Last week, 5 teams competed in a race around Fort Myers, FL, solving puzzles and finding clues that led them from one location to the next in search of the final location. Named after the planner and host of the event, Mannella Madness 2006 took teams from the Airport to the Beach. In all, the teams covered approximately 50 miles of driving, 4-5 miles of walking/running, and 1/2 mile of kayaking, over a period of about 6 hours. The clues directed the teams to various parks and preserves, a dry cleaners, the top of a bridge, a community pool, a post office, a library, and a restaurant called the Happy Buddha.

Using Windows Live Local, I made a map of the event, with each location and some clues pointed out on the map with pins. The pins are numbered from 1 to 14, in the order that we did them.

Windows Live Local (their map application) is a really useful tool, I was able to make (and share) something 100 times better than just a zoomed out map with stars on them. You can check out each location, and take advantage of the Bird's Eye view option for a clear, hi-res view of the areas. Granted, some of the scenery has changed since they took these pictures, but it gives a good enough idea of each location. 

Experience Mannella Madness 2006 for yourself>>>

In all we all had a great time with it. My team, the Blue team, came in second. Congrats to the Red team (you know who you are), the winners of this year's Mannella Madness!

Unfortunately, I won't be competing in the next competition. But it's for a good reason, and no, not because I'm mad that my team didn't win. In fact, it's just the opposite of that. I had such a good time, I decided I wanted to help plan the next one. Even though Mike (the founder of Mannella Madness) will be sitting out the planning portion of the next one (perhaps to compete in it...), I think we'll still call it Mannella Madness, for consistency and branding purposes. I've got a few ideas already, and it looks like this one may be taking a different approach than the past MM's have. It's still in the very early phase of planning right now, so it's hard to say how it will end up.