The Boxer Family Series LbNA #5536 (ARCHIVED)
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Add Location| Owner: | Doublesaj & Old Blue  |
|---|---|
| Plant date: | Aug 16, 2003 |
| Location: | |
| City: | El Sobrante |
| County: | Alameda |
| State: | California |
| Boxes: | 5 |
| Found by: | fleetwood7 |
|---|---|
| Last found: | Sep 24, 2008 |
| Status: | FFFFr |
| Last edited: | Jul 24, 2018 |
THE BOXER FAMILY SERIES - RETIRED
KENNEDY GROVE PARK
ORINDA/El Sobrante/Richmond CA
7/1/2018. THIS SERIES IS RETIRED
11/13/06 Update: Box #1 and #4 are missing and will be replace when we get a chance. ALSO Tara's "A Pirates Life for Me" is alive and well, very near where #1 should be.
Before starting out on this journey, be sure to have plenty of water with you as well as good hiking shoes as there are steep, slippery areas ahead. Also, bringing various colors of inks will add to your stamping pleasure! Please remember to rehide each box as you found it.
The Boxer Family (no relation to Barbara) is a typical, some may say slightly dysfunctional, Bay Area family. There’s father, Lawrence (don’t call him Larry) who, like most fathers these days, works hard to provide necessities for two, shall we say, ‘lively’ teenagers and a wife and home. He’s a bit of a worrywart which, some say, has caused all the creases in his brow. Add his receding hairline and you have a gentleman who looks older than his 50 years. Lorraine, is a bit behind the times if you listen to her ‘with-it’ children. Same permed hair and ‘cat’ glasses of another era. Yet she revels in her homemaking skills, her infamous, homemade gingersnaps and award-winning bridge group.
Then there’s Lloyd “Le Pierce” Boxer. One look at him and you’ll know where his nickname, given to him by his skateboarding buddies, came from. His blue, spiked hair didn’t leave a happy impression on his parents but, what’s one more wrinkle in dad’s forehead?
Lucy Boxer is a bouncy, popular teen seemingly permanently attached to her cell phone. Her aim in life is to get her parents out of the middle ages, style-wise, if there’s any time in her abundant social calendar.
One day Lawrence decides his family never even sits down to dinner together anymore and proclaims, “We’re going on a vacation together”. Amid the anguished cries of Lloyd and Lucy, the car is loaded and one sunny Saturday, they head out for an adventure that Lawrence and Lorraine are sure will solidify the foursome. It is decided a picnic lunch at a nice park will be a bright beginning to the event and they pull in to Kennedy Grove picnic area. Lucy immediately grabs her cell phone and walks off to find the perfect angle for reception and Lloyd high-tails it up the hill with his Gameboy in one pocket and his MP3 player in the other, headphones steeled under his cap.
Mom unloads the car and takes the Laurel Loop Trail from behind the Laurel Glen picnic area, leaving the main part of the park area behind. She comes upon a big, shady tree with a single picnic table and a straight-bar, metal, exercise apparatus under it. There are hay bales nearby and behind one of them, under eucalyptus bark, you’ll find box #1.
IMPORTATNT: STAMP THIS IMAGE 4 TIMES IN YOUR JOURNAL LEAVING AT LEAST ½ INCH AROUND EACH.
When the picnic is ready, Lorraine calls out for everyone but hears no response. After what seems like forever she realizes it is once again her responsibility to find 4 things: her husband, her son her daughter and her sanity (not necessarily in that order).
Taking the Laurel Loop Trail due south, then following it as it bends to the southeast, she walks quite a distance passing other picnic sites and horseshoe pits behind the big lawn area. When she sees the Laurel Loop trail spilt off and head back to the grassy area, she decides to continue on the Lower Sea Foam Trail up the hill. After quite a ways, she sees a fence on her right protecting the watershed from the masses followed by an orange survey marker on her left. Standing at the marker (at a bearing of 330 degrees) she spies Lawrence, snoring his head off not just under the tree but hidden on its uphill side.
She awakens him and after explaining her mission to find the kids, Lawrence follows her up the hill. Lorraine thinks to herself, one down, three to go!
The going gets pretty steep here and the dirt and rocks are slippery. Lorraine isn’t as sure-footed as she once was. As she slips and struggles Lawrence holds his hand out to her and guides her along. Lorraine’s heart is warmed by Lawrence’s obvious love for her and her safety. As she turns to thank him for his compassion, she realizes there’s a beautiful view behind them and they remember to turn and enjoy it as their search for Lucy and Lloyd continues, up the hill.
Soon our duo, huffing and puffing, are pleased to see the trail flatten out a bit near the top. There’s a relatively long straight-away (compass bearing 200 degrees) and when the trail comes to a point, Lawrence suggests to Lorraine, “You’re looking a little pale dear. Why don’t we sit out on the point and rest a while”. Appreciating the opportunity to rest a few minutes, she replies, “I really want to continue but I’m just not sure where to look. If only I knew we were heading the right direction to find the children!”
