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Event Registration is now open!
Check out the Maritime Geobash website for information on how to build your reservation package for our event. You can make your package as basic or as lavish as you wish!
Items include:
Basic Registration (free)
Swag Bag
Event Geocoin (regular and attendee editions)
Event T-shirt
Pig Roast dinner with all the trimmings
If you wish to make a donation, you can add that too.
We hope to see you at the 'Bash!!
Seems the link is broken. Try this....http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache...4-15a6d43f6afe
Passport application - check
Ferry? Ferry? Anyone know if there will be a Ferry running from either Bar Harbor or Portland to NS? That will be the deciding factor in our attendance.
Don't think there is, but look into the ferry from St John, NB to Digby, NS. We've taken it, and it's a nice trip. St. John is only about 4 hours from Bangor, and the ferry would be a LOT cheaper than "The Cat" from either Portland or Bar Harbor (if it were still running...)Quote:
Originally Posted by pjpreb
:D:D
The Cat will not be running. :o(
Too bad. It was a nice ride. We took it the first month it went into operation, and they had mechanical problems which made it VERY rough. But it was fast, and fun in spite of the roughness.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cache Maine
We took another "Cat" ferry a couple of years ago between Spain and Morocco. VERY smooth crossing.
Here is a link to the press release concerning the Cat decision.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cache Maine
http://www.nfl-bay.com/cat-statement-2009.html
Sorry, there is no longer a ferry to Yarmouth.Quote:
Originally Posted by pjpreb
As was mentioned, there is a ferry from Saint John, NB to Digby, NS.
Wish I could give you better news!
I was really hoping some other freey service would pick up the route that the Cat had. (Remember the Bluenose?)
While on vacation in Mexico, we were in a port town called Tuxpan. It's not a resort town and we were close to the only white, english speaking people in town. Out on the river sat the Bluenose Ferry, not being used for anything. Guess the owner sailed in, couldn't pay for charges, and left it there.
There is talk of a new ferry service. And five bids have already been mentioned, including Marine Atlantic, but it wouldn't be in operation until 2011. :(Quote:
Originally Posted by pjpreb
I find it's quicker to drive. You don't have the wait time and the distance from Yarmouth to Halifax is BIG.Quote:
Originally Posted by pjpreb
Sheesh! The distance from Bangor to Halifax is big, too! LOL!Quote:
Originally Posted by Kaching Karen
(And the drive from Yarmouth to Halifax if GREAT! LOL!)
Keep in mind the the event is not in Halifax. It's about an hour west in Bridgewater. Yarmouth doesn't look so bad now does it?
Just some passing thought for you folks as we have bike camped the area several times always enjoying it. The St John to Digby Ferry (IMO) was much nicer then the Cat which we did only once. The reason we saw all kind of stuff which we always find amazing. Even had a chance to see a sunfish once. From the ferry landing it is straight across past KNP to Bridgewater and the coast and comes out a bit to the west of the location you would be headed for. There is a very nice campground where the ferry lands with lots of nice caches in the community along their bike trail. It is a good road from Bangor to St John now that moves right along. Our problem was we had to bike part of it but it had a large breakdown lane. While we are selective doing caches there were many along the way we road by. Lots of great earthcaches arund the park.:D
Only about 4 hours from Bangor to St John. And if you have time, a tour of the Moosehead Brewery in St John is a great opportunity. :DQuote:
Originally Posted by Northwoods Explorer
Advance registration for the Maritime Geobash 2010 will close on May 29.
This is necessary to ensure we have the bags, tshirts and coins ordered and shipped in time for the event.
Gary Ramey will also need advance notice of how many mouths he is feeding.
Basic registration will continue until July 3rd if you want a nametag. And of course, you are welcome to register at the event itself and sign the logbook.
Hope to see you on July 10th!!!
There are only 5 days left in the advance registration period! That means there are only 5 days left to guarantee that you can get your hands on the cool swag that will be available for this event! And it is the only chance to reserve your Pig Roast dinner!
