WHERE'S BROOK? contest winner Susan Cory (middle), Brook (right), and I had lunch in Manhattan last Friday, July 13, 2007.

by Wendy Perrin

Okay, gamesters: Wanna guess where WHERE'S BROOK? contest winner Susan Cory and Brook and I ate last week?  Susan, a residential architect, chose the restaurant because she's a fan of its modernist architecture.

Here's another clue: Note the plate that Susan's Dover sole arrived on.

You may recall that Susan and I had lunch last month when I was up in Cambridge, Mass., where she lives. It ended up hardly being a proper contest-winner lunch, however:  Thanks to a delayed train to Boston, I was so rushed that we had time only for a burger.  And of course Brook was dying to meet Susan too.  Plus Susan has so many great travel tricks up her sleeve that I wanted to hear more.  We needed a do-over.  So, when everyone's paths crossed in Manhattan last weekend, we had a proper celebration. It also just happened to be my birthday.

The main topic of conversation was LuxuryLink, a Web auction site that Susan swears by. She's scored huge bargains at first-rate hotels and resorts.  Three years ago she paid $800 for three nights, including tax and breakfast, at La Samanna, the posh resort on the Caribbean island of St. Martin. Two years ago she paid $900 for five nights, with breakfast daily and one dinner, at the Grand Hotel in San Remo, Italy.  And in October she's headed to St. Petersburg, Russia, where she's bought a five-night package for two at The Astoria for $1,264, which includes tax, daily breakfast, one dinner, and an hour-long massage for both her and her husband. Considering how crazy expensive St. Petersburg is, that's a steal. The retail value quoted on LuxuryLink is $3,534.  You go, Susan!

Susan's tips for getting the best price via LuxuryLink:

This is Susan Cory, the winner of last month's WHERE'S BROOK? contest. Can you guess where we ate lunch on Friday?

by Wendy Perrin

Remember how the prize for winning the WHERE'S BROOK? contest was lunch with either me or Brook at the restaurant of the winner's choice?  I'm the one who lucked out: This past weekend I happened to be visiting the very city where winner Susan Cory lives. We ate at one of its institutions:

So much local paraphernalia hangs on the walls of this eatery that if I were to show you more than this section of it, I'd give away the location.

Susan is a residential architect . . . not to mention a saint: First she picked a restaurant conveniently close to the place where I had to be at 2:00 p.m. -- another of this city's institutions. Then, when I accidentally missed my 6:14 a.m. Amtrak train on Friday (who knew Amtrak's EWR station cannot be driven to in a car?!?  I should have, of course!), which meant I was going to be half an hour late for lunch, Susan generously offered to pick me up at the train station in her car so I wouldn't have to spend time on the subway.  After lunch -- during which we discussed Susan's upcoming trip to Russia -- it was just a short walk to the building where I was scheduled to speak on a panel at 2:00.

Susan Cory in the place where I served on a panel entitled "The Changing Media Landscape" on Friday.

This old building used to be dark and dingy. Then, a few years ago, it was renovated in much the same way that Susan renovates old houses: Sunlight was brought in and it was redesigned to be far more user-friendly. This building happens to be down the street from the graduate school where Susan got her architecture degree.

Okay, all you clever travelers and Googlers out there:  I've given you enough clues to figure it out. Where did Susan and I eat lunch?

By Brook Wilkinson

Hats off to CoralsO, who used her web research skills to track my location to the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco. Since she also won the opening round, we'll have to go out for a blowout lunch next time our paths cross! Thanks also to all of you for joining me on my drive across the country -- I never would have thought that you'd figure out so easily that I was in places like Elk Horn, Iowa, Gothenburg, Nebraska, or Rawlins, Wyoming. And congrats to our main winner, Scory.

