Merry Christmas from Geocaching HQ

Christmas Season Greeting from Seattle

Christmas time is a wonderful time, most people enjoy  and spend time with their families. These moments at the end of the year let us look back to great moments of the passed time.

We are happy to present you a short christmas interview with different lackeys from the Geocaching Headquarter in Seattle. A lot of geocachers all over the world had the opportunity to meet them during the last years at MEGA and GIGA Events.

Enjoy!

Jon Stanley

1)     Which moments where your highlights in 2016?

Attending the Surf Coast Mega in Australia was definitely my highlight for the year. Not only did I achieve some of my own geocaching goals on the trip – most notably finally completing my D/T grid with a 4.5/5 kayak cache – but I also had the chance to hang out and cache with some truly exceptional people. For the first couple of days, Clever Monkey was a phenomenal host, housing me and shuttling me around on the beautiful Lake Eildon GeoTour before it shut down. Then, Brad&Janet welcomed me into their cottage and took me out on some epic adventures (including that kayak outing I mentioned above) accompanied by *Cache_or_Check* and Freddo. I also had the chance to meet and visit with a good percentage of the Australian reviewers. It was an unforgettable experience!

2)     How and where do you spend the christmas days?

My holiday centers around family, and with my family located in Spokane, Washington and my wife’s in nearby Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we spend Christmas in the region. I spend time celebrating with both families as well as friends, and try to get up to our family cabins at Priest Lake in North Idaho as time permits.

3)     Which are your wishes for 2017?

I know that everyone asks for world peace, happiness, and understanding, but having just come off my Australian adventure it is forefront in my mind just how important these things are. The sense of oneness, camaraderie, and fellowship I experienced after meeting and playing with people living halfway around the world made it clear just how alike we all are despite the distances and cultures that may separate us, and I wish for us all to understand and remember that as we go through everyday life.

4)     Which message do you want to say to the community?

Geocaching has changed my life for the positive in so many ways, and foremost among that has been introducing me to so many wonderful people all over the world. I want to say thank you to all cachers for the warmth and friendship they have shown me over the past 16 years and I look forward to many more in this game!

Chris Ronan

1)     Which moments where your highlights in 2016?

My first geocaching visit to Europe (Geocoinfest in Berchtesgaden) was at the top of the list. I was also able to visit the Going Caching Mega-Event in Georgia U.S.A. for the first time.

2)     How and where do you spend the christmas days?

We aren’t able to travel back to our home city this year, so we’re planning a geocaching road trip during the Christmas days. I’m still unsure as to specifically where the trip will take us, but we’re looking forward to the journey!

3)     Which are your wishes for 2017?

For geocaching, I’m looking forward to continuing to meet more people in the community in 2017. Also, the Geocaching app and website will only get better and better in the next year. I can’t wait to see the upcoming updates and improvements!

4)     Which message do you want to say to the community?

It’s truly a privilege to work for the geocaching community. This wonderful game transcends language and boundaries, and it connects us in amazing ways. I wish all of my fellow cachers a happy 2017!

Ben and Jayme (we cache together!)

1)     Which moments where your highlights in 2016?

At the end of 2015, we made a goal for this year to get to 10,000 finds and we accomplished our goal! Our 10,000th find was XKD-380, the oldest cache in Nevada, which also completed our Triple Jasmer qualifications. Woohoo! We had an outstanding time attending several mega events: GeoWoodstock 14er in Colorado and the Tri-Cities Geocoin Challenge and Going APE megas in Washington. In the fall, we created a bunch of fun memories while working through several GeoTours and geocoin challenges in our area.

2)     How and where do you spend the christmas days?

We’ll be traveling with family to the wonderful warmth of Hawaii for Christmas this year. We are excited to soak up some sunshine, play in the water with our 18 month-old daughter, and find lots of caches as we explore a beautiful new locale. Aloha!

3)     Which are your wishes for 2017?

