This cache is a replacement for my original English Bay cache, which had a pretty good run of almost four years, longer than I'd have expected it to last in this location. That cache has sadly had all its camouflaging greenery removed by the very efficient Parks people. Which unfortunately eliminates pretty much the only possible place I could see to hunt for a geocache with any kind of privacy anywhere near English Bay. This simple puzzle will still bring you to English Bay to admire the view and enjoy the many activities that happen here, but take you to a more secluded place within 1,200 smoots to find the final. Please be gentle with the greenery and careful to close the log container snugly...
Cache final is at: N 49 A8.BCD, W 123 E9.F95:
A = Number of in memoriam plaques on the plaza
B = Number of stairways down from the plaza level minus two
C = Number of inukshuks visible on the point at the south end of the beach plus 2
D= Number of heritage lamp posts on the plaza minus five
E = Number of deciduous trees visible on the water side of the plaza minus four
F = Number of things you are specifically not allowed to do on the plaza per the signs on the lamp posts
When I first started geocaching I hated micros. And then I began coming across nanos; ARRGGHHH!!!!! I mainly geocache for the cool places it takes me that I'd never find otherwise, so although I like the fun of a challenge as much as the next person, searching for a nano most often takes way too much time I'd rather spend enjoying its surroundings. Now you may say that I should just not hunt nanos, and mostly I don't. And you may think I'm just a sore loser because I can never find them, and I'd be the first to acknowledge how exasperated I get when that happens. But here's the thing: I LOVE neat little containers with a passion! So I feel, oh, I don't know - hurt, more than disappointed, when I can't find a nanocache; what after all is more painful than unrequited love?! How to indulge my delight in tiny containers without losing my mind? And then the "Aha!" moment: lots of other people seem to LOVE looking for nanos, so... I will become a hider of nanos! And everyone wins!
English Bay Beach, sometimes referred to as First Beach (as opposed, naturally, to Second and Third Beaches) is the Vancouver downtown core's most populated beach, attractive to people of all ages. On hot summer afternoons the beach will be jam-packed with sun worshipers, swimmers, kayakers and beach volleyball players. But any time of year at various times of the day you will find people walking, cycling or rollerblading on the seawall, admiring the inukshuk - originally built for Expo 86, the Vancouver World's Fair - or enjoying the best sunset views in the city. There is constant water traffic of all kinds to watch going by, and the most spectacular fireworks you're likely to see anywhere happen here for several nights every summer, launched from a barge moored several hundred metres out into the water. (The plaza at GZ is turned into a VIP seating area for this event, although I wouldn't want to sit there because it's also where the – very loud! - speakers are located.)
The present bathhouse, built in 1932, replaced an earlier more ornate structure put up in the early 1900s. Many private homes and hotels once blocked access to English Bay, but over time the Vancouver Park Board bought up private properties to remove obstacles to the public's enjoyment of the waterfront. Englesea Lodge, a six story apartment block which was the last remaining property on the water side of Beach Ave., fell victim to a mysterious fire in 1981. Most recently, an old concession building has been demolished and replaced with a sparkly new building housing a Cactus Club Restaurant. Vancouver's first self-proclaimed lifeguard, Joe Fortes, lived here in a tiny beachside home just after the turn of the 20th Century, and taught several generations of Vancouverites to swim. The West End branch of the Vancouver Public Library is named after him.
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.