Game We Played at Seaside With the Kids

[Mermaid]

I don't know what made me think of this since our two are teens now and haven't played for years, but we used to play this each summer and everyone liked it. It's on the order of a scavenger hunt.

Southern Living magazine had an article once about all the distinctive fences at Seaside. Plenty of photos. I took all the photos and copied them into a "bingo" card format and gave our kids and their cousins/friends/whoever we were with that season/ a copy and let them loose with markers. They had to find all the fences and whomever returned back to the cottage first with all the fences ticked off was the winner. This is a good game to do with bicycles since it can take a while to cris cross Seaside on foot if you're only a kid. When ours were younger, we chaperoned, but as they grew we let them loose on their own. It's not as easy as you think to find all the fences, by the way, so you can easily eat up an hour--good on days when the red no-swimming flag is up, or it's not the swimming season. You can customize this game any way you want.

I suppose any town large enough to explore on foot, like Rosemary Beach, or Seacrest or WaterColor, would be ripe for variations of a scavenger hunt.

[iwishiwasthere]

Great idea. My daughter gets sun poisoning after about 3 days so it would be a good option to shopping. I am sure the hunt made for great competitions and memories.

[seagrovelover]

Mermaid ....that sounds like funn!!! kids love that kind of thing (some adults do too ;-) ) my only problem is getting my rear end off the beach to put such a thing together!!!!! I tend to get lazy on vacation!!!! :blink: and the cold beer....well that doesn't help much :cool: great idea though!!!! :clap_1:

[jdarg]

Mermaid- your game made my day!

(Which I sorely needed after taking a beating at Target - I just went in for household stuff, thinking the worst of the T-giving shopping crowd was gone. WRONG!! Sueshore- I was channeling you in my hour of need!!)


I'm going to try an adult and kid version for Grayton. I have all winter to work on it! First thing on the adult list will be to find the A-team pic at the Red Bar! :funn:

[Mermaid]

It actually IS a fun game. I guess you could play it in any town that has cottages with names, too. Just use the names instead of fence designs. Although the visuals are good for little kids.

This is the adult version: hop on your bike with a cocktail in one hand and the clue sheet in the other. One gulp for every find. First one to finish drink wins. (Short game in our household. ;-) )

[jdarg]

It actually IS a fun game. I guess you could play it in any town that has cottages with names, too. Just use the names instead of fence designs. Although the visuals are good for little kids.

This is the adult version: hop on your bike with a cocktail in one hand and the clue sheet in the other. One gulp for every find. First one to finish drink wins. (Short game in our household. ;-) )


I will need a designated driver!

[iwishiwasthere]

It actually IS a fun game. I guess you could play it in any town that has cottages with names, too. Just use the names instead of fence designs. Although the visuals are good for little kids.

This is the adult version: hop on your bike with a cocktail in one hand and the clue sheet in the other. One gulp for every find. First one to finish drink wins. (Short game in our household. ;-) )


Has anyone thought of a road rally in the area with bicycles instead of cars. I did my first one (with cars) last fall and it was fun.

[Mermaid]

Has anyone thought of a road rally in the area with bicycles instead of cars. I did my first one (with cars) last fall and it was fun.

How do you play it? We always have our bikes with us on 30-A. I'm game!

[iwishiwasthere]

I will do my best to explain. Each group is given a set of cryptic directions to follow and questions to answer about the trip. Example - N R at curve....go north, take the first right at a curve. After a while you get the hang of it. We had 4 people in our group, and it helped to have extra minds. The person who returns with all the questions answered in the shortest time is the winner. There is a person in our town (I live in a rural community with lots of back roads) who will create one. Maybe there is someone in the SoWal area that would be able to make it. It would be fun for children to do in Seaside, because the area is so contained. If you are further interested, I could scan my directions and pm you what I did. I think it would be a great way to learn different aspects of the area as I tend to spend most of the time on the beach. This site has made me want to see more than the beach. The bayside and Eden Gardens look so beautiful.

