Nine Miatas met at Starbucks in San Jose at 9:00 a.m. to go on an adventure, a Scavenger Hunt, in our roadsters. Gary & Wendy Allen led the hunt and provided the rules and list of 50 items/places to be hunted and photographed. We all departed at or around 9:30 a.m. with plans to meet up again in Niles for a picnic lunch with our list of photographed  items. Some stayed around the San Jose area as items on the list included a “Google bike”, an Apple icon (not on an iPhone or iPad), a donut shop, an In-n-Out burger & a Philz coffee, none of which were in Niles. Others headed to Niles to hunt & photograph.  

Some of us were lucky enough find parking  close to Niles and walk around town before lunch time. A crowd of car enthusiasts were having an antique car show which was a photography jackpot for our scavenger list which included a California license plate in the old blue & gold colors, a non-Miata convertible, and a car older than 1970.  However, a California state flag (on the list) was nowhere to be found.  Other items on the list were: a "do not enter" sign, something that flies, train or bus transportation, auto parts shop, graffiti, public art, a "one way" sign, drive thru, mailbox, etc.  

The most difficult item to find was a public phone which was worth 50 points, two participants were lucky enough to find one.  Most items were worth 5-20 points.  The object was to reach 400 points at, not before or later, than 12:30 p.m. and to have the least amount of miles getting those 400 points. The directions and rules were a bit fuzzy for most of us, but all in all everyone had a great time.  

We had a wonderful picnic lunch at Quarry Lakes Park, it was a CA beautiful day. Participants were polled for their number of points and their mileage. The winner of the day was Brad Rex who was presented with a Gary Allen original wood worked BAMA logo. We hope Gary still has the pattern as this will more than likely be commissioned as a prize for future contests.  

Huge thanks to Gary & Wendy for arranging and leading the Scavenger Hunt. With a little clarification of the directions and rules we could definitely make this an annual event.