You didn’t think Pete would come up with a swing and a miss, did you?

The night before Jen’s birthday, I was up late binge reading my smut fiction into the wee hours when I text Pete: “How’s it going over there?”

After a few moments with a chilly beer in his hand, Pete had decided he could make the island work, after all, and everything was quickly back in progress. He spent the rest of the evening crafting clever clues and cute little rhymes explaining the significance of the gifts. Then, he printed them all out, soaked the clues in coffee liquid, then baked them in the oven to distress it all and make it look “authentic.”

I admire many things about the Steel Sapphire Crew, but one thing you can always say for them: they will not give up until the details are thought through and carefully crafted - no matter the project. This was no different. The stick transformed into this beautiful treasure box, holding a scroll of paper introducing Jen to the game she had to play the next morning.

So, I decide I’d better call it a night and get my baker’s beauty rest so that I may be able to get up early enough to mix up the batter and cream cheese icing for Jen’s birthday cake.

We woke to a gorgeous morning rising over the island. Around 10:00 a.m., The Three Remaining Amigos: Steel Sapphire, Erie Spirit, and Sonrisa each send their crew ashore. “Don’t come back until you win an important prize!” Sonrisa says, always the competitive one.

We arrive to the beach along with a set of locals who have come to the island to picnic. We tried to keep our distance to make sure we didn’t cause them any trouble, but Pete realizes maybe he should warn them that there are few surprises hidden throughout the island.

“Good morning, guys,” Pete says to the fishermen. “It’s my wife’s birthday and we are doing a treasure hunt of sorts. So, if you find anything hidden in the sand or the trees will you mind leaving it there?”

The fishermen giggle and hold up Jen’s “Immunity Idol.” “Is this one of them!?”

Pete laughs and admits it is. They replace the trinket where they find it. “We found your message in a bottle, too!” They said, “You really didn’t hide anything very well.”

Pete chuckles, “Thanks for the feedback….”

But, all was as he’d left it the night before, and Pete determined we were ready to play.

Returning back to the beginning of the course, Pete explains gathers the whole team and explains the rules: “Anyone can hunt down and find a treasure, but of course, they are Jen’s birthday presents, so in the end, I’d appreciate if you gave them to her. That being said, if you find a treasure before Jen does, you can trade her by negotiating for ice cold beers.”

Given the sorry state of Sonrisa’s grog supply, this rule is quite motivating for Captain Andrew. And so, the players drew their team colors and it turned out to be Gents in red v. the Ladies in green. Pete was the master of ceremonies, and I was tasked with obtaining video footage.

There were several challenges, each with their own clue. The first led Jen to the chewed on, wrestled with, and tugged on “Octopus,” previously a tangle of old satin ribbon from Pete and Jen’s wedding, repurposed as Dixie the Cat’s Play Toy, and now repurposed (at least partially) as a set of fucia pink tassel earrings. I think Jen wears them well.

Next, the clues sent the team searching through the jungle for the Immunity necklace so “poorly” hidden. Andrew was successful, and he tried to hold out for a full bottle of ceremonial ship’s rum, but eventually Jen wheedled him down to just a can of beer.

Never negotiate against yourself, Godfrey.

Next Jen easily found the “Fifty Things I Love About Jen” Message in a bottle, perched decoratively between two tide pools in the middle of the island. Good thing we didn’t let the locals hide everything. We’d probably still be out there hunting.

The final challenge, the teams had to paddle kayaks out to the location of sunken treasure — blindfolded, guided only by their partner’s voice. What could go wrong? Susan and Jen worked out an effective strategy involving the call of port and starboard, on a per paddle stroke basis. The electrical and the chemical engineers, however, missed some key element of strategy and before Andrew knew it, Mark was paddling off to open ocean.

Chasing Mark on foot, then by swim, Andrew is trying to yell over his own splashing: “Mark, come back! Right! Right! No, your other right!”

Mark was nowhere near the mark when Andrew is laughing so hard, he can no longer make any sense. “Paddle to the sound of my voice! Come back Mark! Come here, Little Buddy!”

Yeah, they lost that challenge.

When the sunken treasure was revealed, Jen found a necklace of coins from all the countries they’ve sailed through so far, starting from Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and now the Maldives.

“Hey! There’s even a 50 on the center piece!” Jen says, amazed at Pete’s thoughtfulness.

Pete and I smile and blink at her - still not even realizing the connection. That design choice was made based on a lucky decision that we liked the side with the Kangaroo better than the one with the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland*.

By the time we finished the Survivor portion of our day, I think we all decided the island was - while not entirely perfect - a wonderful place to celebrate. Even with the strange object that looks a bit like a cannon on the beach.

Back aboard Steel Sapphire, we continue festivities with some bubbly champagne, and a viewing of the video Pete made of all Jen’s friends and family wishing her happy birthday.

We made Jen shuck her own lobster, and Pete really came through on execution making butter, lobster, garlic cream sauce over pasta that really allowed the Maldivian lobster to stand out. Topped with fresh ground black pepper and served with a series of chilled white wines, it was a special meal for me, and I’m sure even more special for Jen.

By the end of the day, I think we all felt like celebration had been thoroughly had - despite the remoteness of our location and the limitation of our supplies. We feel lucky to have been included, and lucky to have met this group of friends who know how to harness their optimism to make such a wide range of scenarios not just more pleasant but downright fun. The crew of Steel Sapphire and Erie Spirit both know how to squeeze the most out of life.

Happy Birthday, Jen! May the second set of fifty years be even more enjoyable than your first.

And Pete: You did well.

*A Public Service Announcement That Apparently Demonstrates The Oddgodfrey Lack of Worldliness:

Did you know that “England” is not really a country? And the Queen, she’s not really the Queen of England. I mean, she is the Queen of England, but the Queen of so much more, too. Apparently, calling her the “Queen of England” is like saying President Trump is the President of Texas. Pete says England is more like a state, in the sense that it is a part of a greater whole called The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland often referred to for short as the U.K. or Great Britain. This bigger, united nation apparently also includes Scotland and Wales - neither of which are a country either, except in some limited international sports competitions - but significantly, not the Olympics.

Ireland, however, is its own country. Not to be confused with Northern Ireland.

Furthermore, this is not a new structure. It’s apparently been this way since 1707.

Also, it is rather offensive to Scottish/Australian citizens of the United Kingdom and Australia (a.k.a. known as the Commonwealth) when Americans refer to this place I am currently discussing as “England”. So, don’t do it again. Please!

The more you know.