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Full
Name: Sharon B. Hernandez
Geocaching Screen Name: antimony13
Birth State: Florida (St. Petersburg)
Martial Status: married
How did you get into geocaching?
In December 2000, we were living in Kentucky, and geocaching was
featured in Yahoo's Picks Of The Week email. The one-line teaser
was something like "outdoor treasure hunt using handheld GPS & internet
technology". That immediately caught my eye, and I clicked on the
link. It didn't take long for me to buy a GPS, and I convinced my
husband to go caching. Our first cache find was GC19B in Indiana
in February 2001 ... it was the closest cache to our home, and four
hours away -- there were NO caches in the state of Kentucky!! Had
I known what a phenomenon it would become, I could have placed the
first caches in the state of Kentucky ... oh well, I guess that
was a missed opportunity!
What's the meaning behind the screen name?
I was a freshman in high school, taking general chemistry for the
first time. A friend of mine began to tease me that my initials,
SB, were on the periodic table representing the element antimony.
After a while, people began calling me 'antimony' and it stuck.
When I was in college at UF, I needed a username for the vax computer
we had on campus. Remembering my 'nickname' given to me in high
school, I signed up as antimony. Several years later came e-mail,
and I needed to create an e-mail address. Certainly the name 'antimony'
would be available... I couldn't imagine anyone being enough of
a geek to want to name themselves after the 51st element!! Well,
of course, that name was taken. I figured I would become 'antimony51',
incorporating the atomic number into my name. Nope, that was taken,
too!! By this time I was getting pretty frustrated because I HAD
to remain antimony... after all, it was a part of my identity!!
My husband (well, boyfriend at the time) was using the number '13'
in his original e-mail address as a tribute to his favorite football
player's jersey number, Dan Marino. I figured, what the heck, we'll
share the number '13'. And so, antimony13 was born!!
Do you cache alone or are you part of a team?
I love to cache with others, but with my crazy schedule (I work
the night shift), I often end up caching alone in the middle of
the week.
How many caches have you found and how many have you hidden?
As of today, 3/13/09, I have found 992 and hidden 28.
Have you cached in other states or countries?
15 states: Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee, Maryland, Ohio, Kentucky,
North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, California, Colorado, Louisiana,
Nevada, Pennsylvania, Georgia 12 countries: USA, Mexico, The Vatican,
Italy, Jamaica, Russia, Denmark, England, Portugal, Spain, France,
Cayman Islands Hoping to add Greece, Croatia, and Turkey this summer.
And if so, how do those caches compare with caches you have found
here?
The terrain up north and out west is much more difficult than in
Florida, but the hide techniques are pretty similar. Most of my
overseas cache finds have been with caches right near the port or
hotel. Since my husband is a non-geocacher, I'm limited with my
experiences in other countries. He rolls his eyes and groans when
he sees me pull out my GPS!
Besides geocaching, what do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Being outdoors, camping, biking, SCUBA diving, fishing, snow skiing,
traveling, roller coasters, watching football (Go Bucs! Go Gators!),
playing with my 5 year old daughter.
What kind of wildlife have you encountered while geocaching?
Pretty much everything you'd expect, but I'd still love to see a
panther in the wild!
What advice would you offer new geocachers/hiders?
1) Don't assume that because you didn't find it that it's not there.
2) It's OK to post a DNF!
3) Find a bunch before hiding one.
4) Try to log something a little more descriptive than "TNLNSL".
What do you say when muggles ask what you are doing?
Depending on their attitude, I'll give the vague "scavenger hunt"
line or just tell them I lost something. If they're really interested,
I'll give them as much information as they want to know about geocaching.
What is your favorite cache container?
Always the ammo box.
What is the strangest thing you have ever found in the cache?
A pair of fuzzy handcuffs. I took them and gave them to my husband
as a joke. Hah hah!
What was your most memorable caching find/experience?
Positive: 1) all the crazy cache runs during Cacheapalooza 1, 2,
and 3 ... nothing like caching nearly 24 hours a day and still having
caches left over to find!
2) pdmunchie7 and I taking road trips to complete the North, South,
and Final Florida Challenge Quests (GCTVT8, September 2006; GCTVT3
and GCTVTE, April 2007). Absolutely insane fun!!
3) hunting down knights all over south Florida for "Let The Games
Begin" (GCTG4C, September 2006). A must-do cache!!
4) FTF with lorriebird on the Puzzle Solving 101 Final Exam (GCYXN0,
October 2007) -- what a crazy 18 hours of brain-racking fun that
was!
Negative: detained by a group of NINE cops at GCMA9Q on March 09,
2008 (see note: http://www.geocaching.com/seek/log.aspx?LUID=5ad58a25-9e4f-4332-88aa-57a70e32b782).
Urban hides, love em or hate em?
Definitely prefer the ammo boxes in the woods, but a well hidden,
creative micro in the city can be fun too. I absolutely hate parking
lot micros, though!
Are you planning on attending Cacheapalooza 4 in December?
Most definitely. Already reserved the campsite, secured the time
off work, and informed the hubby he'd be on child duty for the weekend!
And what would you like to see more of at the event?
Would 36 hours in a day be too much to request?
And finally, Garmin or Magellan?
Garmin. First the basic yellow eTrex and now the eTrex Vista HCx.
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