A Lovely Scavenger Hunt

A lovely end to a lovely weekend. You wanna know what I did today? I slept in until...oh, 11 ish, only getting up to make a little sack lunch to take down to the pool in our apartment complex. Isn't California awesome?!?! And granted, I spent most of the rest of the afternoon cleaning the apartment, but for me? Well, it's therapy. Sad, but true. But this was just the end!

You want to know the beginning?!

All week long Caleb had been teasing me about this "big plan" he had for the weekend. No hints. He'd send me funny emails at work from my "secret admirer". On Valentines Day I came home to find a note on our front door, telling me that my "secret admirer" had hidden something in the hallway for me. It turned out to be a DHL envelope with the instructions that I could not open it until Friday after work. Yeah! A Suspense Gift! :)

4:50 on Friday rolls around and I rush out the door to drop off the deposit on my way home. I'm sorta giddy. What could it be?! During the day my "secret admirer" had sent me an email telling me to get my swim suit ready. He really knows how to uh, reel me in.

I get home, after a rather quick drive home, and find the very same DHL envelope sitting on the chair. I open it and find a copy of The Clipper, the local newspaper for my hometown in Utah. Very curious. There was a note inside that read:

"That's right Kimba....THE CLIPPER! I know how much you love to see who got fat and had a baby, see who just got home from their missions (for our church), and see if there are any quotes from your father (he's on the city council).
That's great and all, but if that's all you're looking at you're missing out! The Clipper has so much more to offer, ESPECIALLY in the Classifieds....you should check them out."

Hmm....

So I rip through the paper, a silly grin on my face, and find them. And start looking...and looking...and looking. Silly me, I was looking for extra writing on it. I even shouted out "Caleb! What am I looking for?!" No answer of course. Finally, something catches my eye. It's an actual ad that reads:

"Kimba, right here! Babe, your Valentine's gift is hidden somewhere in the kitchen! Can you find it? Ready set go!"

I'm not kidding. An actual ad. I'm sure other devout Clipper readers out there were a little weirded out. I still had that silly grin on my face. Couldn't wipe it off.

So I immediately head for the oven, because DUH. Big present! OVEN!

I find a suitcase.

I open it. Find note #4.

"You found it! It was super hard right? Happy Valentines Day! I gave you an empty suitcase! I hope you love it. Not really, as great of a gift as an empty suitcase would be, I don't stop there! Check the dryer for your next clue - Now while you're reading this you need to walk towards the dryer....READY?? GO!!
Okay, you're getting warmer...warmer...HOT!! SUPER HOT!! (you didn't do it did you? Psh, I figured you wouldn't!)"

He figured right. I totally didn't move until after I read that. He knows me.

In the dryer is a whole SET of notes. The top one reads:

"Hi again....take the suit case you found in the oven and go pack enough clothes for a 2 day, 1 night stay! Pj's, clothes, toiletries...(and then there's this entire sentence that the Internet really shouldn't read. Really. But you can guess...) Sorry honey, I already took the XXXL suitcase, and the second largest....and then the other one, BUT that one's just for my hair products so it doesn't count!"

And people, as much as I'd like to tell you he was kidding, he only partly was. He always needs the larger suitcase between the two of us. And then he always needs to put a few things in mine, because he's over packed again. I wish I was kidding.

The next few pages told me to follow the directions to a hotel near us, a very fancy Kimpton hotel that I LOVE. Remember this? Yeah. And the Aveda products. Let's not forget those. The directions ended with this:

"Go in and ask the Front Desk for the room number for one Mr. Woody Johnson (and try not to laugh when you say that) and have a hot weekend with your secret admirer!"

And silly me, I did just that. I walked up to the front desk and thought about every sad thing I could so that I wouldn't burst into a fit of giggles. He told me to, right?! So I say in my most professional voice, daring her to question me, "Can I get the room key for Mr. Woody Johnson?" And she starts to look through the computer..."Hmm...Johnson you say? I'm...not...seeing one...."

This is where I silently beat myself up for actually doing as he said. STUPID! STUPID!

Then I make up some lame excuse, "Oh, I thought it was under his boss' name, try this..." Which probably made it worse, because she grinned, handed me the key and said "Enjoy your weekend".

And I did. In a complimentary leopard print robe.

He's a keeper, right? Yup. Thanks Cabe! It was insanely lovely. Best Valentines present ever.