Earlier this week it was so hot that we took an afternoon off and went to the beach. Here on the North East Coast you have to take it when you get it and we decided to take it!

There are several great beaches nearby to where we live that sometimes it’s hard to choose which one to go to. This time we decided to go to the Lawrencetown Beach on Highway 207, the Marine Drive. Usually the temperature at this beach is considerably cooler than here at home and sometimes the fog can roll in quickly but since it was so hot here with such a beautiful blue sky we thought that we would take the chance. We were not disappointed. It was just cool enough to be enjoyable, the surf was rolling and we got to do some Geocaching!

Since we are not the ‘lay on the beach’ type (oh sure, there are times when we’ve been known to rest our weary bones (nap), or to read a book (nap) while protecting our selves from the sun by laying under a beach umbrella (nap)) we decided that today we would walk a section of the Atlantic View Trail. The Atlantic View Trail extends approximately 10kms (6 miles) from the Eastern end of the Salt Marsh Trail and past Lawrencetown Beach, following an old railroad bed. However, today we only walked a small section from the beach to where the trail crosses Highway 207.

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We had a great evening last night at a local German style Ale House with over 20 other Geocachers! We spent several hours enjoying excellent company, great conversation and some fine food. The event was held to give a warm Maritime welcome to Geocachers Binrat and Geogranny, who were visiting from Eastern Ontario. The photo below certainly shows that our traditions held true to its roots:

Binrat and Geogranny were in town to visit their brother/son Ducky (also a Geocacher) and his family. They will spend the next week or so caching in the area with a trip to Canada’s First Geocache in the plans.

The evening began with dinner of choice which included a variety of fare, the most popular being the German Schnitzel. This was followed by the awarding of quite a few door prizes donated by GPSCentral and The 3Geeks Outdoor Store. Throughout this there was a treasure trove of Travel Bugs available for discovering and exchange. There were a dozen conversations going on at once but good times and laughter was the common topic!

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We headed out yesterday morning to explore a trail that has been calling us for years, the Lake Charles Trail at Shubie Park. Even though we live close by and are frequent visitors to the park, most recently for the CITO event, this was one part of the trail system that we had yet to venture on. We can’t think for the life of us why we had never been there before other than it was saved for a day like today. It really was a great day.

The Lake Charles Trail extends the full length of the lake and is a part of the Shubie Park shared-use trails and the Trans-Canada Trail. It skirts the water’s edge for most of its length, offering many great viewing areas and resting spots. The trail is well groomed and a favorite among hikers, joggers and cyclists. It is continually being extended where eventually it will follow the canal route all the way to the Bay of Fundy!

It took us just over four hours to do the round trip of around 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the parking lot to the end of the trail and back. This included stopping frequently to enjoy the views, to take photos, to have lunch and, of course, a bit of Geocaching! We were able to pick up a half a dozen caches along the way. (We even left a couple to bring us back here another time. )

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Mrs_Go has had a lot of inquiries regarding her new TrekPod Go! walking stick since she bought it a few months ago. It seems to generate a lot of interest wherever she goes and it’s easy to see why – not only is it a walking stick but it’s also a camera tripod!

The TrekPod Go! from Trek-Tech is a monopod/tripod/hiking stick which converts from hiking stick to a tripod within seconds. It also uses a neat magnetic mount for quick camera setup.

The TrekPod is made out of “aircraft grade aluminum alloys and high strength polymers” and only weighs 28 ounces (793 grams). The tripod mode has a height range of 39″ to 57.5″ (99 to 146 cm) and the hiking staff/monopod mode has a height range of 42.5″ to 62.5″ (106.7 cm to 158.8 cm). It can be quickly taken apart with a maximum piece length of 23″ (59cm) which will easily fit into carry-on luggage.

Attaching the camera is rather slick. It uses what is called the “MagMount AR/i Anti-Rotation magnetic quick release camera and optical device mounting system”. Simply put, it uses a strong rare earth magnet for mounting your camera. This allows your camera to be attached instantly. The Anti-Rotation feature locks your portrait shots in place, and indexing every 30° aids with panorama photos. A “MagAdapter” screws directly to your camera in the mount hole. It comes with two MagAdapters, one for light cameras and a stronger one for heavier cameras. This worked out well for us since we each have a camera.

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