Sweet Lit' Butterfly by oceanwind

Charlottesville, Virginia

Finds: 105
Plants: 4

I always thought that the trail that starts on Route 53 and leads up to Monticello would be an excellent place to plant a letterbox! There are now 3 there. We found the first one last year, another today, and attempted the third but just didn't seem to find the area where it was supposed to be hidden.

This was maybe our 3rd or 4th time on the trail. And what a nice park it is. Apparently it is a 2 mile trail, although we've only just gone just over a mile. Our first time we got the farthest - up to behind Mitchie Tavern. The trees at the beginning of the trail are all labeled so you know what they are. And they are all native trees. (Michael was quite interested in some of them for planting around the community.) The boys were quite troopers, William hoofing it the entire way.

At the pond, we got to see 11 little goslings waddling around and swimming, with mama and papa keeping a close look out. Quite a large brood.

On the way out, we attempted to find another letterbox, but there is no granite monument that we can find near the west end of the trail. Unless it is hidden up one of the side trails, but I kind of doubt it as I would think that it would be labeled as such.

Harold and the Purple Crayon

Springfield, VA
Finds: 104
Plants: 4

Another plant for us. This one was fun and I definitely got the boys involved in this one. Although I picked the location, they took over from there, deciding which way to go, which trail to take and finally where to hide the box. We read the story when we got home so that we could word the clues like the story.

"Heaven's Stairs" by X Marks The Spot

Burke, Virginia
Finds: 104
Plants: 3

Probably the most intricate, well-thought out box I've come across. It was very tricky to find and took me about 24 hours to find it. I drove up and down the street I thought it was on. Came back home and checked the computer again. Drove back again to where I thought I should be looking. Was confident that I had the right area, but there were too many people out in their yards to go snooping around. Went back today and really had my doubts about it. Honestly, looking around, there was no place to "ascend" as the clue indicated. Then I had the Aha! moment. There is indeed a place to ascend and once I realized it, it was a very easy find. Not going to say any more about it, just in case someone is reading this. I do not want to give any thing away.

Again, it was amazing. There is more to it that I need to figure out. However, Benjamin running around, fell down and scraped his knee, and then informed me that he had to go potty. I will return this weekend with William and Michael - he needs to appreciate a truly amazing letterbox.

"Zachzilla" by Zachzilla

Annandale, VA
Number: 103

Okay, this box was pretty disappointing. With the name, I was expecting a dinosaur or lizard or godzilla type creature. And then the box had a neat dinosaur-type picture on the inside of the cover. I was excited. But did not expect a store-bought stamp with hands and hearts. I was glad that the boys weren't there for this one, because they would have been disappointed too. That being said, it was a nice walk, however where the box is hidden is getting close to the construction being done on the side of the beltway. I could hear all the machinery and trucks very close by, and even caught view of some through the trees.

"April Showers Bring......" by Schizokeet

Arlington, VA
Number: 102

This wasn't the box I headed out to find. I was actually looking for Paper Trail's Spooky series, but there was construction going on at the entrance of the park where that began. I even parked my car and walked down the loooooooong driveway, but when I got there, I thought about it and wondered if I had left my car in the staging area for the construction. So I walked back up the hill and sure enough, there was a front-loader filling up with stuff. So I got back in my car and drove off. According to the signs, it should be finished this weekend, so next week I'm going to have another go at it.

Since I was in Arlington, I checked to see what else was close-by and found this one. I did pass the driveway and had to drive all the way around the block but finally got in. It was a nice walk, paralleling the W & OD trail. As I was walking, I thought some of the landmarks sounded familiar, like from the Spooky series. I went to get the clues, but of course they were back in the car. It's okay. This was a nice little walk, got a little history lesson too. And found an absolutely delightful stamp, including pencils so that I could color it in right then and there. It was so peaceful and quiet. I just sat on the hill, listened to the brook flowing past below and colored to my heart's content.

Centennial of Baseball by PostMystress

Rutherford Park, Annandale, Virginia

A mystery box! We had to actually figure out where to even look for this box from the clues given. But it was easy enough to find. And at a park we have been to and enjoyed playing on the playground too. After doing just that, William went with me to search for the box. Easy to find - what a HUGE hole in the tree in which to place it, and how innovative - covering the box with special duct tape so that it blends in! He had fun helping me stamp everything in, and then we got a bonus treat. We were right by a stream, so we got to throw rocks in the water to see them splash. What fun! He is definitely a kid after my own heart!

Superbunny! by paper trail

Along Braddock Road, Annandale, VA

Wow! This letterbox is practically in plain site of a major street! Fortunately there is some brush that separates the sidewalk from the road and the box is farther in and down a slight incline. William accompanied me on this trek, and fortunately it was very short. He actually thought that the stamp looks more like a pig than a bunny, and I tend to agree. Still, exciting to find.

"Year 2006" by Schizokeet

Yay! Our 100th letterbox. Three years into this hobby. That's averaging 33 boxes a year - not too shabby considering this is a part-time hobby for us.

Found at Lacey Woods Park in Arlington, VA. What a neat playground this place has! I drove by a couple of weeks ago, but thought that it would be better appreciated by one of the children. So today, after school pictures, I brought Benjamin - and he did not disappoint. A HUGE playground which climbed up very high off the ground. He was very cautious climbing up, but had no problems coming down the steep slide. I almost didn't get around in time to see him, and he was screaming and laughing all the way down. He played for 20 minutes easily on that thing. Checked out the sandbox, the swings and everything else there. Hard to believe my "baby" was not impressed with the "baby" playground.

We wandered around looking for the holly bush mentioned in the clue, but nothing really added up. Thought maybe the directions were not correct, and checked out a couple of possibilities, but nothing. Was pretty disappointed - after all, I was hoping to get to 100 today. We got back in the car and as we drove off, found the other entrance to the park. (In all fairness, where the playgound is, you do go in through a green gate, and there is a pavilion with picnic tables in it. I just thought maybe the sign was no longer there. It is an older box.)

We turned around and Benjamin being a good sport got out and looked with me again. Ah. Now I see what they meant by picnic pavilion. And there was the holly tree we were looking for. Very easy find.....once you're in the right place.