Instant Coffee

Instant Coffee

Interviewed September 2007

As you can readily see, Instant Coffee is not your everyday type geocacher. Just so we don't mislead our readers, he is not really geocaching in this picture. What he IS doing will be revealed in his interview.

Instant Coffee is also known as Greg Greene and is one of the few geocachers to have geocached in Hawaii. He's also visited a number of states beyond Delaware also. Instant Coffee gets around. He also has created a number of interesting caches both in the suburbs and in the city of Wilmington.

Another facet of geocaching that has caught his attention is geocoins. Thanks to Instant Coffee the photo galleries on this web site display a number of his finds. We also have a large number of images being readied to expand those galleries. Instant Coffee is one busy geocacher.

Take a few minutes and read his interview. We're sure you'll agree.

How many caches have you found so far?
I have found 635 caches when this survey was completed.

Which type of cache do you prefer seeking - traditional, multi, puzzle or virtual?
I enjoy all types of caches but I like the additional challenge of puzzle caches, although some do drive me crazy. I am still trying to solve some puzzle caches - email me if you want a challenge or are a good decrypter!

Your profile on geocaching.com shows that you've geocached in a band of states running down the east coast starting at New York and ending in Florida. How did you come to choose these states?
My girlfriend and I enjoy caching while traveling. Even if it is just a cache in Central Park on a day trip to NYC! We have had a wedding in North Carolina (found a cache in between the service and the reception where I tripped and fell in my suit) and my girlfriend has family in Florida. The other states on the East Coast were day trips.

The map that is part of your geocaching.com profile also shows that you've geocached in Hawaii making you one of the only Delaware geocachers to have this experience. Tell us a bit about your adventures there.
I had a conference in Hawaii last summer and we decided to make a vacation of it. We spent a lot of time exploring the island finding caches. One of the best things about geocaching in vacation spots is that you see so much more than other tourists. Local cache hiders know the best spots to see beautiful things or learn about the local culture and wildlife. We found caches where locals were diving into the ocean (about 6 stories high) and walked miles in lava fields that made you feel like you were on the moon.

We've borrowed the picture you post on your profile for this interview article. Again you are doing something very few other Delaware Geocachers have done. Are you geocaching in this photo?
No, I haven't been able to combine geocaching with scuba diving yet (only separately while in Florida, Bahamas, and Hawaii). The picture was taken on my check out dives in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Are there any underwater geocaches you'd like to try?
I really want to do this one: 'The Rapture of the Deep' - (Scuba MultiCache). It has been on my watch list since 2005 and still unfound! I do have underwater pictures in my gallery.

In addition to geocaching along the east coast and then in Hawaii your geocaching.com profile map shows you've geocached in Utah. What brought you to Utah?
My girlfriend and I went out to Utah to see friends and check out the Sundance Film Festival. It was January, so a lot of the caches were deep under snow. It makes geocaching a lot more challenging! The movie we saw was about illegal immigrants getting across the border. It was based on a truck full of immigrants who died when the driver just left them in the back of a trucking rig. When I told my parents about the movie they informed me that the driver was from my home town and was still pending charges.

With the wide variety of places you geocached how do you rate Delaware's geocaches?
Delaware caches are great! We have such a wide variety of caches - from LPC's, to long hikes, to short walks to take the nieces. Delaware is very dog-friendly, and we like to bring along a pooch or two when we can.

Is there a type of geocache hide you'd like to see used in a Delaware geocache?
I would like to see more night caches, but this can be difficult with most places only allowing visitors from dawn to dusk.

Which find was the most challenging?
Mission: A Walk in the Park. I was pretty new to geocaching and this one took many days - both at the site and at home trying to figure it out! It was my first really tough puzzle cache. I did not realize that the cache was not at the posted coordinates.

Which was the easiest?
Lamp post caches (LPC) are the easiest once you have found one previously. However, a recent cache, MicroFox, did throw me for a loop.

Do you have a favorite or favorites from among the caches you have found?
My favorite cache was The Sands of Waikiki in Hawaii. It was located on the beach and had high travel bug traffic. It was recently archived since it was a high maintenance cache and was being replaced frequently. One closer to home would be St. David's Dome.

What's the most unusual thing you've found in a cache?
Nothing really sticks out in my head except I did find a loose cigarette once.

Have you had any memorable experiences while seeking a cache?
Yes, I seem to be a tick magnet. There were more ticks on me than the dog. Please read my experience at Smithmill Devil. If I remember correctly I found an additional 14 ticks (3 on the dog and 11 more on me). Runfrog is still very proud of his attack ticks.

What advice would you give to a beginning geocacher?
Have fun. Don't worry if you don't find it. Pair up with more experienced cachers and you will learn the typical hiding spots. I remember it took me an hour or two to find ROCCACHE.

How many caches have you placed?
I have placed five caches and adopted two. One cache was a non-traditional adoption from FlyinV.

Have any of them proven to be more "popular" than what you expected?
Robin's Run. This is a multi and long hike (more than 3 miles), but everyone who has done it has enjoyed it a lot.

Have geocachers found any of them more difficult to find than you expected?
Two Bridge View has been more difficult mainly because it is a nano cache. Gilpin Hideaway has also been difficult for some as well.?

Have any of them been muggled? If, so how did you handle this?
The area near one cache that I adopted (Brandywine River Stroll) became a homeless person's restroom and possibly his home. The funny part is that it came up missing, so I replaced it with a smaller cache with just a log. I went back a few weeks later and the original container was back in the hiding spot, but missing all the new swag I had just placed in it before it went missing. After the second or third time it went missing and a lost travel bug I decided to archive it.

What advice would you give to someone designing a cache placement?
Try to think as if you were not a geocacher. If it blends in, great, if it sticks out or might be seen to be a dangerous object, try a different spot.

What's your best caching story - the one you tell others to let them know the kind of fun and adventures one can have while geocaching?
My girlfriend's brother has a boat in Florida, so we went with his family to a small island (Peanut Island) where several caches are hidden. We had a great time searching around the palm trees and jungle underbrush for the finds. Paula's niece now wants to go "treasure hunting with Greg" every trip!

You are also quite a geocoin collector. How did you become started with this phase of geocaching?
It started back in 2005 with the first Coin Quest, a caching game at thecachingplace.com. The first 2 quest they gave away coins, now they only sell the coins to quest finishers. It was a good advertisement campaign as it worked on me. I really like how creative people are when making coins and signature items. They put a lot of time and effort to create something and release it out into the world.

How many geocoins do you have in your collection presently?
I have not counted but my girlfriend says I have too many, but I do not own as much as other cachers.

Do you have a favorite geocoin?
I really want a DelUgly.

Beside geocaching, what other things do you like to do?
I like to scuba dive, travel, movies, and I am a big Harry Potter fan. I will be enjoying the new book after I reread books 5 and 6. I also purchased a bike and will riding and caching with it more.

Which Delaware cache site would you'd like to see featured on the web page and why?
How about Ugly, Ugly, DelUgly. It is a cache where everyone can discover the DelUgly geocoin.

What question did you expect us to ask but we didn't? And, what's the answer?
Why Instant Coffee? Truth is, I don't drink coffee, only tea (especially Chai Lattes). However, I do like coffee ice cream. My handle was one my friend and I came up with in high school when I needed a name for a BBS back in the days of Commodore 64 computing. I think the modem I had was a 1200 baud modem and later upgraded to a 2400 baud modem when it was available. Prismatic Sphere was the name of the BBS I frequently logged onto back then.

Our thanks to Greg Greene(Instant Coffee) for sharing these answers with us.