Look at you! Absolutely glowing in the middle of the night! Talk about leaving a guy breathless with beauty or some kind of crap like that! I don’t know for sure if this is the front face since I didn’t actually see a flagpole to make that judgement, but it’s the best face I saw and aesthetics will win the day (or the night in this case) this time.
I also find it interesting that we’re getting into more monuments to the Revolution as opposed to the Civil War. Unfortunately, while there were other monuments on the grounds to see, a number of them are over by the mini-Winter Wonderland on the grounds. There were lots of kids and parents running around and looking at things. I decided that I would leave the area alone. Being a parent myself, I can understand how parents might be a little frosty, and having some random dude taking photos near their playing children might not be very comforting. Besides, it was more than a little chilly out and getting back in the the car generated heat seemed like a good idea. It’s almost like being far north of where you live means dealing with a completely different climate or something.
The cache was this little tube, attached magnetically to a guard rail behind the drive-thru of a restaurant. Unfortunately, my signal was bouncing all over the place, so I was examining a lamppost and a telephone pole when the sheriff’s deputy pulled in. He obviously wanted some food, but took the opportunity to ask me if I was alright. I told him I was fine and he went about his way to get some food. I knew at that point that I had to move fast. He would come around the building in just a bit so I had five minutes at most. I reassessed, realized that it was on the rail, and moved quickly to do my business. I had the log in hand when the deputy came back around. I mentally prepared myself for the questioning.
The car stopped by me and the passenger side window slid down a few feet away from me. The deputy spoke out from behind the wheel. “Excuse me, sir. Are you geocaching?”
Wait. What? “That’s exactly what I’m doing!”
He’d heard about before and thought that would explain both my suspiciousness and lack of suspiciousness at the same time. Credit where credit is due to the Henderson County Sheriff’s Department. I don’t know if they all know about geocaching, but at least this one did. They’re either keeping everyone informed or this one is a special credit to the county. And I’m not going to lie to you: this is not something that I expected in Kentucky of all places. I finished my business and then set off again, heading closer to home, happy to have painlessly completed an encounter with the law, not knowing it would not be my last one that night.
As a side note, a very good friend of mine, Mr. J.C. Wilson, hosts a podcast called DadLine about dads (and parents in general) who integrate their hobbies into their working and parental lives. Being that I, like him, obsess pretty strongly over my hobby and have kids who I sometimes incorporate into it, the show interviewed me about it! So, if you’re into podcasts and want to hear me talk about caching, courthouses, and children (though, unfortunately, not my opinions on Waffle House), check it out! It would have been great listening for me in Kentucky as I sped down the road to…
Geocaching While Black 