Monday, June 11, 2012

Challenge Nation Hawaii! My experience...

Challenge Nation Hawaii!  Pre-race
So today I competed in my first ever Challenge Nation race!  It's an urban adventure race/scavenger hunt around the Honolulu area.  Registration was $50, but I got a deal through Groupon which I only paid $20 for, and there was also a special registration price if you registered before May 30 which was $30.
This was their first year in Hawaii so there was a huge turn out.  There were about 650 people competing in teams ranging from two people or more.  I raced with my sister and the other half, and our team name was District L.
Each team was given a list of 12 clues.  We had to complete 11 out of the 12 and take a photo at each stop with all team members.  We could walk or use public transportation, and we were allowed to use smart phones as well.
The registration took place at Gordon Biersch at Aloha Tower.  We got there early, at about 12:00 (event kicked off at 1:00) to get our bib numbers and sign a waiver.  As 1:00 approached they asked for team captains to form a circle so they could start handing out the clues.  There was a short count down and the race started promptly at 1:00.  There was a huge rush at the beginning as everyone tried to get their teams organized and figure out the clues.  Our strategy was to figure out all of the clues first (or as much as we could) and then head out.  It took a few minutes to figure out the clues, but they weren't too hard.  
 Take a photo of a license plate containing X or Z in its license number.
 Find a person with an out-of-state drivers license and take a photo with them and your team making the shape of the state with your hands (it's supposed to be North Carolina)

King Kamehameha Statue
 Monday is officially his big day. Find the spot his likeness was drenched in flowers and give us the best impression of his pose
Kawaihao Church
 Find the "Westminster Abbey Of the Pacific". When the clock is pointing to a number (:05, :10 etc) snap a photo with your teams bodies spelling out HNL
Find this aPEALing object. You want the one given to Hawaii by the Department of Treasury in 1950, not the other replica in town.  When you find it, act out your most American scene with the target.
 There are two of these memorials in town that the guys in the next clue will never put out (HFD). Find the older of the two.
Mission Houses Museum
Take a photo with any building or structure older than 1850. When you reach it, act out a scene from that era in Hawaiian life.
Iolani Palace
 On the southwest grounds of this one-of-a-kind regal feature, you'll form a human pyramid.  You'll know you're in the right spot if you can see a coronation pavilion nearby.

Hawaii Theater
Find any stage, theater performance hall etc, that is not within 100 yards of any other clue site. May we suggest an old post office that's now a theater?  Once there, along with at least one other stranger or another team, act out your favorite movie or play scene.
 Find a screw that's not a Philips or a Flathead and is more than a whopping three feet in diameter. Give us your best maritime pose in the photo.
Did you know you were wearing a clue this whole time?  Find the ten coded digits on your body and ring them up to hear your next challenge:  Take a photo with any boat captain or behind the wheel of a boat.
We finished in 1 hour and 19 minutes, in 69th place!  Challenge nation was so much fun!  The clues were a easier than I thought they would be, and closer in distance than I had anticipated.  We were able to walk/run everywhere and finished in pretty good time.  There were 164 teams competing that day so I think we did really good.  A word of advice for future participants: read the clues carefully!  There are specific directions for each stop, and they do penalize you for mistakes at the finish line.  I would definitely do this again next year!  Has anyone else competed in Challenge Nation? 

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

What's going on?!

Aldo Wallet: Aragan in Turquoise
Wow, I feels like this happens every other month!  Once again, apologies for the lack of posts recently.  I feel like I just get so busy, I'm just too tired or lazy to blog anymore.  Just thought I'd update a bit :)
 I'm probably really late on this trend, but I've been in love with mint lately.  I bought a couple of mint colored tank tops at Forever 21, and just bought a new wallet at Aldo!  I think it's the prefect color for spring/summer.
I've been reading a ton lately!  I've read The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larson and Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin.  I'm currently reading the last book in the trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest, which I'm about half way through.  It feels really good to be reading again!
Speaking of Game of Thrones, I can't even begin to express how much I love this series!  I just watched the season 2 finale this morning and I can't wait for season 3!  After reading the book and comparing it to the first season, I think the book was better, but the show is still great.  It's so addicting, and it makes me sad because I don't have HBO lol.  I'm planning to write a review soon about this series, so look out for that!  Does anyone else watch/read Game of Thrones?
As far as the wedding planning goes, we've been putting this off as well.  But we finally got the ball rolling again, and are meeting with a prospective photographer tomorrow morning!  Hopefully we will book a photographer soon!  We also decided on wedding colors which are teal and green.  If you follow my Pinterest I uploaded several inspiration pictures.  I'm also hoping to start wedding dress shopping soon, so I'll definitely blog when that happens.
Hope everyone is having a fantastic month so far!  I can't believe this year is almost half over!