Today, select stores around the U.S. will be participating in a scavenger hunt where you can win a signed advance copy of The Longest Ride. Here are the first set of clues. The next set of clues will be revealed at 10am pst / 1pm est
Make sure to follow Nicholas on Twitter as well @NicholasSparks
Good luck and happy hunting!!
Location 1:
Technically a man-made island, this city has been called the “Golf Capital of the World”. It is situated on the center of a large and continuous stretch of beach known as the Grand Strand, and is a coastal city on the east coast of the United States. This city hosts 4.6 million visitors annually.
Location 2:
The Ocean Drive section of this town is home of the Shag (a slowed down version of the Jitterbug). Vanna White is a notable native.
Location 3:
Second-largest city in this U.S. Commonwealth, it is known as both “the Steel City” for its more than 300 related businesses and “the City of Bridges” for its world record 446 bridges. H. J. Heinz invented his famous recipe for ketchup in this city, introducing it to the world in 1876. There are 3 store locations in this city’s suburbs included in this Scavenger Hunt!
Location 4:
Bret Michaels, lead singer of Poison, was born here. The Maridon Museum, located in this downtown, focuses on Chinese and Japanese culture.
Location 5:
In 1967, this town was the birthplace of McDonald’s Big Mac sandwich. General George Marshall (famous for the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after WW2) was born here.
Location 6:
This town is the site of the LeMoyne House, a national historic landmark of the Underground Railroad, and also Home of the Pony League World Series.
Location 7:
This is a port city in and is the county seat of New Hanover County in coastal southeastern United States, originally settled by European Americans along the Cape Fear River. Home of the USS North Carolina war memorial. The TV show Dawson’s Creek was filmed here.
Location 8:
This is a city in and the county seat of Hamblen County, in the eastern part of The United States. They won the Little League Softball World Series in 2007, and two horror films—The Evil Dead and Five Across the Eye – were filmed here. Unique overhead sidewalks downtown were completed in 1969. This is the home of the Davy Crockett Tavern Museum.
Location 9:
9th largest city in its state, this city’s names is the singular form of the original French name, meaning “Clear Waters”, for its river of the same name. This is the Horseradish Capital of the World, and hosts the US National Kobb Championship.
Location 10:
This city in Trumbull County is located on the eastern shore of Mosquito Creek Reservoir. The area was once known as Baconsburg, after Samuel Bacon, who built a sawmill and several buildings in the area during the early 19th century. Its school district is known as Lakeview. It has one elementary school, one middle school, and one high school.
Location 11:
Founded in 1837, it was named after the British university city, and has been named by USA Today as one of the top six college towns in the nation. The courthouse square, called “The Square”, is the geographic and cultural center of the city. William Faulkner resided in this city until his death in 1962.
Location 12:
This is the only U.S. state capital (among the 47 located in counties) that is not also a county seat. The city’s transition to manufacturing began in 1897 with the founding of the Olds Motor Vehicle Company by R.E. Olds. Former Major League Baseball pitcher and sports-broadcaster John Smoltz went to high school here before he was drafted in the 1985 amateur draft.
Location 13:
The city was founded in 1847. The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed here in 1869. They hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics.
Location 14:
This is a hilly seaside community, occupying 7 miles of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean, and is surrounded on three sides by ocean bluffs and beaches. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, one of the nation’s oldest oceanographic institutes, was founded here in 1903.
Location 15:
This is a suburban city in Middlesex County.Rather than having a single city center, this is a patchwork of thirteen “villages”. It was settled in 1630 as part of “the newe towne”, which became Cambridge in 1638. The Fig Newton cookie is named after the city.