Now you're asking, what on earth was I doing driving across the country? Moving the most precious of my worldly belongings to my new home, the Bay Area. I am now a one-woman west coast bureau for Conde Nast Traveler. I'll be blogging and writing for the magazine from San Francisco (a city for which we've just published a business travel guide, in conjunction with our sister publication Portfolio) -- so welcome to the new, bicoastal edition of the Perrin Post!

By Brook Wilkinson

I didn't really intend for my last WHERE'S BROOK? clue to be quite this difficult, so I'm going to sweeten the pot. Scory has already run away with the contest (Scory, congrats for being the first to answer 5 of the 7 clues correctly! Email perrinfeedback@cntraveler.com and let me know how to contact you to set up our lunch). But whoever answers this final puzzle will also win lunch with Wendy or me at the restaurant of your choice!

Here are your visual clues once more:

By Brook Wilkinson

Here's me at Sanford's Grub & Pub in Rawlins, Wyoming.

Scory has scored once again. As the rest of you have no doubt guessed by now, I've been driving across the country, and stopped for a surprisingly tasty lunch at Sanford's Grub & Pub in Rawlins, Wyoming. My cousin -- who's worked at a tex-mex restaurant herself -- declared her chicken fajita salad there "the best I've ever eaten":

They also do over a dozen variations of the burger, with an even longer list of brews to go with. Stop by if you're ever in the neighborhood.

Now here's one more clue to help you solve that last puzzle:

The new clue added to WHERE'S BROOK? Round 7.

By Brook Wilkinson

Before I left the office, Wendy warned me to make my WHERE'S BROOK? puzzlers as difficult as possible, so I'm relieved to see that I've stumped all of you with two of them. I've added another picture -- with a clue hidden somewhere within it -- to Round 7, and I've written a clue as a comment to the Final Round's photo. Good luck!

By Brook Wilkinson

Those of you who read my post on how to pack lightly know that I'm a woman with few choices when it comes to wardrobe. Those of you who read this morning's post saw that philosophy in action. Yes, that was me in both Illinois and Nevada wearing the very same shirt. Leave it to the blogosphere to blow my cover.

Now on to your final clue, which I can only hope will prove harder than yesterday's:

WHERE AM I?

UPDATE: Here's one more visual clue:

By Brook Wilkinson

Scory, I think you should be writing these things. In the last 12 hours, you've figured out both the church -- the Wicker Park Lutheran Church in Chicago, where my aunt Ruth VanDemark is pastor:

and my latest puzzle, the Lovers' Lock in Lovelock, Nevada:

Fun bit of trivia about the church: It was built from mica-flecked granite stones salvaged from a Chicago brothel, and in his first sermon there, the pastor announced that the stones had served the devil long enough and would now serve God.

Last year, the city of Lovelock took up an old Chinese tradition in which lovers add a lock with their names etched on it to a chain, throw away the key, and thereby ensure that their love will last forever. No statistics were available on how successful the Nevadan chains have been to date.

Stay tuned for the game's last clue later today...

By Brook Wilkinson

Greetings from...well, that's for me to know and you to figure out. I'm glad to see that I've managed to stump all of you with yesterday's clue! But the guesses you've given so far, are definitely on the right track, so keep trying. I've also added a clue to that inscrutable red door. Meanwhile, here's today's clue:

Here's a close-up of what you're looking at above:

WHERE AM I?

By Brook Wilkinson

Kudos to Kerrisuzanne for recognizing the original pony express station still standing in Gothenburg, Nebraska. If you're ever passing through, stop in. The docent would love to tell you all about the tough job those guys did. Here's me with the souvenir paper he handed me as I left:

Now on to the next clue:

By Brook Wilkinson

As I predicted, this contest is far from over. Scory's blazed into the lead with two correct answers: the Moonlite Drive-In in Brookville, PA...

...and the Danish Immigrant Museum in Elk Horn, IA. Here's another attraction in the same town:

But the red door's still a stumper, so I've added another couple of photos to that post.

Now on to Round 6:

WHERE AM I?

