809. Visionary

809. Visionary
Definition: (adj) thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom
Location Placed: Starbucks, Quantico, Virginia
Date Placed: 1/18/17 at 6:37pm





One of my favorite Starbucks things is the free item you get around your birthday for being a member! I always make sure to get myself a nice little treat to celebrate when it is that time of year. I also determined that they do free refills in the same visit of some of the less complicated drinks, which was pretty neat! Usually I am a drink on the run sort of person, but I definitely appreciate that option.

808. Accommodating

808. Accommodating
Definition: (adj) fitting with someones wishes or demands in a helpful way
Location Placed: George Washington's Mount Vernon, Mount Vernon, Virginia
Date Placed: 1/16/17 at 11:39am





I went with several other folks to visit Mount Vernon, which was home to George Washington for quite some time. It was a really beautiful expanse of property even in the dead of winter. You could tell how wonderful and bustling it must have been during its heyday, overlooking the river with a large plot of land for animals, fruit groves, and gardening. The house itself was pretty impressive with several wings and lots of out buildings! I am so glad I was able to visit there and would recommend it to anyone, regardless of your history buff status!

807. Major

807. Major
Definition: (adj) important, serious, significant
Location Placed: Gambler Ridge Golf Course, Cream Ridge, New Jersey
Date Placed: 11/11/16 at 2:04pm





It was a lovely fall day, and we decided to play some more foot golf! It is a fun mash up between golf and soccer (football for my international friends). It's usually played on a golf course, has a par similar to golf, and you kick the ball to get it in the oversized hole. It's definitely a good work out between the kicking and the walking. When played with a good group, it's a great way to spend an afternoon! Looking forward to playing more foot golf once the weather warms back up again in the spring!

805. Detailed

805. Detailed
Definition: (adj) made or done with great care
Location Placed: Buckingham Valley Vineyards, Buckingham, Pennsylvania
Date Placed: 10/29/16 at 4:42pm





While I was not as impressed with their fruit wine selection, the grounds were really lovely. We took a stroll among the "wine trees" (grape vines) and enjoyed our lunch in their covered picnic area. It was such a wonderfully mild day, although getting a little windy at points. They also had a really neat wine cellar with a bit more information on their wines. According to the grape-wine folks, they enjoyed the reds and whites more than the previous vineyard. Not to mention we got to keep our tasting glasses!

804. Stimulating

804. Stimulating
Definition: (adj) encouraging or arousing interest or enthusiasm
Location Placed: Rose Bank Winery, Newtown, Pennsylvania
Date Placed: 10/29/16 at 2:57pm





As a non-wine drinker, I was not feeling particularly enthusiastic about tasting wines. I am not a fan of grape-based wines that I've tried, but did find a different fruit wine to be alright. I love visiting vineyards and wineries as they are often very pretty locations, with very knowledgeable staff. I enjoy a good poke around nature and seeing how things are made. They had a larger section on the website for their non-grape based wines, so I was very keen on seeing how I felt about those. I was VERY pleasantly surprised by how much I genuinely enjoyed some of the ones I tried. Particularly the Spiced Apple (apple, cinnamon, cloves), Cappuvino (coffee based wine), and Hallowine (apple, pumpkin, spices). All quite sweet, so no more than a small glass a piece, but extremely delicious varieties! I think all of us tasting agree that those were all great flavors, and the rest of us were split on the other types we enjoyed. (The grape-based wines were apparently nothing to write home about, but the non-grape wines certainly were!) I absolutely would recommend going in for a tasting if you're there. They have 8 tickets for a couple sips of wine, with several seasonal varieties as "freebies".

806. Ready

806. Ready
Definition: (adj) easily available or obtainable
Location Placed: Provident Bank, Manalapan, New Jersey
Date Placed:10/28/16 at 12:00pm





As it sometimes happens, the cranes managed to be placed out of order this time. But it's alright, all that matters is they managed to get placed at some point in time! I remembered this was a bank that I hadn't stopped at before for a crane placement, so I did one on the fly. So far, I've not been discovered as placing any cranes at a bank. Since they have cameras, and we've established that I wind up looking irrationally guilty when placing cranes, I'm surprised that no one has called me out. Only at The UPS Store did an employee utilize the security cameras to find me!

803. Cultivate

803. Cultivate
Definition: (v) to try to acquire or develop
Location Placed: Drumthwacket, Princeton, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/28/16 at 1:21pm





I had been wanting to go visit Drumthwacket, which is the mansion of the New Jersey state governor, for many years. They give tours only 1pm on Wednesday's Fall-Winter-Spring. Although most governor's don't end up living there full time, they do often work out of the house or hold functions there. It's a gorgeous mansion where we were able to tour the first floor and some of the grounds. True to form, my favorite room was the library. It was styled after the old British style University libraries, dark with a fireplace, tall bookcases, and comfy chairs, it was breathtakingly wonderful. I would 100% live there if I were governor and would spend all of my time in the library, around all of my governor-ly duties, of course.

If you get the chance, and it's difficult with only a small visiting window, I highly recommend you check out Drumthwacket for the free tour. It does require advanced registration but only so they can make sure to check you off as they wait for folks for the tour to start. I hear they dress up the place really nice for Christmas visits.

802. Significant

802. Significant
Definition: (adj) sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention; noteworthy
Location Placed: Marlboro Library, Marlboro, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 12:29pm





 What better way to conclude a day of placing by coming full circle and placing the last crane of the day at a library! Not planned that way, but a happy coincidence. You'd think I'd run out of local libraries to place at, but you may be happily surprised to find out just how many libraries are out there. It seems like each town has their own, even if it's not a part of the larger county network. I may take stock in the near future and see if I can do a full day of placing at different libraries! You guys might get tired about my talk of books and library love.

801. Imperturbable

801. Imperturbable
Definition: (adj) unable to be upset or excited; calm
Location Placed: Marlboro Post Office, Marlboro, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 12:15pm





Although I often stop in to certain places I deem good for crane placing and then not get anything, I realized I actually did need to pick up some stamps! There are so many adorable stamps out there. My current personal favorite at the National Parks System stamps. I am a big fan of our park system, so I am happy to send the few pieces of mail I do send with those stamps on it. People rarely take the time to notice the stamps on their letters, but I am always quick to appreciate a really neat stamp. Even more so do I appreciate them when they are international!

800. Precocious

800. Precocious
Definition: (adj) unusually advanced or mature in development
Location Placed: The UPS Store, Matawan, New Jersey
Date Placed: 9/21/16 at 11:55am





800 cranes. It's just crazy to me to look back on all the cranes I've made, the places I've gone, and the wonderful finders I've come across. It's been such a rewarding project, and I look forward to placing the remaining 200. It's been a wild ride, and I don't want to slack off when I'm in the home stretch!