Five years ago our team of six lounged at a table
in Theater Square, eating ice cream and nervously assessing the competition registering for the 3rd
Great Petaluma Treasure Hunt. As the two PM start time loomed, all kinds of
people showed up, filling the square with noisy excitement. With growing
confidence, we determined we had the advantage over the families with
school-aged kids and the
twenty-somethings who’d probably get bored. And wouldn’t the senior citizens
get too hot tromping around in the August sun? Besides, we included a
writer-editor, a computer whiz, two puzzle experts, an artist, a teacher, and
between us held five undergrad degrees, two masters degrees, one PhD, and six smart
phones. Not to mention a combined residence in Petaluma of about seventy-five
years. Team Albuminati a cerain shoo-in!
Our team regiseterd in advance, proceeds benefitting Butter and Egg Days. The clue packets had been handed out
at check-in, and we had nothing to do but bake in the hot August sun and
speculate on possible clues until the “starting gun” of what was essentially a
race to find locations in downtown Petaluma and solve clues. The cover of the
sealed packet offered some strategies to maximize our use of time: “determine
as many clue start locations as possible before heading out” being excellent
advice.
At two o’clock, the MastermindTreasure Hunts team gathered the 28 participating teams together, explained the
rules and instructed us to break the seals on our packets. I felt like I was
back in school about to take the SAT. Maybe it was the heat, but pinpricks of
perspiration broke out under my hat-band. My pulse raced.
“GO!”
The Albumati raced to a corner of
the square in the shade and started solving for clue locations. The teacher reminded us to answer what we knew, skip what we didn’t coming back to those
later. We all got #1-A—a no-brainer: It’s
quite an odd place for a lair/a business with tools and hardware/ but this
place’s name/ is one and the same/ as the wondrous bear that is there. We
marked our maps with 1)Rex Ace Hardware.
In moments my husband had 3) Putnam Fountain. I knew 7) Copperfields and 8) The
Petaluma Historical Museum. Our artist, Diane, was all over 2) The Petaluma ArtCenter. We marked our maps with the numbers and a route began to emerge.
Ours wasn’t the first team to leave
Theater Square, nor were we last. A knot of “hunters” clustered in front of Rex
Ace pondering the clue: a missing letter—the “v” in shovel. We raced to the Historical Museum and our scientist
PhD easily found 26 apples in local
artist, Sachal’s, painting Apple Tree:
Homage to Newton. We streamed out onto Fourth at Kentucky and found “Heritage.” We were giddy, on a roll.
Copperfields stumped us. We moved on to find a flour company. Forty-five
minutes later, we’d covered every downtown alley and the Boulevard but couldn’t
find the clue—because it was on Washington.
Well, if we hurried and got the
rest right, we could still win, couldn’t we? We took a quick rest in the shade
to google Petaluma flour companies before scurrying around Putnam Plaza to
discover that the fountain isn’t dedicated to anyone in particular, but the drinking fountain is dedicated to Milt
Whitt. Got another one—time to move back toward Theater Square.
I’d solved much of the puzzle for
locaton #6 before we’d departed the starting line, and we knew we wanted to be
near Graffiti Restaurant, but we never found the clue. “Ok, then let’s run to
the Art Center,” concealed David, Mr. acrostic. He'd figured out the clue: a snake with a shovel for a tongue!
Time ticked on and we had about
twenty minutes to find the last clue in Walnut Park. I don’t think anyone
actually solved the maze, but we found the clue, 1932, through sheer will and jogged back to Theater Square with six
minutes to spare. Someone handed in our score sheet and we grabbed a table at
La Dolce Vita Wine Lounge and ordered drinks and appetizers. The Albuninati was sweaty, hungry and
every one’s feet hurt!
Soon the tables filled up and the
Mastermind Treasure Hunt team tallied the scores. Someone got onto the mic and
said they’d announce the winners soon. I gripped my husband’s hand feeling like
that six year old waiting to have her basket of colored eggs counted by the
mothers—the basket with the most eggs (usually my sister’s) won a beautiful
sugar egg with a pastoral scene inside. This was going to be my sugar egg! I
ordered another glass of wine.
“In 3rd place, Red
Harvest, with all ten answers correct and a 4:12 time stamp,” the emcee
announced. A table of adults hooted and the crowd clapped.
Ten clues? “Hey, did you guys know
we missed one?” I asked. “Yeah,” our detail- oriented programmer answered, “the
one about the street crossing signs.” Drat!
“In second place at 4:10 with all
answers correct, the Evil Goggles!” The crowd cheered, but I couldn’t see the
group from where I sat. “And first prize goes to the Be Dang Cool with all ten
clues and a finish time of 3:52.” The table next to us erupted—eight or ten
twenty-somethings had won the prize—a night at High Tides Cottage on Tomales
Bay. Definitely not bored.
And in 23rd place, the
Albuminati! Our prize? A wonderful afternoon exploring our hometown, learning
about its history and meeting our neighbors. After a day of laughter, ice cream and drinks with Petaluma, we had a big win.
