HiDo K.D. Road Trip

Made it to Granbury, TX after The Dr. Pepper Museum (fist planned site). Very neat.

On the way we had to quickly pull off (mom woulda done the same) to see Big Rocks Park; see photos here: http://bit.ly/hidokd-photos

The friend I stayed with in Granbury contributed outside of Fundly; so, we only have 3 more solos left (the current goal). If we get all 20 solos claimed before mom and I hit Texarkana and nothing gets in the way, we sill go to The Devil's Icebox (marker #7 on the map image).

Today (Tuesday March, 25th) I will be heading over to Bruco (marker # 3) before heading to north Dallas to drop some more trackables. Then staying overnight and seeing some more friends in north Dallas.

I'm not sure how I got so many friends concentrated in Dallas but here we are. So, that gives us time to find three more people to throw in on the #HiDoAdventure.

When I came into Austin, I figured I would stay for the night and then head to the Dr. Pepper Museum the next day. Then I realized "the next day" was Sunday - and they're closed.

This is the biggest drawback to having no sense of time...and is not the first time...probably won't be the last.

So, in the meantime, I'm updating all the project-related details and activate the rest of the trackables, which will make it easier going forward. From what I've seen, bigger cities tend toward smaller caches, which makes sense. So, having all of the trackables activated should make find places to drop them easier.

I'm really trying to get the larges dropped as soon as possible.

ps. One of the trackable drops was near a bee farm, mom loved honey and was one who believed eating local honey can help with allergies. I picked up an assortment of six jars, missed the owners though, maybe next time. My cousin, his family, and I tried all six at breakfast this morning and have deemed them good. Taking the rest back for Becca and I to share...if the corks don't get glued in. :)

This was going to be a Bon Jovi update (we're halfway there). Then it turned into a Pareto update (80% there). Now it's a: We met the goal update!

Thank you so much. Seriously, very humbling experience.

1. You can continue to contribute, which will go toward getting your name on a token (6 solos left) and the second trip.

2. Added photo of the shell scattering setup. The remembrance is attached to the trackable token; therefore, it will be there for as long as the token is.

3. I was going use 3mil lamination - decided that wouldn't weather any storm. Eventually upgraded to 7mil as the punch we bought could go through it (couldn't make it through 10mil).

4. I've had two reports from contributors that they received the same message meant for someone else. I cannot view the sent messages myself; therefore, cannot correct without reaching out to Fundly. Further, I'll just be sending emails from my address as it will be easier to reply and I can see the addresses inside Fundly's message center. (In their defense, they're more setup for bulk emails, which are one email to many people, not customized emails to individuals.) I will resend all the messages later as Kathy Bruce and I really need to get on the road. Apologies for the hiccup.

Created a project page on my personal site: https://joshuabruce.com/moms-road-trip/

Created a short-form URL for easy sharing (share away!):
http://bit.ly/hidokd-road-trip

Discovered Geocaching.com has an API, which means I might be able to write something that will display all 50 trackables in one place.

Updated the Fundly main page to reduce the text visitors have to read here.

I've activated a few more of the trackables and will be sending messages out soon on what I think is the most optimal way for you to monitor yours, if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Thursday March 21st is going to be a busy day, I think but, so far so good - most likely waiting until the 22nd due to Thursday being what it is and mom not being ready yet.

The Geocaching folks approved the new design for the tags. Built out the grids and ran to the Staples, 40 minutes away (in a different town); small towns are interesting. After some trial runs, finally got it sorted.

Ordered a 1.5 inch and 1.75 inch square paper punch and, with the help of Becca's Amazon Prime subscription to reduce overnight shipping and your contributions, the punches should arrive by Thursday. (Fingers crossed.)

I also went ahead and activated one of the Trackables to see how that works on Geocaching: https://www.geocaching.com/track/details.aspx?id=8160904

This way you can get an idea on what your box will be when you can't see it. I can't post more than one image to these updates but a close-up of the design will be coming soon - I'm not supposed to show the code that's on the tag - it's only for people who find it.

Thank you all so much! I cannot express my level of gratitude in words alone.

Cheers,
Josh

ps. I'm pretty sure I'll take Wednesday, while waiting for the punches, to add this to https://joshuabruce.com.- that way it's a centrally located, public place for late comers to the meeting of the mom. :)