Amazon Annie

I imagine you'd want to go to Niagara Falls some time during your visit.... I just noticed on the GC site that they have a 'hotels' page where you can pick a place and they'll list the hotels. They also list things like "Points of Interest" (but I checked Hamilton and there isn't anything interesting in Hamilton since all the POI's are in other cities). http://www.geocaching.com/reviews/hotels-in-hamilton,on,ca Don't know if that will help you. http://www.geocaching.com/reviews/hotels-in-on,ca ~Annie

I'm trying this evening (after the downtime) and I'm getting "An Error Has Occurred". I hope this gets fixed before tomorrow evening as I have a big trip planned to the US. Yikes... back to the old way of following a route and clicking on caches (Ontario to Florida was brutal!). Thanks! ~Annie

I have to vote for CacheMate hands down. I tried a couple of others but had problems with them - GeoBeagle gave me trouble with the SD card so I tried GC.com and downloaded a .gpx file from a cache page and I got an error. It's a struggle! There is a very smooth macro for GSAK to export to CacheMate on the Android (I am using an LG Eve/GW620). I can create different databases for each group or whatever I want to sort by. I've purchased every version of CacheMate since my old Palm 500 when I first started caching. CacheMate even helped to determine which flavour of phone I was going to buy! I don't have a data plan and I turn off all extras out in the field (my battery isn't great) so I need a handy database to reference when we're scratching our heads. I can make notes, voice memos, use google maps or cache map if I need to, take photos, have a bookmark file, sort them... I can go on and on! I don't use 1/2 of what it is capable of. Take a minute to check out : http://www.smittyware.com/droid/cachemate/ ~Annie

I have been using Smittyware's "CacheMate" since day 1. There is a version for most phones and it works well on my HTC Touch. The $8 is a wonderful investment. http://www.smittyware.com/ppc/cachemate/ Enjoy! ~Annie

Awesome Ted!!! Congrats on your milestone. I miss our weekly "where the heck is this cache" calls lately but it was nice to see you not once but twice last week. Bravo on your find count. ~Annie

My vote is for Radio World too. They'll match prices (although they have to charge PST). They have a service desk if anything goes wrong... and they'll send it away for you too if they can't fix it. Hands on discussions with knowledgeable people - worth the drive to Toronto. Others buy from Canadian Tire 'cause you can get CT money back and they also match prices. Hey, there's a brand new CT store in Waterdown too!

Just a little nudge to bring this back up to the top. We're getting nearer to being somewhat organized - t-shirts are on order, keytags will be made soon and all we have to do is keep the fallout of that hurricane off the radar for the weekend! Hope to see you all out either for the day or the weekend - help spread the word, we're getting down to the wire!

Make sure you sign up for the weekly cache notification (look at the bottom of your "My Account" page). There are events listed that you might be able to attend. Another way is to look at "List newest in Ontario" on the right side - events are at the top. To toot a local horn - check out our annual weekend down here : GHAGAFAP VI You'll meet all sorts of people from around the province and even from the USA too! It's a chance to pick brains, learn some new tricks and have fun! Welcome to the caching world. Annie

It's back! GHAGAFAP VI is quickly approaching and we are getting busy working on another fun weekend of camping, caching, picnicking, games and other assorted activities. GHAGAFAP VI Event Page Whether you are brand new or been around a few years, Valens is the place to be on the weekend of Sept. 14th to 16th, 2007. The event takes place on the Saturday (15th) from 9am to 5pm but many of us camp all weekend long. Registration is open at this time - make sure you get your name in ASAP so you can get in on the goodies. We might have to book more group camping space if necessary (or book your own site if you wish). Make sure you put it on your WatchList so you won't miss out on the updates. As usual, GHAGAFAP Central is interested in any caches that attendees are putting out. If you are planning to place an event cache for the day please contact GHAGAFAP Central with the Subject Line: "GHAGAFAP: Planned Caches" to book your place in the list. GHAGAFAP has always had a super prize table and it's looking great again for this year! Of course our TB/Coin table will be brimming with interesting stuff to trade. Help spread the word and let's make this year another super event. Bring your family, bring your friends... who knows, you might just get to meet Flick!

If you're willing to travel a bit, for Army Surplus a great spot is right beside this cache: GCQ6B8. I don't remember seeing any ammo cans though last time we were there. Best ammo cans I've seen were at Forest City Surplus in London, ON. http://www.fcsurplus.com/ - they were rust free and nicely painted. They are great for all sorts of stuff (and there are lots of caches in London too!)

