2010-07-12 49 -123

From Geohashing

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. It was less than a kilometre off a route we had to drive anyway, so worth a drop-by.

Mon 12 Jul 2010 in 49,-123:
49.1230667, -123.0967725
geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox


Location

In what looks like it might be a shoe store on Horseshoe Way in Richmond. Google street view shows a nice shiny building with cars parked out front.

Participants

Regrets

Don't have 4 hours to kill getting there and back by transit, unfortunately. HollyB 16:21, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Same here. Have fun! - Elbie 17:15, 12 July 2010 (UTC)

Plans

We had to go to South Delta anyway, so what's a quick exit and re-entry from Highway 99?

Expedition

Robyn und Wade

The Spontaneous Adventure GPS told us to take the Stee-VESS-ten Highway exit and then after we exited told us to keep right on STEEV-sten Highway. We hypothesized that it had a separate "local" database with more accurate pronunciations that came into effect once we left the highway, then it made another comment about Stee-VESS-ten, so we really don't know. We turned left on number five road, despite the fact that number five road was not depicted on the GPS map as existing in that direction. We followed Robyn's paper directions and pulled into the parking lot of the place we recognized from Google street view.

The GPS showed us less than thirty metres away, and there, right in front of us was a group of people in a driveway at the side of the building. They looked like they were just starting a picnic. Some of them were sitting down opening bags. Others were standing up consulting handheld devices. Robyn didn't recognize any of them. OMG, a new group of geohashers!

"Do you really think they are geohashers?" asked Wade skeptically.

"I always expect everyone near a geohash to be a geohasher," explained Robyn. "That way you can get excited." Robyn has discovered that it's better to be excited and then disappointed, or worried and then relieved, than to have nothing out of the ordinary happen. Robyn likes roller coasters. Robyn's mother approved of Wade because Wade is stable.

Robyn asked the group if they happened to be geohashers. "Geo-what?" That would be a no. They denied it even more strenuously when geohashing was explained to them. The shiny building was not a shoe store but rather a show emporium, and they were also emphatic on the topic of it not being open to the public. They were nice though, and seemed smart and friendly. People who take a lunch break by eating bag lunches in their own driveway yet look classy while doing so would appear to be the sort of efficient, hard-working crew I would want to hire to represent me at a trade show.

We took a few pictures of the outside of the building that occupied the geohash, and then headed off on our errands to Robyn's brother's place and Point Roberts, with another geohash in mind for the day.

thepiguy

... was also stopped by the fence.