Many people pair geocaching with other hobbies. For example, GeoJangie’s interest in writing allowed her to create a website, blog, children’s book, and manage the Geocache Talk Network’s blog. I did not have a hobby before geocaching, unless you consider binge watching television shows online one. It was not until I became in charge of special projects/events (such as community meetings, recognition dinners and elections) at work that I found it to be rewarding and realized this skill can transfer over to geocaching.

In April 2014, events popped up here and there but not with consistency, and there were no CITOs planned for Southern California, so I took the plunge and hosted my first CITO (another interest of mine is the environment). I prepared for the event by searching GCHQ’s blog and forum (yes, forum!) for tips on hosting CITOs/event, Googled park/beach cleanups, and applied my event planning/project management skills.

Soon, I had a timeline/schedule leading up to the event, made arrangements with a local environmental group, gave notice to attendees via the event page, gathered supplies like a log and raffle items, and recruited the (then) muggle boyfriend to be my assistant/photographer.

Thanks to the annual CITO souvenir, over 20 geocachers attended the event. I was pleased that I put myself out there because several attendees became longtime geocaching friends, with two of them becoming fellow co-hosts of West Los Angeles Geocaching events. Since 2016, I have been co-hosting monthly West LA events, my event planning expanded to planning years worth of events to co-hosting the #USGeocachingHour Twitter chat, and I connected with people I never would have known if it was not for geocaching.

U_Dac’s 2019 GIFF Event

Taking the time to plan is work, especially on top of a 40+ hour work week, and spending quality time with family. But like geocaching, there is more to geocaching events than posting an Attended log towards your find count.

What hobby do you pair with geocaching? Please let us know – or even better – share a blog post about it! This is the first in a series called “Geocaching and…”

U_Dac lives in Los Angeles, California, is a public servant for a local municipality, and enjoys 20+ miles bike rides along the beach with her muggle husband. She uses her project management powers for good by hosting monthly events for her local geocaching community, and managing the schedule for the weekly #USGeocachingHour Twitter chats (Mondays, 6 PM Pacific). You can find her as U_Dac on geocaching.com and YouTube (where she trolls various geocaching podcasts), and @MU_Dac on Twitter.

The Geocache Talk blog wants your geocaching-related stories and insights. Please contact me, Angie (aka @GeoJangie and blogger on www.GeocachingJangie.com), to write a guest blog post or if you have any recommendations for subjects or authors. I can be reached via my email: JangieGoWest@gmail.com or through InstagramTwitter, or Facebook.

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Categories: Blog Posts