**Note: This post is long, but the details are worth reading if you plan to do something like this for someone special in the future!**
The first clue was hidden days before the whole Scavenger Hunt was supposed to take place. All of the other clues were placed the morning of the Scavenger Hunt. (I could have done it the day before, but I figured that the closer in time that I dropped the clues off to when he would actually pick them up, the less likely it would be that the clues might be lost or misplaced!)
Like I mentioned in my previous post about M's birthday, I woke up super early to get my research done at work, and then drove over to where M lives. (The drive takes an hour and I wanted to be there as early as possible to make sure things weren't delayed by traffic, etc.) I sat at a Starbucks near his work to finalize all of the clues and then proceeded to head to each of the clue locations to drop off the appropriate clue. Once all of the clues were in place, I called up M and told him to open his "birthday card". He was really confused and asked me what I was talking about. My response was, "You know, the one that's pinned behind the 'Birthday list' on the wall." He laughed and said, "Oh. Yeah, I don't know how I missed that?!" I told him to open it and follow the instructions.
Here is what the first clue said:
After M let me into his office area (It's a restricted area, so I needed him to be present to "swipe" me through.) I proceeded to hide a later clue under his desk chair. Keep in mind that M still had no idea that the "birthday card" was actually clue #1. I then took M out for a quick birthday lunch. You can see the photos in a previous post here that were taken during our lunch.
After lunch, M and I walked back to his work. Although I had been given permission from his boss to take M for the day, there was a meeting that M really wanted to attend, so I had to find a way to work that into the "scavenger hunt" schedule. It actually worked out perfectly that way, anyhow! So before M went back up to his office, I handed him another card and specifically told him to call me after the meeting but before opening it. (Originally I had intended to give him the clue when he first let me in, but plans changed and I had to just wing it.) I should also mention that during lunch, I also slyly made M "hold" some cash and my digital camera for me.
While M was back at work, I took the time to find M's car to put a clue on his windshield. I knew that which parking structure he had parked in, but what I did not know was how long it would take me to actually find his car! At this point I still had 15 minutes on the parking meter, so I figured I'd just walk up and down to find his car. (In retrospect, I realize this wasn't the best idea.) This proved much more difficult than I had imagined. After 15 minutes of aimlessly wandering the parking structure, my meter had expired and I decided to see if there was an easier way to locate his car. I explained my situation to the parking attendant and asked whether there was a way to locate what car was on what level. He said that it wasn't possible, but he did allow me to drive through the parking structure (free of charge) for a "maximum of 30 minutes" otherwise he'd charge me. I told him that if I hadn't found the car in 30 minutes, then there was probably no hope of me finding the car! I honestly drove past the parking attendant at least 4 times in driving around the parking structure. Each time I felt so embarrassed that I still hadn't found his car! After another 20 minutes of driving around the parking structure, I finally found M's car. First of all, that parking structure was a maze! Secondly, I had checked the first 3 floors going up. One. Floor. At. A. Time. (passing the parking attendant 3 times in the process) I got smart and decided that I should just go all the way to the top first, and then all the way down. I blame the delayed decision on the fact that I was clouded by my excitement for the scavenger hunt. Turns out that M was parked on the down side of level 3. So I had literally looked at EVERY car before finding his! [That's my bad luck! But I wasn't going to let it bring me down.] I then drove over to my "hiding place" (You'll see where that was soon enough.) and waited for M's phone call.
After the meeting, M called me. Anxious and excited, I told him to open the card (that contained clue #2). I also told him that I was going to stay on the phone with him to make sure that he understood how to fill out the "evidence" cards. (Even though I had drawn out instructions for him.)
Even with the instructions above and my explanation over the phone, M was a little confused. It's okay, the point was for him to get to the next clue and to enjoy himself - which he did. So I was successful in that regard!
