Letterboxing

Our family started a new hobby this weekend.  Letterboxing!

Putting the stamp in our journal.

We've heard about it from some friends recently and thought that with our increased focus on hiking and family time, this seemed like a perfect fit.

Here's how it works.

You need: notebook, stamp to represent your family or group, ink pad, and clues.

You can go one of several letterboxing websites (try this one or this one) and find boxes in your area. Or if you are traveling, you can plug in that location and find some there.

We picked four semi-local sites to start. Two were right in our town. The first one was the library, which we needed to visit anyway, so we searched there. However, due to some construction in the past few years, this box was missing. We were a little disappointed since it was our first try, but we knew this was a possibility. The next box was listed as being five blocks from the library, so we headed on down the street.

We had success at the next stop, and although the chocolate shop was closed so we couldn't buy any candy, we loved the chocolate stamp!

Our family stamp: an oak leaf. We put our stamp into the notebook at the location.

The box with supplies: ink pad, stamp, and notebook.

It was hidden under a bush in a camouflage sack.

We needed to drive to another town for the next one. The clues on this one were much more vague. We actually had to Google pieces of the clue to find the general location. Maybe we would have known it if we lived in the town, but it was a neighborhood with a pond. The name of the neighborhood was hidden in the clue, and we had never heard of it. Once we found the neighborhood, the clues guided us right to our destination.

Can you see it hiding under there?

Our Beatrix Potter lover loved this one - it was Miss Moppet.

Everyone needs a little sass on an adventure.

And our third site was a short drive from there.

Jemima and The Gentleman for our BP lover.

Hand carved stamp.

Certainly, we liked the adventure. Having clues and an unknown destination is very appealing to us. I felt like we were on The Amazing Race, and the kids pretended to be a variety of explorers. But what sealed the deal for me was when I realized we were finding out about new places in our area that we wouldn't otherwise know.

Our third stop was in a nature preserve in a town where I've never spent any time. We had no idea it was there and would never have taken the time to look for it. It's fantastic getting to see new places in your local area. I think it would also be great to do on trips, to see some things off the beaten path, or if you find yourself moving to a new area. What better way to find out all your area has to offer?

Letterboxing was a huge hit in our family. It's definitely a keeper. We can make a whole day out of finding many, or we can just do one at a time.

What hobbies do you do as a family?