Justina Chen Headley is the award-winning author of Nothing But the Truth (And a Few White Lies), Girl Overboard, and North of Beautiful. Her books have earned many fans and starred reviews for her ability to create strong and unique relationships. She is on the NSCG's list of favorite authors, and both Girl Overboard and North of Beautiful have claimed spots on the NSCG Favorite Books List. Read my rave review of North of Beautiful here. But the most amazing thing about Justina Chen Headley is that she is an author who truly gives back. Learn about how you can help Justina donate to Global Medical Surgeries here.
"Here’s the truth: I am the most directionally challenged person on the planet. Honestly, I should be in the Guiness Book of World Records for my extraordinary ability to get lost. East, west, north, and south are merely math problems disguised as words. I always look with suspicion at people who tell me to drive north when narrative would be so much more illustrative: drive until you hit the mustardy yellow sign that looks like something your kid could throw up and then turn right.
It is a miracle, then, that I geocache. Think of geocaching as treasure hunting a la high tech geek. Armed with a GPS device and coordinates (longitude and latitude) found on http://www.geocaching.com/, geeks around the world seek out treasures. Many are cleverly named, most are cleverly concealed. That rusty old bolt on a dilapidated tractor? A tiny cache could be glued to it, found only if you unscrewed the bolt.
Caches are everywhere. Easter Island? 7 caches. Great Wall of China? Yup, geocaches there. Antarctica? Uh-huh. In your neighborhood? Chances are, yes—in your parks, near your favorite stores, under mailboxes in front of your city hall. (Oh, yes, the staffers laughed at my friend, Lorie Ann Grover, and I as we searched fruitlessly around their building. At last, they took pity on us and intoned over a loudspeaker: “Check under the mailbox.”)
Wherever I go, I geocache—through Omaha and Seattle. In Shanghai and Central Washington. The caches take me to scenic spots I’d never notice on my own. They connect me with nature. They feed my sense of fun. And I always get in a good walk to boot!
It is pure, sheer geeky fun. So geeky, I had to use it in my novel, North of Beautiful. And so it is that Terra discovers, partly through geocaching, that she isn’t stuck in the tight grid box that her controlling cartographer of a father has locked her in. But that she can break out into the world, map her own way to beautiful, never to be lost again."
It is a miracle, then, that I geocache. Think of geocaching as treasure hunting a la high tech geek. Armed with a GPS device and coordinates (longitude and latitude) found on http://www.geocaching.com/, geeks around the world seek out treasures. Many are cleverly named, most are cleverly concealed. That rusty old bolt on a dilapidated tractor? A tiny cache could be glued to it, found only if you unscrewed the bolt.
Caches are everywhere. Easter Island? 7 caches. Great Wall of China? Yup, geocaches there. Antarctica? Uh-huh. In your neighborhood? Chances are, yes—in your parks, near your favorite stores, under mailboxes in front of your city hall. (Oh, yes, the staffers laughed at my friend, Lorie Ann Grover, and I as we searched fruitlessly around their building. At last, they took pity on us and intoned over a loudspeaker: “Check under the mailbox.”)
Wherever I go, I geocache—through Omaha and Seattle. In Shanghai and Central Washington. The caches take me to scenic spots I’d never notice on my own. They connect me with nature. They feed my sense of fun. And I always get in a good walk to boot!
It is pure, sheer geeky fun. So geeky, I had to use it in my novel, North of Beautiful. And so it is that Terra discovers, partly through geocaching, that she isn’t stuck in the tight grid box that her controlling cartographer of a father has locked her in. But that she can break out into the world, map her own way to beautiful, never to be lost again."
A curiosity question: have you ever gone geocaching?
I've never been geocaching, but I do think that it sounds like a ton of fun. I've always wanted to try urban exploring as well...I need to actually start testing these things out.
ReplyDeleteI've never even heard of it until now! Sounds like good fun though... you could go on your own adventures like on The Amazing Race hehe
ReplyDeleteI have never been geocaching, I fist read about while reading North of Beautiful, which I loved!
ReplyDeleteI'm very, very curious about it though and really want to give it a shot, it seems fun and like something I'd like.
Yes I have! It's so much fun - I've been caching in four countries and it does really take you places you'd never discover on your own. Geeks unite!!
ReplyDeleteI love geocaching! Especially with Justina. :~)Thanks for the fun interview!
ReplyDeleteWahoo for Justina! You make geocaching sound so much fun--one of these days, I will try it!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of geocaching until now. It actually sounds interesting, though I would probably be terrible at it.
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