The Secret, A Treasure Hunt

So, I’m obsessed with a treasure hunt!  In 1982 Byron Preiss published a booked called, The Secret.  No, not the Secret where you wish for a million dollars and it comes true, it’s a treasure hunting book.  He buried 12 cache’s in 12 different major cities throughout North America in 1981. Inside the cache is one ceramic key that can be turned in for a real jewel that is/was in a safety deposit box in NYC.  One was found in Chicago in 1983 and the other was found in Cleveland in 2004. Unfortunately, Byron Preiss died in 2005 and didn’t tell anyone where the jewels were.  He used to respond to treasure seekers with clues or to tell them they are on the right track, but now he’s gone and there isn’t anyone to do that.

To date, only 2 of the 12 have been found.  Some people say that you can only find the cache and not receive the jewels and others have said that his widow said you can still receive the jewels.  I guess we won’t know until someone finds the next cache!

Guess where one of the 12 is hidden?!?!?!  That’s right, Houston, TX!!!  There is one  picture and one verse that goes with each treasure.  You can’t use a metal detector because the key the cache is a ceramic box inside a plexi-glass box.  You might be able to use a ground penetrating radar, but even that may not be possible.

This is the picture that is associated with Houston.  Well, they think this is it because it has all the clues of Houston.  The book just gives you 12 verses and 12 pictures but doesn’t tell you which goes to which.  A few of the images/verse combos are controversial and they don’t know which city they are for sure in.  Most of the pictures have latitude/longitude coordinates, but a few don’t. 

A couple great resources:  PBWorks Wiki and Quest4Treasure Forum (HUGE backlog of info dating way back)

This is the verse associated with Houston: 

Fortress north
Cold as glass
Friendship south
Take your task
To the number
Nine eight two
Through the wood
No lion fears
In the sky the water veers
Small of scale
Step across
Perspective should not be lost
In the center of four alike
Small, split,
Three winged and slight
What we take to be
Our strongest tower of delight
Falls gently
In December night
Looking back from treasure ground
There's the spout!
A whistle sounds.

I have used this forum and this Wiki to help point towards clues!!  The people that post are really good and most have been working on the puzzle for years.  Good luck to whoever goes looking for it!  I am also interested in the New Orleans one since that is within a short driving distance too.

Mud Factor Mud Run

Back in November or December I signed up for a mud run with Mud Factor.  I signed up during a “special pricing” window for (I think) $35 but every time I looked at the website, it was always the same price.  So, I’m not too sure about that special pricing.  I think they were on Groupon too.

Anyway, I didn’t get ANY communication (besides the sign up email) until the day before the race.  I thought surely there would be some sort of communication, but nope.  Luckily, the day before the race they did send something, otherwise I would have completely forgotten! 

I got there about 30 minutes before the race (they suggest an hour) and parked haphazardly.  They were directing us to park really close together but we were blocking everyone in.  At the end I had to wait 30 minutes for someone to move their car enough for me to get out.  AND you had to PAY $10 to park.  They did say that in the sign up but for us to get blocked in and have to park, that is no Bueno.

I got my bib, bandanna and temporary tattoo quickly and walked around a bit looking for at everything.  They were charging $25 for a t-shirt (!!!) that they probably got for $6.  The food and drinks were not included like most races, not even something like a bottled water or bananas were free!  There was water after the loop (two loop course) but that‘s it.

The obstacles were cool, two were walls you had to climb, one was a slip in slide down a hill (!!!!!!!), a cargo net walls, barbed wire through mud, etc.  I was only going to do one loop because it was lame, but I wanted my medal so I did a 2^nd loop.  I got my medal and took a picture of myself caked in mud.  There were some showers that were pumping water from the local creek.  Some people were just wading in the river to get the mud off.  No one (that I know of) got bit by an alligator though. LOL.

I got back to my car, changed and waited for someone next to me to move their car so I could get out.  The parking situation really irked me, can you tell? LOL.

Anyway, all in all mud races are not for me.  I for sure would NOT recommend Mud Factor as the race to go with.

Cupping Session

I have wanted to try Cupping since I heard about GOOP’s weird markings on the red carpet.  Bucket list item.  I was browsing Groupon and I found one for Marshall Back and Body Wellness Center.  Sold.