But even if you don't want to buy any of the event swag, we still encourage you to register early. The free registation package will include a nametag for you and every member of your caching team, an event brochure, and maybe even some other freebies. But we have to know how many people are coming!
Let's make this event a mega!!
Register Now!
Sure wished a family wedding was not in conflict. Hope you all have a great time!
On May 28th the server hosting the Maritime Geobash website suffered a meltdown. While all data is backed up and secure, and has taken longer than expected to replace the server and restore all websites (including ours).
As a result, the deadline for registration has been moved back to allow people a final chance to register for the event.
THE LAST DAY FOR REGISTRATION IS NOW JUNE 1ST!!
Thought I would post to bring this to the front.
I made a rush trip to Nova Scotia over Friday and today. Not my style to not have caches loaded and not be able to stop, but, I was helping two friends get onto their sailboat near Halifax to bring it home and bringing their car back.
Here is my route and the approximate time: Bangor to Calais about 2 1/4 hours. Calais to Saint John (and remember once you cross the border you ADD an hour - that proved to be an almost fatal mistake for the Capt. who planned our trip - as he failed to do that in the planning and we nearly missed the ferry) - time about 1 1/2 hour. I am strong on my time by a bit because not everyone drives over the limit - traffic needs to be allowed - and we did move right along.
We opted to take the Digby Ferry out of St. John. The passage is 3 hours. They like you there 1 hour before departure. I would say with the date for the mega - reservations might be required and I strongly recommend them. Reservations may be made on line. They give discounts for AAA and Seniors - booking round trip as well, I believe. The ferry people were very courteous and helpful. A variety of food, beverage and snacks are available onboard. A travel guide person on board who hands out very nice maps and has helpful hints. Gift shop, arcade, internet, children's play area rest rooms, etc. I will suggest, the seats inside (and you have to leave your car) fill up fast. Bring your blanket and pillow and move right upstairs to stake your claim with your friends as soon as your car is parked.
Once docked and your car is off, you can head in town and towards the town with the event. I had one regret with this rush trip - that I had to keep driving and couldn't take the time to cache (in either direction). I drove right through the town of venue as we used Route 10 as a cross cut rather than driving around to reach the marina. I believe it was about 1 1/2 hours across to the venue town but I may be wrong.
I stayed overnight in Digby before hopping back on the ferry this morning. My stay at the Admiral Digby Inn & Cottages was very enjoyable - the only regret - to short. From checking in very late - to my early morning check out - it was perfect. Jacqueline checked me in - and out and was wonderful - a fun lady with a great personality. They have an indoor pool, cable TV, free wi-fi, in room coffee maker and a coin laundry. Nice clean rooms. Wished I could have tried the restaurant too.
Another disappointment was trying to do one cache early this morning in the rain and not finding it - perhaps it was me. I hope so.
Anyway - I have been told the ferry takes the same amount of time as driving but saves the mileage. If I had the time, I would probably do a loop - ferry over, mega, up the coast and long drive home - to enjoy the scenery. One thing this ensured - I wished I was able to go to the Mega - I am sure all will have fun.
To the hosts and hostess - I will be back - and hopefully able to give you all some notice, cache my heart out and meet some of you! Beautiful country and I can't believe it has been over 20 years since I was last here.
Sheesh! Good information, Lois. Thanks. We should do more of this type of thing, RULost2? and I travel a lot - we'd love to provide information that encourages people to travel as well. :D:D
A travel log post would be fine. This was just so relevant to this thread. I really, really wished I had know I was staying over so I was better prepared to cache - but alas, I wasn't. A long trip in less that 2 days. Beautiful area thought and worth visiting.
I would love to hear more about some of your travels. I know you have been a couple places I would love to visit.
Thanks for the encouragement - I wasn't sure but thought it might help someone if they were thinking about going to the mega.
