Curt's Birthday Surprise 2.22.08

Turning 30 is an auspicious, if not dreaded, moment in every person's life. My friend, Kate, wanted to surprise her husband, Curt, with something special: a treasure hunt that he and his boys could compete in, but that also was somehow about him.

Curt (thinking he was on his way to a steak dinner) arrived at a local coffee shop where 17 of his buddies, family and friends, were waiting for him. By 7:23 p.m. Eastern Standard Time the teams had been created, the first clue opened, and everyone hit road. (And apparently hit other things, too, if someone's bumper is any indication...)

At the Jolly Roger clue site the teams had to make contact with someone wearing an eye patch. But did Curt notice that the hockey team on the ice was Christian High?

Next stop was Curt's former childhood and adulthood home. EVERY team joked about hiding the clues that were taped to the porch swing, and the word is some lawn was turfed.

One clue hinted at the 30th president, John Calvin Coolidge... which sounds an awful lot like Calvin College, doesn't it? The rest of the clue pointed them to Calvin's pedestrian bridge over the Beltline, where teams had to sing Happy Birthday to get their next clue.

Music Curt likes (Johnny Cash, STP, Vanilla Ice, Lenny Kravitz, etc.) and other wellknown bands were part of another clue. Teams had fun figuring this one out, and most kept their CD.

The final leg of the hunt led them back to the first clue site, the Patterson Ice Center. Inside, teams reported in and turned in (most of) what they collected by way of clues and other items.

4 teams in the running.
1 emerged victorious. 1. Ben Hulst, Nate Post, Gary Mulder, Phil VanderHeide, Curt Mulder (1:45)
2. Aaron VanderPloeg, Mitchell Mulder, Mike & Tys Yoder, Jeff Vander Kooi (2:00)
3. Bill Pursifull, Doug Vanderwell, Mark Potgeter, Jeremy Gravedoni (2:15)
4. Don & Jon & Jesse Hunderman, Bob Mulder (4:24)

For downloadable pictures from the hunt, click here.

At Patterson, Kate and friends had a private room where tables were set up in superhero themes. There was cake, pizza, masks and skating for everyone.

Happy 30th Birthday, Curt!

to complete the circle of merry mayhem and crazy connections, Patterson Ice Center's night manager (my sister, lisa) is also a calvin grad and lived in beets-veenstra when Curt and his friends did.