Sunny Simple Sunday Link Up

Today my blogger buddy Elaine over at Sunny Simple Life is starting a Sunny Simple Sunday Link Up Party.  (say that three times fast!) If you have a blog, feel free to join in. If you don't have a blog, feel free to just read along anyway.  She is inviting us to link up and share a post, or anything of interest.

Elaine said we can come in our jammies, that's what I'm wearing.  Which in my case consists of capri sweat pants and my Sanibel Island 75th anniversary Shell Show tee- shirt.

And since I'm drinking my morning cup of coffee, I'm going to share my own recipe for home made frappuccinos.   Louie bought me a Keurig coffee maker for Christmas and I love it.

My favorite coffee flavor is the Donut House Blend.  I know, not terribly exciting, but that's what I like.  And the raspberry flavored ones too.  That's about it.  Anyway, every morning I drink 2 cups of hot coffee with breakfast and then I take some of my left over coffee and make coffee ice cubes.....

I run another cup of coffee through the Keurig and stick it in the refrigerator and go work out.  As in exercise.  At the gym.  By the time I get back from the gym, I'm ready for a snack and a frappuccino.

I pull out my Bullet blender......

I toss in 5 of my frozen coffee ice cubes and about 2 tablespoons of Hersheys chocolate syrup...

Then I add the cup of cold coffee from earlier.  I'll use either the donut house or the raspberry - it doesn't matter.  Add a splash ( maybe 1/4 cup) of milk.  Blend it all really well in the blender.  It's almost like a smoothie.  I like mine really thick and icy.  If you don't like it that icy, add more coffee or milk.  I also don't  add whipped cream, altho you can if you want.

Quick, easy and yummy.  I usually eat a Cliff bar with it and that's my mid-morning snack.

Elaine, thanks for hosting the Sunny Simple Sunday Link Up.  It will be fun to see what everyone posts!  Who is bringing the chocolate chip cookies??

Some Fun Cache Containers

Every once in awhile I like to post photos of some of the fun cache containers we come across.....

And how we got it....

Thank goodness this guy is fake......

And where he was hidden.....

This was a skeleton.....

This wasn't a cache - he was just lurking around near one.  We honestly thought he was fake because he sat still for so long, but then he got bored with us and hopped away....

Ok, this last one isn't so great, but I like the tin!

Early Evening Geocaching.

One of the advantages of warmer weather and longer days is the chance to get out and do a little geocaching after dinner.  We did a couple of fun ones the other night.

"The Underground" was somewhere underneath the street in this tunnel....

This interesting bell tower was nearby......

When we pulled up to "Rolling Meadows 1955" the GPS pointed us to a group of trees.  Pine tree hides are usually difficult and we spent quite a while searching several likely spots, to no avail.....

Until mom spied with it with her eagle eye.....

Way to go mom!!!

But my favorite cache of the night was "Over the River and Through the Woods."  We literally had to go over the river......

And through the woods.....

It took a little while in the falling darkness.....

But we did find it!

Afterwards Lou had to give me a helping hand up the slippery river bank, but it was still fun!

What do you like to do after dinner?

Q & A With Standing Bear 6-5-12

Mike and Brooke at the half way point on the AT - miles hiked so far.... 1115!

Explain what the half Gallon ice cream challenge is.  What flavor did you eat and did you eat the whole thing?  How long did it take?

The half gallon challenge is for hikers to eat a half gallon of ice cream in one sitting after making it halfway through the Appalachian Trail.  I ate 1.42 liters of chocolate and .473 liters of cherry in about 50 minutes.  I felt a little woozy afterwards.  We had to do a climb immediately after I completed the challenge and I felt like I was going to tip over.  I felt better after a few miles!  You can watch the video here.

Tell me about some of the interesting trail names you’ve heard.

Machete Mitch (hikes with just a machete and a military poncho, and thus has no food bag)

What is Brooke’s trail name?

Brooke's trail name is Molasses because she hikes slow.  Brooke hikes uphill with all the urgency of an elderly person going outside to check the mail!

Are you signing the shelter log books and have you taken the time to read through any of them?

I typically sign the registers.  They are a good way to communicate with other hikers.  I put a warning in one register about a crazy hiker named Pro Visions.  In the shelter on the summit of The Priest, hikers make a "confession.". There were some pretty funny entries, but it was a little lewd for a blog... lol

How does the filtered stream or pond water taste?  Is it actually clear once you filter it?

Stream and spring water tasted weird at first but I got used to it.  I chemically treat the water with Aquamira to make it safe, but I do not have a filter so there is sometimes dirt particles in the water.  I never drink from ponds; what you want is flowing water because it is typically less contaminated than standing water.

How do you feel now that you’ve reached the official half way point on the trail?  Was it harder or easier than you expected it to be?

It feels great to have passed the halfway point.  It has definitely been harder than I expected.  I did not expect

as many injuries or difficult climbs.  But the difficulty makes the experience that much more rewarding!  I've had one heck of an adventure and I'm sure the second half of the journey will be just as exciting :)

Mike after 1140 miles.....

And here's a triumphant Brooke after a long and hot day.  Way to go Brooke!!

Visit Hike4Kids for more information about Mike's journey and make a donation to this worthy cause if you want.  You can also check out his FB page and LIKE it for more updates.

(All photo's property of Mike McLaughlin.  Do not reproduce without permission)

Three Fun Geocaches in the Woods

Today we did 12 geocaches in Rockford, Illinois, but my 3 favorites were the ones we did in the wooded sections of Alpine Park.

The first one was called "Alpine Hill View"  GC2067P.  We had to cross a small stream and climb up a hill to find the cache.....

The second one was called "Alpine Park" GC2HFKH and was my favorite cache of the day because of the trail we had to hike up ...

and down.....

 and then the cliff's we had to climb up and down in order to find the cache....

Do you see the cache??

Then the last one at Alpine Park was called "Nature's Bridge" GC26HPP.  To get to this one, we had to hike up an almost dry creek bed....

 and across a series of natural bridges.....
 

Locate the cache.......

And then hike back out.....

Alpine Park was just beautiful and it was a perfect day to be out hiking and geocaching.

Guest Podcast at 1Meal1Workout

A couple of weeks ago I had Aaron from 1 Meal 1 Workout stop by and do a guest post for me.  He told us about his amazing 150 lb. weight loss.  You can read about it here if you missed it.

Last week, Aaron asked me to do a podcast for him, featuring geocaching and how it can benefit those looking to lose weight.  The podcast is available now and you can download it here and listen to our interview if you're interested.

Co-incidentally,  Heather from "The Ramblings of a Mad Pensioner" wrote a blog post the other day highlighting her foray into geocaching and how it's benefited her health and contributed to her weight loss since.  So you see, not only is geocaching fun, it's quite beneficial to your health as well.

Stop by both blogs and check them out.  I'd like to thank Aaron for inviting me to do the podcast.  It's the first one I've ever done and I really enjoyed it.