Just to clarify... Due to a surprisingly low interest in this event it never made it to Mega status. They had plenty sign up on their web page, but currently are at 209 on the cache page. So not enough to make it a mega.:( Maybe it was just to far for people to go.
don't they get the "mega" status after, depending on actual attendance? (from gc.com..."In order to qualify as a Mega Event, the event cache must be attended by 500+ people.")
That was at the Meet and Greet before GW5 in Raliegh. Here is what Groundspeak says:
Mega-Events are a special designation reserved for only the largest event caches – those which attract geocachers to attend on a regional, national or international level. To qualify as a Mega-Event, the organizers must obtain prior approval from Groundspeak – not from their volunteer cache reviewer. Among other requirements, the organizers must demonstrate a substantial likelihood that at least 500 people will attend the event. A Mega-Event Cache may be published up to one year prior to the event date. A regular Event Cache can be changed to a Mega-Event Cache after the fact, if the organizers demonstrate to Groundspeak that more than 500 people attended.
Thank you for that clarification Mainaic1957. It is to bad they didn't make Mega - and I suspect it would be hard for that to happen now - but who knows - funnier things have happened.
The caching up there would be worth the ride (lots of them in great pockets of locations) but one would want to stay a few days. Beautiful country and everyone I met in a store, restaurant or other establishment was very nice. :)
This part of Canada sure has changed since my last visit many years ago. Less obvious smoking, recycling in many places, all positive changes in my opinion........... :D
Definitely want to go back! The lack of my cache find was me - and the CO checked on it right away! Glad it was me..........and not MIA :rolleyes:;):)
I really had wanted to make it to that event as well. Just wasn't in the cards for it to work out this time. I too really want to get over there to cache, and to see the province.
I travel to Nova Scotia quite frequently and have family that live quite near the event site. I always drive around unless I'm going to Digby/Yarmouth area. Here are the two reasons why; 1) it's cheaper, and 2) after all the wait time and boarding times, it's just as fast to drive.
The folks I traveled with agreed - travel time is the same - they wanted to save miles and I think thought that would ultimately save $ - not sure. But I can tell you the lady at the motel in Digby was a hoot! I would go back just to see her LOL!
Perhaps we can get a group together to make a trek next year - that would be fun!
I had to do a little research just for fun. It is almost exactly 200 more miles of driving to drive as opposed to taking the ferry. So if you figure how much gas you'll use on those 200 miles you can compare it to the cost of the ferry. At 15 MPG and $2.80 US gas price, it comes out to $37.33; 20 MPG - $28.00; 25 MPG - $22.40. Of course you have to consider other vehicle costs (maintenance & repairs) but for most vehicles this would be negligible in 200 miles.
This compared to the price of the ferry it's a no brainer then.Quote:
Originally Posted by brdad
I wished the folks I drove for had thought so.........I would have preferred to drive vs. the ferry. Although it was a fun ride. The ferry is expensive.
Fuel is more expensive there, however, not by a lot. Sometimes to save 200 miles just doesn't really save that much and I have to agree - driving would be a fine way to do it too.
[QUOTE=hollora;67081]Fuel is more expensive there, however, not by a lot.
According to "GasBuddy", the CHEAPEST gas in New Brunswick is $96.9 (Canadian) per liter, which (by my guesstimate) makes it about $4.00 a gallon. :eek:
[QUOTE=WhereRWe?;67082]Paid $106.3 in Digby!:eek::eek::eek:Quote:
Originally Posted by hollora
Even at $4 gallon and in a car that got only 15 MPG you're only talking $53 to drive it.
I get at least 30 MPG. Oh well, snf I'm still driving. Jon and I are stopping in Halifax to go to the Nova Scotia Tatoo with my parents and then on to Blomidon Provincial Park. We'll zigzag around the province while visiting family and going to the event. In fact, if we have to miss the event and put family first.... so be it. Anyways, we leave in the morning and it should be a lot of fun. I've been caching coast to coast in this last month and it's been a blast. Isn't this a great recreational activity (yes, and some would call it a sport)? :):):)
It's official! Groundspeak changed this to a Mega event today. Congrats on a very well done event!