I went at my scheduled time and was back in the massage room almost immediately after turning in my patient paperwork.  I stripped down and laid on the massage chair.  (Pro tip:  Don’t worry mascara!)

The woman who did my cupping was a chiropractor!  I was expecting just an assistant, but she was an actual licensed chiropractor.  She gave me a short massage to loosen up my back and get the blood pumping, and then she explained the cupping procedure.  She heated up the glass cups and placed them on my back.  At first there was a slight stinging sensation, but that went away fairly quickly.  I stayed on the table for about 10-15 minutes just letting the cups do their thing.  After a few minutes, you don’t even notice them anymore.

She came back in and took them off of me and I got dressed again.  I looked in the mirror while I was getting dressed and was startled for a second!  LOL.  It was cool.

I didn’t feel any different afterwards that I noticed.  I feel like the cups just gave me a bunch of hickies on my back, but I maybe didn’t notice the effects.  Anyway, bucket list item done!

Happenings Lately Volume 13

Decided I want one of these cacti from Sprouts.  I walked by them and I almost bought one but I decided to wait.  I can't choose!

Got a Aldi Quarter Keeper off Etsy.  Do you ever go to Aldi and don't have a friggin' quarter for your basket?  It happens to me ALL THE TIME!  So, I saw these on Etsy and decided to get one.  I also got one for my step-mom who also goes there a lot.  It fits two quarters, just in case one drops out or something.  Anyway, I just keep it on my key chain so I always have one.

Went to a Memorial Day Crawfish Boil #notplantbased.  40 lbs of crawfish just waiting to be eaten.  It was so sad, most of them would hide if you put your hand in there but this one would try and fight you!  It had some balls.  I asked them not to kill it and set it free, but I am pretty sure they killed it because I ate one that looked remarkably similar....

Made a dip that everyone loved.  This is the easiest spinach dip on the planet and everyone was raving about it the entire party.  I felt like an accomplished chef.

Got a deformed cherry in my stack.  Hmph.  'Twas delicious though.

Tried my first charcoal mask!  Apparently I live under a rock and charcoal masks are ALL THE RAGE!  Charcoal pulls twice its weight in impurities, dirt and oil from your face.  You can see the light grey is just the grey mask but the dark/black spots are all the yucky stuff my face had on it-and I wash my face all the time.   Sometimes you just need a little deep cleanse. You can do this once or twice a week, depending on how oily you are.  My nose gets really oily-I mean, look how dark that is!  Yuck.  Anyway, you can get one for you here at my Mary Kay online website.  Pro tip:  Get the foundation brush too. It makes apply sooooooo much easier because if you use your hand it absorbs into your hand and you lose so much product-same with a sponge.  Mary Kay's mask is great because you don't have to pull it off your face (painful!), you just wash it off.  My face was baby smooth after doing it and my pores were smaller too.  My Dad tried it on his nose and he liked it too.

Tried dehydrating fruit. So, I tried dehydrated mango from Whole Foods and OMGGGGGG! I fell in love.  Since it is $7.99 per pound, I decided that was a bit expensive and tried to make my own.  I borrowed my uncles oooooooooolllllllddddd dehydrater and it didn't work very well.  I left it in there overnight and it didn't get all the moisture out. Have no fear though-I got one from my parents for my birthday!!!

Went to Torchy's Tacos.  I had been wanting to try this place (not bucket list) but when we went (Sugarland location), I was NOT impressed.  The tortillas were not fresh-they tasted like the nasty ones you buy at the grocery store.  There was something else that tasted funny but I don't remember.  They have such a fun menu, too bad they don't use fresh ingredients.

Got a new Kendra Scott Necklace for my birthday.  During your birthday month, you get 50% off one item at the Kendra Scott store. I had a super hard time choosing between this necklace and the Lexi earrings.  I needed a necklace to go with my pink Alex earrings so I bought this. I will have to budget for the Lexi earrings (plus, I didn't know what color I would have gotten).

Hid inside my Mom's closet, away from the "monsters" with my niece.  I was babysitting my niece when all the sudden she said, "Quick.  Hide in the closet, monsters are coming".  She grabbed her babies and ran.  I was halfway amused, halfway confused and 1% like, "Kids are more intuitive and can see things that are coming,  better go hide".  She wouldn't let me talk and kept shhhing me.

Called this number. :)  Seriously.  Call it.

