I DID IT!!!!

Well, as many of you know, I have been planning a surprise 40th birthday party for my dear husband, Lance. In addition, I have been planning an elaborate "treasure hunt" all around Redwood City to get him to the party. Now, it isn't easy to surprise Lance -- he's pretty astute and since we're almost always together, it was quite tough. But I was able to flush out the details during work and class and it helped that he had been working late due to his union negotiations. I'm still excited that it all worked out. Here are the details (I had to run around Saturday morning and "plant" the clues, so here's how it went when I got home):

After a light lunch, I handed him this clue, which was titled "It begins..."

He ain't heavy... but he's got your next clue.

This took him to his brother's apartment, which is also located in Redwood City. (from the song "He ain't heavy, he's my brother") His brother handed him this clue (which I had previously e-mailed to him):

Go to your favorite coffee joint and buy yourself a small mocha. Then you will find your next clue.

This took him to Perx, which is a coffee shop near our house. They have punch cards (they punch for every coffee you buy and when you fill it up you get a free one) that you can keep there in a file box. I had attached the clue to the card, so when he paid for his coffee, he pulled the card and found the clue. It read:

Find the place in RWC where you are free to read up on any subject. Your path will be clearer than The Rosicrucian Mysteries when you find your next clue.

This took him to the library, where he had to look up and find the book entitled "The Rosicrucian Mysteries". I had planted a clue inside the book in an envelope. That clue read:

GIVING A LARGE ELEPHANT ONE TINY TREAT ISN'T SMART... better make it pizza!

Hee hee!!! This one was the hardest! He was stumped on this one for a bit. He even called me on my cell phone (which I told him to do if he was stuck). He asked my where on earth he was going to find a "peanut pizza"! I told him to look at the whole clue and that I was confident he would figure it out. Here's what it means: the first letter of every word spells out GALEOTTI'S, which is one of our favorite pizza places. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that they don't open until 4:00 pm on Saturdays. I had to tape the clue to the window and hope nobody took it before he got there. Here's what that clue said:

If you are savvy enough, you will find your love carrying your next clue.

This one was easy. We've been spending a lot of time at Savvy Cellar, which is a wine bar/shop in downtown Redwood City. I could go on about how great this place is, but that's fodder for another blog post. Lance's brother, Steve, had picked me up and we were waiting for him at Savvy Cellar. Lance strolled in about 20 minutes later with a big smile on his face. We stayed there for a bit and partook of a little wine (champagne for Lance), as we excitedly told our tale to Savvy's owner, Jennifer Ayre. After strategically holding him there for the appropriate amount of time, I gave him his last clue which read as follows:

It would have been a series of small miracles if you reach your final destination.

The party, which he still didn't know about, was at our old fav, Milagros -- a short distance from Savvy. Milagros are actually Mexican folk art religious charms, but the literal translation of the word is "miracles". It took him a bit to figure this one out, but I think he worked it backwards by knowing we were going to a restaurant and thinking of the names of the nearby ones.

Oh well. It was close enough for us to walk, so we slowly ambled over there. On the way, my sister surreptitiously called me to let me know they were (mostly) all there. We arrived right on time and Lance was quite surprised to see everyone there. The lunch/dinner started at 3:00 pm, so after all was said and done, it was still an early evening.

Which was good because you know those old guys can't party all night long like they used to!