The participants were my brother and his family and my family – not even my wife was privy to the workings of the Hunt, which meant she could play right along. We also had to do this on Friday night after the Arkansas vs. LSU game (we won’t go into detail on this subject) because Saturday was supposed to be rainy all day. Luckily, I planned for rain.

This year started with three anonymous texts to my wife, brother and his wife. Each with one word each that when you put them together kicked off the Hunt officially. The words were UNDER, WELCOME, MAT. There they found an envelope with a letter stating the Hunt was now underway should they want to play.

It gave no specific direction, and just like last year, contained a clue to the next step. On the letter were three words in red, which again, when put together led to the RETURN, AIR, VENT. Behind the filter was another envelope tacked to an exposed 2×4.

Inside that envelope was a small notebook and a piece of paper with a series of symbols on it. The notebook was a journal that I wrote like it was from 1911. In it was a short story that told of how the page with symbols was obtained and some clues about how to decipher those symbols.

Let me stop for just a minute and tell you that I thing I had just as much fun watching them try to figure this out as they were working on the puzzles. So far, it was working out just like I envisioned it.

They received a cipher as part of the story for 6 of the symbols, which were actually numbers. From the 6 given, they could build the remaining numbers and thus assign a numeric value to each symbol. My brother provided the next breakthrough when he started writing down the numeric equivalents to the alphabet. They then translated the symbols to “turkeyhunt us”, which they quickly remembered from last year as the web address for the Hunt.

They went to the computer and pulled up the website. On the home page was a congratulatory message and a riddle. Once solved, the page revealed a set of GPS coordinates. We all got our coats on while my brother programmed my GPS with the coordinates. Out the front door and down the street we went in search of the next piece of the puzzle.

After a few wrong turns, they finally got to the location and started looking for a small plastic bottle with red reflective tape on it. It didn’t take long and they had it. Inside was a QR code (mobile bar code) and when scanned with an iPhone QR app, it took them back to the website and another riddle. Solving it revealed another set of coordinates. This process happened 9 times.

Back inside and after the little kids were in bed, the bottles were all put on the table where everyone sat  staring at each other wondering what was next. One of my nephews noticed a patter on the back of each of the QR codes and quickly ascertained that each one was a piece of a larger QR code. They put it together, scanned it and had the final set of coordinates. This took them to the shed in the backyard where they found a box with the Hunt logo on the side.

It was locked with a combination lock and the code was another set of four symbols in the notebook. Inside were two boxes of BeyBlades and a stadium as well as a scroll outlining the tournament rules. It was family against family for an all out battle to ten wins. The two top winners would then battle it out for top honors and become the Turkey Hunt champion. My wife was the champion when we finished the next morning after having to call it quits so the kids could go to bed.

I almost forgot to mention that I also hid in the house a shortcut that would have allowed them to bypass the walk through the neighborhood. All they had to do was discover the clue, which was a tiny Turkey Hunt logo taped to a cabinet door. Inside the door was a small metal tube containing the location of the treasure box. Nobody found it, but now they know to look next time…

I love designing these hunts and puzzles and seeing people engage them while making memories with loved ones. If you are around next Thanksgiving and want to participate, come join us.

It all started with a delivery by my neighbor that had a box with a letter and a bag of items inside. He relayed a story of how he came into possession of the box (great job BTW) that was very Indiana Jones/Men in Black-ish. The kids were in awe and as soon as the door was closed, they were in the box.

The letter outlined the game and had one hint on it that led to a map where 12 plastic bottles were hidden. On the back, it had what looked like notes from someone who had been tracking the treasure for some time (ala Myst). Included were GPS coordinates to the bottles and the plan was to walk the neighborhood and find these bottles, but the weather had a different idea as it rained the entire day. So, we loaded up the van and a follow car and headed out.

It was quite a sight to see – me and three little boys running around in the rain looking for little plastic bottles with only the GPS unit guiding the way. After crossing back and forth over the one square mile that made up the playing field, we finally had all 12 bottles in hand. Now it was back home to find out what they contained.

Inside each bottle was a multiple-choice Thanksgiving trivia question and each was marked with a roman numeral from 1 to 12.

I had the best time designing the game and the treasure was worth the effort and we now have a memory that will last a lifetime, which is the point of holidays I have to say. Good luck and post a comment on how you did.

Of course I had to do a 3D model.

Here’s the finished maze.

And the kids loved it.

The maze consisted of 100 bales of straw hay that was loaned to us by the Schaeffer’s from the Mayflower Corn Maze and Pumpkin Patch fame. If you ever make it out there, make sure to find Ms. Schaeffer and hug her neck…just because she’s good folk.

The carnival was a great success and the hay maze was a first, but certainly won’t be the last. Bigger and better next year!

Thanks to my teammates in the Training and Development area – everyone worked hard and is still recovering from hauling hay all over the place.

I was just about to resign myself to notify his next of kin regarding his lifelong limp when I remembered my friend Clippy. Maybe he could help this poor chap out. I ran to the super secret Clippy cave (drawer in the office) and sought an audience with the mighty paper clip superhero.

He graciously granted me time where I pleaded for the injured sentient two-wheeler. After a few moments of dramatic pause, Sir Clippy agreed to help and the rest is history.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

The post-op procedures involved some wire cutters and a piece of tape to hold the repair in place – a small price to pay for full mobility.