Clue #2 sent him here to find clue #3 (which was hidden on the windshield of his car):
The next place wasn't special and we had never been there before, but I wanted to include it for excitement and dramatic purposes. (I should also mention that it was the hardest clue for me to "drop" off!) It sent him here. I secretly wish I could have been there to see his face when he realized what "shoppe" the clue was referring to! Haha. He then picked up the next clue and proceeded to head to the next destination, Cafe Sevilla. The last time M and I went there we had a great time!
While at the bar, M was told to enjoy a glass of sangria and to also take a photo with the bartender. It was at this point that the camera failed. [You can read these two posts (#1 and #2) about it if you missed them.] I'm not going to lie. I was pretty upset when M texted me to tell me this. But that quickly faded after I received a picture text of him and the bartender using the camera on his cell phone! M's so resourceful! He saves the day, even when it's his birthday! [Yet another reason why I'm so in love with him!]
He was then sent back to his work. I later found out that he was not excited at all that he had to go back to work. He said that he kept thinking, "I just got out of there! Why on Earth would I want to be at work?!" Haha. But he had to, it was all part of the hunt. At work, M was instructed to write me a letter and drop it off in the mail (using the self-addressed stamped envelope that was provided with the clue) before proceeding to his next destination.
Let me say that I laughed out loud when I received the letter in the mail. He used the same card that held the clue to write me a little note:
Back to the scavenger hunt. After mailing the letter, M was off to his next destination: The Mission Inn. For us, The Mission Inn is special. We love visiting during the holiday season (and we try to go as many times as possible). You can see how beautiful it is here and here. We also like to walk around and explore The Mission Inn even when it's not lit up with Christmas lights. It's such a beautiful place. (You'll see what I mean by the photos below that I took with my camera phone.) To get the clue, he had to go in and ask the front desk.
The front desk gave him the next clue which sent him to my favorite place at The Mission Inn. (This is where I was secretly hiding. I wanted to be able to see M and his expression as he found a clue and this was the only way to be a part of it without actually doing the scavenger hunt with him.)
These are the photos that were taken with my cell phone as I waited for M. The following are pictures of The Mission Inn:
And here is my favorite spot at The Mission Inn:
It's hard to tell, but I lined the stairs with Hershey kisses:
I also lined the fountain with them:
Additionally, I made an arrow of the Hershey kisses to point to where I was hiding:
Which was in here (notice more Hershey kisses on the top of the columns and around the openings):
I'm so glad that I decided to do this. I can not describe the look on his face when he saw the Hershey kisses. It was priceless. The best part was when he saw me he said, "Aww, I was enjoying this. I don't want it to be over. I was hoping there would be more!" That's when I said, "Good, because it's not. Here's your next clue!" Then, I gave him a real kiss and we parted ways.
The next clue sent him to his apartment. There clue on the door sent him to "our book". [Maybe I'll explain what "our book" is one some day. It's honestly my favorite and most treasured possession.] There was another clue hidden the book and directions to take 5 minutes to write a little something in it.
Starbucks is where the next clue sent him. There, he was given the choice to order a drink or something to snack on (or both) before heading on with the hunt.
There is no actual physical card for the next clue because he had to call Lex to get it. The funniest part was that he initially thought the clue meant that he had to call Spunky [She's my sweet kitty, for those of you that don't know!] Then he realized that it couldn't be her, so it must be Lex.
Over the phone, Lex gave M his next clue, which sent him over to Rite-Aid. (Although I don't think I have ever posted about it, M and I like to walk over to Rite-Aid on warm summer nights for ice cream.)
From Rite-Aid he was instructed to go to where we had our first date in Riverside. I should let you know that on our first date there, M picked up pizza from this place and we ate it at his apartment. We didn't actually eat there on our first date. [This little detail is important later.]
He was instructed to pick up take-out (Which was already paid for, ready and waiting for him under his name.) before continuing on with his hunt. The next clue sent him to his mail box.
The clue taped under his mail box instructed him to drop off the pizza in his apartment and to look on the stove for his next clue.
Due to the ridiculously long length of this post, you will have to wait for a "Part 3" to see how it ends.
