Shop, Eat, Hang-out & Geo-cache in Lexington Park
Terri Doughty, left, shows off the new Lexington Park Geocaching Coins with Mark Pinekenstein, president of the Lexington Park Business and Community Association.
Two years ago the Lexington Park Business & Community Association decided to ride along on the centennial celebration of naval aviation to market and begin branding Lexington Park as a desirable destination.
Of the numerous successes, the Naval Aviation Centennial geocaching trail may bring the longest lasting and best return of the lot.
Geocaching is like a scavenger hunt using a Global Positioning System device or a GPS-enabled mobile phone to find hidden “caches,” usually plastic containers that contain unique objects are placed near interesting landmarks.
The Centennial caches lead searchers across a history of Lexington Park displaying its connection to the beginning of naval aviation. The history and the visit to Lexington Park are winning rave reviews among the geocachers.
The hunt was launched in October 2011 and by September 2012 the business association celebrated the win of a grant from the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium to replenish the original investment in 200 commemorative coins awarded to completing teams.
The coins are issued to successful geocachers by Helen and Ken Newell, owners of the Grapevine Antiques and Collectibles on Tulagi Place in Lexington Park. “They are so impressed by the coins and they are so impressed with the geocaching trail,” Ms. Newell reported to the association last year during discussions on the need to replenish the supply.
This month, the 200 additional commemorative coins were presented to Terri Doughty, the geocacher who pitched the idea and led the successful effort. Ken Newell reported that interest remained keen and positive. “They tell me it is the best coin they ever had,” he said.
Ms. Doughty’s association with the trial was recognized at a Greenbelt geocaching event, and she reported the Lexington Park trail continued to gain attention among regional geocachers.
The coins and the trail will be featured in the Southern Maryland Heritage Area Consortium upcoming newsletter announcing the recipients of their our annual Mini-Grant awards for Fiscal Year 2013. Inclusion and recognition by the consortium marks the trail as a part of the heritage area’s continuing effort to build the heritage tourism resources of Calvert, Charles and St. Mary’s Counties.
Terri Doughty explains, that is exactly what the Naval Aviation Geocaching trail does for Lexington Park.
[youtube=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWa3golIKCk]
