Kilroy was where?

So, I was updating the spreadsheet that I keep of the categories and the grid and noticed that half of my grid seemed to be off one space. I wandered up the grid on the Website, looking for the culprit, and there, in the middle of one of my previous bingos was Kilroy, poking his big nose over the grid and mocking me. So unfair!!! This bald punk had stolen my bingo!!! To make matters even worse, I was in D.C. recently and could have grabbed one of the two there that Rose Red and Marine Biologist have posted. (BTW - the photo Rose Red's, posted in the gallery of her Kilroy waymark.)

I'm sure that I'll find one of these at some point, and I have no problem with the category. Just the fact that it was inserted into the middle of the grid. I think the categories are assigned their grid spot according to when the group created the category. So if a category is created and then the group just sits on it awhile, or if it fails and they don't decide to try again until months later, the icon still gets placed according to when the original category description was written, no matter how many categories have been added to the grid since then.

While casual waymarkers may have no issue with that, those of us who keep track of the grid find it incredibly irritating. There has to be a way to fix this. Has anyone else lost a bingo this way? Lost this bingo?

Bingo!

Assuming that my weather station waymark that I just submitted yesterday is approved, I finally got around to finishing off my 2nd bingo on the waymarking grid. Since weather stations aren't especially exciting, I thought I'd post some photos of favorite waymarks from this row of the grid.


Oregon Trail - Independence Rock in the "Wagon Roads and Trails" category - Many emmigrants left home in the spring, hoping to make it to Independence Rock by July 4th, hence the rock's name. Names of the many travellers are inscribed on the rock.


Left - Pick-Quick Drive In - Fife, WA in "Independent Diners"; I highly recommend a stop here if you're in the area. It's extremely popular, so you may wait awhile, but if you love drive-in food (burgers, onion rings, hand-scooped milkshakes in about 40 flavors) you'll love Pick Quick.
Right - Sears Tower in "Engineering Landmarks"; From 1974 to 1996 the building remained the tallest in the world at 1,730 feet.


Henry M. Jackson Visitor Center - Mt. Rainier National Park in "Googie Architecture"; I have several favorites waymarked here and although the Space Needle is a googie icon, I went with my favorite, the soon to be demolished Jackson Visitor Center in the Paradise area of Mt. Rainier NP.


Art of Chicago in the "Waytours" category; my favorite part of visiting Chicago was the art. Everywhere you turn there seems to be another world class sculputure - Chagall, Picasso, Calder, Moore, Miro - they're just sitting there amidst the skyscrapers waiting for you to find them.



Corina Bakery in "Independent Bakeries"; This little family owned bakery is somewhat hidden with a side entrance in the Merlino Art Center, but don't make the mistake of missing it if you like cake. I love the lemon coconut layer cake and a cup of french-pressed coffee, my husband is nuts for the Red Velvet cake, mother-in-law loves the hummingbird cake and my son is a fan of their super huge lemon bars. Don't miss it! News Tribune Review


So there are some of my favorites from grid row "27". There were some Engineering Landmarks, Googie Architecture, and Waytours that I REALLY wanted to include, but that would have made this long post even longer, so if you have the time check out my waymarks in those categoriers. There are some fun ones. Happy waymarking!

BINGO!

So after months of focusing on trying to fill up my grid I finally have a bingo. We took a two hour drive up to the beautiful Port Townsend area to waymark Fort Worden in the "World War II Sites" category. It was pretty exciting, because believe it or not, I don't really focus on trying to get bingos (20 category icons in a row on the category grid.) My favorite thing is more of a "blackout" style of playing, that is, trying to grab as many icons as possible and fill out my grid, no matter where the icon might be located on the grid. When I notice that I have 17 or 18 in a row though, I sit up and take notice. This was one of the few rows that is possible to completely fill without having to do a lot of travelling out of the Pacific Northwest region of the U.S.

It was a great day and we had a lot more fun that we expected to have at Fort Worden. The weather was beautiful and the clear blue skies allowed views of the islands and Mt. Baker. The best part was climbing around in and on the old batteries built in the early part of the 20th century. 150 photos and a sunburn later we hopped in the car and headed for home, crossing our fingers that the waymark would be accepted. The only disappointment of the day was that there was a Wooden Boat Festival taking place in Port Townsend and it was so crazy we couldn't find parking to stop at our favorite ice cream parlor, "Elevated Ice Cream". It was rated as one of the seven best ice cream shops in the nation on the Food Channel and I can vouch for it. The ginger ice cream is to die for! Oh well, maybe my next bingo will bring me back to town. :)

The photo above is of the Point Wilson Lighthouse backdropped by Mt. Baker. The lighthouse is located on the grounds of Fort Worden. Rose Red has waymarked it in the Coastal Lighthouse and NRHP categories, and I have included it as a stop in my Fort Worden Waytour waymark.