I am one of a number of Canucks that will be travelling down via automobile. Looking foward to my second trip to a GW event. -Annie

Looks like he/she has cleaned out Woody's "The Travel Bug Party Shack" Hair by Becky started by seeker_team KPD NASCAR #48 dropped by Speysiders mErCi HoPe dropped by Logger Tropical Travel Bug Fish dropped by walking woody It's definitely associated with qcorvino who 'saw' all the same TB's. Here's hoping they are being collected for a new cache somewhere. I won't be dropping any TB's in Guelph / Flamborough area anytime soon.

GeoAdventures! That's what I say that I do when confronted with Muggles.

Congrats on your first find ... and a Walking Woody one too! I've done that cache and I can't imagine finding that my first time out.. or my second.. or... well let's just say that without help it would still be on my DNF list! Good for you! Luckily they're not all that tough... unless you're talking about a Woody cache. Hope to see you out at one of the local events! There's one right around the corner (so to speak) on the 20th in Freelton.

Hi Overtaxed, I go one step further with Cachemate - did you know that if you "Export" from Cachemate then Sync your Palm you will have a list of caches in order of time found in your Palm Memo (with any notes that you made in the field). Thanks for the list of new software that I wasn't aware of. I try to keep a list of neat software on our local site: http://www.ontgeocaching.com/oga-links.htm I find that Geocacher 1.1 Java Midlet for mobile devices has lots handy tools to use while in the field.

Hi Jeff-trex, I have a Palm T|X and I love it! It has Bluetooth and WiFi and runs CacheMate just fine. Once in a while you can find a Hot Spot with the T|X while out caching but not all the time like the Blackberry but the price of access for the Blackberry makes it prohibitive in my mind. (Just cache with Fizbot who has a Blackberry and it's all a moot point!) I like to have my phone separate from my PDA so that's another thing. Good luck on your search. I noticed that Tiger Direct has them for $279.99 and Factory Direct for $299.99 (which is about average). Magicsoft doesn't seem to carry them anymore. Annie

Hi Tim, It looks like they are up in the "Bruce Penninsula" area so I would contact some of the local cachers up that way to see if they know them or can help out. Micd and Puddlemaster are names that I know and have met and I know they are "up that way". You can contact them through GC.com. Grandpa's Goodies 2 is a cache that the Millerboys put out so I am assuming they are located in that area. Have a look through the early logs and you'll see some names- maybe even those that have a FTF might know the placers? Good luck!

I have attended some workshops down in the US and here in Canada on Geocaching and there are some great setups that local parks and gov'ts have used to enhance the experience of visiting their parks. One is Cleveland Metroparks: Cleveland Metroparks Geocaching Program I have talked with them and they really understand how it's a win-win situation. Closer to home our own Hard Oiler has done a great job of introducing it into his local area in Petrolia: Petrolia Geocaching Program Swifteroo has worked tirelessly with Simcoe County Trails: Simcoe County Trails We (OGA) visited the Wye Marsh people last spring and introduced Geocaching to them. They now have setup a GPS program there: Wye Marsh GPS Program For a list of other organizations that support Geocaching, visit this page: OGA Spotlight Page It works great! We are a growing crowd of travellers who love to explore new areas. We respect the environment around us and love to talk about our experiences - encouraging others to visit what we have enjoyed. Best of luck with your endeavour.

