Last night we ambled around the northeast quadrant of San Francisco for the Chinese New Year Treasure Hunt. An “urban sleuthing adventure,” the treasure hunt is a great excuse to get out and see the city, at ground level. Maybe ‘level’ isn’t the right word in San Francisco — we traipsed up and down various hills searching for the answers to certain clues, with mixed success. Held on the same night as the Chinese New Year Parade (Happy Year of the Monkey to you all), the treasure hunt helps add to the chaos, confusion, and glee going on in downtown San Francisco on this February evening.
What was telling to me is how rare it is that people fill the streets downtown after working hours. Maybe most downtowns in the 21st century empty after work, but if the energy of a city keeps pulsing after dark, well, then it’s a city in more than just name. I’m hardly one to comment with authority on the nightlife, but part of choosing to live in a city is the knowledge and expectation that there is always something going on. San Francisco does fit that description most of the time, but for all its geographic compactness (the famous 7×7 miles), the city breaks up into distinct zones very dramatically, and you have to actively seek entertainment in areas distinct from where most people live. That’s not unexpected, nor all bad — few of us want to try and sleep next door to a nightclub. However, it does feel like a bit of waste to have so many people flow in, and then out, of the downtown each workday. Without events like last night’s festivities, the downtown is a beach at low tide most evenings.
For those that haven’t tried the Treasure Hunt… give it a shot. The clues, even at the beginner level, are no slam dunk (see example below). But the combination of shared brainpower (this is a team event), a brisk walk (there is a time limit), and studied nonchalance (when you find the answer, you try not to give it away to other teams lingering nearby) energizes everyone. That energy carried us through 3+ hours of criss-crossing the city, before a fun dinner to recharge our batteries. (Note: Steps of Rome Trattoria, in the heart of North Beach, was lively, but the food is nothing special.)
Actual clue from last night:
You are a Saint, my amigo, and then some. I would follow you to the very end, where I will find a house that is not for squares, and will face five choices for parallel thinking. But I must get past them, and though I seem to be “off track,” I am merely between them. For I seek love and an evening meal, though I must look down and watch my “belt line.”
How many miles did they cover?
This was the second clue we tried to solve. And we failed. I’m looking forward to the answer being posted online, so we can learn what we did wrong. For those whom this seems impossibly cryptic, the conventions are that the clue will lead you to a location in the city, and then you will find the answer at the location. The answer we need was the last underlined bit. I’m pretty sure we started at the right general area (where Sansome meets Market Street), but zeroing in from there proved too difficult in the time we allotted.
There were 16 clues, and we found 7 answers… I hope we got all of those right. 😉