November 16, 2003

The Duck Hunting

This was the scene here last night for the Duck's Birthday. I handed her a guide to a scavenger hunt and she was off. The guide is below.

Welcome to the Duck Hunt, the beginning of the events for Monique Trottier’s Birthday 2003. The Duck Hunt will begin at 5:30 and will end when all ducks are collected. There are 6 ducks in all that need to be collected at various locations throughout local neighbourhoods. You will need to use a car for transportation as you find them. Clues to help you find the ducks are below. The ducks should be collected in the order in which they are presented below. Each duck has a story behind it and then the duck gives you clues to its whereabouts. In some instances, you will have to trade something for the duck – perhaps an answer to a riddle, a impromtu 8 count. In other instances, you will find the duck comes attached to goods. Those goods should also be secured with the duck, for they will be needed later. As soon as you find one duck, immediately read the directions for the next duck, since the ducks are to be collected in a specific order for specific reasons.

If at any time you are stumped, lost, confounded or just plain fed up, call James Sherrett at 604-736-XXXX and he will make sense of your predicament.

Duck #1
You heard a story earlier today about an injured white duck named a few things: Howard, Donald, Daffy. You have seen this duck before. Where did they catch that duck before they released it? Go there and you will find Duck #1.

Hints from Duck #1:

  • I am with someone you know
  • I am on a bridge
  • Once a year, there is a music festival all around me.
  • You’ll need to park and walk to find me. Bring an umbrella with you.

    Duck #2
    Duck #2 is hiding at a fancy food emporium, a retail location in a shee-shee district where galleries and dress shops run up against lingerie shops, cafés restaurants and a well-known old-time theatre. The shop is impeccably lit and named after its owner. Their black bags with white typesetting are distinctive.

    Hints from Duck #2:

  • I can see all kinds of incredible taste delights from where I sit. The display case here is full of salads, meatballs, deli meats, cheeses and olives.
  • When I arrived here we passed a shop that I think was called Bread Garden, though how would you water that kind of garden?
  • We also passed a sign that read W. 14th.
  • There must also be a great flower shop attached to this store since I smell flowers all the time.

    Duck #3
    You know a joke about a duck who walks into a bar. In the joke, there are three sequences of events that lead up to the punch line. Find the right bartender, tell them the joke, and you will receive Duck #3.

    Hints from Duck #3:

  • I am at a restaurant with a bar at the front, a long, narrow seating area in the middle, the kitchen toward the back, the bathrooms behind the kitchen, and a small wooden patio on the back with about half a dozen plastic tables to sit at in the summertime.
  • The restaurant is not a bar. It is in fact best known for brunch. But if you’re going for brunch, you have to arrive well before 11 am or face a line up.
  • The name of the restaurant is two words. The first word is a common name for a coffee shop, the second word in a name, the same name that won Mordecai Richler a version of the Giller Prize.
  • You will be able to walk to find me from the place where you found Duck #2.

    Duck #4
    You will find Duck #4 at the home of M & M, the little people who we know from the flatlands. They like to play games and have games nights at their place. One more word: fondue.

    Hints from Duck #4:

  • Get here quick, they keep feeding me.
  • These guys are talking about babies. Do babies have cooties?
  • These guys have a station wagon, and one of them in studying for a test.

    Duck #5
    You will find Duck #5 at the White House, where a friend moved after living in the Mint Mansion for so many years. This friend has christened himself, General Good Times. Last time, and the only time, you were at this house you ate a grilled vegetable that had vinegar on it and it made you sick. Jenise was there with her husband Tom and she was telling us about seeing drug deals through the classroom at the school in Surrey where she teaches.

    Hints from Duck #5:

  • There’s music all the time in this house. I’m grooving to the beat.
  • All the streets around here are named after trees, the one closest to us is called Heather.
  • Your friends M & M used to live just down the street from this house on 17th

    Duck #6
    Duck #6 is hiding in another retail location. This retail location is dedicated to a type of baking, though they also sell gelato and coffees. People who are getting married go to this shop to order an item that all weddings seems to be unable to do without.

    Hints from Duck #6:

  • The sign on this store is 3 words. The first word is a name with 3 letters and an apostraphe ‘s’. The second two words I can’t quite read from in here, but they are both four letters and in block letters on the window.
  • I can see a liquor store from here, and a TD bank, and a theatre, and when they brought me here I saw a huge plastic tomato above a door just down the street.
  • There are sweet things in this shop. The sign outside says Cambie and the other one is a number with an 8 in it.

