MTTS Replacement - Whimventure 2026
Trolls, Family, and Geocaching
What do you do when your biannual roadtrip gets moved to the Fall and is now only a long weekend? Grumble a lot and then you plan for something else. In this case it was a roadtrip with various interesting stops along the way. I’d say “cool” but it was really hot- someone had mentioned the gates of Hell were open to let a few politicians in.
Our usual roadtrip planning involves making sure we have someplace to sleep, but besides that, it’s mostly just seeing what’s around. Atlas Obscura, along with geocaching helps. we also look on Yelp to see what local places there are to eat. Sometimes we return to a place we like, but mostly we are just exploring.
We started off day one making it to Asheville, North Carolina one of our favorite stopping places. We’ve been stopping here since Sue’s parents retired to Charleston. Asheville is a bit on the weird side, which is why we like it. Although it has become more touristy and therefore expensive. After dinner at White Labs Brewing we rested for the night. we got up had a hotel breakfast and then roamed downtown stopping in at a few favorite places, Mast General Store, Tops for Shoes, and Malaprop’s Bookstore. We also did some window shopping for interesting items as we walked around before heading to up to Raleigh and a troll hunt.
We decided to take two days in Raleigh to see the Thomas Dambo Trolls there. It’s always fun to see new trolls. Each one is unique, and we always seem to run into happy friendly people while in their presence, this time was no different. It’s also kind of nice to stay in one location more than a day, you can unpack a bit and settle in, even if it’s only two nights.
We explored Raleigh and the trolls, it was hot so that slowed us down a bit. Unfortunately the Grandmother Tree, the secret Dambo addition to the Raleigh area trolls, had been vandalized (this is why we can’t have nice things). While it was still there I would have liked to have seen it in all its glory. We were trying to figure out if it was just kids being destructive, or maybe local homeowners who realized that most AI navigation apps had people walking through their yards to see it. We know many people, sadly, don’t use common sense and will march right through someone’s azaleas without a second thought. We found the actual parking for the nature preserve and walked the trails… yes, it was hot.
After troll hunting we headed to Charleston to see Sue’s parents. We stopped at the infamous “South of the Border” because there were a couple caches there and we figured, it was just the kind of place Whimventuring is all about. Cecil got a hat.
As for seeing Sue’s parents, it was a nice visit and something we look forward to. Sue’s family is not one for long drawn out visits, we used to see them when they would stop for a night on their way to or from Chicago. While you may like to week long family reunion kind of event- the short stops are always low stress and a nice time.
We then headed south to Savannah for CacheFest. We haven’t been to Savannah in years (decades?). We had heard about this event when meeting another cacher after heading home from Huntsville, Alabama and thought we’d check it out. We’ve been to a bunch of events since we started geocaching in 2006 each has their own following and vibe. Geocaching events are ways to bring like minded people together - no we don’t talk politics m- that would ruin the camaraderie.
As I said each event has its own vibe. We’ve been to some that have evolved into something you almost need a manual to follow, and others that are simply show up. Events like Midwest GeoBash and GeoWoodstock seem to be all about the numbers. Yes, there are social events, but a lot the planning an effort seems to go into putting out a large number of caches and Adventure Labs so people can increase the number of finds they have. You can tell when an event has a large piece of GeoArt, or Adventure Lab Art or when new caches are announced throughout the event. People aren’t necessarily there to chat, they are there to cache. the actual event is a “sign the log, be in the picture, and then head off to find a cache.” These might be in locations that are out of the way, so most people have never been there.
Other events have multiple things going on, and if you aren’t aware, you will be lost. Going Caching and MOGA come to mind. Going Caching had a play, and teams, and a puzzle incorporated. If you were a new cacher and just showed up, you’d probably be wondering why everyone is in cosplay and are looking for clues instead of caching. We showed up to MOGA and found the event location empty… We didn’t understand that it was a competition with teams going out to find caches and that the actual event location wasn’t really that important.
As I may have mentioned, we don’t always read the instructions before heading out, so we probably have missed a few things and may not have understood the purpose of each event (not all events are the same). I think of this year’s GeoWoodstock that we forgot to register until after the deadline had passed, same thing happened with CacheFest. Sue was a bit more on it than I was. The lure for CacheFest for me was it seemed to be more focused on the education aspect of an event. While many events do have panels and sessions, Cachefest seemed to really be about becoming a better cacher. The first session dealt with puzzle caching. If you registered you received a packet with ten puzzles. The puzzles were actually part of an Adventure Lab. You had to solve each puzzle to get a stage of the Adventure Lab. They also had prizes for meeting certain challenges… you had to use challenge checker to determine how many points you earned, that determined what prize you would receive. The other session was dealing with creating a gadget cache. You were given the materials, instructions and then had someone walking around to answer questions. When you were finished you ended up with an ammo box that you could put a combination lock on and have LEDs tell the cacher what the combination was. You were given everything except the lock. Yes, we had to pay for the supplies, but I now have a cache almost ready to be put out - I’m considering calling it “Chain of Command” because there are four lights (IYKYK).
I would definitely attend Cachefest again and now I know a bit more - like if you register you are given a key card that will get you prizes at the associated events. They also hid actual keys around and gave clues online as to where to find them. this was for another prize. Finally if you stayed at the post hotel there was another chance to win a prize. What I liked was a lot of people participated in the main event. it wasn't a sign the log and run. Maybe it was the heat, but since it took place in downtown Savannah, Georgia there aren’t that many places to dump a boatload of caches. The event also finished in the early afternoon. This gave people the opportunity to go caching without ignoring the event. Cachefest 2027 will be closer (St. Louis, Missouri) the actual dates are still being worked out, but it will be in July (so hot). We are already filling out 2027 calendar, so hopefully we’ll be able to go and this time actually register!
Sue and I hope to return to Savannah again when it’s a bit cooler. I was overjoyed to be able to stop in the bookstore for the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD). I was able to pick up a few supplies and a book. I discovered why SCAD had not been on the RADAR when looking at colleges… It had only been around 6 years and hadn’t built the reputation it currently has. I looked a a couple of art schools, but had really set my sights on education as a career. Smudge ended the trip with 12670 miles.
Apparently you avoided all the storms we saw here on TV! Great pictures! I like your idea of strolling a street and see what's there. Always fun and can be expensive! And short time family visits are fine if you see them often. And you teaching me about the south! Admit I've never travelled that area and like your descriptions. But the rumor of it being hot and humid appears to be at last partially true Thanks for these thoughts!