Location, Location, Location

What lengths do you (or would you) go to in order to get the geography right in your books? Is it okay to take liberties?

Good Monday morning. Brenda Chapman at the keyboard.

My first books are set in fictional towns so that was easy peasy. I was the town planner, mayor and puppet master, making up locations to suit the story. My last two series have been set in real locations -- Stonechild and Rouleau in Ottawa, Kingston and surrounding towns, from Montreal to Toronto. I used Google Earth and map...