I second everything MommaDi said! Everything about the gathering was just
fabulous! SpringChick planned everything down to the nth degree, including a
coffee pot so we could have something warm to drink! The weather was windy,
cold, and rainy, yet we persevered. The comraderie and sharing amongst all of
the 'boxers could not be outdone. Everyone had such great ideas! I'm very
energized by the new techniques and ideas that were presented at the workshops.

The stamps that were exchanged were awesome. I am in amazement of the
artistic abilities of everyone in the crowd. Many, many thanks to all of the
'boxers on this list who contributed their own carvings to the hitchhiker hostel,
the Visit Michigan series, the traveling boxes, etc. I can't thank you enough
for being so generous (and talented!)

It was so great to meet the faces (and paws!) behind the names that appear in
e-mail on this list. There were some of us who were Michiganders, but also
many others from out of state who came to join us. I'm looking forward to
venturing out, both MI and elsewhere, to find boxes placed by those who attended.

Thanks again to SpringChick for her dedication and organization. Thanks to
all the boxers who attended. It was wonderful to meet all of you!
StampinPam

In a message dated 5/31/2003 6:52:56 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
divargas@webshore.net writes:


> Really COOL Great Lakes Gathering. I mean REALLY COOL! At noon,
> several of us gathered around the grill to warm ourselves and someone
> pointed out you could see your breath in the air! Grand Rapids has
> frost advisories in effect for tonight. I know it's Michigan, but go
> figure! This is unreal!
>
> However the spirit was not chilled at all. I had a great time meeting
> people and exchanging stamps. EXCELLENT workshops. I was especially
> intrigued by YupperAnn's presentation of Microboxes/Urban settings. I'm
> thinking a nice stroll through city parks is a lot more my speed! By
> the time we got through the workshops and lunch, my knees and brain were
> just too chilled, I packed it up and called it a day. A special thank
> you to Old Shoe for helping me get my stuff to the car in one trip!
>
> And especially, a great big thank you to SpringChick for all the time
> and love that went into planning and preparing for this gathering. WOW!
> I was totally blown away by her efforts. Thank you SO MUCH,
> SpringChick. Job well done!
>
> MommaDi
> & The Woof Pack
>



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

What a high energy day! Wow! It was so great to meet everyone and
put names to the faces behind boxes and e-mails and list posts.

OldShoe and I left Muskegon yesterday morning about 5:00 a.m. and it
rained hard the whole way to Waterloo. Reluctantly I ran out with my
umbrealla and quickly planted one final late-coming Visit Michigan
box when we got there. But if there was any concern in my mind that
the rain and cold might keep people home or dampen spirits, it was
quickly dispelled as 9:00 a.m. brought carloads of eager letterboxers
from the Great Lakes area, and also a few from further states (NC,
VA, PA).

The shelter was soon a flurry of conversation and laughter, as
logbooks and stamps were passed back and forth for exchanges and
people, many attending their first letterboxing event, settled right
into the comfortable flow of the day. Legerdemaine's K-Martha was a
big hit and our official G.L. Letterboxing Event stamp was also a
must-have for everyone's log books. Scoutdogs also brought along her
Letterboxing North America map stamp, and we were all fortunate to
get a stamp of that wonderfully carved work of art. "Letterboxing
Nebraska," from Scott Redd in NE, and "Mark Twain," from RTRW in CT
made appearances as traveling event boxes. In addition, "A Little
Birdie Told Me," my 100th box, which I will be sending out to future
letterboxing events, made it's first appearance, elusively flitting
around inside the shelter.

The rain stopped by mid-day, although the temperature never made it
above 50 degrees. But a little cold doesn't deter the hardy
letterboxers of the north, and after a wonderful potluck lunch, most
bundled up and hit the trails in search of the 14 Visit Michigan
letterboxes that had been sent from around the country. I know there
was at least one group that found all 14 boxes, along with the two
additional boxes that had been planted by event attendees and 4 HH
along the way, finishing up just as "it was getting too dark to
see"! Congratulation Tom and Jill! Several others braved the cold
and overnighted in the campground to continue the quest today, which
promises to be sunny, although still cool.

I want to say a huge thank-you to everyone who attended the event --
the enthusiasm and energy of everyone there certainly helped to keep
things warm! A big thanks to those who sent Visit Michigan boxes,
traveling event boxes and to legerdemaine for the much-admired K-
Martha box. These contributions from letterboxers around the country
certainly made us feel a part of the letterboxing community. Special
thanks to Yooper Ann for a very informative, hands-on microbox
workshop, and to her team for the yummy grilled Chicago hotdogs,
complete with all the official toppings! Also, thanks to StampinPam,
Vicky and Linda for sharing your wonderfully imaginative and artistic
letterbox/clue books, and to Matt the Rat for the plethora of
handmade log books that made us all drool and determined to learn
book binding techniques. Last of all, thanks to OldShoe, who quietly
kept things flowing behind the activity and without whose help, I
would have dropped dead of exhaustion.

Our first event was certainly a success and I'm glad that everyone
had a great time. I know OldShoe and I couldn't stop talking about
the day the whole way home. Thanks again to everyone involved and I
look forward to future events in our area!

Deb (SpringChick)





--- In letterbox-usa@yahoogroups.com, "Diana Vargas"
wrote:
> Really COOL Great Lakes Gathering. I mean REALLY COOL! At noon,
> several of us gathered around the grill to warm ourselves and
someone
> pointed out you could see your breath in the air! Grand Rapids has
> frost advisories in effect for tonight. I know it's Michigan, but
go
> figure! This is unreal!
>
> However the spirit was not chilled at all. I had a great time
meeting
> people and exchanging stamps. EXCELLENT workshops. I was
especially
> intrigued by YupperAnn's presentation of Microboxes/Urban
settings. I'm
> thinking a nice stroll through city parks is a lot more my speed!
By
> the time we got through the workshops and lunch, my knees and brain
were
> just too chilled, I packed it up and called it a day. A special
thank
> you to Old Shoe for helping me get my stuff to the car in one trip!
>
> And especially, a great big thank you to SpringChick for all the
time
> and love that went into planning and preparing for this gathering.
WOW!
> I was totally blown away by her efforts. Thank you SO MUCH,
> SpringChick. Job well done!
>
> MommaDi
> & The Woof Pack
>
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Boyohboy, I don't know how the rest of you folks have your letterbox
gatherings, but let me tell you that we in the Great Lakes really
know how to put on a show! Let me amend that. Springchick really
knows how to put on a show and a bunch of us were smart enough to
show up and admire her work. Here's just one example. For the
workshops she led we each had a zip lock bag of materials, down to
the measured dental floss for sewing together the logbooks and the
velcro buttons for the stamp savers. Our name tags had the event
logo on them and we all had program books with all the stamp images
and everyone's bio and all the directions to the event letterboxes.
Then, on top of that, 24 hours later there is everything up on her
site, including names for everyone in all the photos. Oh, and you
think someone this organized would be difficult to be around? You'd
be wrong. She's relaxed and clearly having fun herself. This woman
could be CEO of anything. How lucky we are that instead she's made
letterboxing in our area such a wonderful thing to be a part of.
And what turnout! As we were driving through the freezing
thunderstorms late Friday night I thought surely no one would show.
But, as Springchick has noted, we ended up with standing room only at
some of the workshops. We're a hardy and dedicated bunch. But we
sure did envy whoever it was (Linda?) who discovered mittens in her
jacket pockets!
There's no stopping us now!