Kathryn Lively

Parents interested in a family activity that involves mental and physical challenges should consider embarking on a letterboxing expedition with their kids. This time-honored tradition of “treasure hunting” combines use of the Internet, orienteering skills, and the desire to have fun and make memories. All you need is a notebook, a rubber stamp of your favorite design and an ink pad to get started…not to mention the clues to find the many letterboxes hidden throughout the Atlanta area.

How Letterboxing Works

The rules of letterboxing are simple. Find clues to available boxes on a related website like Letterboxing.org or AtlasQuest then follow them to the box of your choice. If you happen to be searching in a populated area, take care to ensure nobody sees – in the case of boxes hidden in parks, groundskeepers may confiscate them. Observe any precautions when hunting in the woods, and always leave the box in good condition, well hidden. Stamp your logbook with each box stamp you find, and you’ll have an impressive collection and fond memories of the thrill of the hunt!

Letterboxing in Atlanta

Whether you live in the Atlanta area or are visiting for summer vacation, it’s a good idea to keep your logbook and stamps handy. You’ll find a number of themed letterboxes, in urban and rural parts of this metropolitan city. Here are just a few treasures waiting to be discovered:

Cobb County Parks, North – Shy: This stamp is hidden in Sweat Mountain Park, near where the dogs play.

D is for Dog, W is for Walk: Near the ruins of an old youth camp, you’ll find two stamps off the beaten paths.

Lord Baden Powell: Named for the founder of the Boy Scouts, so it’s appropriate this stamp is hidden near a council center.

Hey Joe: Kennesaw Mountain National Park is host to a number of letterboxes, including these two which require a bit of hiking and orienteering to get to.

Mother Goose’s Dainty Dish: This box requires deciphering a puzzling poem to find. Can you find the clue on the proper website and solve it?

An author friend once noted this advice on promotion via social networks from a book marketing professional: follow and you will be followed. Essentially this means one should set up a Facebook or Twitter account, then seek to follow and friend anybody with similar interests – an author, other authors and readers; a musician, others in the field.

While it may appear to be a good idea in theory, let’s look at the result: if you were to blindly select a thousand people on Twitter to follow, chances are a good-sized percentage will follow back. Sounds good, huh? In theory, you might think you can convert all these followers into customers or clients, but consider why many people are on Twitter in the first place: to market their own products. What is more likely to happen is that a thousand people will follow you with the intent of converting you to purchase their goods. A top turn-off for some who choose to follow Twitter users is receiving that initial automated greeting message – you know the one, there’s usually a URL and a pitch. You haven’t read one of the person’s “tweets” yet and already they’re on the hard sell.

In order to get the most out of social networks as a means of promotion, a few things you’ll want to bear in mind are:

It isn’t necessary to follow everybody who follows you. If you follow too many Twitter folks the chain of messages received becomes diluted. Posts from people you truly want to follow may get lost in the shuffle of numerous advertisements. True, you want people to follow you, so it’s important to set your profile up as one that contains pertinent content, yet doesn’t appear to constantly hustle readers. If, however, you are set on using Twitter to promote your business, set up a separate account for personal use.

To become attractive to Twitter users, be an expert. “Socialization” is the key to succeeding in any social media network. Not only should you use your Facebook and Twitter accounts to relay information on your favorite subjects, but you should interact with users as well. If you sell sporting goods, ask followers and friends what brand baseball bat or glove is the best, or who they think will win the Series this year. Put a personality behind the avatar and you may find people will recommend their friends to follow you.

Don’t be afraid to promote other things. If you see a news item related to your line of business, share it. Never feel as though you are helping “the competition” in any way. In fact, sharing this information could help you in a way, as it might inspire followers to “re-tweet” your findings and credit you. This in turn could lead to more followers, and perhaps more business.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Virginia web design.

Too often these days, we see advertisements on the Internet calling for bloggers to make “fast, easy money” through simply writing content. You post articles, maybe add an optimized link here and there, put up a banner on the sidebar and expect the cash to come rolling in the next day. Suffice to say, it doesn’t always happen, and while there may exist people who do bring in a modest income through regular blogging, one thing to consider when owning a blog is that in order for it to work well for you, it takes more than monetizing it. A blog needs to be visited and read by many, many people before you begin to see results.

If your primary function for the Internet is promote your business, it is imperative to have a web blog connected to your site. Whether you host the blog software on your domain or use a third-party host like Wordpress or Blogger, regular use of the blog to optimize keywords for your main site can be of some help in boosting your search rankings.

What should you write? Regardless of the purpose of your website or business, the blog should have a down-to-earth, friendly appeal. Though it is to be utilized for promotion, perhaps alerts on sales and new services, it shouldn’t be constantly used as a means to hard sell visitors every time they come to read, lest they be turned off altogether. Keep a good mix of blog posts active; talk about what you do and what you offer, but take the time to hold an online conversation with visitors. Post about local happenings, use pictures or embedded links to related videos, and try to stimulate feedback from visitors.