    Feast
    After finding all Duck #6, come on home! A reward for all your hard work will be waiting for you.

    Posted by James Sherrett at November 16, 2003 11:53 AM
    • Comments

    Good duck hunting. Very clever, James. Happy Birthday to the Duck!

    Posted by: 2 quacks in TO at November 16, 2003 12:21 PM

    The Duck Darkens a Few Doorsteps
    Duck #1. It was a dark and stormy night. Tip toeing through the water-logged field at the entrance of Jericho Park, I was curious as to what the headlines would read Sunday morning if I perished on the first task. Duck Killed in Duck Hunt. Duck Falls in Creek and Drowns. Duck Mauled by Crazed Ax Murderer in Pitch Black Park as She Good-Naturedly Attempted to Find the Hidden Path to the Bridge. Duck without Flashlight Goes Down in Burst of Quacking. The Duck was less than amused. Equally soaked was the bridge troll, Mr. Riggs. "What is your name?" [hear the sound of the bridge-keeper in Search for the Holy Grail] DUCK. "What is your favourite colour?" YELLOW. "What do you like to do?" QUACK.
    Duck #2. Wet, hungry and one duck heavier, I made my way to Meinhardt's, the best specialty food shop in Vancouver. The Pumpkin Fritters were calling my name. I ordered those and nonchalantly asked the deli girl if they had any plastic ducks. A light in her eye raised my hopes. "I'm not sure, but you should ask the cashier because we sell candy pigs. I'm sure we'd have ducks." I wasn't sure if she was pulling my leg but on the way to the cashier I passed by the candy pigs. Expectation of an easy second duck diminished. The cashier ran my fritters through and I timidly said "you don't happen to have plastic ducks?" Ah ha. From the flower case came a plastic bag with cheese, salami, apples, limes ... and a duck. Score.
    Duck #3. So a duck walks into a bar, sidles up to the counter and says to the guy nursing his beer beside her "this is where your night gets interesting." Consternation spreads across his face, deciding I've just given his the worst pick up line ever, he tucks into his beer, slightly angled away from me. "Bartender, I'm looking for someone who needs to hear a duck joke." Well, he says, try me. So I tell my joke. He doesn't laugh. Mortified I turn to the guy beside me and say "it doesn't get any better than this." Then bingo. Rubber ducky is on the bar and I'm on my way.
    Duck #4. Mark and Maggie. Two tough birds. It was either 20 questions or 3 riddles. I wasted the first two questions figuring out what I was trying to do. Yes or No, my duck is hidden and I'm trying to find out where it is. Yes. I thought I had a hint in my instructions. I asked if the duck was in the fondue pot. Of course not. Eight questions later I was in the bath tub, duck in hand.
    Duck #5. I needed a life line. The house on 17th had to be Patrick's. 17th is a long street. I needed more. Look for the alley after Heather St.
    General Good Times himself offered me a drink. "A glass of water would be great," I said. He handed me a glass, there was my duck, frozen in ice, a string tied around its neck. The string was attached to a rock. Sweet Jesus. I left quickly.
    Duck #6. I'm thinking now that 2 hours in, I've provide James with ample time to fill our apartment with party guests. But who was going to come? Mark and Margaret were tucked away in their sweats. Patrick was laise-faire ... Then I realize that I was promised dinner, curry. Did these shenanigans mean no curry? I was hungry, the pumpkin fritters were gone. Clearly I needed to make my way to Amy's Cake Shop and Cafe. "Hello sir, I'm looking for a duck." Out came my birthday cake, boxed, and on top was Duck #6.
    The Return. I could hear the revelry from the staircase. Mark, Maggie, Jason, Anita, Dale, Julie, Craig, Marla, Chad, Duck-Drowner Patrick and The Rabbit. It was a good party. Thank you to all the quacks who attended.

    Posted by: The Duck at November 16, 2003 07:45 PM

    how innovative, i'm impressed

    Posted by: linda sherrett at November 17, 2003 09:06 AM

    Best darn player of 20-questions we've ever seen! A wonderful party for a wonderful person!

    M & M

    Posted by: M & M at November 17, 2003 08:05 PM

    Too bad we missed out on all the fun! Very creative! I especially like the color commentary.
    Happy Birthday Duck - We miss you!

    Posted by: CD and the LD at November 17, 2003 08:42 PM