https://instagram.com/p/16QGz1OLBq/?taken-by=johnzdennis
Today, we participated in the first (we think?) #ChinatownChampions Scavenger Hunt, sponsored by the Chinatown Chamber of Commerce. Top prize: Free airline tickets to anywhere in the USA
On Delta
It was a pretty good time! We had no idea what to expect as this was the first time we had done something like this. I’d put on a small scavenger hunt for my birthday which Rikki and his wife won, but this was much more complex and competitive. We were told to meet at the roof of a Chinatown parking structure at 9 AM where and when we would be given our instructions and task list. The Scavenger Hunt consisted of us solving clues to identify places to go. Once there, we were either to take pictures of the place or participate in an activity, record it, and post on Instagram.
In order to solve clues, we were allowed to use smartphones and we were also given a handy Chinatown walking guide which we probably should have perused more in depth.
Highlights/Lowlights included:
Me being blindfolded and fed some mysterious substance by Rikki (the top image). Luckily, it tasted like banana. (/dick joke)
Cartwheels!
https://instagram.com/p/16Ol1GOLN7/?taken-by=johnzdennis
A complete lack of musical talent!
https://instagram.com/p/16RJpzuLEX/?taken-by=johnzdennis
Us passing by that damn piano three times because we couldn’t figure out the clue that said “Across golden waters by Far East shores, Record a melody, ‘Play me, I’m Yours'”. Turns out the piano was in the Far East Plaza (that part we were able to figure out), across the way from a store with a Chinese name which, when translated into English, means Golden Waters. No way in hell would we have figured that one out if we hadn’t, on the fourth pass, spotted the piano with a sign on it saying “#Play Me”.
Eating chicken feet and using the bones to make a smiley face. Then, not having our picture count because we forgot to put our faces in the picture.
Us completely messing up the clue “larger than large, shines bright at night, find the star, choose left or right” and somehow thinking Sofia Vergara was a star:
https://instagram.com/p/16O7wEuLOu/?taken-by=johnzdennis
Don’t get me wrong, I’m making it seem like we were complete idiots out there, but we actually did a pretty good job! We wasted minimal time and effort and planned our route fairly well. In the end, we ended up tied for 4th place. The winning group of 2, who were the only ones to complete all tasks, got a pair of plane tickets. Then, to our surprise, they announced that they had another pair and that it would be raffled off between the next top ten finishers. On the raffle, we were only two away from the winning ticket.
The topper to the day was our discovery of a cool little dive bar, the Melody Lounge, where we enjoyed some tasty craft beers with a cool bartender, a friend of Rikki’s, and some locals while it rained outside.
All in all, a great day! Thanks, Rikki, for putting this in motion! Next time, we’re winning this thing!
That sounds super fun. I did something similar a few times that I highly recommend if you like that sort of thing. It’s called the Fantastic Race LA (nee the Amazing Race LA) and it’s here: http://fantasticrace.com/
The prizes aren’t quite as rich as two airline tickets, but the puzzles were a great balance of challenging and reasonable, where not everyone will finish but a few people will.
Nice! How did you do?
I had no idea all this cool stuff existed right here in L.A.!
The bill for all those beers was only $23. Crazy.
Juice hooked us up!
Yes, our bartender’s name was Juice. Yes, she is also an actress/comedian that runs an open mic night at the bar on Mondays. It’s L.A.
That’s awesome! I’m bummed you both didn’t win, but that sounds like a blast. I’m trying to come up with a good dangling balls joke, but, well, nuts to that.
It makes me think of that my usual puzzle team is doing DASH (http://playdash.org/DASH7/) again this year, and I think you both might enjoy it. It’s not a scavenger hunt, but you solve puzzles and go to different locations and usually end up at a bar or two. I think the LA one is in Santa Monica this year.
That looks cool! How was your experience?
DASH is always a great time. It takes most of the day, but the puzzles are fun and challenging enough where it really feels satisfying when they click and you get the solution. It’s just a fun time to have with smart people that you like. Aside from doing those escape-the-room puzzle things, it’s one of my favorite things each year.