Hawthorne LbNA #27178 (ARCHIVED)

This box has gone missing.

Hawthorne

In this search, Nathaniel Hawthorne will be providing the clues. You need not be familiar with his life or works to find this box. The clues are self-evident, and the theme is just for fun.

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Begin your journey in the seas of Southeast, near the street of my name. I haven’t been born yet, nor written a word, but don’t worry, I will.

Pick any of the parallels from 35th to 38th and seek out the Spanish Main. If you pick the 35th parallel, your journey will begin at a church and end at a church.

Sail the Main toward the 39th parallel. Beware of dragons!

At the 39th parallel, turn right. Move along the F.M. side of this turbulent pathway until you find double-doors tucked in a corner of a large structure. (Don’t take the bus, it hasn’t been invented yet.)

Looking across the 39th parallel, you will see the sidewalk of a fellow traveler, President Madison.

Cross the 39th, but do so carefully. You may wish to cross with me, or back at the Main. In any case, find your way to Madison, and travel away from those double doors.

You may be younger or older now, but keep moving away from the 39th parallel until you turn 40. Trust me, it’s a right turn. Just when you think you’re out of time and have hit a wall, look across my street, toward the left. You should spy a tree made of metal, leaves and all. Follow the 40th snake, across my path and beyond the tree.

If you stand at the tree and look back down my path toward the 39th, you’ll see GIANT RED DINOSAUR DNA. But that’s eons in the past, and of no interest to us.

You’ll remain 40, but you’ll travel forward now.

It’s 1527. Staying to the right, watch for the “stump house” on your left. Before you know it, it will be 1721, then 1733. We are headed for the 1800’s, toward the very year of one of my finest works. 1804 is the year of my birth, but keep going.

Pass the sign of the three C’s (if you count them all, there are four).

On your right, a large structure rises from an asphalt sea. On the structure’s side there are stained fish, standing on their tails, and above them is a buoy with a cross.

As you are about to leave the fish behind, there will be a sidewalk, a sidewalk, and a driveway. Stop at the second sidewalk

Facing the 39th parallel again, you may see a stump, and beyond, three small AC’s in a line. Ignore the large AC’s riding high.

Follow the three AC’s around the corner. Above a door, you will see that you have traveled to 1844.

Here, it gets a little tricky. I suggest you sit on the stoop and wait until the coast is clear. Then, look low, near the large iron plug. Beside the iron plug there is a large iron pipe, reaching to the eaves. Clinging to the iron pipe is a smaller pipe with round ends.

Grab it, pull it free, and open it. Be sure to put it back when you are done, so that this may become a Twice-Told Tale.

“The darling knows more of mystery than we do.”

TWICE-TOLD TALES: THE ARTIST OF THE BEAUTIFUL,
by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1844.