Hi All, I thought I'd start a new topic as this is all about Sue Dawe's condition. Updates are forwarded from Cheeri0's (Neal and Sandy). Hi everyone, Sue was taken back into emergency at Credit Valley around 5:00 pm today. She was experiencing a lot of pain on her upper right side. This is her good side. It turns out that she has a blood that is not life threatening. It has moved to her right lung as far as we know. She is back on morphine, and Heparin which is a blood thinner. When we left at midnight she was starting to dose off and was experiencing less pain less often. Rebecca, Allan and Marge were with her, and we will take them back first thing tomorrow morning. We will keep everyone posted. Take care, Sandy and Neal ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Thursday morning update. We took Rebecca and Marge back to see Sue this morning. Sue had been moved to a quieter part of the emergency ward as she did not get any sleep last night. She is scheduled for a ‘doppler scan’ today to locate additional blood clots in her left leg. It was a clot from that location that moved and lodged first in her right shoulder area, then to her right lung causing her great pain in both instances. Marge was quick to realize that Sue needed emergency care. Sue is off Heparin today as she has been given her maximum in a 24hr period. Treatment would probably resume tonight. Sue will most likely be kept in hospital for a few more days. Marge (Sue’s mom) will delay her departure back to Winnipeg again to stay with Sue, Rebecca and Allan. Sandy and I will drop by again around 4:00 PM. Once back home, we will issue another update. Again, take care Neal -------------------------------------------------------------------- Hi everyone, Here’s the latest: (7:30pm Thurs) Sue has been moved out of ER to a semi-private room in Ward 2C. She is still in a lot of pain, but it has now moved from her right lung to her lower right arm. She is currently on Morphine, Tylenol 3s, and Heparin. Sue managed to get some sleep during the day today, she has been eating and when possible readily participates in conversations. Although anxious to be out of the hospital, it appears that she might be in there for the next few days. Rebecca and Marge were with her today, and Allan came by in the early afternoon. Marge has cancelled her ticket back to Winnipeg, and will once again stay as long as she is needed. I will drive Marge back to the hospital tomorrow morning. My guess is that Sue would probably appreciate a few visitors over the next few days. We’ll keep you posted. Take care, Sandy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi everyone, I just got back from seeing Sue this evening. She is looking much better, and will be arriving home tomorrow. She is pretty tired though from lack of sleep last night due to being transferred back to the ward room. Initially when she was transferred out of IUC they placed her in the ward room, then moved her to a semi-private room, then back to the ward last night, and now as of today she has a private room. It’s no wonder she’s tired out. Anyhow, they took her off of the morphine yesterday, and she is managing with Tylenol 3s. They also removed the IV. Sue says that her ribs don’t hurt as much as they did before. She also mentioned that another doctor came in today and told her that she does not have pneumonia. She is up, walking around and looking forward to getting out of the hospital. It is expected that she probably won’t arrive home till late afternoon as she still has to have some procedures done before they release her. Take care, everyone. Sandy

Sorry, I was away for the weekend so here are the updates (in order of receiving them). First Update: 9/8/06 8:17 am:: Went to the hospital yesterday and Sue seems in good spirits. She is still recovering in ICU...There are some concerns with blood pressure but we think that will be OK. She was even able to sign some documents while we were there. She didn't have to, we could have signed them. But she insisted. She passes on her thanks for all that everyone has done for her and her family and she really wants back out of the hospital and back to her life, friends and family. We think her stay may be a little longer this time. She's just had major surgery and we are pretty sure the next step before they even think of releasing her will be out of ICU and to a "regular" room for her recovery process. Off to see her again today. I'll update if there are any changes. Thanks again. Steve. Second update: 9/8/06 3:30pm Latest Sue News: Went to the hospital today. Sue is in great condition today. I was shocked when I saw her. Difficulty in breathing but very aware and alert. Although, she is a little more doped than usual. Because she was up in a chair today. Sitting for a good portion of the morning She passed along her gratitude for all your support and looks forward to getting back on her feet and back into her routines. They took out her breathing hose and she was told she can eat solids. And of course, they bring her Mac and cheese. And apparently she hates the stuff. Didn't touch it, but had some tea, salad and fruit. She's still in ICU but I think it’s more because they are waiting for somewhere to move her. Although, they are monitoring her pretty close still. Hopefully, she'll just keep getting better and better everyday. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again. Steve. --------------------------------------------- Sunday - 10:24 am As of Friday evening Sue was transferred to Ward 1B (the surgical ward at Credit Valley Hospital). She is recovering wonderfully, and is up to seeing visitors for a short period of time. It actually states when you enter into the ward about only staying for a short period of time. The visiting hours are 2:00 – 8:30 pm daily. Thanks everyone, Sandy ----------------------------------------------- Went to see Sue again yesterday..(Saturday) She's doing very well.. Out of ICU and into a Semi-Private room.. Lost most of the tubes except for the morphine and intravenous.. She ended up in a ward first and managed to walk across the hall under her own power when she got transferred to semi-private.. Eating solid food..Still picky about what kind.. A little dopey at times (from the morphine).. But generally, very aware and alert.. She is constantly shocked by the support of everyone..And passes along her gratitude.. Seems like its just a matter of time to heal now..I will update more if anything changes or she leaves hospital etc, but for now its just seems to be a time thing.. Thanks again for all your support.. Steve..

