Monday, December 10, 2012

December 2012 Activity -- Geocaching

We did this one in reverse - beginning with brunch and then ending with our activity.

Brunch was provided by Dilettante Amanda and her husband, Leon, at their house. After discussing many inane things and finishing each other's sentences over good food (pretty much the hallmark of any Dilettante activity) we segued (but did not Segway) into our annual Dilettante Christmas gift exchange.

As per tradition, Dilettante Amanda gave the other Dilettantes "D" ornaments. As per losing her mind, Dilettante Kathleen gave the other Dilettantes "Cards against Humanity" -- a game that Amy not only gave Amanda last year for Christmas, but which she also presented to Amanda right in front of Kathleen's fat face.

Dilettante Amy provided the others with their gifts -- Dilettante martini glasses. The same glasses that Dilettante Kathleen also purchased as Christmas gifts for them this year. And finally, Kathleen got a Yeti ornament, which was identical to the one she had just given her Yeti co-owner as a hostess gift.

Next year, we'll just donate more to charity.


After the exchange, we tried geocaching. Dilettante Amanda had the forethought to download a geocaching app that located caches near her house. As she lives in snooty-toot-ville and there was a cache at the National Cathedral which is approximately a two block walk from her house -- we decided to start there.
National Cathedral. Where Dilettante Amanda
worships. The almighty dollar.


Following hints about the approximate location from the geocaching app, we ended up in front of the Cathedral after passing a gentleman lying supine on a bench, who was eating a sandwich and wearing a t-shirt proudly announcing, "Body by Pastrami." We loved him immediately.

For the first cache, all we needed to do was enter names and dates on two corners of the Cathedral. Kind of anticlimactic. So, we followed up with another cache. This one at Saint Sophia's Greek Orthodox Church just another 1/3 mile away. There was a Christmas tree sale in the parking lot of Saint Sophia's, which added to the intrigue. (No, it didn't.) It just made us feel more like the asses we are as we wandered aimlessly around the parking lot for twenty minutes while people buying trees and wreaths looked at us suspiciously. At one point, we thought that maybe a dirty rag in a tree was our cache. It was not. But it also did not give us tetanus -- so kind of a bonus.

We finally discovered the cache in the base of a lamp post -- we had to lift the metal apron on the bottom of the post and there it was.! And we had to admit -- it gave us quite a feeling of accomplishment. We proudly signed the geocaching log, pimped the Dilettante Club blog, and put it all back in place for the next 'cachers.

When's the last time these ladies had this much success
in a parking lot? (Rhetorical.)

Look how seriously we're I'm taking this.


















Apparently, when one really gets into this hobby, they come up with a "handle." I wonder if anyone else already has "Johnny Cache"?

Pimpin'


Wednesday, December 05, 2012

November 2012 Activity -- Sign Language

Jazz hands. Universal sign of something. 

Dirty signs. What? You expected us to sign bible verses?