The Sparks ExBEERience: Caching friends are the best friends!

2 years ago yesterday, Frank and I met up with Tim along the Bruce Trail as he hiked end to end. Although he was a buddy of Frank's, I don't think I'd met him before and if I did, it was only in passing. Knowing that he was on such an incredible journey, I decided to bring some dinner along with us. I made steak wraps, both yummy and portable!

Just as I was putting them together, I got a text from our friend Mike who asked if he could drop off our canoe that he'd borrowed. Mike, being an incredible Brewer, had a beer with me while we unloaded the canoe. But of course, this put me a bit behind schedule and so I was rushing to get the steak wraps finished before Frank got home from work. In my rush, I didn't pull the panini press far enough away from the wall, and it slammed shut on my hand, leaving some pretty decent grill marks! I quickly bandaged myself up, grabbed a few beers, and we were on our way to Rock Chapel to meet up with Tim.

We listened to Tim's stories about his time on the trail, and about the love of his life, Sandy.

Soon, we were joined by Dennis and Joy, who I had met a couple of times, although at that point, I couldn't say that I "knew" them. The laughter, the stories, and the friendship that we shared that evening formed an indescribable bond. We all became instant and close friends. True, genuine friends that you can count on for absolutely anything at any time without question. Gems like that are so rare to find, so when you do, you hold on to them as tight and for as long as you can .

Fast forward 2 years to today. We had the absolute honor of celebrating Dennis and Joy's daughter's wedding with them. Although we arrived late, after having been camping for the week, we were greeted by some of our closest geocaching friends...
Sheryl and Dave (Kramers&Bears)

Fred and Diane (OshawaOgre & Mrs. Ogre)

Of course, Tim, the one who brought all of these friendships together

And Dennis and Joy, the parents of the Bride.

Geocaching is so much more than finding containers in the woods. And although I could do without all of the GeoDrama, we've found some of the best friends we've ever had through this little hobby of ours. Deep and meaningful friendships, the kind where you are asked to celebrate with the parents of the Bride on a very important occasion. THAT is what Geocaching hags given to us, and that is something I wouldn't trade for all of the smileys or craft beers in the world!
Look at this picture, look at my beautiful friend who has one of the biggest hearts of anyone I know, and see why I am so in love with Geocaching and its people.