Get Puzzled at EscapeSF

No spoilers ahead... safe to keep reading! 🥃🖤

No spoilers ahead... safe to keep reading! 🥃🖤

If you could live through any other era, what would it be? For me, I'm positive it would be the Roaring 20's. There is something I love about the spirit of the era: the risqué secrets of prohibition, the hidden speakeasys and the glamorous style.

Luckily, Escape SF helped us travel back in time as we solved the Blind Tiger escape room. I gathered a few of my girls, encouraged them to get in their best modern day meets 1920’s inspired attire, and we took the Blind Tiger Room head on.

If you've never done an escape room before, you must know every great escape room has a strong backstory, including this one.

Here's the backstory: 

It’s 1928, the prohibition era. Last week, the biggest bootlegging bosses of the country were arrested in a historic sweep as they were sitting in an underground speakeasy divvying up territories of influence and lucrative rum-running routes. Now there is nobody left to run the business – unless you can do it, of course. Your job is to obtain the names of the 7 arrested mafioso and gain control of the biggest, baddest money making endeavor of the century.

Out of the 4 themed rooms EscapeSF has to offer, I couldn't deny this one... despite it being the most challenging to solve of them all.

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Why Escape Rooms

In short, escape rooms are hella fun with friends. It wasn't until my good friend Arielle introduced me to them earlier this year, did I realize why they live up to the hype. Escape rooms are meant to get you to think outside the box, solve hard problems and work together as a team to get out before time runs out.

In most cases, you have an hour in a themed room to solve all the puzzles and find the keys to get out. Depending on the company hosting, you may or may not be given hints along the way.

Don't worry, you'll get a full overview of the rules before entering the room. 

escape sf escape room blind tiger
escape sf escape room blind tiger
escape sf escape room blind tiger
escape sf escape room blind tiger

The Best Experience with EscapeSF

We loved it! I'd recommend EscapeSF as a unique way to bond with your friends, family or co-workers. All of their rooms host 2-5 people total, so choose wisely. 😉 You can't solve escape rooms alone, so you'll need a strong diverse thinking team to overcome the puzzles. 🤔

They use prop-production, programmable micro-controllers, and game-design theory to make it one-of-a-kind. By creating an intentional themed experience mixed with their challenging puzzles, those intricate details immerse you right into the storyline

While participating, you'll be monitored and are welcome to ask for hints if you get stuck. There aren’t a limited number on hints, but that's no fun if you rely on them. We definitely needed a few nudges and clues while we were there, but it's more fun and rewarding without the extra guidance. Truthfully, we somehow managed to barely escape with 2 short minutes to spare, but couldn't have done it alone!

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we escaped at escape sf

When we finally got the last door unlocked, we were rewarded with bracelets to back up our bragging rights... but damn, without those hints it would've taken some extremely clever minds to get through that. 

escape sf escape room blind tiger

A huge thank you to EscapeSF for inviting me to share this experience.

It truly lives up to it's reputation as one of the best escape room experiences in San Francisco. 

Visiting Museum of Ice Cream San Francisco

Real talk, getting these MOIC SF tickets almost gave me a mini panic attack. It was almost like I was back in my festival days sitting in the unknowing misery of queue. But you know, most ticket sales with a competitive wait line... always have a good reason why the tickets are such a hassle. MOIC was no different and it made for the perfect girls night out.

 Is MOIC worth the hype? What's it like inside?

Scroll down below, and I'll take you room-to-room, without skipping a beat on the highs and lows.

TL;DR Version for my skimmers ...yes, of course it's worth it! Biggest suggestion? Get tickets for Monday-Thursday either morning, early afternoon, or a later evening shift to avoid the big crowds of people. Basically avoid 5-7 commuter hours and weekends.


Entering the Ice Cream Vault

Before getting the full Museum of Ice Cream experience, we had to pass a mini trivial quiz to enter the ice cream vault. In small groups of 15 people, we were whisked away by history facts on how modern day ice cream came to be!

Pro Tip: Make sure to pay close attention! Once you get inside, you'll be so distracted by the photos that you may miss the fun facts along the way. MOIC did a great job at giving us the full scoop on fun facts early on, then set us up for what's inside, and slyly filled us in on the ground rules without raining on our parade.

Pro Tip 2: Go to the bathroom before you arrive. Your next chance won't be until half way through the visit.

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Come one, come all...

Once our group of babes passed the trivia questions, the first room we gazed into was a carnival themed room with a ring toss game on whipped cream cans. The walls were lined with pink toys, carnival tickets and pinwheels! Here is where you'll find the first of two video booths in the museum.

Pro tip: Take your time in each room. As groups trickled in behind us every 10 mins or so, we felt pressure to move on quickly. Since it is a one-way museum, be kind to those around you, take the time you need, and share the space! Once you move on, there's no going back. 

kindly kimiko museum of ice cream san francisco
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Ice Cream Social

We walked right in to this 1950's styled diner covered in millennial pink. Sit at the counter and you'll be handed a strawberry It's It, a Bay Area legendary ice cream sandwich. 

Pro Tip: The room's interactive depth takes it a step further with a working jukebox with some really good songs.  Also, pay close attention to pink records hung on the wall, or you'll miss the punny pop star names!

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You're my type.

Remember using letter magnets to write words on your kitchen fridge? Now picture that type of silliness but instead of on the fridge... on every inch of the wall with all cotton candy pink letters. We wrote our heart out on the walls, and maybe spilled some tea while we were there too. This is the chance to get creative, and let it out. Some keep it sweet and simple, but there were plenty of fun, colorful phrases on the walls when we arrived.

