The Final Four

September 24, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

September 24, 2018 – I’m sitting in the airport after a three day stint in the Atlantic northeast.  Five more states knocked down, taking me up to a grand total of 46!  The final four are Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.  This weekend was a total blast.  Christina and I solved seven escape rooms and still had time to experience a little more of each of the states we visited, from the Maine coast to the deep hills of Vermont.

Puzzle #15: Creative Struggles

September 20, 2018 Brian Gondek 5

Today is one of those days where I’m definitely not in the right mindset to come up with a new riddle…  Still, the show must go on!  So I sat back and thought of versatile words I can be vague about.  Here’s what I came up with:

Tucson, AZ: Escape Room Tucson – Inside Job

September 18, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

August 26, 2018 (flashback) – I didn’t need to solve an Arizona escape room on my visit thanks to my earlier visit to Gray Matter Escape in Lake Havasu (on my Vegas trip).  However, Adil and I had some time before my flight and figured why not add a little to our adventure?

Puzzle #14: Just in Time

September 13, 2018 Brian Gondek 3

Right before midnight (well, about an hour), I’m posting my promised Wednesday puzzle.  So it’s only appropriate I go with a clock theme this time.

Next Stop: New England!

September 11, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

Only a few more trips to go this year, but I need to be careful because a spike in flight prices can be quite costly.  Currently at 41 states, I’m far past the point of no return, so if the only way to get to one of the last states is a $1000 flight…  I might have to do it.  Or drive 20 hours to avoid flying.  Either way, not ideal.

Puzzle #13: Hawaiian Delight

September 6, 2018 Brian Gondek 1

When passing through Honolulu Airport, I spotted a Japanese zen garden below the path to my gate.  This combination of cultures inspired me to put together a puzzle based on something I saw there.

Las Cruces, NM: Lost Cruces – The Heist

September 2, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

August 25, 2018 (flashback) – After the misadventures on my journey from Phoenix to Tucson, I grabbed brunch with my friend Adil and scheduled our escape room at Lost Cruces, an escape room in Las Cruces, New Mexico.  We narrowly avoided a disaster by realizing just in time that New Mexico is an hour ahead of Arizona, and we adjusted our booking time accordingly.  After a pit stop at a gas station called “The Thing?” (I’m still not sure what The Thing is.  It could be an alien, it could be a mummy), we were on our four hour trek […]

Aug 31 – Sep 3: Hawaii Excursion

September 2, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

Aloha!  As I write this, I’m on a balcony on the 16th floor of the Queen Kapiolani hotel in Waikiki.  It wasn’t the original plan for my trip, but things have a way of working out.

Puzzle #12: Back to the Numbers

August 30, 2018 Brian Gondek 0

Given the announcement of Aaron Rodgers’ megabucks deal today, I’m going back to a numeric puzzle to honor #12.  Perhaps in more ways than one…  You may need to do some minor research to solve this one, but it doesn’t necessarily need the internet.

Aug 25-26: Nonstop Driving in the Southwest

August 26, 2018 Brian Gondek 2

Another weekend, another whirlwind trip.  This one started by heading from home to O’Hare Airport, Chicago, at 3:30 AM Saturday morning.  Tonight, technically early tomorrow, I catch the 12:30 AM flight from Phoenix and arrive home at 6:30 AM Monday, just in time to get to work.  In between, I’m visiting Tucson, AZ and Las Cruces, NM.  Busy weekend, but well worth it!