This is a special thank you to all of the Guides, Scouts, Geocachers and Friends who banded together over the past week to help us.. The work you all put into yesterday was truly remarkable.. We truly can't thank you enough.. We felt like we hired a team of professionals to cater the reception..And we also are aware that a number of you missed the actual funeral to make preparations for all of our guests.. You know Tony would be as proud of you as I am.. Thanks again.. I will go see Sue today.. For those of you who don't know, she ended up back in hospital due to some complications...She had an operation and it was a success..We heard yesterday that she was resting comfortably(as confortable as can be expected)... She was fully aware of the funeral taking place yesterday and only asked that her thanks and appreciation be passed on to all of you.. Which Allan took care of for her..And I'm sure she'll be proud of the job he did.. Hopefully, its just a matter of time for her to heal, but I will report back later with any more info.. Bless you all.. Steve..

I first met Tony a few days after I started caching at the Poacher's Pub Night (CGED9) in Burlington back in '03. I got up the nerve to attend the event even though I knew not one person. I thought "Gosh, how will I know which bunch of people the cachers are?" Not a problem! There they were with all the gadgets sitting on the patio talking some strange language. Tony was nice enough to introduce himself and be my translator. With the help of him and a few others I learned that there was more than a map screen to find a cache (you can imagine what I was going through previously trying to match the icon on the map with the cache). About 2 weeks later I got to see Tony and his son Allen in action. Nozzletime and I were rushing out for a FTF on Key to Success up in Mount Nemo. Long story short, we met them at the cache and started searching... and Tony and Allen beat us to the find. We proceeded on to the other cache (GC18B3) in the area - and Tony proceeded to laugh as I tried to follow the instructions "what is the large man-made grassed area down below called?" Of course I couldn't see anything as the trees had grown tall and obscured the target. I lived up to my name (at that time) of 1short ! Tony told me that this was his first cache with the Meadowvale Scouts. Tony attempted to help Laura (Beaux) and me try to be FTF at a puzzle cache in Ottawa. He didn't give me the answer but nudged me in the direction to solve it. We did find the first stage but the redirect confused us. We gave it our all - driving around Ottawa for about 4 hrs attempting to find the final and phoning our friend for help. Never did find it but when I return I will sign his name in the book. That one even had him stumped! I always looked forward to seeing Tony pop out of the woods at a cache or come over at an event and tease me about my limited abilities of obtaining caches that weren't "Annie Friendly" or discuss our love of all things related to Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy and Dr. Who. He made sure that he greeted one and all at each event and I will try to carry on that tradition in his name. It's one of my toughest things to do (yes I am actually extremely shy) but it's my earth mission that I need to accomplish for him. Thanks Tony for the honour to know you and your family. You have been a huge influence on me and you will not be forgotten in our larger caching family. I'm sorry your mission was accomplished too soon for our liking but I'm sure you'll have us scratching our heads when we get up there to meet you again with some challenging puzzles (just leave the math out of it ... will ya?) Best wishes to Sue, I hope you relax and recover soon so we can meet up again. Hugs to Rebecca and Allan and best wishes for your recovery too. Steve and family, CheeriO's, Rideau Rangers etc. - you are a great support, I'm so glad that you're there to help out. Edit: gramatix

More news to pass on : Today, after an ultrasound, Sue suffered a setback and as it now stands will be kept at Credit Valley Hospital for approximately 4 days. As we understand, the funeral arrangements remain the same. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Sue, Allan and Rebecca once more. Sandy and Neal

From Neal (CheeriO's) Sue has been at home since Friday afternoon recovering fast. She has had some good nights. On Sunday, Sandy, Rebbeca and her mom took her to Credit Valley Hospital for X-rays, blood work and a check-up. She was put on medication to prevent possible blood clotting in one of her legs. Sue has been walking on her own with the assistance of anyone’s strong arm and choosing to leave the walker behind. On Tuesday and Wednesday Sue will most likely be using a wheelchair only to help getting to and froe. All of Sue’s family has been with her over the last few days. Steve Dawe is still requesting food plates for the reception as per previous e-mail. Leeane Hart (guidinggal@yahoo.ca) is coordinating the collection and she can be contacted with any offering. Note for the reception after: Parking is non-existent in the complex and there’s a school and church across the street. It will be school time and parents make use of both to pick up their children, so be careful.