 By Brook Wilkinson

I love reading all of your guesses to the WHERE'S BROOK? puzzles over the past 5 days! I can hardly keep track of where I am myself.... So far Corals0 and KarenM are neck-and-neck, with one right answer each. But there are 5 days left to go, so the game -- and the prize, lunch with Wendy or me at the restaurant of your choice -- is still up for grabs. Keep your guesses coming for the drive-in theater and the mysterious red door.

The photo at left is your next clue. WHERE AM I?

By Brook Wilkinson

The drive-in-theater I visited yesterday has yet to be identified, but the contest marches on. Here's your next clue:

WHERE AM I?

UPDATE: Since no one's gotten this right yet, here are a few other houses in the same neighborhood:

By Brook Wilkinson

KarenM is our winner for Day 1 of WHERE'S BROOK? -- which puts her one step closer to lunch with Wendy or me! She correctly ascertained that I was standing alongside the Hudson River, looking out to Bannerman Island, and driving on Route 218 -- that last part was tricky. The Taconic Parkway and Route 9D were both great guesses, but I was on the western bank of the Hudson, and they both run up the eastern side. (And Scory, if we end up needing a tiebreaker, I give you partial credit for using the island's alternate name, Pollopel!)

Bannerman Castle is an amazing relic of an old arsenal built by munitions dealer Frank Bannerman. I grew up in a town nearby, Cornwall-on-Hudson, and managed to visit the island before visitors were explicitly allowed. But now anyone can join one of Storm King Adventure Tours' kayak-and-hardhat trips out to and around the island. It's only about an hour from Manhattan, but feels a world away.

So that's where I was yesterday morning, but I'm long gone now... Keep trying your luck with the drive-in, and I'll post another round later today. Good luck!

By Brook Wilkinson

I'm impressed, CoralsO! How on earth did you every figure out that the teaser photo for the WHERE'S BROOK? contest is of Coney Island, New York??? Congrats, and lemme know when you're free for lunch...

To the rest of you readers, don't despair. No one has correctly guessed the answer to this morning's clue, so I've added an extra hint as a comment. And here's your clue for location #3:

WHERE AM I? Next time I'm here, I'll make sure to arrange for a designated driver so that I can bring along either a bottle of local wine or the region's famous beer.

WHERE AM I?

By Brook Wilkinson

Good morning to all you early birds hoping to get a head start on the first WHERE'S BROOK? puzzle. We've gotten some impressive guesses as to where my teaser photo was taken, but here's a clue for you, Seafarer, Scory, and Joe_Kayaker: You're all on the wrong side of the globe. Keep posting your guesses as comments here or to Wednesday's post, and remember that you can enter multiple times. Lunch with Wendy or me is still up for grabs!

And now, on with the first installment of WHERE'S BROOK? Here are your scanty clues:

This is a well-known road near where I woke up this morning:

And here is the view that biker's getting from the overlook:

WHERE AM I? (Winner must name the road --either by route number or nickname -- the river, and the island.) Make a guess by clicking on "Post a Comment" below. Whoever names the most locations correctly over the next week will win lunch with Wendy or me at the restaurant of your choice!

CAN YOU GUESS WHERE THIS PHOTO WAS TAKEN?  Wendy's husband Timothy Baker snapped it on one of their adventures.

By Brook Wilkinson

Loyal readers will remember the Where's Wendy? contest from a few months ago, when she posted photos every day and asked you to guess where she was. Now it's my turn to hit the road, and yours to guess where I am. Be prepared for some tough clues, though, since many of you figured out all too quickly that Wendy was on a Caribbean cruise!

So here's a warm-up round to get you all started for the real game, which starts Friday morning, May 4, and runs through Friday, May 11. I've never been to the place pictured above, but Wendy has. To enter your guess, just click on "Comments" below. The first person to guess correctly wins the prize: Lunch with either Wendy or me at the restaurant of your choice.