Lots of questions about our Scavenger Hunt list from the Unplanned Plan (Day One, Day Two, Day Three, Day Four, Day Five and Day Six photos are here.) so I'll give a go at answering those, but let me know in the comments section if you have any other questions and I'll add any additional answers in red to the bottom of this post...
The Scavenger Hunt was an idea Josh and I decided on a few days before the tip, but Josh volunteered to make the list since he knew I already had a lot of packing and prep work to do before we left.
We didn't know exactly where we were going on the trip though (other than that we'd be spending the first night in Mitchell, Oregon and that we'd be heading further East from there) so that meant we just had to be a little generic with the list.
Josh did include "Meet a person named Skeeter" on the list and "What is the population of Mitchell, Oregon" since he knew we'd be spending our first night in Mitchell at the Oregon Hotel (and Skeeter, the owner, was the one who helped Josh make our reservation.)
Aside from that though, Josh just added a bunch of fun, random and/or helpful things to the list.
And Josh took on the responsibility of being the 'judge' because what we hadn't expected was that the kids would have 14 bazillion questions about every single item on the list and that arguments would ensue in regards to the list as well. (At one point during the trip, we explained to the kids that they were taking something that was meant to be 'fun' and turning it into something really 'NOT fun' with their incessant questions and bickering over the list. And eventually, we resorted to threats to take away quarters if the questions/arguments didn't come to a screaching halt.)
But there were things on the list like "Point out a deer in the wild.", "Dance in public.", "Spot a double-rainbow.", "Hold the door for an elderly woman." "List the history of one of the small towns we visited."
"Win a foot race.", "Pick up someone else's trash.", "Name the fourth song that played on the radio once we started our trip.", "Buy something for a random stranger.", "Guess how many miles we traveled round trip.", "List all the names of towns you remember driving through on our trip.", "Fully submerge your body in a stream.", "Find a gold rock.", "Show a random act of kindness.", "Sing at the top of your lungs.", "Win a foot race.", "Strike up a conversation with a stranger and find out what sport they liked to play as a kid."
The adult winner won a "30-minute message." (That was a typo - was supposed to be a 30-minute massage.)
And the kid winner won a full week without any chores. (Josh and I would do their chores for them.)
And then within 30-minutes of getting home, we all sat down and tallied up our points, making everyone swear in advance that there would be no pouting/whining/arguing if they didn't win (and much to my surprise, there was no pouting, whining or arguing.)
The kid winner: Courtney Lee (with a narrow, 1-point lead over Cole.)
The adult winner: Me (I'm ignoring the typo though and am waiting for my "30-minute message' from my husband who doesn't like to talk about anything emotionally deeper than his love of the OSU Beavers.)
Absolutely awesome way to get kids involved in a vacation! I love it and wish I would have done stuff like this when my kids were younger and at home.
Posted by: Mary Jo | April 15, 2013 at 09:36 AM
Very cute idea Karen. Loved this!
Posted by: Stephanie @ La Dolce Vita | April 15, 2013 at 11:12 AM
Thanks for sharing the details. Totally using this for my summer road trip. In Josh's defense, loving the Beavers is deep. Though I do hope you get that message.
Posted by: Jennifer | April 15, 2013 at 01:06 PM
Love it!!! I'd say make him talk as he is massaging...lol.
p.s. Andy Stanley's massage on Sunday was awesome as usual!!
Posted by: kat-in-texas | April 15, 2013 at 03:10 PM
Andy Stanley's MESSAGE...LOL.
Posted by: kat-in-texas | April 15, 2013 at 03:10 PM
Oh my goodness gracious! I LOVE this! The next time we go on a road trip, I will ask my husband to make up a list like this. He's creative that way! Thanks for sharing. That was just awesome!
Posted by: Christy | April 15, 2013 at 08:52 PM
Oh, no! "Messages" at our house always come with the expectation of something else. Which reduces everyone's joy.
Posted by: Kelli | April 17, 2013 at 08:41 AM
Awesome! Thanks for sharing, Karen ;)
Posted by: Amy | April 20, 2013 at 02:53 PM
Such a great idea- thanks for sharing!
Posted by: Amanda @ Click. The Good News | April 24, 2013 at 05:09 AM