[Mermaid]

Do you know, with all the building going on on 30-A, you could do a bike rally on it very easily. There are lots of landmarks along the road--let's see, the clock tower at Watercolor (pick up one tourist brochure at WC, ie). When we go down to the beach over the Xmas holiday, we're taking the bikes so maybe I'll try to formulate a hunt. But will you flesh out your answer a little more, IwishIwasthere, to give some guidelines since you've done rallies before?

[sara82]

I will need a designated driver!

haven't you heard of BWIs???? Bicycling while intoxicated? In seaside that warrants at least a few nights in town jail (which really is quite nice i've heard...they serve you crab cake sandwiches!)

[Miss Kitty]

haven't you heard of BWIs???? Bicycling while intoxicated? In seaside that warrants at least a few nights in town jail (which really is quite nice i've heard...they serve you crab cake sandwiches!)

You are too FUNNy little gull!!!! That must be why you take the WC shuttle everywhere!!! So, you are FUNNy and smart...a very good combination!

sara82...do you remember the games we played in Seaside? Like..."Leave your Mother alone so she can read her books?"

Does this mean your computer is behaving for you now? I hope so!!! Please come see Miss Molly tonight if you can! I heart you!

[jdarg]

haven't you heard of BWIs???? Bicycling while intoxicated? In seaside that warrants at least a few nights in town jail (which really is quite nice i've heard...they serve you crab cake sandwiches!)



Hmmmm Sueshore......she has your posting genes- funny!

[Miss Kitty]

Hmmmm Sueshore......she has your posting genes- funny!

Apple....meet tree!!!!


P.S. She types at the speed of sound unlike her mother!!!

[aquaticbiology]

I will do my best to explain. Each group is given a set of cryptic directions to follow and questions to answer about the trip. Example - N R at curve....go north, take the first right at a curve. After a while you get the hang of it. We had 4 people in our group, and it helped to have extra minds. The person who returns with all the questions answered in the shortest time is the winner. There is a person in our town (I live in a rural community with lots of back roads) who will create one. Maybe there is someone in the SoWal area that would be able to make it. It would be fun for children to do in Seaside, because the area is so contained. If you are further interested, I could scan my directions and pm you what I did. I think it would be a great way to learn different aspects of the area as I tend to spend most of the time on the beach. This site has made me want to see more than the beach. The bayside and Eden Gardens look so beautiful.


I do these things all the time - great stuff

example follows:

3 or 4 or 5 or more 'teams' made up of individual drivers, driver/navigator, or a 'jam-bulance' (driver/navigator/aunts/uncles/children, probably all taking at once) and a 'monitor' person who has all the clues

radios are allowed - pick one channel/frequency for the contest

'leaving from the old apple tree in the parking lot at 2:00 pm friday'

1st clue given at departure (from said old apple tree) - it says: "look to the east where the golden road meets freedom" - golden road= auric street - freedom would then be freeway, oh, auric street entrance ramp!

at the auric street entrance ramp is a parking lot (for safety - never have them stop on the road) - on the east side of the parking lot, tied to the fence is a golden ballon - inside (slip it in before you blow it up) is the next clue - whoever gets there first takes it with them (but unknown to them, the 'monitor' will replace it for the next team)

complication and misdirection are the key - too easy and it gets dangerous with too many headed there too fast

clues can be anything from visual (like a sawmill sign), to virtual (clue is on a website), to a encrypted location (like the above), to a set of gps coords to a pig pen, and a line of shovels (ewww)

have fun but remember to be safe at all times

being the monitor sucks unless you are the anal rule freak type that enjoys punishing people, because you have to haul replacement clues, ect., monitor progress and saftey, checking all the time if everybody is going in the right direction, find out where some missing guy went and show up and give them a clue that they're headed in the wrong direction and still make it to the next destination before anybody else! trick is to have a really circular set of destinations and you can just cross the circle

first one to decipher the last clue and arrive at the final destination (usually a bar or picnic site) wins

nothing like thinking you are in the lead then you arrive and they're all there before you! grrrrrr!

be sure to write everything down - when people arrived by time, etc. - so as to avoid arguments

there are also checkpoints along the route where the 'monitor' will watch them pass on their way to the next clue

make sure your clues cannot be found out (cheating)

really fun on a sunny afternoon with a picnic in a pavillion at the end - enjoy!