Learning to Surf

During my cruise one of the stops was Puerto Rico.  It is considered a US Territory so you can use US currency there with no problem.  I was browsing the excursions on the cruise website and came across surfing lessons.  It is on my bucket list, so I signed up!  I mean, who wouldn’t want to learn how to surf in Puerto Rico?!?!

We got off the boat and got in line for the bus.  There were two boats that docked around the same time and both had people booked for the surfing excursion.  We drove about 20-30 minutes to a hotel on the water.  They first showed us how to get up on the board in the sand and then we moved to the water. 

 

Me all pretending I know what I'm doing.  

Paddle, paddle, paddle. Jump up!  Sooooooooo easy in the sand but on the water it is difficult!  I almost got up once or twice but quickly fell.  Let me tell you, surfing wears you out!  After I swallowed a ton of salt water, I was done.  I wanted to take a break and maybe try it again later-we still had a few hours left, but I couldn’t get back to shore.

 

Look at me, I'm surfing!  #notreally

I would swim  a few strokes and get pulled back in by the tide.  I am a semi-strong swimmer but man.    Naturally, I started to panic after a few minutes of the back and forth with the tide.  I know you are supposed to stay calm, but I couldn’t in that situation.  Luckily, two of the instructors saw me in distress and helped me to shore.  One of them had abs for dayyyyyzzzzzzz.  #hottie

 

Can't figure out how to rotate this

So, that ended my surfing career.  The rest of the time I lounged on the beach with my surfboard and watched everyone else.  There were two girls from the other boat that said “I know this is awful, but when you were out there all I could think of was the hottie saving me while drowning”.   LOL.  

OH!!!!!  I almost forgot to mention that I found a piece of sea glass after almost drowning.  I plopped down in exhaustion next to my surfboard and looked down to see a piece of white sea glass.  Bucket list #2!!  I put it in one of those pin holders, glued it shut, and added ribbon to it to make an ornament.  One day I will have to show you guys all of my bucket list/travel ornaments that I have in my collection.

Sea glass!!!!

35 Birthdays

Birthdays, birthdays.  Another year older and wiser.  I turned 35 this year and I can’t believe it.  The saying: “the days are long but the years are short” is sooooooooo true.  Lately though, I have found that the days are short too.  I look up and it’s nighttime and then look up again and another week/month/year has passed.  I guess the less intentional you are with your life and time, the faster it goes by.  Isn’t there a verse in the Bible about when choosing to live a righteous life, your years are extended?  I guess I need to be more intentional-actually I know I do.  I get lost in my computer some (most) days and I feel like I lost a whole day of my life-well I did lose a whole day.

Anyway, my birthday was on the 30^th and I turned 35.  I have always subscribed to the theory, “if you don’t like where you are, move.  You’re not a tree”.  About 5 years ago I did that and my life was going great, I had a good paying job, lived in a nice area of town, I was paying down debt quickly, lost a ton of weight, had a ton of friends, was always busy, etc.  I went into a deep depression for a few years and I am just now getting out of it.  I still believe in the ‘move’ theory, but I feel stuck.  Stuck. Stuck. Stuck. 

I didn’t set out for this to be a negative post about my life, but birthday’s do that to you as you reflect on another year that has gone by. 

The night of my birthday my friend took me to Sub Zero IceCream (bucket list!!) where they make the ice cream in front of you using liquid nitrogen.  It was so cool and I had wanted to try it as soon as I heard about it.  They actually have a smokey nitrogen thing going on when they make it!!!

I chose the (non-plant based) regular cream with cherries, peanut butter cups, marshmallows, and a waffle cone.  It was really good.  I almost got the birthday cake one, but I decided to make my own flavor.

Afterwards we walked across the street for a cocktail atBarBazzar in Webster.  I LOVED this place!!!  It was a mixture of bakery and deli plus a few mixed drinks including champagne and beer. 

I spy chocolate covered bacon!

I got the hibiscus cocktail and my friend Tracie got a latte.  Funny story, she went inside to get cinnamon and sugar but it was semi-dark…she got black pepper instead!  Haha.  It was funny. 

I made a wish on my cocktail about my goals and dreams for my life this year and beyond.   We stayed there until the place closed just talking and catching up. Tracie is one of my closest friends these days.  ‘Twas a good night indeed.