Joe and I, according to our best 'remembering', started competing in the TH in 1997. The team at that time was usually made up of his Aunt Suze, his dad, and a couple of our friends. The team has changed a lot over the years- I think we've roped most of our friends into being part of our team at one point or another. For the last few years, the core of our team has been fairly consistent- Joe and I, Joe's brother Jason and his wife Paige, and Joe's brother Mike and his wife Vanessa. I seem to be the member who is most often missing- I was on bed rest before each one of the kids were born, I missed one year when I was working as a principal and was just too tired, and I missed last year due to Julia performing with her choir. We have a small crew of 'back-up' folks who have willingly stepped in and filled any holes in our team in the years that we've had them.
(Two members of our team... Joe's brother Mike and his wife Vanessa... and Julia and Colin's new cousin Cora was along for the ride... she'll be here with all of us in March!)Joe's family has been participating in the Treasure Hunt since the very beginning... in 1952 Joe's Grandmother and Grandfather came in 3rd place. In 1979 his Aunt and Uncle came in 1st place (very bad... you'll see why in a moment...) and our team has come in 2nd place three times... 2002, 2006 and 2008. Which means our team has WON the TH three times. You may be wondering how we 'won' when we came in second. You see, second place is the 'winning' position in the TH because the FIRST place team has to serve on the committee to put on the TH for the next THREE years. Second place is wonderful. Second place is where you ALWAYS want to be.
(Here is Joe, ready for the hunt, sporting his 2008 blue shirt- they give you these when you come in 2nd place)
(Here is Joe, ready for the hunt, sporting his 2008 blue shirt- they give you these when you come in 2nd place)Joe looks forward to the TH all year long. This is his 'thing'. He really enjoys the whole nature of the hunt- the research ahead of time, the physical nature of searching for clues in the desert, the navigation through the streets of Scottsdale, and the actual brainpower of solving clues. We have done this long enough that we really pretty much have it down to a 'science' of just what needs to be done pre-hunt, what we need the night of the hunt... and our record keeper Paige provides us with great reminders to keep us on track from year to year. We were worried that Joe wouldn't be able to participate this year, but... he was there! He wasn't able to do the same amount of running and finding of clues that he has done in the past, but he was still able to participate, which was all that really mattered.
We didn't do very well this year... came in 16th place... however, Joe believes there is an error in the scoring and has contacted the TH committee to let them know of his concerns. If our stats/standing get updated, I will let you know! :)
So... if after you've read this post you are interested in forming a TH team of your own, let us know! We'd be more than happy to meet with you and give you some hints and help you prepare. TH information usually comes out in August/ September and you have to register as soon as possible because they only take 78 teams total. Fair warning... check out the picture below. This is Joe's brother Jason and his friend Josh. Josh put together a rookie team this year and this is how he felt at the end of the hunt.... :)
Night all...
C
1 comment:
This sounds REALLY fun!!! How come I've never heard of it??? It's so fun that it's a family thing, too!
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