Monday, August 20, 2012

Scavenger Hunt: Best Summer Bucket List Item Ever!

Our last blast of summer was to undertake a scavenger hunt in the big city!  It was part Summer Bucket List (photo scavenger hunt) and part history lesson; a perfect thing to do on the last night of summer vacation.  To be honest, Mr C had started school the Thursday before, but according to him he's always in school while the girls are always on vacation!

My husband and I came up with a set of 12 clues for places around the city.  We divided them into areas of town to make it easier on the driver and then we set off to "find" the places.  It was so fun. Best day ever. The kids got into the competition and each of them won a fair share of the clues.  Amazingly, those little public school girls knew a few things that the Sophomore College Prep boy didn't have a clue about!  Gotcha.

Now as my husband will attest not all of the stops were picture perfect.  We didn't go for the big glamorous places, but rather these were historic or interesting spots that you would want to visit, but only need a fifteen minutes or so to see in full. Perfect for an afternoon hunt!

Our first stop was an old Flour Mill in a historic part of town.  Thankfully, on Sunday afternoons in the fall, it was open as a farmer's market and we were able to explore and experience a little of the authentic feel.



Next stop was the Mormon Trail Cemetery and while we are not Mormon, they certainly played a big role in the movement Westward and that history is rather amazing. The visitors center was closed for a special event so we'll have to catch it another time.


Third on the list was the clue that no one got right; but the guesses were both comical and amazing. Who knew that Martin Luther King was born in Omaha?  Thankfully, we gave a few final hints and the crowd came up with Malcolm X.  I guess the fact that a few of these "notables" were born in the city, but quickly exited tripped a few of the kids up. Malcolm's birth site has a nice little library attached, but to be honest the police tape and dead body down the street made us a little nervous!  Not even kidding!  It is a sad commentary on poverty of this part of town.


Our visit to the North part of town complete, the next few stops were all downtown....stay tuned!

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