[iwishiwasthere]

Let's see if this helps. :confused: If not I can email you the copies of the road race I have. I am having difficulty attaching the file because it is too big.


1. You need general directions so each person understands the cryptic ones below.Definitions if you are using abbreviations. Ex...R- Turn to the Right
Opp - Opportunity to turn
St - straight
T - intersection

These are just examples. You can make your own.

2. Numbered Directions. This is what the participants will follow to complete the race.
Ex... 1. R 1st OPP
2. L at T
3. L at Stop
They are as minimal as possible, but if I were doing this for children I would write it out.....1.Right at first street, 2. Left at intersection, 3. Left at stop sign. Am I making any sense?????? :bang:

3. Questions - Numbered on a piece of paper. The participants look for these things as they ride around.
Ex... 1. How many pictures of ice cream cones are in Seaside?
2. Where might you get a surf board?
3. What color is the roof at _____( you choose the house#).
One question I loved was "How many barns did you see?" It was the only one without a specific answer because the question asked....Did You See? Each group saw a different amount.

They organizers also took photos of the answers to show if someone missed one. OR you could use digital cameras or a camcorder to show proof. Just depends on how much effort you want to put in it.


It doesn't have to be as difficult as it seems. Just make a route and look as you go along for some interesting things to use for your questions. I know I have said it before, but it really is a lot of fun.

PM me if you want the copies and I will email to your address. Who knows, you might even be able to market them or be in Southern Living yourself!

[peapod1980]

I don't know what made me think of this since our two are teens now and haven't played for years, but we used to play this each summer and everyone liked it. It's on the order of a scavenger hunt.

Southern Living magazine had an article once about all the distinctive fences at Seaside. Plenty of photos. I took all the photos and copied them into a "bingo" card format and gave our kids and their cousins/friends/whoever we were with that season/ a copy and let them loose with markers. They had to find all the fences and whomever returned back to the cottage first with all the fences ticked off was the winner.
That is just about the cutest thing ever, I swear it.
You make me want to put my kids up for adoption! :bang:

[peapod1980]

haven't you heard of BWIs???? Bicycling while intoxicated? In seaside that warrants at least a few nights in town jail (which really is quite nice i've heard...they serve you crab cake sandwiches!)
First things first-- :welcome: Sara! Any spawn of SS is a friend of mine!
BWI in Seaside jail? Book me and lock me up, stat!
I lived on Mackinac Island for a summer and cars are not allowed there--bikes, horse and carriage, the occasional golf cart, that's it. And, as God is my witness, you could indeed get ticketed there for BWI!

[peapod1980]

sara82...do you remember the games we played in Seaside? Like..."Leave your Mother alone so she can read her books?"

Thank God somebody started speaking English here! Whew.
And would someone please hurry up and speak to me...? I have 3 posts in a row; I'm sick of myself.

[RiverOtter]

That is a great idea Mermaid. :cool:

[Mermaid]

That is a great idea Mermaid. :cool:

The cocktail on the bicycle part? :funn:

[jdarg]

The cocktail on the bicycle part? :funn:


Rickshaws! We need rickshaws! That we we won't get BUI!

[Landlocked]

Here we go!

[Miss Kitty]

Thanks LL...we needed that!!!!

[sara82]

i am calling seaside 911 and reporting you all!

[jdarg]

i am calling seaside 911 and reporting you all!


Will you bail out your mom AND her friends? :biggrin:

[Miss Kitty]

Will you bail out your mom AND her friends? :biggrin:

She IS a big tattletale!!!! Pssssssssss!

[iwishiwasthere]

She IS a big tattletale!!!! Pssssssssss!

Sounds like she had good parenting....be careful of drunks and strangers.