You can do to each location in any order you desire, but you do need to go to all of them before going to the finish line. Figuring out the locations of the clues first and then mapping out a strategy for getting to all of them in the most efficient manner is really the best way to run this race. And having a person at home (or in their office) in front of a computer helping you to search the Internet and figure out the answers is a huge help. I want to give a big THANK YOU shout out to my friend Gary for helping us with this. The other thing you should have is a good smart phone and a street map of the city. Check and check.
So without further delay, here are the 12 clues, answers and our photos from this years race in Boston in September. We can't wait to do this again in May 2014.
1. This Greek revival building currently houses something blue. In the past, it was three different houses of worship but later sinned as the Lido of Venice. Get your picture with this building's marquee.
ANSWER: The Charles Playhouse (which is the current venue for The Blue Man Group).
2. In 1837, this philanthropist petitioned for the first public botanical garden created in the United States. Locate the plaque dedicated to him.
ANSWER: We were told before the race started this one would be hard to find. Thankfully other racers we encountered helped us out with where this was. There is a very small plaque laying flat on the grass near the entrance to the Boston Public Garden just in front of the Bronze Statue of George Washington. Finding this on our own would have been very hard to do. The tiny plaque is in our shadow between us.
3. It is the year 1917, Stealth boats are threatening your fleet. What do you do? Lay thousands of mines of course. Locate the memorial dedicated to the brave men who led this North Sea mine barrage and get your picture with a mine.
ANSWER: The Sailor and Soldiers Monument in the Boston Common.
4. Get your picture in front of the only bar in town where you can enjoy a cold Sam Adams while looking at a cold Sam Adams.
ANSWER: Find the Sam Adams statue (a cold Sam Adams) in front of Faneuil Hall.
5. This famous gilded insect was stolen in 1974 but recovered before a ransom could be demanded. Take your picture on the steps of the building it sits upon.
ANSWER: There is a grasshopper weather vane on the top of the Faneuil Hall building.
6. If you ever played the piano, you probably played this song written by Hoagy Carmichael. On July 3, 1961, it reached No. 18 on the Billboard Hot 100...who knew? Find the store that resembles the name, with a twist (HINT: think feet not spirit), to this beloved piece of music and take your picture.
ANSWER: Heart and Soul
7. Everyone knows October 31 is Halloween but do you know why? It has something to do with the day after. Find the storefront that shares its name with this lesser known holiday for your dare:
ANSWER: The answer was a store named AllSaints located on Newbury Street. And the dare was to count all of the sewing machines in the storefront window display. All 212 of them.
8. Famous runners in Boston placed their feet in the cement outside the now defunct Eliot Lounge. Unfortunately, the original sidewalk was destroyed but a piece of the recreated one still exists somewhere in the city. Find it and get a picture of it with your feet.
ANSWER: At the Eliot Hotel to the right of the restaurant on Mass Ave are two tiny foot imprents. Very hard to find. Again we were fortunate to have our friend Gary tell us exactly where to go and there were also other racers gathered around taking their own photos.
9. You are looking for a bronze artwork in the shape of a fountain. It was presented to the city in 1930 to beautify this triangular park. Find it for your next dare.
ANSWER: It is the Statler Fountain in Statler Park. Our dare was simple enough. Each team had different words on their "passport" cards. You had to walk around the fountain and find sticks in the ground that had a letter and corresponding number on it. Add up all of the numbers to the corresponding letters in your word and give the answer to the official. Easy to do.
10. Can a building be knocked up? This one looks like it was. Locate this unusual architectural styled building and get your picture with it.
ANSWER: Again, big thanks to Gary for knowing exactly what we needed to find. A building that looks like it is pregnant.
11. What does the wife of our second president, an abolitionist, and a slave turned writer have in common? They all have a statue dedicated to them. Find them to perform you next dare.
ANSWER: It is the Boston Women Memorial just outside the Public Garden. The dare was a very easy three-legged race around the memorial.
12. Photo Hunt: Get your picture with a person playing a musical instrument.
ANSWER: This was rather funny because Beverly and I were sitting on a bench in the middle of Faneuil Hall working on answering all of these questions, when all of sudden she heard a guy playing on a guitar and jumped up and screamed lets go, quick. This poor guy playing a guitar got swarmed by a half dozen teams that seemed to come out of no where. Everyone helped each other to take the needed photos, but I think we were the only ones to actually leave the guy a little tip.
BONUS: Get your picture sitting on Henry C. Merwin's bench.
ANSWER: We were walking toward the Boston Women Memorial when we were stopped by another race team sitting on a bench and asked us to take their picture. They told us it was the answer to the bonus. We were actually never going to do the bonus, but hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth right? So we took their picture and they took ours. Turns out they were right.
We had a great time and will definitely do this again next year. We probably covered about 5 miles on foot and it took us a little over 3 hours. We only used public transportation once toward the end because we were getting very tired and it was going to be a bit of hike from Boston Common to Hanover St in the North End.
We loved doing this and we hope others will join us next May.
