Meeting friends, old and new

We've been out in the hinterland for most of this vacation, but we have had the chance to meet up with a few boxers. Many thanks to Alamocito for showing us the wonders of Aztec National Monument and many thanks to the great Santa Fe boxers (and their partners) for showing us the wonders of New Mexican food (although we already knew that).

I like meeting other boxers, but the circumstances have to work out. This vacation, we've had to balance what each and every one of us wanted to do, so sometimes letterboxing has been at the bottom of the pile.

In general, I've found that I much prefer meeting in a small group. I am a social person, but I don't enjoy huge crowds. This has come up in gatherings too. I think I prefer a gathering of no more than 50 people, so that I can have time to box, time to chat with folks I know, and time to meet new friends too. I actually retired all my personal travelers because I felt sort of overwhelmed with them at large gatherings. A slew of people would come up to me, list in hand, and as soon as they got the PT image, they were off. I don't blame them; someone else was waiting and they had more PTs and exchanges to get, but it didn't prompt any discussion or getting to know you conversation. I just wasn't enjoying that aspect of the hobby, so I cut it out. I may add some back in, goodness knows I have a backlog of stamps perfect for PTs.

Anyway, just a note for those of you waiting for clues to the Carver's Castle. I'm still on vacation, but I've had a chance to work out some of the puzzles for the event. Look for them to be posted soon.