Scavengers hit Hermosa

More goodnatured madness in Hermosa this weekend. Some guy with too much money and too much time on his hands buried thousands of dollars, hidden inside Angry Bird toys, in the sand. Each Angry Bird had 'a few bills' inside it.

He had done the same thing in a couple of other sites in California already, and has tonnes of Twitter followers waiting for clues so they can rush to the next giveaway site.

TLOML and I are not among @HiddenCash's followers but happened to be on the beach with Lady P having had brunch at Scotty's.

Our brunch spot, Scotty's, overlooking a quiet beach

A passerby tipped us off - he'd found one containing $52. I'm glad he told us what was going on because otherwise we would have been awfully confused by the scene.

About 10 minutes after the Twitter announcement stating that the money is hidden between the volleyball nets and the pier in Hermosa Beach

Another ten minutes later

I can't really understand how so many people arrived so quickly. Does Mr Hidden Cash have so many followers in Hermosa? Or had they narrowed it down from his earlier clues, and were just waiting nearby for the final confirmation of the exact location? Or was this just the buzz that spread around the people hanging out within a few blocks of the beach, with nothing better to do on a Saturday morning, than swing by and look for money? People like us, who decided to spend a few minutes having a cursory look, since we were in the area.

However they heard, they got there fast.

The money was hidden just below the surface of the sand. Most people looked by shuffling their feet as they walked, hoping to hit on an Angry Bird with their toes. Some brought rakes. But my absolute favourite scavenger was this woman, who was clearly utterly convinced that the particular square foot around where she sat was the place to look. She was just digging and digging. I hope she found some money, but I'm afraid it's unlikely.

As for us, we didn't find any money. But we did enjoy the spectacle. There's always something to look at on the beach - but it's usually skateboarders, volleyball players or surfers. The scavenger hunt made an entertaining change.