Scavenger Hunt with ESKA Water #eskaquest

Last week I explored Toronto with my parents and the kids in tow thanks to a scavenger hunt put on by ESKA Water. Throughout the month of July, ESKA Water is inviting Torontonians to join the quest and head downtown for a day of exploration as you try to find 10 hidden #eskaquest tiles. As you may have guessed, this sounds like exactly the type of challenge that we’d love and what I thought would be a fifteen minute walk to “look” at one tile, turned out to be a full day out, filled with delicious food and exploration as we created memories.

Disclosure : I received compensation as part of my relationship with #eskaquest, but as always, opinions are totally mine!

Downloading the #eskaquest app was easy enough and ten tile locations and additional challenges were listed in the app. Luckily you don’t have to go in order of the listing so I decided to hop on the easy ones in my neighbourhood first. Some of the clues are quite difficult but luckily I was able to cheat put my detective skills to good use. For the hard ones I just peeked at the Live Stream section to see what other participants were up to and quickly discovered the locations of some of the harder ones! That’s totally allowed right? The ESKA Water Twitter account was also helpful in giving out some hints.

Our first stop was at the Church St. location where we explored the “neighbourhood decorated with rainbows” and discovered the community centre there. We had been there once for a drop in program but didn’t realize that there was a splash pad for kids so…yes Little Monkey spent a good two hours running around and making new friends under the watchful eyes of my parents.Finding the first tile was a bit tricky as I wasn’t sure what I was looking for but I soon discovered that the QR codes were on sticker decals placed quite visibly on the window. Super easy to spot after finding that first one.

Once I scanned the first QR code I was thirsty to discover another tile. It’s addictive! So we decided to walk up to another clue leading us to the Canadian Tire at Yonge and Church St. We got distracted and then discovered a new lunch spot and took another hour to enjoy a leisurely lunch before proceeding up the street. I didn’t even know there was a Canadian Tire there! Found the QR code at the gas station and then it unlocked a very cool picture challenge. Again the first one was confusing to figure out and I roamed around looking for a giant water bottle only to click through a bit later and discover the very cool overlay! That’s a pretty cool photo if I do say so! LOL.

Unlocking a tile brought on a picture challenge which was probably the most fun for me! I got to use Little Monkey and Baby Boy as props for some adorably funny pictures. After the two tiles we called it a day as we had been exploring the area for six hours straight (we took things very leisurely as you can see!). Over the weekend we bumped into another tile quite accidentally as we headed for dinner in Little Italy and the picture challenge that came along was one that my Instagram followers loved!

With the discovery of each tile you earn points by completing a challenge on your smartphone, through the #eskaquest mobile app. Points give you the chance to win 1 of 10 iPad minis which means that not only do you get to have some fun exploring Toronto but you also can win something cool! I hope to hunt down the remaining seven tiles before the 31st of July! It’s not too late to join in the fun…simply download the free app and you’re ready to go. It’s a great way to explore downtown Toronto with strollers and kids along. Gather the grand parents and make a day of it.. it’s extremely fun!