The Great Labyrinth Adventure

Jeff sent his friend Elizabeth on a quest that ended up at the beautiful Morton Aboretum Hedge Maze just west of Chicago.

“We started 38.23 miles from our destination and she successfully navigated us there in 40 attempts.  I put a book that she wanted inside the box though I intended the location to be more of the prize anyway.”

The whimsical bit is that Jeff programmed his box to open just outside the maze, not in it.  We can probably forgive Elizabeth for jumping to some natural conclusions.  If a puzzle box adventure had just led you to the entryway of a famous labyrinth, wouldn’t you assume that its climax would be found inside?

Not so.  Jeff writes:

“While she was systematically walking around [the outside of] the Labyrinth and checking the distance, she actually got to within 83 feet of the target location.  Then she literally walked right over the spot where the box opens and into the Labyrinth!  … I don’t think that she realized how close she really was.”

Thus began a lengthy and frustrating expedition up and down the twisty corridors of the labyrinth, sometimes drawing tantalizingly close, but never quite reaching the destination.  Eventually Elizabeth figured out the joke and the two of them had a laugh and a good lunch before setting off for home.