This is just an excuse to talk about one of my fondest memories with my father. Unfortunately, I don’t remember much about it, other than I was in elementary school. I must have been about eight or nine at the time since it was just me, one brother, and one sister at the time.
It all started at my friend’s birthday party. He had created a scavenger hunt to find the pinata and I thought it was the coolest thing. I talked about it all the way home. My dad, now realizing I had something I really enjoyed, spent the next month working on creating a scavenger hunt for me and my siblings. It wasn’t just simple notes and clues either, there was a whole story!
A dragon was disturbing the kingdom, so the mighty king sent his trusty secratary, me, his bravest knight, my brother, and the royal jester, my sister who was about three or four at the time, to find and slay the dragon! My dad made my brother a wooden sword painted black with silver duct tape at the hilt. I solved most of the puzzles. Some were simply taking large steps in one direction or another. In one I had to solve a sudoku puzzle to open a secret cave entrace, which I struggled with at that age so my dad just gave us let us pass and gave us the next clue.
Our backyard at the time was huge, and my dad made sure our scavenger hunt had us running around the whole yard! At the bottom of the hill, there was a small circle of boats which were enemy ships we had to fight! We were each given a water gun to shoot down the enemy ships and we won! Eventually, the clues led us back to the door leading into Dad’s workshop for the grand finale! An actual dragon to fight! My dad had built a dragon out of wood and cardboard and painted it black! My brother used the sword my dad had made to defeat the dragon! Then, my dad gave us the final note. The king decided to celebrate our success with a feast, which was just a trip to McDonalds for happy meals.
I may not remember a lot of details, but I remember it was one of the most fun things I’d ever done with my dad. It’s one of my fondest memories and it’s something I’ll always cherish.
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