It wasn’t every day that I was presented with the chance to do something I loved. Such were my thoughts as I looked down at the colorful brochure in my hands. The colors were what really stuck out at me; a strange mishmash of old weathered wood and new chrome and brass, with words splayed across it in odd angles. All of it drew me in and had made me hesitate from throwing it in the trash at first.

Maybe this was finally it. All my life I had been told my parents that if I could grow up to be anything, it would be a great detective like Sherlock Holmes. Alas, fate always seems to have its own plan. My life did not allow me to become such a thing. I still had a love of mysteries and solving puzzles, but I lacked the education and skills to actually become a detective.

Shaking my head free of such thoughts my gaze fluttered once again to the bright and glossy images in the brochure. I had to hand it to the marketing crew they made someone want to take this little trip. It wouldn’t be hard to imagine that they had worked hard to pinpoint their target audience.

Welcome amateur gumshoes to the chance of a lifetime! Have you always wanted to know what it felt like to hunt for clues and solve puzzles while trying to identify the real bad guys? To be just like those famous detectives in the novels and television shows you love so much? Well at Quite Contrary you’ll have the chance to do just that.

 Built on the remains of the old summer camp that shares its name with your resort home, Quite Contrary offers you the chance to solve the mystery of a lifetime. Come to visit us and stay for your three-month package deal in the quaint little town of Cadence Oregon. Come on down and try to see if you are smart enough to out-think the cops.

 This was the kind of thing I’d been waiting for. My one chance to finally have a vacation that would be both educational and fun.  It was enough to make me drop everything I was doing and take the three month holiday from my job. I had wanted an excuse to do this anyway, so why not make this trip the reason. Maybe it wouldn’t be that bad? At least it would be something that I could say was an experience that no one else I knew was brave enough to do.

This honestly could be the event I needed to springboard my life. At least it would break up the monotony of the daily grind. Still, a part of me felt as if something was going to happen. Even now I couldn’t tell if it was going to be something good or bad.

Dialing the number listed in the brochure, and trying not to get impatient with the automated voice, I finally reached a live person. They were happy to tell me that I was the last person able to sign up. The cabins were going to be full, and they were super excited that people were interested.  She provided me with the location I would be flying too, the name of the bus driver who was going to drive us all from the airport to the campgrounds and the name of the camp director.

It did appear that each of the housing units was being renamed after a famous detective and there would be free clothing choices for us if we wanted to embrace the detective we may temporarily be assigned too.

It really did sound too good to be true, but I had to find out for myself. So I set about finalizing my plans and packing. The trip would take me just a little over a day by plane and then another 6 hours by bus to get to the camp location. I had to leave now if I was going to make it in time.

Quite Contrary, here I come.