This is a "cut and paste" of a posting I put on another site about our letterboxing adventures...I think we are going to try to go again this weekend, because it's supposed to snow next week 
Okay, so I am more of a lurker (lol) but college and other things
keep me from being able to be more active on this wonderful board!
I finally got out to a lot of the sites everyone talks about, and
it's not as far away as I thought...
My sister and I decided to go letterboxing (www.letterboxing.org)
with her kids and one of mine. It is a safe activity and helps the
kids see true New Jersey Pines history in the flesh; I'd like to
think they develop a better feel for their environment. Anyway, our
first stop was at Pasadena. It was really fascinating to see that
there had been so much activity at one time out here. My son did
get a little bent out of shape because of all the paint mess the
grafitti artists and paintballers had left; the couch surrounded by
a true mountain of beer cans didn't help things either. We did find
all the boxes (excellent work, box placer!) and went on to our next
stop. We didn't leave, however, without taking a bunch of pics--you
never know how much longer stuff like this will survive (weather,
vandals, idiots, etc.).
Our next stop was supposed to have been Friendship. I say that
because we wound up in Chatsworth at (you guessed it!) Buzby's!
Right on the money, Mrs. Schmidt was wonderful! She was very
friendly and helpful--I wound up buying some chocolate covered
cranberries, her book about towns (lost but not forgotten?) and some
postcards. So then we started heading for Friendship. My sister
realized we were getting low on gas so she figured she drive until
we either ran out or came to a local gas station...LMAO! Guess she
still thinks she's in Cape May because we had to drive into Egg
Harbor City. After getting gas, we headed back to find Friendship.
The map book we purchased was not of too much help (roads missing,
extra roads, etc.) but Mrs. Schmidt's book was a big help (yeah!).
We found the Speedwell historical marker (?) sign and headed back
towards Friendship. For the life of us, we could not find the
letterbox! We looked for about an hour, wandering amongst the ruins
carefully. We did see were the cranberry packing house had been,
and there is a guardrail there with what looks like a new "memorial
post".
After giving up, we dug out out trusty book and maps, following
the road towards the Carranza Memorial. That letterbox was pretty
easy to find. Gotta thank that placer for marking the spots with
telephone pole numbers! We didn't see the rattlesnake, however and
went back along our way. A few things we did see were the Juvenile
Correction Center--my hubby took the state test recently for
juvenile corrections, and I really think it would have been a heck
of a search if he had to look for the place! We did get to see the
Carranza Memorial, and it looked in decent shape. We also saw,
unfortunately, a pile of about 5 or 6 dead Canadian Geese along the
roadside...shame we had to try to explain that one to the kids.
Our next stop would have been the letterbox near the burned out
firetower on Bear Swamp Hill...if we had not gotten lost! We wound
up out on what a local told us was Sooy Place Road--guess it would
have helped if we had a trail map (lol). It seemed like it took
forever, but my sister's
little Saturn held the roads pretty well and we eventually got out
to Route 72. We didn't find the box because we couldn't find the
site of the old fire tower but we'll have to try again.
All in all, it was a good time had by all. We spent about six
hours letterboxing with traveling too. Like I said, the kids really
enjoy the history part too because they were talking about and
imagining all the way home what the house and the people would have
been like in those lost (but not forgotten!) towns...
Next stop--some of our local ghost towns and even a trek back
up to the Pines to find those two boxes!
"Queen Tucker"
AKA Heather Tucker
(forever researching my past...CAMP, HESS, MASON, BEEBE
and about 17,000 other relatives!)
Okay, so I am more of a lurker (lol) but college and other things
keep me from being able to be more active on this wonderful board!
I finally got out to a lot of the sites everyone talks about, and
it's not as far away as I thought...
My sister and I decided to go letterboxing (www.letterboxing.org)
with her kids and one of mine. It is a safe activity and helps the
kids see true New Jersey Pines history in the flesh; I'd like to
think they develop a better feel for their environment. Anyway, our
first stop was at Pasadena. It was really fascinating to see that
there had been so much activity at one time out here. My son did
get a little bent out of shape because of all the paint mess the
grafitti artists and paintballers had left; the couch surrounded by
a true mountain of beer cans didn't help things either. We did find
all the boxes (excellent work, box placer!) and went on to our next
stop. We didn't leave, however, without taking a bunch of pics--you
never know how much longer stuff like this will survive (weather,
vandals, idiots, etc.).
Our next stop was supposed to have been Friendship. I say that
because we wound up in Chatsworth at (you guessed it!) Buzby's!
Right on the money, Mrs. Schmidt was wonderful! She was very
friendly and helpful--I wound up buying some chocolate covered
cranberries, her book about towns (lost but not forgotten?) and some
postcards. So then we started heading for Friendship. My sister
realized we were getting low on gas so she figured she drive until
we either ran out or came to a local gas station...LMAO! Guess she
still thinks she's in Cape May because we had to drive into Egg
Harbor City. After getting gas, we headed back to find Friendship.
The map book we purchased was not of too much help (roads missing,
extra roads, etc.) but Mrs. Schmidt's book was a big help (yeah!).
We found the Speedwell historical marker (?) sign and headed back
towards Friendship. For the life of us, we could not find the
letterbox! We looked for about an hour, wandering amongst the ruins
carefully. We did see were the cranberry packing house had been,
and there is a guardrail there with what looks like a new "memorial
post".
After giving up, we dug out out trusty book and maps, following
the road towards the Carranza Memorial. That letterbox was pretty
easy to find. Gotta thank that placer for marking the spots with
telephone pole numbers! We didn't see the rattlesnake, however and
went back along our way. A few things we did see were the Juvenile
Correction Center--my hubby took the state test recently for
juvenile corrections, and I really think it would have been a heck
of a search if he had to look for the place! We did get to see the
Carranza Memorial, and it looked in decent shape. We also saw,
unfortunately, a pile of about 5 or 6 dead Canadian Geese along the
roadside...shame we had to try to explain that one to the kids.
Our next stop would have been the letterbox near the burned out
firetower on Bear Swamp Hill...if we had not gotten lost! We wound
up out on what a local told us was Sooy Place Road--guess it would
have helped if we had a trail map (lol). It seemed like it took
forever, but my sister's
little Saturn held the roads pretty well and we eventually got out
to Route 72. We didn't find the box because we couldn't find the
site of the old fire tower but we'll have to try again.
All in all, it was a good time had by all. We spent about six
hours letterboxing with traveling too. Like I said, the kids really
enjoy the history part too because they were talking about and
imagining all the way home what the house and the people would have
been like in those lost (but not forgotten!) towns...
Next stop--some of our local ghost towns and even a trek back
up to the Pines to find those two boxes!
"Queen Tucker"
AKA Heather Tucker
(forever researching my past...CAMP, HESS, MASON, BEEBE
and about 17,000 other relatives!)
It's there.