The Official Writing Challenge
BACK TO
CHALLENGE
MAIN
INSTRUCTIONS
how it works
submission rules
guidelines for
choosing a level
ENTRIES
submit your entry
read current entries
read past entries
challenge winners
Our Daily Devotional HERE
Place it on your site or
receive it daily by email.


TRUST JESUS TODAY

  • Share
  • how it works
  • Submit
Previous Challenge Entry (Level 3 - Advanced)
Topic: Sport or Fitness (02/15/07)
Traipsing through unknown woods when you aren't sure where the path is located would generally be a bad idea. Take it from me. Emily. I know. This is just one piece of the sage advice I have learned while participating in one of the lesser-known sports – geocaching.

Geocaching, for the uninformed, is a sport in which you use a Global Positioning System device (GPS) to find small items called "caches." Think of it as a worldwide treasure hunt for grown-ups. People hide small items in a random location, then using their GPS, record the location, and post it on the Internet. Locations are given in latitude and longitude measurements, such as 41.02 degrees North, 28.95 degrees East. I believe that's somewhere in Istanbul.

It was approximately twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit on the day I collected the aforementioned pearl of wisdom. My good friend Stephen convinced me it would be fun to go on a geocaching adventure in the middle of winter. In the snow.

I tried to put up a protest. "But the cache will probably be buried in the snow and nearly impossible to find," I wailed.

"Oh, but that will make it fun, Emily!" Stephen exclaimed.

I don't recall exactly how he conned me into going, but before I knew it, we were driving to the park, with the exact location of our cache in hand. "Exact" is a rather relative term here, as Stephen's GPS device is only accurate within thirty feet. You don't know how large a thirty-foot radius circle is until you're looking in said area for something the size of a film canister.

When we arrived at the park, we stepped out of the car and headed down one of the pathways. In our efforts to follow the directions the GPS device gave us, we lost the trail.

"Um... Stephen, where's the path?"

"Hmm... Good question. We'll find it later though. It's around here somewhere."

With that, Stephen took off in the snow, with me trailing behind.

"Great. Just great. We're going to be stuck out here, you know. Are you even sure you entered the location correctly?" I questioned.

"Of course. Let me check... Yep... it's.... Uh-oh." Stephen's face turned red, as a sheepish look appeared on his face.

"Uh-oh? Did you just say 'Uh-oh?' Those are not words I want to hear in the middle of nowhere!" I screamed. "I'm going back to the car!"

"There's just one problem with that, Emily," Stephen stammered. "We don't know where the car is."

"Then you're coming with me to find it!" I shouted, grabbing Stephen by the hood of his coat.

"Emily, you're choking me." I slowly released my death grip on his coat as he continued. "Look, I just entered the correct location. It's not far. Let's try to find it. Then we'll go back to the car. I'll take you to my place and we'll sit by the fire and have hot chocolate.

Chocolate. He had said the magic word, and I let my resolve down a bit. "Ok, fine."

We followed the GPS device until we ran into a fence that bordered a cemetery. According to the device, our treasure was on the other side of the fence.

"This is the final straw," I declared. "I am not going to go through a grave yard and desecrate graves to find this. Take me home now," I whined. "Besides, it's probably not even there. I'll bet the penguins ate it."

"Penguins?" Stephen inquired.

"Yeah. The ones from the zoo. Don't ask."

Stephen hung his head in defeat. "Ok. We'll go home. But we still don't know where we left the car. Well, we know where we left the car... we just don't know..."

"I get it. We know we haven't gone too far, right? Why don't we beg someone to give us a ride back?" I suggested.

"Ok, fine," Stephen replied.

Well, to spare you the details of the final piece of our adventure, we finally did get back to the car, thanks to the cemetery owner who had sympathy for us. We got back to Stephen's place and warmed up by the fire. After my cup of hot chocolate, I was feeling a bit better.

"Stephen? I did have fun, despite my protests. But next time, do me a favor, will you?"

"What's that?"

"Before we leave, record the location of the car."

Stephen chuckled. "Duly noted, Emily. Duly noted."
The opinions expressed by authors may not necessarily reflect the opinion of FaithWriters.com.
Accept Jesus as Your Lord and Savior Right Now - CLICK HERE
JOIN US at FaithWriters for Free. Grow as a Writer and Spread the Gospel.
This article has been read 1804 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Edy T Johnson
02/23/07
This was interesting, entertaining and I learned something new! You have an engaging style of writing that I could read way into the night.....:)
Julie Arduini
02/23/07
I loved the magic line about chocolate, how funny. This was great, the whole piece. Great characters here, solid writing.
Betty Castleberry
02/24/07
What fun! Chocolate fixes everything, doesn't it? This is very creative and well written, too.
Amy Michelle Wiley 
02/25/07
Fun story! I've heard of this game and thought it sounded fun.
Joanney Uthe 
02/25/07
Very entertaining and informing.
It wasn't really clear if it was snowing at the time and hard to see, or why they didn't follow their footprints back to the car.
I also liked the comment on chocolate fixing everything and the dialogue was well done.
Phyllis Inniss 
02/25/07
A very creative piece of writing. I had never heard of a geocache before, but you made an interesting story out of it with a bit of humour too.
Sharlyn Guthrie
02/25/07
I've been there! Why do men see obvious obstacles like snow as challenges? We also did one geocache through unfamiliar woods in the dark (following reflectors with a flashlight!) You did a great job of telling this story through conversation.
Jen Davis
02/25/07
Well told and very interesting. Learning something new added interest to the story. I really enjoyed the humor throughout. “Chocolate. He had said the magic word…” “Uh-oh? Did you just say 'Uh-oh?'” “I slowly released my death grip on his coat.” I liked this a lot!
Joanne Sher 
02/25/07
I enjoyed the dialogue throughout - it told the story in a very engaging way.
Jan Ackerson
02/25/07
Creative and unique. I love the personality of your narrator, and the interplay between your characters.
Jacquelyn Horne
02/27/07
I can't believe Stephen gave up! I'll wager he wanted to go back the next day! You certainly held my attention.
Suzanne R
02/27/07
Cute! I also identified with the chocolate line, and giggled at the calmness of the final response, "Duly noted." Well done.
Tiffanie Chezum
02/28/07
Great read! Very unique. Kept my attention all the way. Great job.
Sara Harricharan
02/28/07
I liked this! Very easy and hilarious to read. I like the line with chocolate being the magic word. The touch of a cemetary was unexpected and added a slight element of mystery. I loved the descriptions and dialouge. Emily is a wonderful character. Great writing! ^_^
Loren T. Lowery
02/28/07
Funny and informative. Is it no wonder our ancestors were in such good shape with no such modern devices to cut down on their traipsing? On the other hand, maybe the GPS devices could be marketed as exercise tool.