While we were visiting Lake Martin, Damon busied himself with plenty of projects. His water canons were a big hit (best. dad. ever.), he installed wheels on his parents’ gate (best. son. ever.), and then he started planning his foray into the best. Uncle. ever. category.

As a kid, when Damon and his sister Vicki were at The Lake for two weeks in the summer, Albert (their dad) would set up a treasure hunt for the kids. This usually involved money and possibly diving to the bottom of the lake (a shallow part). Damon has probably told me in more detail, but I’ll spare you.

Damon decided it was time to bring the treasure hunt into this century and introduce it to Fuller, Nick, and Vivian. It stemmed from our Memorial Day present, a Garmin GPS. (What? You don’t give Memorial Day presents? You totally should.)

Damon and I picked up a nine piece puzzle from the dollar store and wrote a “secret message” on the back. We then wrapped each piece in saran wrap with an identifying symbol so the kids knew exactly what they were looking for.

Damon then attached each piece to nine different trees along the road.

Then he used the GPS to determine the lattitude and longitude of the clue and saved it in the GPS as “Clue One,” “Clue Two,” etc.

Damon planted an invitation to the kids in the mailbox. Getting the mail was a daily ritual for the kids, so Vivian (the only one who can read) was thrilled to find something in the mailbox for them.

The package contained a CD with a message from a mysterious looking man in the shadows. (The mysterious looking man looks like he needs a haircut.)

Soon after the message was played, the computer blew up.

Just joking. That only happens in the movies.

We took off in the golf cart and followed the GPS directions given by the lovely British woman trapped in the gadget. Vivian and Nick were having a grand time finding the clues and bringing them back to the golf cart. Fuller was moaning and groaning, and then threw up around clue four. Damon quickly drove Fuller back to the house while Vivian, Nick and I walked to clues 5, 6, and 7 which were all in the emergency landing area for medivac helicopters. We accidentally found clues 7 and 6 in the wrong order, but it didn’t matter. The kids were having fun!

After the nine clues were found, we ventured back to the house to put the clues together. It was rather easy for the big kids and soon they were looking at a picture of Diego.

Once they realized they had to put the puzzle upside down, it became clear. Or did it?

Turns out the message on the back was out on the lake, so we had to wait until Grandpa Albert came home and helped us go to the secret location of the treasure.

The treasure was found, the bag opened, and the loot distributed to the cousins. Candy, hats, kickboards, and some silly string were welcomed with open arms by the kids. Nick was constantly heard saying, “This is so much fun!” And Cool Uncle Damon enjoyed giving the kids an updated version of something he enjoyed as a kid.

Next year we will have to figure out how to top it.

Technorati Tags: Lake Martin, GPS, treasure hunt

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