Game On

Have I ever told you that I am crazy competitive? Like, ridiculously so? Well I am. That’s not such a far-fetched thing to believe for any person who calls athletics their profession, but for me I feel like I take it to a whole other level. So this weekend, when I signed up to do a scavenger hunt along Venice Beach, I wasn’t just out for some quality time with my partner and some sunshine. Sure, those things were an added bonus, but they definitely weren’t the main course. This was a competition. They were going to announce a winner at the end and hand out prizes. Game on.

I’d like to just point out that regardless of the outcome, this happened to be an extremely fun and unique way to spend a Saturday afternoon. I stumbled across this idea browsing the web. A company called Out of the Box Events puts together these hunts, sometimes open to the public and sometimes for corporations and such to work on team-building, etc. But I immediately recalled the fun I used to have as a kid doing scavenger hunts and knew that this would be right up my alley. There were probably 20-25 teams of 2, and we all hopped on bikes and explored Venice Beach looking for answers to some pretty challenging clues. There were some other competitors in the mix, but also some folks just out to enjoy the day. In fact, we ran across one duo that gladly shared the answer they had just stumbled upon. I didn’t have the heart to tell them they were actually wrong. ☺

At the end of the hunt the teams gathered around so they could announce the top three teams. My chest started beating a little faster and my palms started sweating. I clapped politely and smiled as they announced the 2nd runner up and 1st runner up, but inside I knew the day would have a little bit of a damper on it if my team wasn’t called next. I didn’t have to worry, though. My sizing up of the competition proved to be spot on, and we were victorious. Foregoing bathroom and water breaks, working hard to throw other teams off our scent, and racing back in the nick of time so we’d have that extra minute to find that last clue, proved to be a winning strategy. Along with my first place prize, I also got a medal. A medal I wore proudly for the rest of the day!