Geocaching - What nerds do when they want to go outside!

Maybe the title is a little harsh, but I did take a break from my chemist job to use my GPS and find a plastic container next to an abandoned lot...





Yeah, that's my nerd coat right there.


For those of you who don't know, geocaching is essentially treasure hunting with a GPS. On geocaching.com there are a plethora of lists of caches and their coordinates. A geocacher (usually a nerd like me) can download the coordinates to their GPS and then go look for the cache's hiding place. Once the cache is found, there is usually a log and often items to trade. In this instance, I left a Sponge Bob Cachepants pathtag and took a mini-teddy bear. The idea is the next cache I find or the next nerd who finds this particular cache will trade more items.



Essentially, it's a modern treasure hunt mixed with a swap meet. I like to compare it to real-life World of Warcraft. Though I do not play WoW, the idea of going on a quest to search for treasure seems pretty comparable between the two. That and the nerds...


Regardless of the nerdiness level, geocaching is a good excuse to go outside and see exotic locales like Rahway, NJ...

At least it was good excuse to get outside!