With this remark, something catches Lawrence’s eye in the tangle of tree branches at the edge of the point. About a foot off the ground, he spies a small box and opens it to reveal an uncanny likeness of his beautiful wife! They take it as a sign that they are on the right track and, with renewed faith, (and thinking she can scratch her second item, “sanity”, off her list) they continue on the trail.
They come to a split in the trail, one way going off to the right, (the Upper Sea Foam Trail). A difficult decision but they decided to continue on the trail they were on rationalizing that, considering how much physical exercise they believed their youngsters were getting, they would probably be interested in going downhill at their first chance.
Imagine their delight when, just a short way after this split in the trail, they find Lloyd, be-bopping to the sound emanating from the earphones seemingly glued to his ears, under the base of an oak tree with 6 trunks.
“Oh, Lloyd, we found you!” (3 down, one to go!) exclaimed Lorraine.
“What’s the big deal, Mom. I’m not a kid. I wasn’t lost”.
Lorraine and Lawrence, jolted into the realization that indeed, their son was not a little boy anymore, wrap him in a joyful embrace.
“Hey, guys. . .” thinking quickly to get them to release him, Lloyd says, “. . .this is nice and all but, where’s Lucy?”
Lorraine smiles, amazed that Lloyd misses his sister and they continue on the trail, now in the lovely shade of a canopy of oak and bay trees, so very different than the sunny side of the mountain, with Lorraine being held up on either side by her two, strong men as she slips and slides on the steep, leaf-strewn path.
They marvel at a particularly impressive, moss-covered oak lying along the left side of the trail, two-and a half feet in diameter and 25 steps long (according to Lawrence). In fact, they begin to enjoy the ferns and beauty of this cool and shaded area so much, they almost forget what they’re searching for. They begin to cry out, “Lucy! Lucy!” Lloyd thinks he hears a response a ways down the hill and hurries off to find Lucy behind and at the base of an amazingly cool 11-headed bay tree.
Disappointed that her cell phone has just run out of available battery, Lucy turns to see her brother, mom and dad dashing toward her. “Cool! You’re just in time! Take me to the food!” she sings. “I hope you brought sushi!”
“I found them; I found them all!” cries Lorraine, satisfied in the Boxer family’s ability to come together in times of crisis.
Later, relaxed and sated by the wonderful meal they’ve just enjoyed and surrounded by nature, they all resolve to pay more attention to each other in the future and maybe even find a new outdoor hobby they can all enjoy, together.
KENNEDY GROVE PARK
ORINDA/El Sobrante/Richmond CA
7/1/2018. THIS SERIES IS RETIRED
11/13/06 Update: Box #1 and #4 are missing and will be replace when we get a chance. ALSO Tara's "A Pirates Life for Me" is alive and well, very near where #1 should be.
Before starting out on this journey, be sure to have plenty of water with you as well as good hiking shoes as there are steep, slippery areas ahead. Also, bringing various colors of inks will add to your stamping pleasure! Please remember to rehide each box as you found it.
The Boxer Family (no relation to Barbara) is a typical, some may say slightly dysfunctional, Bay Area family. There’s father, Lawrence (don’t call him Larry) who, like most fathers these days, works hard to provide necessities for two, shall we say, ‘lively’ teenagers and a wife and home. He’s a bit of a worrywart which, some say, has caused all the creases in his brow. Add his receding hairline and you have a gentleman who looks older than his 50 years. Lorraine, is a bit behind the times if you listen to her ‘with-it’ children. Same permed hair and ‘cat’ glasses of another era. Yet she revels in her homemaking skills, her infamous, homemade gingersnaps and award-winning bridge group.
Then there’s Lloyd “Le Pierce” Boxer. One look at him and you’ll know where his nickname, given to him by his skateboarding buddies, came from. His blue, spiked hair didn’t leave a happy impression on his parents but, what’s one more wrinkle in dad’s forehead?
Lucy Boxer is a bouncy, popular teen seemingly permanently attached to her cell phone. Her aim in life is to get her parents out of the middle ages, style-wise, if there’s any time in her abundant social calendar.
One day Lawrence decides his family never even sits down to dinner together anymore and proclaims, “We’re going on a vacation together”. Amid the anguished cries of Lloyd and Lucy, the car is loaded and one sunny Saturday, they head out for an adventure that Lawrence and Lorraine are sure will solidify the foursome. It is decided a picnic lunch at a nice park will be a bright beginning to the event and they pull in to Kennedy Grove picnic area. Lucy immediately grabs her cell phone and walks off to find the perfect angle for reception and Lloyd high-tails it up the hill with his Gameboy in one pocket and his MP3 player in the other, headphones steeled under his cap.
