Spotlighting Accessible Caches Henderson House and Meister’s Mystifying Box National Disability Independence Day #NationalDisabilityIndependenceDay (July 26, 2023) #spotlightcache Today we are spotlighting two caches that are great examples of placing caches with accessibility in mind; in Falls Church, Henderson House – FCCRH (GC3EFEQ) and in Winchester, Meister’s Mystifying Box @ Jim Barnett Park (GC5115R). Read on, to find out what makes these caches great. Henderson House – FCCRH (GC3EFEQ) According to Atlas Obscura, the Henderson House is a Sears Catalog kit home built in 1913. Its owners, Dr. E.B. Henderson and his wife, Mary Ellen Meriwether, were both notable civil rights activists. In front of the little house is a marker noting the historic significance of Henderson’s contributions. The cache page tells more history than can fit on a marker. What makes this cache by cacher zgrav special is the unique way that a regular size container is hidden in … Continue reading →

#InternationalJazzDay (April 30, 2023) Nation’s Most Unusual Jazz Fesival Did you know that for over a decade, some of the greatest names in jazz performed for free right here in Northern Virginia? Even more amazing is that these performances were inside the gates of a federal prison. The names of jazz legends who performed at this festival include Sarah Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong, Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, Charlie Byrd, Oscar Peterson Trio, Count Basie Band, Nancy Wilson, Duke Ellington, Bobby Timmons, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and many more. An unusual aspect of the festival was that little was pre-arranged or pre-staged. Although Father Breitfeller, the Catholic chaplain of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, was the chief organizer of the event, he was more like a talent scout. Father Breitfeller was highly esteemed among the inmates for his years of selfless service. The festival is not … Continue reading →

#WorldWetlandsDay (February 2, 2023) Huntly Meadows Park Today, we’re celebrating #WorldWetlandsDay by spotlighting one of Northern Virginia’s favorite wetlands, Huntley Meadows, in Alexandria. This is the largest park operated by Fairfax County, encompassing 1,452 acres of land. The land has a pretty interesting history. In colonial times, it was owned by George Mason. His descendants continued ownership of the land into the 1900s. An entrepreneur purchased it with the intentions of building the world’s largest airport. That didn’t take off (pun intended,) and the federal government snatched up the land for all kinds of testing and experimenting. The Bureau of Public Roads tested asphalt road surfaces and the Navy conducted highly classified radio communication research here. In the 1970s, the federal government declared the land surplus and it was given to Fairfax County for use as a park. Not long after the feds left, the beavers returned, transforming the land and biodiversity. photo by … Continue reading →

#WorldKindnessDay (November 13) Today we’re celebrating #WorldKindness Day by spotlighting the most colorful cache location in Leesburg. Kindness Rocks! (GC9RXFB) by HyperactiveGirl, is not your typical location. In a quiet neighborhood near the Potomac River is a home decorated year-round with a message – you matter. The Kindness Rocks Project is a national grassroots movement to spread kindness to strangers, one painted rock at a time. Messages written on colorful rocks are meant to offer encouragement, inspiration, comfort and more to unsuspecting strangers who find them. One of the leaders of the Leesburg group, Margie Hunter, has taken a leap from painted rocks (there are lots of them at her house) to yarn bombed trees, butterflies and flowers on the fence, chalk messages along the sidewalk, wishing tree, and rainbows everywhere. There is even a little free library that would make Dr. Seuss proud, full of books donated by neighbors.  Be … Continue reading →