High Trek Adventure 2008 - Philadelphia

What a way to start the weekend! This was the first of a big 1-2 punch weekend. On Sunday I had the very familiar Urban Dare, but first I had to contend with the new-to-Philly High Trek Adventure. It seemed similar to the Dare, but I knew there would be differences. I met with Nick - my partner today - inside the Triumph brewpub. Nothing like inside starts! Luckily the weather seemed to be holding, but it was a bit chilly. It got a bit chillier when I found out we didn't get our HTA shirts until the end of the race... I had really counted on that extra layer! There were teams all over the bar... and some were drinking already (hmm...). We were herded upstairs for the start and given 10 random trivia questions to answer - each correct answer took 3 minutes off our time. The catch was that we would not know our score, so it could (and did) become a wildcard in determining the winners.

After the quick two-minute trivia challenge, we were herded out onto Chestnut Street for the big start. Rather than stagger start us, it became a mass start. Imagine 80 contestants rushing one person who held the starter envelopes... well, that was what happened! After that great collision of humanity, we were off!

Nick and I opened the envelope to find the first 5 locations and a small photo of the word "Cafe" surrounded by a heart. One of our bonus questions was to find this location for 30 minutes off our score. Nick did at some point lose it before we needed it - but I got him back (unfortunately). We figured it had to be somewhere near one of our locations. Since we only had five locations to find, the mapping was much easier. The closest location was a palindrome-titled location somewhere near the Betsy Ross House. We called our phone support - I had Joe and Mary - to work on that location. While they worked in vain (try searching on palindrome business!) we ran to the corner and quickly found "Okooko." Bingo! After that it was quick run to St. George's, which I had the honor to run a treasure hunt at, so I knew just where to go. On the way we found the first contestant for our 2nd Bonus question - find someone wearing a Philly team jersey and we would get half of that number off our time. The guy was wearing 20 - and in the race - so that working for us for now. We then sprinted up to North Bowl at 2nd and Poplar while finding out the Heart Cafe (Bonus 1) was right next to St. Georges! Catch that one on the way back.

The bowling was pretty easy - Nick got a spare and I got really a spare (that is, I guttered the first one, then hit all 10 on the second, so they said I got a strike and gave me free admission to the party tonight!), so we tore out of the there, picked up the Heart Cafe and headed for the game pieces next to City Hall. On the way, Nick had an epiphany - we headed into Modells to find a higher number jersey, then get someone to wear it. We found Jerome Brown's jersey - 88 -and talked the security guard into wearing it... victory! Only later did we find out that some teams found 93 in the Sports Authority. After exiting the store we found the correct game piece - I 17 - Bingo!

Leaving the game piece, we headed to Rittenhouse Square for Set 2 of instructions. We kept bumping into teams now and then, but I thought we were doing very well. The second set had the same two Bonus questions, so we were done with them. We got the first location by finding a student in the Square with a Temple ID (actually several teams descended upon him). The next two locations were close - 2020 Chestnut (Koresh Dance Studio, just like the Waco folks) and 2107 Walnut Street (a simple math question). Two to go!

We ran along Walnut Street and caught a bus just after crossing the Schuylkill. As we traveled towards 34th Street I fished for the Set 1, which had the signature from the bowling alley (showing that we did indeed bowl). It was gone! Crap! It must have fallen out while we were leaving Rittenhouse Square. Well, Nick and I were even. I did have the free party I-bowled-a-strike card to prove we were there, but just in case we decided to do all 10 locations (teams were allowed to skip one - oh well).

Exiting near 34th Street (and the Penn Relay traffic jam) we ran up Locust Walk and found the LOVE statue (well, the other one!). The clue was John Lennon and Buddha, which we thought was peace, but hey, love works. Just as we took Love, I spotted the Peace sign just across the lawn. Well, one of them has to be right!

It was a couple blocks to the last location, the White Dog Cafe, and off to subway for the long trip home. And what a trip! As we waiting for the train, several teams showed up... we were first! About six teams boarded the train and as it traveled towards our stop at 2nd street, we stretched or snacked. I emptied my Powerade bottle and told Nick to just run like mad. I would catch up since I figured time stopped when the second person checked in.

Well, the subway stopped and off Nick flew. I was in the pack as we raced along the street, but gradually moved away and safely entered Triumph ahead of everyone else. The finish was in the back and though we all got the same time, Nick and I had the tie-breaker! Three teams were about 10 minutes ahead of us (must have caught the train just before us), but I remember texting someone that we did good and should move up in the standings. We celebrated with some micro-brews!

Teams poured steadily in as Jason recorded their times and checked the photos. I thought the 88 jersey sealed a good finish until another team - with the same time as us - announced they had a 93. Drat! Now it might come down to the trivia questions. It took a while, but they finally herded us upstairs for the awards.

Jason announced that they would only have the top two teams, with the full results online soon. The first award went to the best finishing family (and only?). Then, much to my surprise, the AARP award went to team 129 - our team! Nick and I screamed - I explained to no one in particular that I don't qualify for AARP yet - and we accepted our Tria gift certificates. Hey, it was Jason's call! The last special award went to the couple who ran in Oktoberfest outfits (yow!) and just beat out the women with big dots on their breasts. Onto 2nd place!

Jason announced that this team had finished in the first wave - bummer! - then corrected himself to say that was not true... and once again announced team 129!!!!!!! We got to run up again and accept Karma gift cards (obviously good) and a nifty travel bag. Some couple won first - beat us by the Javon Kearse 93 jersey - but we didn't care! After a beer or two later we departed in triumph - day 1 was over!!