I’m on a roll, 2 weekends, 2 wins

We are the Champions

We are the Champions

First, last weekend I win a photo contest, then this weekend I am part of a team that wins a scavenger hunt! Yesterday we teamed up with some seasoned veteran scavengers, as well as the reigning champions. The pressure was high for Wifey and I. We knew they wanted to retain their strap and had looked to us to help make that happen. last year Ryan and Cinnamon (not a peeler) won with a team of 6, this year it was a team of 4 with 2 rookies. All I did was drive, Wifey and the Rastafarian Dinosaurs did all the heavy lifting. I was simply along for navigating, team cheerleading, and comic relief. Very few curbs and mailboxes suffered. A few shopkeepers and random pedestrians also got caught in the crossfire, but nobody was seriously injured. Maybe one guy needs a chiropractic adjustment. We had a blast, it was a ton of fun. The gift bag was overly generous as well. Thanks again to geocaching for a life experience I would have missed.

DYCs

Prewinning Winners

The time has come, I’m going pro

ribbonsI am going to work tomorrow and put in my resignation. The work-a-day routine is for suckers, I’m going to be a professional photographer. Yesterday I placed first in a category and second in another category of a photo contest at the CAM 2014 pic-a-nic. I would not have even entered any photos if it was not for the encouragement and harassment of my loving family and friends. They all saw potential genius where I did not. It probably helped that I taped a $10 bill to the back of each of my photos, the judges must have loved that. National Geographic, if you are reading this, I am currently taking offers and will accept a job for the highest bidder. I cannot get over how tickled these silly ribbons are making me feel.

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Geocaching CAM 2014 complete!

It took 3 full days, but we are done! Another amazing day geocaching with Josh and Charlie the Dog. Went south to Joppa, then across the big bridge to the eastern shore of Maryland. Wye Island, and then onto Kent County. Had a blast all day, and got some of my favorite pictures while geocaching yet! Those pictures are HERE.

I drew blood to get this photo

I drew blood to get this photo

Josh ready to change the world

Josh ready to change the world

Cache Across Maryland 2014 (CAM) Day 1 – Western Maryland

Muddy Creek Falls HDR

Muddy Creek Falls HDR

2014-03-22-CAM-2014-Day-1-98Yesterday was the kick off day to Cache Across Maryland 2014 (CAM). Some pics HERE. An extremely exhausting and fun event that lasts the next 6 weeks. 10 hidden secret treasures spread all across Maryland, each and every corner. Find all 10 and claim your prize…congrats you are a giant loser nerd with nothing to get you out of the basement except driving hours on end to sign a piece of paper and find the secret code. The code is never anything as fun as “Drink more Ovaltine”. Other reasons to CAM are to get outdoors, exercise, see beautiful parts of my state I might not have known existed, spend time with my best buddy Charlie the Dog, show Josh my butthole, enjoy some good food, and bump into other caching nerds along the way. Not as horrible as I make it sound. I did this last year (here & here), and it was a great decision.

Josh

Josh on the edge

Yesterday we started in Swallow Falls Park all the way west in Maryland. Josh’s favorite place in Maryland, and it is easy to see why. We had a blast there. After that we drove steadily east throughout the day until back home. Yesterday afternoon I spent time on the Appalachian Trail for the first time. I loved the idea of just being on that trail, even if only for a few hours. The entire day was a success. Each success started out failing, sometimes several fails, but ultimately we came away with a win for everything. Hopefully day 2 of CAM will be sometime soon.

Some great pics HERE of yesterday’s adventures

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Old friends, how I’ve missed you

It feels like an eternity since Charlie the Dog and I have been outside to do anything fun, this includes geocaching. Sunday was a perfect day for him and I to reunite our favorite pastimes, walking in the woods, and looking for hidden treasures. Still some snow on the ground made for excellent conditions and picture taking opportunities.

The weather and work have been so batshit crazy lately that I have had almost no free time to take my best friend out to play. Thankfully he does not hold it against me. We loaded up the car early in the morning and set the GPS machine for adventure. I know, that’s fucking lame, but true. We went to a local reserve and didn’t see another person all day. We wandered, he ran and jumped, we found stupid shit hidden in the woods, and had a fantastic day. I didn’t realize how long it had been. Being out there with Charlie was as close to a meditative state as I will ever find. Calmness, nothing hectic or rushed, no deadlines, no emergencies, overall quietness. So happy to finally have gotten out and done something active, outside, and with Charlie. I took a lot of pics, HERE are just a few.

Charlie

Charlie can’t keep his feet on the ground

Luckiest boy in the world strikes again

Us with Penn & Teller

Us with Penn & Teller

Last weekend Wifey and I had the absolute honor and privilege to be treated like royalty at the Penn & Teller show in Vegas. We got to go backstage before and after the show, meet all the key players, hang out and chat, eat some food, and also watch the show from some of the best seats in the house. The cherry on top of it all was a private magic lesson before the show with the legendary Johnny Thompson. He marveled us with a few slight of hand tricks, a few card tricks, and stories of his lifetime in magic. Definitely a top 5 life experience for me. The entire experience made the 10 year old Jimmy inside me giddy for days. With this magic lesson under my belt, look for a bookings sections on my website soon. I’ll be doing children’s parties, bar mitzvahs, funerals, divorce parties, or any fun occasion that you need an entertainer.

A completely unexpected treat for the night was when I got to video Teller doing a coin trick, with an ACTUAL bitcoin for an internet scavenger hunt that Emily Jillette (Penn’s wife) was participating. On top of now being a world-renowned magician, I am also a top tier filmmaker and director. My skill set nearly doubled last weekend. Thank you to anyone that had anything to do with me being able to enjoy this special night. Mainly Wifey for indulging me in my utter and complete nonsense.

Here is the video that I made, hopefully The Academy will recognize this in the documentary category next year.

Dear Flying Spaghetti Monster…

The luckiest boy in the world is about to embark on my most anticipated adventure ever. I have butterflies in my stomach and eagerness radiating from all pores in my body. This is a big deal for the same boy that has flown in a helicopter to the top of isolated, snow-capped mountains, hiked to the top of a place knows as Catz Eye, scuba dove with sharks, know people that have jumped out of planes, done a walking safari with a shotgun strapped man in Africa, taken LSD in Disney World, and even once had dinner with a couple that hiked to the peak of Mt Kilimanjaro! I am on my way to have a private magic lesson with Penn Jillette, probably our planets most interesting person. Wish me luck that my plane does not go down, and if it does, that the plane was full of fat, delicious people that I can keep myself nourished on until I am able to reschedule my magic lesson.