We then began to drive to our next stop, a couple of boxes in Peace Valley Nature Center. Along the way, it seemed that my printed directions were a tad confusing so I pulled out my trusty laptop and wowed Mary with the technology of a GPS mapping system. She was fascinated by watching our little arrow move along the road and with the directions that the program posts step by step. While she was investigating the mapping program, I was driving down Rt. 113 in a string of light traffic. when I suddenly noticed a black car streaking across the road and parts flying everywhere. Poor Mary was startled as we came to a stop because she hadn't seen what had happened. As I peered around the two cars ahead of me, I saw the black car in a crumpled heap on our side of the road. Unbelievably, the two cars ahead of me, inched out around the crushed car and left. I also pulled around the car to get off the road and was horrified to discover that there was another vehicle in bad shape sitting in front of the black car. I was fumbling in my pocket for my cell phone and quickly called 911 but then was in a panic because I had no idea where we were. Whew! GPS program to the rescue! Although I still don't know which town we were in, I was able to give the 911 operator the two cross streets nearest us. Gotta love technology. It seemed to be enough for the 911 operator to get the needed assistance to the scene. Since we don't know where we were and I think I was in a bit of shock myself, I can't go back and read the area newspaper to find out the fate of the two drivers. The driver of the truck was a man who appeared to be in his 50's and he was complaining about chest pains, whether from hitting the steering wheel or from a potential heart attack, I don't know. He was also bleeding from the leg but not profusely or else I would have passed out and been the third victim. The driver of the black car was a younger man who was not able to get out of his car. The driver's side was smashed in but I really think that although he was still conscious, he was not in any condition to be moving around. Fortunately, the police arrived very quickly. Since I hadn't actually seen the accident happen, they allowed us to leave and as we were driving through the town, we were again held up as the fire trucks and ambulances began to leave the local firehouse and head for the scene. And that is when the shakes set in for Mary and me. All she had to do was say "that could have been us" and when that realization set in, I got all rubber legged and a bit breathless myself. Thank God, it wasn't and I did pray that the two drivers are ok but I know that neither one of them will ever drive those vehicles again.
Shakenly, we then continued to Peace Valley and began the search for Indigo Vulture's Henson's Friends and Raindear's NPIV Compass Points. Both boxes gave directions to hea
d towards the Pooh tree. As we were walking through the woods, we kept asking each other, could that be the Pooh tree? How about that one? Maybe that one? But when we saw this tree, we KNEW it was the Pooh tree. It was so cool to play around here but we had serious boxing business to do so we headed onward. We first found the Henson's Friends box. After I had logged my find, Indigo Vulture told me that this had been his first hide. I have found so many of his boxes and was really surprised to find out that he started out his carving life really well. I loved this stamp, maybe even more so because it was based on one of Laura's favorite characters. We then moved to NPIV Compass Points and had a really delightful experience. Two little spotted deer babies were within 15 feet of Mary as she entered the woods. She froze and just watched them for a long time. They did not seem the least bit scared of her and she began to talk to them. They actually came closer and closer to her. I tried t
o snap pictures soundlessly but I could tell that my pics were not coming out well and I didn't want to fumble around with settings and startle them. Although they stayed very close together, the only picture that I have that turned out well is of just one of them. It almost seemed that their mother had told them they were not supposed to leave the area and they were staying put even though we were also in the area. At some point, something did startle them a bit and they headed in another direction but after we had found our box and were moving on, we again saw them in another part of the same area we were in. I had discovered that Mary possessed a talent that even she probably didn't know she had - she is a deer whisperer! Fortunately, the experience seemed to calm both of us down after our accident incident.Our next stop was a bit out of our way but it was for a box which I really wanted to find. We went to the Eight Sided Schoolhouse and as I went to take pictures of the absolutely perfect little schoolhouse, the batteries in my camera died. No problem, I inserted the spares that I always carry, only to discover that they were dead also. What a great photographic experience lost. The box was found, and the stamp is great. I am so happy that we made the detour to find this one. The location as well as the box were worth it.
As we headed for our next destination, another Lotus creation, America's Castle: Fonthill we kept watching for a Kmart or a Walmart to purchase batteries but was there any to be found? Of course not, not when you need one! So I spent the rest of the day feeling totally naked without my camera hanging around my neck. After finding America's Castle, we headed for the Mercer Hunt boxes. I had already found these last December but Mary hadn't and since the walk was a nice one, I had no problems with repeating the series. And.....I had an ulterior motive! Mary had found my nemesis, My Alma Mater and we were right down the road from that box. I had been there twice and had thought that I was in the right area but some of the clues just would not line up. Imagine my surprise when I found that I had been in exactly the right spot for for some reason, I hadn't walked around the right tree. Duh! By this time, the heavens had opened on us and the thunder was crashing and the rain was coming down in buckets. We grabbed the box which had obviously been under water and ran back to the car. What a mess in that box. It was filled with water, the log was destroyed, the only thing salvagable was the stamp. We cleaned it out as best we could, wrapped the log in a few extra baggies and added a new logbook. The box was big enough to accomodate all of these things so we felt that we had done what we could to repair it short of taking the logbook home with us. I am hoping that Honeybee lives near the college so that she can go pull it out shortly.
After this we moved onto Nike Park to attempt the next series of boxes but by this time the lightning and thunder were just a little too close for comfort so we made the decision to head for home. This adventure which I called PP in Bucks County will be continued. We still have about ten more boxes on our list!
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