From time to time, I’ll post info on how the mighty paper clip is enhancing my life and this blog will serve as a place of homage to the grossly under-appreciated paper clip – especially the big ones. Here’s the most recent save that can be attributed to the awesome Biggie, as I like to call it.

Sunglasses temple structural reinforcement
The temple on my sunglasses failed recently. The metal part inserts into a plastic piece that goes over my ear. The glue that held the plastic piece on the metal frame failed and the two pieces came apart.

I tried Super Glue – didn’t work because of the finish on the metal and because it didn’t, the plastic piece became stressed and the socket finally broke wide open making the glasses completely useless.

Next came Gorilla tape – the stuff is amazing and puts Duct Tape to shame and I though, “Surely this will hold.” And it did, but it still allowed the plastic piece to twist around the metal as the tape didn’t provide enough rigidity to hold it firmly in place. It wasn’t coming off, but it moved around too much.

Enter the large paper clip. With a pair of needle-nose pliers, I was able to create what is best described as a “splint/tie rod” to not only keep the plastic piece and the metal piece joined properly, but keep the plastic piece from twisting.

I’ve got to say, I’m completely impressed with the solution. Not because I doubted the paper clip, but because I doubted my skill to employ the mighty tool in such a way as to achieve such an elegant solution. Judge for yourself.

CLICK TO ENLARGE

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

What are some that you can remember?

For the most part, he’s much more fun to be around because he can do so many more things, and yet at the same time, he’s no longer content to play with blocks on the living room floor for hours while I watch TV.  So, my weekend was filled with activities intended to 1) keep the peace, 2) grow our relationship, 3) survive until mommy came back home.

That takes a lot of planning and consideration!  You have to not only think about the next move, you have to think several in advance too.  If you’re caught not knowing what’s next, you have no answer for the question, “Where going daddy?”

My wife is a master at this – I’m constantly amazed at the stories of the day when I arrive home after work.  The varied and strategically planned day is nothing short of a masterpiece – day after day.  Not only does she build her relationship with her son, she invests and maintains relationships with a myriad of other women, some moms…some not.

The consequence of this loving attention and planning is a very well-adjusted little boy who is happy, learning, polite and a true joy to be around as well as a new appreciation of my wife as she lives out her God-given role as mom.

I’ve always maintained that good kids aren’t born they’re made and the evidence continues to mount in support of this position.

It was very fun to do and I learned a ton! I welcome your feedback.

If you play the game long enough, you will experience something that resonates deep down that will get you hooked. That glimmer of hope that comes from signs of improvement grows with each outing is what drives me to keep going.

But there is something else that makes this game resonate with me – nature. If you’ve ever stepped out on a golf course and stopped to just take in the beauty before you, you know what I’m talking about. A well kept golf course is gorgeous and your heart can’t help but move to worship of the God that did this with a wave of his hand.

I am inspired creatively by nature and in constant wonder in it’s complexities. In my business as a website designer, I’m challenged with coming up with designs that not only function well, but connect at an emotional level with people. I have a great model from which to draw inspiration – God never did anything that clashed…He is the ultimate designer!

What inspires you?

This “short bus” was exceptionally restored. There were a ton of chopped hot rods, perfectly restored Caddies and Chevys and my favorite – Corvettes.

Back on the road – we headed to San Antonio for a relaxed arrival time at the Dome around 11:30. Here’s where it gets cool – walking in through the back door, we stroll right by the 6 production trailers INSIDE…on the south half of the floor.

Heading upstairs, we drop our gear in a secure room on the third floor before grabbing a jumbo dog and some nachos downstairs. The people start filing in and soon you can hear the cheers throughout the building. We take a stroll through the decks amazed at the sheer number of people and the complete lack of an empty seat.

The atmosphere is electric – fans for all four teams are in the stands grouped in clusters of differing shades of blue…from the baby blue of NC/UCLA to the royal blue of Kansas/Memphis (when was the last time the semifinals consisted of schools who all wore blue?).

We stop occasionally on the club level (where all the boxes are) to snap a few shots.

We finally find a seat at the extreme edge of visibility to watch the first game. Another interesting thing about the cheap seats is that fans were interspersed and no matter who did what on the floor – someone right around us cheered along with a larger percentage of the other 45K fans.

The second game came and went with a very similar experience and afterwards, it was off for some snacks before hitting the sack. Sunday was spent leisurely checking out the area, hitting the outlets (Underarmor, Nike & Sony) and ending the day with a nice big steak dinner at Saltgrass and the movie Jumper.

Monday started early with a trip to Kerrville for a service call at the new hospital. After getting it all squared away – back to San Antonio and a stop at the Bass Pro Shop before a great Mexican lunch at a highly recommended restaurant. We then grab the gear and head to the Dome for the finals.

What a game – I was sure Kansas was going to win by a long shot based on the way they handed NC their heads two nights before. Memphis proved to be up to the task by not only keeping up with Kansas, they had the thing won…until…the stripe came back and bit them square in the butt. Kansas never gave up and the fans stayed to the end.

As did we – what a finish! All in all – a great trip to an event that I hope to visit many times in the future…because it was flippin’ sweet! For larger images of my trip – go HERE.