2012-10-22 28 -81

Mon 22 Oct 2012 in 28,-81: 28.6712662, -81.1950194 geohashing.info google osm bing/os kml crox

Location

By Google Maps surveillance, this hash appeared to be in an open public field not far off a side road in a residential area. However, upon arrival, that open field turned out to be fairly wet and marshy. The hash point was practically right on the outside corner of a fenced lot. Also, there was construction in the area.

Participants

Myself and a good friend of mine named Tim. We used to work together, and this hash was directly between our now separate places of employment.

Plans

A quick Google Chat to check Tim's availability was all that was needed. I used an app on my Android phone to get the location and opened it in Google Maps for navigation to the street adjacent to the hash. I planned on switching back to the app to bear in on the exact spot.

Expedition

The drive to the location was uneventful, though I was concerned about traffic at noon. After pulling off to the side of the road at the appropriate spot, I decided that a sign was needed to mark the occasion. I found a nice impressionistic water color painting my 4 year old son had left in the car the week before, and quickly penned in the date, the coordinates, "The Internet Was Here", and a quick sketch of hat man.

I waited about 5 minutes before Tim arrived. We both quickly noticed that the exact hash point was within sight, but completely surrounded by marshy swamp (welcome to Florida). Not quickly daunted, we picked our way around the deepest waters and found a relatively dry path until we were within 2 meters of the coordinates. Keep in mind, we were on our lunch breaks, wearing dress pants, collared shirts, and the kind of shoes a developer wears when trying to fit in with business types at the corporate office.

That said, we immediately began rummaging around the surrounding swamp for a suitable log with which we could cross the remaining puddle between ourselves and our goal. We managed to find three, all of which were infested with large blood-red ants. Being intelligent men, we laid a protective layer of palm fronds beneath the logs to avoid splash-ups and provide additional stability. When finished, our "Bridge to 28.671, -81.195" looked a lot like a "Bride to Nowhere", with the exception that the destination was much more geeky.

Tim was the first to bravely cross the channel, and I followed after. The hash point was located between two trees on a small, muddy island. We set up our sign, took some photos, and balanced our way out of there.

Lunch at Tijuana Flats rounded off the expedition nicely.

Mission Success!