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Facebook ads targeted me hard for the Mystery Picnic from Amazing Co. My husband, Yoni, would be home from a 10-month deployment soon and after seeing the ads several times, I finally clicked one to learn more.

The mystery picnic works like this: it’s a scavenger hunt with clues that lead you around a neighborhood and along the way, you’ll learn about the area while also picking up your picnic food. It’s a complete mystery and I quickly decided this would be the perfect date for us when my husband returns. At $90, it would definitely be a special experience.

I love scavenger hunts. One of our early dates was a photo scavenger hunt around Fort Lauderdale, FL. I had planned to gift Yoni a Google Home as a digital picture frame and wanted to have it preloaded with pictures of us together. The scavenger hunt date was my way of doing this! Plus, as a fan of The Amazing Race, this would be a great practice exercise without the stress. You can read more about how I would train as a contestant on The Amazing Race here.

Booking the picnic

Booking the mystery picnic was a breeze. We chose the seasonal “Summer Cooler, Coconut Grove” option and stack it with a dinner with my parents who live nearby. We picked a date and were given a two hour start window during booking. The exact time was confirmed in the confirmation email. In every email I received about our mystery picnic, the Amazing Co team was very communicative.

During the booking process, you can also add on a bottle of wine and specify any dietary restrictions. We are both vegetarian and noted this.

In the confirmation email, they listed our location, date and start time, dietary preferences, and instructions on what to bring. We followed the instructions pretty well. I didn’t think we’d need a pen and paper as phones can do most of what we need, but they came in handy. The email also outlined that the day before our mystery picnic we’d get the first clue. It’s recommended to solve it before you leave so you know where you’re going.

What to bring

• ice packs - this is essential! We used two ice packs from meal kit delivery boxes

• cooler / cooler bag - we used an insulated grocery tote bag. It got a little heavy but it was manageable. If we were more people, I’d bring a rolling cooler or two tote bags.

• pen/paper - one sheet is fine, or use a giveaway notepad

• water bottle and a snack for during the scavenger hunt (it can take 2-2.5 hours to complete the picnic)

• sun hat / sun protection

• comfortable walking shoes

They advise to check local weather conditions prior to starting the picnic.

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD

The day before our picnic, Yoni and I solved our first clue. It came in the form of a word scramble. Solve the puzzle and the first location would be revealed. Easy enough, we knew the first two words were Coconut Grove but got stuck on the third. The “Y” threw us off. A quick Google search revealed our date would start at the Coconut Grove Playhouse!

Our second clue took us a bit longer to solve. Yoni didn’t want to rely on Google. We found a bench in some shade and took a crack at the next puzzle. We were presented with a series of numbers and letters. Once we solved the code, the name of the first restaurant would be revealed! It took us about five minutes to figure out the answer. From there, everything fell into place and the following clues were easier to solve. We happily took our time completing the puzzles while at each stop. The Amazing Co. team budgets for about 30 minutes at each place, but we were in and out in much less than that even as we took our time.

At each restaurant, we were instructed to tell the staff we had a pickup order under “Brandi from Amazing Co.” This alerted the staff we were on a mystery picnic and they knew exactly what to do! If we had a wait time, it was brief though really lovely to sit in the air conditioning.

Food we picked up

1. Cheese, nut, and honey platter with bread from Farinelli 1937

2. Hummus and pita from Meraki in the Grove

3. Freshly squeezed pineapple juices and a cheese salad from The Last Carrot

4. Almond butter artisanal toast with fruit and cacao nibs from Juicense

Overall, we probably had about $50 worth of food and all of it was paid for ahead of time as part of our experience. There was also plenty of food! We shared the leftovers with my parents as a pre-dinner snack. It was a great value considering the quality and quantity of food, as well as the experience. I’d 100% do this again and would do it in a new city too! I had so much fun solving clues and walking around the Grove.

Recommendations to make your mystery picnic easier

• Don’t browse in private on your phone’s browser. The site won’t remember where you left off on clues and you’ll have to redo them. If there was an app instead, that would be much better.

• Take your time. It took us about 2-2.5 leisurely hours to find all the food and eat.

• Be friendly and tell people what you’re doing! Our activity was positively received and it was easy to connect with strangers over it.

As a local/native, it’s easy to take the history of an area for granted. I grew up babysitting for families who went to the Playhouse for date night and remember when Cocowalk had a Cheesecake Factory. With the Mystery Picnic, I got to experience the area as an adult, discover new to me restaurants, and found places I want to revisit. I can’t wait to do another!

Would you go on a mystery picnic? Let me know in the comments!