Pro tip: explore what's been left up on the walls before you mix it up and start you're own. Also, don't forget to grab some mochi ice cream before you walk to the next spot. 

Cotton Candy Queens

We made a quick pit stop here after the magnets in this tiny blush colored hallway. We were greeted with cherry flavored cotton candy... and had edible sparkles on top! Ahh. You'll get the cherry reference very soon!

Pro Tip: the cotton candy is the best, savor each bite or you'll end up sad like me! 😔

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Cherry Skies

Told you it would soon make sense! Here is where the MOIC experience starts to ramp up. Welcome to the room with pink skies and floating cherries! With cherry cotton candy in hand, you'll be fully immersed into what I consider the cherry on top of a good day.

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Candyland in real life

After the sugar rush begins to kick in, we stumbled into a childhood board game brought into real life. Pink hills with lollipop trees and gummy bears crawling around the candy dunes. You'll have a hard time keeping a straight face.

Pro tip: You can't touch much in this room, but don't be shy to sit on the pink hill for this photo opportunity!

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Keepin' it cool

Time to pop on by to the popsicle room. It's almost like giant popsicles fell from the skies. Let the risqué jokes commence in here... trust me avoiding it is harder than you think. ...Oh wait. 🙊

Pro tip: The second (and last) video booth is here! Snap a quick video and make sure to email it to yourself.

museum of ice cream san francisco

Rock (candy) climbing

If you're up for the challenge, boulder up the rock candy wall. Our girl Jackie was quick to climb, and made it look easy af. From my one-time experience attempting bouldering, I can say it's definitely not easy. lol. Once she managed to get down, we took a few pictures in the rock candy cavern. The cast member in the room was the best hype woman we could have asked for and gifted us each with candy cane pop rocks! 

Pro Tip: after this room you finally get your one chance to visit the restrooms.

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rock candy museum of ice cream san francisco pop rocks

Unicorn Prism Power!

*cue the sailor moon transformation*

Dance through small hallways of iridescent prisms and rainbow portals and you'll spiral into the long awaited rainbow room, equipped with a unicorn and pink dipped ice cream cones!!

SIsterhood is Powerful Shirts from Shop Luella

SIsterhood is Powerful Shirts from Shop Luella

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...While many waited to hop on a unicorn ride, I crawled into the disco ball room and had a ball of my own.

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Sprinkle me.

The true treat and every kid at heart's dream finally arrives up next.. an entire pool made of sprinkles! We had a short period of time to enjoy, so we came in with a master plan. Though it's a short and sweet dip into the sprinkle pool, this keeps the flow of visitors moving successfully.

Pro Tip: make the most of your picture opp. Have the lifeguard take your photo, and once you get in the pool take your group shots first. Pair up with a pool buddy and take solos/duos of each other so everyone gets a fair chance to their ice cream selfie!

The whistle blew, and the lifeguard prompted us to hop out of the pool. "Head to to the sprinkle showers! they exclaimed. So we did. We made sure to shimmy until they were gone, and we used the air showers to shake those little sprinkles off. They end up EVERYWHERE. 

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This Sh*t is B-A-N-A-N-A-S

Once you've made it to the banana swings, you officially survived the Museum of Ice Cream San Francisco! Take a moment to sit back, swing a bit, and enjoy the last moments of your silly visit!

The visit ends with one last chance to eat ice cream, play ping pong, rest your feet or shop for mementos in the gift shop! 

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Pro tip: Sealed with a kiss and sent from the Sprinkle Pool. Before walking out of MOIC, I made sure to buy a postcard and write a letter to someone special. I encourage you to do the same. Put it in their pink mail box and MOIC will send it off for you!

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museum of ice cream san francisco blog

If you stayed with me this entire post, you are a TRUE TROOPER! It's a long maze of fun visiting here, and even though it's already all over your instagram feed, there's nothing like experiencing it in person! May you're visit to Museum of Ice Cream melt your heart. If you can't make it to SF and don't mind traveling across the states, you can visit their next round, Museum of Ice Cream Miami!

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Yoga, Chai and Live Cello

What used to be a laundry mat owned by a family many years ago, is now one of San Francisco modern day creative escapes. The Laundry, is a local hub for creativity, community and connection and has been only open for about a year or so. It's a pop-up coffee shop, an art gallery and a venue, all in one. 

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I had the opportunity to discover this sanctuary as a Hype Influencer at one of their several monthly experiences, a yoga class with live cello. Before getting settled, Abbie and I walked downstairs to a dimly lit, yet colorful and calm room. We laid out our mats, and sipped on some chai tea before the rest of class settled in.

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Between our instructor Maayan's soothing voice, and Josh McClain's cell vibrations, the environment nurtured a calming sound bath to bring focus to our practice. Something about the vibrations and accoustics of the cello really elevated the whole experience. After a long day in the office as an Executive Assistant, there's nothing I enjoy more than a calming class to slow my pace before bedtime. 

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Thank you Hype for hosting a wonderful experience!

If it wasn't for this app, I wouldn't have been able to discover such unique activities in this crazy city. Using Hype has given me the insider scoop to places I've never known about, and new stories that bring happiness and health to my life.

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EVENT HOST: Hype
VENUE: The Laundry 
YOGA INSTRUCTOR: Maayan 
CELLIST: Josh McClain