Wednesday morning I headed east -- my ultimate goal being to spend a
few days with a friend in New Jersey, with planned boxing stops in
eastern MI, OH, PA, DE along the routes there and back. The first
day I found 5 of the 6 boxes (** see below **) I set out to find in
MI, 2 of them still offering their first-finder certificates (thanks
Ruthann). As an added bonus, I picked up 3 hitchhikers (my first) --
the 'BackPacker', the 'Painted Turtle' and the 'IL to MI' HH!!!

After finishing up with Mirkwood's boxes at Crosswinds Marsh, I
headed to Ohio, hitchhikers in tow (good thing I took the SUV), and
overnighted in the Cleveland area. My new friends were great company
on my first night on the road, and I enjoyed the tales of the
BackPacker's travels over the past 2 years. In the morning, we
packed up and set out in search of boxes. During the course of the
day, the 'IL to MI' HH found a place he rather enjoyed and decided to
hang around OH for a bit.

We've since met up with my friend in NJ, who has been initiated to
letterboxing and has her own beautifully carved stamp as Princess
Charming. At one of our stops yesterday the 'Painted Turtle' ran
into a few of his friends and decided to stick around and visit with
them for awhile. He was especially thrilled upon seeing his
posh 'new' accomodations.

The BackPacker is enjoying our adventures here on the east coast, but
as he has already seen most of these places, has chosen to make the
trip back to Michigan with me next week and do some exploring there.
Stay tuned for further news of his travels.

We have also planted a couple of new boxes along the way, with a few
others being placed en route home -- clues to be posted once I return
to Michigan later next week.

(**) Missing box?? I was unsuccessful in my attempts to find the
April Fool's box in Hudson Mills Metropark near Dexter, MI. The
clues were not too difficult and I am pretty sure I was in the right
area and did glimpse a freezer-sized ziploc bag where I thought it
should be, but upon pulling it out, found it full of leaves, stones
and mud, but no letterbox. A victim of a prank perhaps? Wondering
if anyone has been to this box lately and can confirm its status? E-
mail me for more info, I can't be more specific without giving away
the location.

Deb (SpringChick)
P17 F20 X0