Mom unloads the car and takes the Laurel Loop Trail from behind the Laurel Glen picnic area, leaving the main part of the park area behind. She comes upon a big, shady tree with a single picnic table and a straight-bar, metal, exercise apparatus under it. There are hay bales nearby and behind one of them, under eucalyptus bark, you’ll find box #1.
IMPORTATNT: STAMP THIS IMAGE 4 TIMES IN YOUR JOURNAL LEAVING AT LEAST ½ INCH AROUND EACH.
When the picnic is ready, Lorraine calls out for everyone but hears no response. After what seems like forever she realizes it is once again her responsibility to find 4 things: her husband, her son her daughter and her sanity (not necessarily in that order).
Taking the Laurel Loop Trail due south, then following it as it bends to the southeast, she walks quite a distance passing other picnic sites and horseshoe pits behind the big lawn area. When she sees the Laurel Loop trail spilt off and head back to the grassy area, she decides to continue on the Lower Sea Foam Trail up the hill. After quite a ways, she sees a fence on her right protecting the watershed from the masses followed by an orange survey marker on her left. Standing at the marker (at a bearing of 330 degrees) she spies Lawrence, snoring his head off not just under the tree but hidden on its uphill side.
She awakens him and after explaining her mission to find the kids, Lawrence follows her up the hill. Lorraine thinks to herself, one down, three to go!
The going gets pretty steep here and the dirt and rocks are slippery. Lorraine isn’t as sure-footed as she once was. As she slips and struggles Lawrence holds his hand out to her and guides her along. Lorraine’s heart is warmed by Lawrence’s obvious love for her and her safety. As she turns to thank him for his compassion, she realizes there’s a beautiful view behind them and they remember to turn and enjoy it as their search for Lucy and Lloyd continues, up the hill.
Soon our duo, huffing and puffing, are pleased to see the trail flatten out a bit near the top. There’s a relatively long straight-away (compass bearing 200 degrees) and when the trail comes to a point, Lawrence suggests to Lorraine, “You’re looking a little pale dear. Why don’t we sit out on the point and rest a while”. Appreciating the opportunity to rest a few minutes, she replies, “I really want to continue but I’m just not sure where to look. If only I knew we were heading the right direction to find the children!”
With this remark, something catches Lawrence’s eye in the tangle of tree branches at the edge of the point. About a foot off the ground, he spies a small box and opens it to reveal an uncanny likeness of his beautiful wife! They take it as a sign that they are on the right track and, with renewed faith, (and thinking she can scratch her second item, “sanity”, off her list) they continue on the trail.
They come to a split in the trail, one way going off to the right, (the Upper Sea Foam Trail). A difficult decision but they decided to continue on the trail they were on rationalizing that, considering how much physical exercise they believed their youngsters were getting, they would probably be interested in going downhill at their first chance.
Imagine their delight when, just a short way after this split in the trail, they find Lloyd, be-bopping to the sound emanating from the earphones seemingly glued to his ears, under the base of an oak tree with 6 trunks.
“Oh, Lloyd, we found you!” (3 down, one to go!) exclaimed Lorraine.
“What’s the big deal, Mom. I’m not a kid. I wasn’t lost”.
Lorraine and Lawrence, jolted into the realization that indeed, their son was not a little boy anymore, wrap him in a joyful embrace.
“Hey, guys. . .” thinking quickly to get them to release him, Lloyd says, “. . .this is nice and all but, where’s Lucy?”
Lorraine smiles, amazed that Lloyd misses his sister and they continue on the trail, now in the lovely shade of a canopy of oak and bay trees, so very different than the sunny side of the mountain, with Lorraine being held up on either side by her two, strong men as she slips and slides on the steep, leaf-strewn path.
They marvel at a particularly impressive, moss-covered oak lying along the left side of the trail, two-and a half feet in diameter and 25 steps long (according to Lawrence). In fact, they begin to enjoy the ferns and beauty of this cool and shaded area so much, they almost forget what they’re searching for. They begin to cry out, “Lucy! Lucy!” Lloyd thinks he hears a response a ways down the hill and hurries off to find Lucy behind and at the base of an amazingly cool 11-headed bay tree.
Disappointed that her cell phone has just run out of available battery, Lucy turns to see her brother, mom and dad dashing toward her. “Cool! You’re just in time! Take me to the food!” she sings. “I hope you brought sushi!”
“I found them; I found them all!” cries Lorraine, satisfied in the Boxer family’s ability to come together in times of crisis.
Later, relaxed and sated by the wonderful meal they’ve just enjoyed and surrounded by nature, they all resolve to pay more attention to each other in the future and maybe even find a new outdoor hobby they can all enjoy, together.