Finally – party time! Our main activity, of course, was a treasure hunt. We hid the treasure pictured above inside of a large ottoman down in the basement TV room, and created 5 sets of 20 riddled clues that were scattered throughout the house. After the guests arrived, we divided them up into teams of at least 4, but no more than 6, and gave each team their own pirate flag, a notebook & pen for clues, and a beginning clue. The hunt was on, with Brent and I each on a different floor to help teams out when needed.Costumes are required for our parties – and provided for those who don’t wear one. I think we only had a couple people show up without, and they were quickly assigned eye patches and bandanas.
The flashlight is for finding clues - we hid them inside and outside for more room to play.
Treasure found! The "all girls" team won...is that surprising?
After the treasure hunt, pool and good times with friends. 
Our Pirate Captain host for the evening:
And yours truly, looking like a rather ragged pirate under our island-deco arch:
Everyone voted on the theme for our 2009 party, and when I tallied the votes at the end of the evening, the winner was a landslide: Haunted Hospital. Quick, someone call a doctor!
