Rich the Mixologist was the event organizer. Hank, the Where's George webmaster, was at the event too. Of the people there, I've met some of them at previous gatherings, but there were lots of new faces, including Joe from Northwest NJ, who's from my half of the state. It was a lively group and it was great to see everyone being enthusiastic about comparing hits, states in which they have hits, and georging techniques. I come from the perspective of being a tad jaded. After 6 years and over 100K bills, I've done and seen nearly everything there is to do and see in this hobby. So once in a while, it's refreshing to see what everyone else is up to.
Stayed overnight at Knights Inn in Absecon. This motel is on an isolated stretch of US-30. (It's in a block of a few motels with swampland before and after. And this block is about half a mile past the abandoned drive-in movie theater.) Customer reviews on Travelocity were the most positive I've seen for any low-cost motel in the area. So since its rate wasn't that much more than the cheapest motel, I was curious and tried it out. Overall, I think it is pretty good. The place looks new and is still stain-free. One problem is the room wasn't sufficiently soundproofed, so there was noise from passing traffic on US-30. If you plan on staying there and can't stand that kind of noise, pack some earplugs.
Did some geocaching on the way there and on the way back. I did most of the Atlantic City geocaches on my last trip there, so this time I tackled the longer/harder ones, which turned out not to be that long or hard. Ended the day in the pine barrens of Wharton State Forest. I didn't have the info for the caches so I called those up, one at a time, on my cellphone. That took a while because cellphone reception is very weak in the pine barrens, (which is worrisome if you get stuck there) but I did get a few in there before dusk.
Saturday:
Tiny Often Empty Park:Cranford, NJ (New Jersey )
Cranford Memorial Park in Cranford.
Disc-Go (New Jersey)
Behind municipal building in Greenbrook.
Crowell Cache (New Jersey )
Victor Crowell Park in Middlesex.
Manasquan or Brielle? (New Jersey )
Manasquan/Brielle boundary.
Welcome to Sea Girt Beach! (New Jersey)
Beach area in Sea Girt.
Cresent Park (New Jersey )
Crescent Park in Sea Girt.
EDGEMERE (New Jersey)
Edgemere Park in Sea Girt.
Sunday:
Flight of the SeaBirds (New Jersey )
Beach in Brigantine.
Thorn in my Pride (New Jersey)
Jonathan Pitney Recreational Park in Absecon.
Hideaway in Galloway (New Jersey )
Galloway Veterans Memorial Park in Galloway.
Leeds Point Natural Area (New Jersey)
Leeds Point Natural Area in Galloway.
Hiding in Bass River S.F. (New Jersey )
Bass River State Forest in Tuckerton.
Reptiles, Amphibians and Bugs....Oh My!!!!!!! (New Jersey)
Swan Bay WMA in Egg Harbor City.
Mosquito Hunt (New Jersey )
State forest area in Egg Harbor City.
Why is the water brown Earthcache (New Jersey)
Wharton State Forest in Hammonton.
Wonder Cache (New Jersey )
Wharton State Forest in Chatsworth.
