. Now products featuring the character can be found in virtually any American department store. Hello Kitty was once featured in an advertising campaign of the retail chain Target. Many American celebrities have contributed to the character's popularity: Ricky Martin, Mariah Carey, Cameron Diaz, Heidi Klum, Steven Tyler, Christina Aguilera, Carmen Electra, Mandy Moore, Ashley Tisdale, Raven-Symoné, Varla Jean Merman, as well as Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Nicky Hilton have all been spotted with Hello Kitty goods. Singer Lisa Loeb, who is marketing the pink Hello Kitty guitar, has admitted to being a fan and has even dedicated a whole album in homage to Hello Kitty, called Hello Lisa.

Hello Kitty has also appeared on television in more than a few animated series in both America and Japan and is also the main character of a variety of video games for several game systems.

So, why doesn't Kitty White have a mouth? Here is Sanrio's official answer: "Hello Kitty speaks from her heart. She is Sanrio's ambassador to the world who isn't bound to one certain language."

I decided to go with this theme because my ex-wife is a Hello Kitty fanatic. To date her house contains no less than 100 HK items (mostly utilitarian), including a rice-cooker, boom-box, digital alarm clock, bell-style clock, stapler, blankets, shaded lamp, over-head lamp, tooth-brush, laptop bag, soap dispenser, shower curtain, plush-dolls, chopsticks, bowling ball, toaster, a CD/DVD/MP3 player, as well as an assortment of attire de delicate-unmentionables. Topping her 'wish-list' is a HK Fender guitar (which she could play); but the coolest thing in her collection (in my opinion) is a limited-edition HK 'Kimono' ceramic figurine (shown at the top of page).

THE CACHE

The coordinates above will take you to information for finding the cache container. You do not have to enter the park for it, but you can if it is open. You are looking for a Lock & Lock full of Hello Kitty swag and other mundane trade items. It also contains a "Hello, Kitty" Travel Bug for the FTF. Enjoy!

P.S. This cache was originally placed as a special hide for the Event Cache: "A Christmas Cache…uh, Bash" (GCZ18W). Those who attended the event, and found this cache that night, received special FTF bragging rights, regardless of what order they actually found it.