Combining these efforts with social media networking can improve traffic to your blog as well. Open accounts with Facebook and Twitter, for two, and use them to refer people to new articles on your blog. Sign up for social bookmarking sites like Delicious and Digg, and save the URLs of specific articles and posts you feel have a wider appeal. The more “word of mouth” enthusiasm you can generate, the better for your stats, and business. You just may find that blogging can bring you a decent income as it leads people to your main site.

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on Virginia web design.

When one thinks of the Outer Banks as a potential vacation destination, the possibilities may seem endless. Between trips to the beach, landmarks like the Whalehead Club and the Currituck Lighthouse, and sightseeing for wild mustangs, one would expect a full itinerary. Yet, if the family is up for a bit of adventure, you may want to consider another activity that not only takes you to some of the most beautiful areas of the North Carolina shore, but is practically free. This summer, why not go “letterboxing”?

What is Letterboxing?

Letterboxing is an outdoor game of sorts – a treasure hunt that may involve deciphering clues and a bit of orienteering to reach the goal. The “treasure” in question is usually a box (most times plastic and water-tight) containing a rubber stamp, maybe some stickers or other small items for hunters to enjoy. The idea behind letterboxing is to find the box and enclosed stamp to imprint the design in a notebook. Hunters with personal rubber stamps acknowledge finding the “treasure” by stamping and signing a guestbook found in the box. The practice of letterboxing is similar to “geocaching” but does not necessarily require use of a GPS system to find boxes.

Who can go Letterboxing?

Letterboxing is a very family-friendly activity, a perfect way to spend a morning, especially when on vacation in the Outer Banks. You have the opportunity to come away with a unique souvenir of the area, and keeping a scrapbook of your stamps allows you to add pictures of the scenery to enhance the memories of your visit. Anybody with a yen for outdoor exploration and figuring out clues will enjoy this hobby.

Where to find Letterboxes

Enthusiasts may create and hide letterboxes in a variety of places: parks, attractions, beaches, and even urban areas. An Internet search for letterbox locations (Atlasquest and Letterboxing.org are two of the prime sites for collecting clues on whereabouts) will guide you to where you need to go.

In the Outer Banks area, for example, one may find special treasures on Knotts Island, in Coinjock near the famous Gravedigger attraction, and in Corolla, where several stamps celebrating the Wright Brothers’ flight and Outer Banks horses are waiting for new discoverers. If you want exact locations, however, you’ll have to try the aforementioned websites for clues.

The Rules of Letterboxing

Two things to know before you embark on a letterboxing adventure:

Be Discreet! Many boxes are hidden in high traffic area, especially in a region popular for tourists like the Outer Banks. It is advised when you find the box and collect your stamp, to return the box carefully and try not to attract too much attention. Boxes are sometimes at risk for being stolen and lost if not handled properly.

Secondly, have fun! Letterboxing provides a great opportunity to explore the beaches of Currituck and enjoy the companionship of fellow treasure hunters.

Okay, here’s a hint for you if you’re interested. Check out this list of available Outer Banks letterboxes. Happy hunting!

Kathryn Lively is a freelance writer specializing in articles on the Outer Banks.

Seems no historical destination is without its skeletons in the closet – figuratively and literally! Visitors to St. Augustine can enjoy a number of odd attractions in the Ripley Museum and the Fountain of Youth, but the especially adventurous may also wish to embark on a ghost hunt through Old City’s cobblestone alleyways.

Top St. Augustine Haunts

Where’s the best place to find a ghost? Purportedly there are a number of landmarks and buildings where people have claimed to see or hear something not of this realm. If you’re feeling lucky – and brave – you may want to add these sites to your vacation itinerary:

The Casablanca Inn: In the early part of the 20th century, the Casablanca was the place to go to imbibe in a time when buying alcohol was illegal. To alert bootleggers of law enforcement, the owner would wave a lantern from a window to signal their boats. It’s said you can still see those lights to this day.

The Old Jail: It’s said if you listen closely, you can hear the mournful wails of long-dead inmates, and heavy footsteps dragging ghostly chains around the building.

St. Augustine Lighthouse: There’s talk the former land owner on which the lighthouse sits haunts the property, or perhaps it is one of the house’s first light keepers, who fell to his death while painting the tower.

Safety in Numbers

If the idea of a solo hunt spooks you too much, there are a number of supervised ghost tours operating throughout town. Arrange a group of friends to come, or tag along with a crowd of other enthusiasts as you see St. Augustine in a different, ghostly light. Just a few operators to try include:

Ghost Tours of St. Augustine: This frightfully fun group offers three options for ghost seekers: you can ride, walk, or even sail the bay on the schooner “Freedom.” Each tour is led by a licensed guide ready to regale you of Old City’s otherworldly history. Prices vary according to the season, and check their website for discounts.

GhoSt Augustine: Tour favorite “haunts” of St. Aug locals – dead or alive – on the group’s hearse pub tour. You’ll ride in an actual hearse through town, stopping at different landmarks and open pubs for a unique look at the town’s paranormal history. It’s the only way to travel!

Ghosts and Gravestones: Hop aboard the trolley for a “frightseeing” tour of town, complete with costumed guides in need of your help to find the fabled Book of the Dead. Search for clues on each stop as you’re treated to tales of St. Augustine’s haunted past…and present.