The first one, in Grinnell, was at a school. And getting there early allowed me to avoid the morning rush of buses and parents dropping kids off. I arrived, parked, found the box, stamped, put it back and was on the road again before any traffic appeared. I liked that. So I continued on to Box #2 in Malcom only a few miles away from Box #1. I arrived at Ivy Hill Cemetery and quickly found the box. The cemetery was quiet and peaceful - a nice way to start the morning. I stamped in while sitting in the car and then put the box back and was on my way to Box #3. This one is in Brooklyn at a four way intersection. I parked on the corner where I thought I would find the box and had to wait a minute for a couple of cars to pass. I was out in the open and any car passing would see me - so I patiently waited. It wasn't long before the intersection was clear and I was able to retrieve the box. It turned out I was on the right corner and found the box right away. Again, I stamped in the car and then rehid the box. I then made my way to Deep River and Golderod Cemetery. Here I found Box #4 hidden in the top of a fence post - a very clever and great hiding spot. I found a place to sit and stamped in - this cemetery was also peaceful and quiet. One more box to find to complete my picture. So I headed just a little ways up the road to, still in Deep River to find Box #5. It was hidden at an intersection but this time there was a little parking area and it was covered by trees so I wasn't out in the open. Another quick find and stamp in and I was back on the road again. The five boxes took me about an hour to find and was about 30 miles between the five boxes. I enjoyed this series (Signs of Poweshiek Co Series) and now was ready to move on.I was traveling along I80 headed east and had plans to do a little boxing in Iowa City but as I drove I decided I wanted to move on so I did stop in Iowa City but only for one box. I found Iowa Cemeteries: Agudas Achim: Pebbles at a small Jewish Cemetery. Once I had stamped in and rehid the box it was time to hit the interstate again. By this time I was wanting to get to Peoria, IL at a decent hour to do some letterboxing and the get to Springfield before dark. So I bypassed Davenport and continued on I74 into Peoria. About a year ago I participated in a Pin Up Stamp Swap and ended up swapping with Shorty in Illinois. He sent me Pin Up Stamp Swap 2: Tess which is hidden in Santa Fe and I sent him Pin Up Stamp Swap 2: Pirate Booty which he hid in Peoria. So I made this box my first priority. I headed to the park to find the box. The clues were easy enough and the only problem I had was trying to cross a creek that was too wide to jump. Fortunately I did make it across without getting wet.
I enjoyed finding a box that I didn't hide with one of my carvings. Thanks Shorty for taking care of this one. After stamping in and making my way back to the car I headed out for more pin ups. Shorty had three pin ups hidden in Springdale Cemetery. This place was incredible - huge, old, peaceful, inviting, wonderful. I really enjoyed my time here and the added pleasure of finding Shorty's stamps made it even better. I had to find three different areas of the cemetery in order to find all three boxes. It really helps to have a map and I was glad I did - I could have driven all day looking for the three sections I needed but the map lead me right to them. I found Pin Ups: Elvira, Pin Ups: Jinx and Pin Ups: Jinx and enjoyed sitting and stamping in. After I found all three I decided to drive around the cemetery again and take a few pictures - lots of interesting statues and old head stones. But as always all good things must come to an end. So I made my way to the exit (there are signs all over the cemetery leading you in that direction) so I could head to the River Front. I had clues for six boxes but ended up only finding five of them (I later learned from Shorty that one is missing). My first stop was St. Mary's Cathedral mainly because I passed it as I was heading into downtown. 
Thankfully it was the end of the day and the downtown area was pretty quiet and the area where St. Mary's was hidden was in a parking lot across from the church and there were only three cars and no people. So this was a quick and easy find. Done here I headed to Water St. and found a parking spot. I started my search for The Spirit of Peoria. Easy-peasy! No one around, quick find and stamp in. Moving on - I walked to the Soldiers and Sailors Monument at the Courthouse Square. This was a little trickier to find. First it was a clever hide and camo job, second it was right off the street in the open. I had to wait for a guy in a parked car to leave and a couple of people walking by to pass before grabbing the box. I took it to some stairs to sit and stamp in and get away from the area in case someone passed by. After stamping in I was able to get it back in place without problems - the street was deserted. Next I went to the Mark Twain Hotel, well actually across the street kind of kitty-corner to the hotel. This box (Portrait of Mark Twain) was hidden in a fake sprinkler. Unfortunately I couldn't find that one. I checked three sprinkler heads but they weren't right. So I moved on. My next stop was for Remember 9/11 which is hidden at Peoria's own twin towers. This was a sneaky hide and a little hard to get because of people and cars. I finally got it and I found a nice place to stamp in away from the traffic. To rehide it I just walked by and put it back in place. One last stop - the Peoria Civic Center. I found Bradley Braves here. Another great hide and camo job and a quick find - absolutely no one around. So after the box was back in place I walked back to my car. I debated about whether I should get some dinner or just head to Springfield.
I decided I wanted to get to Springfield before dark and get checked in to the hotel and then I could venture out for dinner. I arrived at my hotel - The State House Inn Hotel - and checked in. Once I had all my things in the room I went down to the front desk to ask about any nearby restaurants. The woman at the desk told me about a bar/grill just a few blocks away called Brickhouse. So that is where I went. They had half price drafts and half price pizza. So I had a beer and a pepperoni and black olive pizza. I had been going all day between the five and a half hour drive and the stops for letterboxing I really enjoyed sitting and reading a local paper and people watching. It was very relaxing. After dinner I decided to take a walk around the Capitol and get some night pictures. It was really beautiful lit up. I then came back to the hotel and got my dirty clothes packed into my backpack so that I could go to the laundromat in the morning and then I took a shower and logged my finds for the day. Now that this is done I can get a little sleep. I will let you know what goes on tomorrow.
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