story & photo
by Andrea Gometz
On a tight budget with children, how many times a day do you hear, “Mom, I am so bored what can we do today?” or “ When can we go somewhere?”
Well, my boys and I go letterboxing. All you need for letterboxing is a small journal, a stamp pad and a stamp. Letterboxing was introduced in the early 1800’s. It started in Dartmoor, England when a gentleman placed his “calling card” in a sealed bottle and hid it. His note asked that others who found this bottle do the same. This practice evolved over the years and people now go around placing ink-stamps in small boxes throughout various locations. When you find the box, take out the ink-stamp and stamp your journal, date it, who found it, and where you found it. Some “Letterboxers” will leave a pad in the box so that you can leave “your mark” and your trail name (mine is Fern Fairy). Children and adults have a wonderful time finding the hidden boxes and making their own mark. This is a great way to get outdoors and have something interesting to do. It is quite popular in CT’s state parks. We recently trekked through Salmon River State Park in East Hampton with our stamps and had an absolutely marvelous full day of adventure, fun and teamwork. This site has 29 boxes.
Go to www.letterboxing.org, pick what town/county you would like to visit, print out a clue map, and hit the trails!
Posted on September 17th, 2008 | category: Featured Articles