In 2017 we wish for:

• continued health, happiness, abundance, and love
• lots of smileys and not too many DNFs
• all the adventures we can possibly fit in
• a trip to an international Mega/Giga to say “Hi!” to all of you

4)     Which message do you want to say to the community?

Many thanks to each and every one of you for all that you do to make this game amazing. We feel very fortunate to work with and for the amazing community of geocachers around the world. May 2017 bring you many new adventures in geocaching and in life!

Heather Murdoch

1)     Which moments where your highlights in 2016?

Attending Estonia’s first Mega event (GC60F99) was a true highlight for me this year. Not only was it an amazing, unique location, but the lovely people made it even more so. Doing some caching afterwards in Russia and Finland was really special as well. Getting into the community, sharing stories, and seeing all the new friends is a great reminder of why we do the work that we do.

2)     How and where do you spend the christmas days?

Seattle is cold and dreary in the winter, so I usually try to escape to somewhere warm. However, this year somehow the calendar got away from me so it looks like I will be staying in Washington/Oregon with friends and family. I’ll trade beaches for ski hills instead – a refreshing backup plan!

3)     Which are your wishes for 2017?

I wish for world peace. Afterwards, together we can enjoy some whirled peas (that may not translate well…). 🙂  But really, I wish the real world would take a few more cues from the awesome geocaching community by being just as open, supportive, accepting of differences, and enjoying the discovery of new places.

4)     Which message do you want to say to the community?

There’s nothing else in the world like geocaching. It’s such a special, unique game – made so by the people who play and contribute to it.  When cachers across the world share their amazing stories and experiences, it is incredibly inspiring. For 2017, I wish everyone more fun, friends, and finds!

Annie Love

1)     Which moments where your highlights in 2016?

For a Geocaching highlight, definitely attending Geocoinfest in Bertchesgaden was one of my highlights. It was so great to get to spend a few days with good geocaching friends in such an amazing setting. Martina and Wolfgang treated Bryan and me like royalty the entire weekend while giving us a glimpse of life in the German Alps. For a personal highlight (which also included finding geocaches), I walked the 790 km Camino de Santiago from the south of Spain, across the Pyrenees Mountains and over to Santiago, Spain. Definitely a bucket list dream come true and an epic journey!

2)     How and where do you spend the christmas days?

I will spend my holiday in a hopefully very snowy North Idaho. My hometown of Sandpoint, Idaho is where most of my family still live and it’s always nice to spend time with them and our family dogs, horses and cat. I’m hoping to get in some snowboarding with childhood friends while I’m visiting North Idaho as well.

3)     Which are your wishes for 2017?

I wish for a good future for all of the world in 2017. I would love to see things like the game of geocaching bring more people together for a common good and enjoyment of life. For a personal wish, I’m looking forward to continue fun adventures around the world, collecting new stamps in my passport and finding fun geocaches!

4)     Which message do you want to say to the community?

I appreciate so much how this game unites people as they share their love for it. I hope that you all get to experience some fun adventures and meet the best new friends you weren’t expecting! I wish you all the best for this Christmas and the happiest of New Years! Hope to see you all at an event of on the trail in 2017!

Dear Annie, thank you very much for your help with the interviews!

Thank you so much Jon, Chris, Ben & Jamie, Heather and Annie for sharing your thoughts, memories and christmas wishes with us!

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Christmas Contest

During Christmas time, we all are thinking of love and peace, why we want to make a gift to you. Send your Christmas greetings to our readers all over the world and participate in a little contest. Among all the posts we will choose a winner of a special geocoin which carries the thoughts of love and peace too. The winner will receive a Peace Turtle 2016 “Over the Rainbow”.

Please post your Christmas greetings  directly below in this the blog. The contest ends on 31. December!

Good luck

We wish you a merry christmas and all the best for 2017!

Wuselelfe & Webmicha
(Team GeocachingBW)