"We Were Just Leaving" April 21, 2023

[DannyWalter]

Ashore. Tough grid, quick aha and ha ha.

[Dapperdan]

Onboard !

[escapeartist]

Finally on the beach.

Stared at it all weekend - nothing.

Talked it over with my better half (it was a 3 minute conversation) and she quickly pointed me in the right direction and then said the contest answer because I wasn’t connecting the dots - better half indeed!

[Brain19]

Is there a point where it us ok for someone to explain the theme to me? Obviously the contest answer is ashore. I don’t understand the fun in repeating it over and over.

[Inca]

I remember watching the clock waiting for 4:00 to come and refreshing my screen time and time again waiting for the meta to appear. I've come a looong way. Just sat down to do the puzzle about 1/2 hr ago. Luckily, I saw the meta-nism right away but then realized that I must be more of a homebody than I thought. No hotel chain came to mind. Googled and recognized the solution right away.

[Colin]

Weekend house hunting,
Late, late Sunday solution.
Ashore and snoring!

[EVJ]

Is there a point where it us ok for someone to explain the theme to me? Obviously the contest answer is ashore. I don’t understand the fun in repeating it over and over.

Hi Brain19,
The contest answer is not ASHORE. Please see below as the answer will be posted with details as to how the answer is found. We have a Love Boat theme going on here hence one is ASEA when one is lost, but ASHORE (!) when one has found the answer. Please find more info in the FAQ section on this forum.
Welcome to the Love Boat!

[hcbirker]

[Olof]

Just a small bit of unsatisfaction — Is there a meaning to “We Were Just Leaving”? Trees do grow leaves which is an awful stretch to make into ‘leaving’. What am I missing?

[escapeartist]

Just a small bit of unsatisfaction — Is there a meaning to “We Were Just Leaving”? Trees do grow leaves which is an awful stretch to make into ‘leaving’. What am I missing?

Yes, that's the connection that my wife made, which I didn't see, which led to our (her) solve.

No rules, just hints at the direction to go.

Pines don't have leaves either, but sorta?

I guess I'm Oak-ay with that

[DannyWalter]

Just a small bit of unsatisfaction — Is there a meaning to “We Were Just Leaving”? Trees do grow leaves which is an awful stretch to make into ‘leaving’. What am I missing?

Yes, that's the connection that my wife made, which I didn't see, which led to our (her) solve.

No rules, just hints at the direction to go.

Pines don't have leaves either, but sorta?

I guess I'm Oak-ay with that

Make like a tree and check out?

[Plymouthrock]

Well I got it but was not at all as cetain as everyone. I spent the weekend trying to find doubletree or Hilton hidden in the grid somewhere. And was chocolate a clue since that chain is known for its chocolate chip cookies?. As I put my head on the pillow last night and my husband asked me if I got the meta this weekend i had to say I didn’t feel good about it at all. I thought that was very cute getting those trees in the grid as he did.

[Lee-Ann]

First time that my guess from reading the clue and title was correct. Almost submitted before doing the grid, but thought I might be over simplifying it.

[benchen71]

I found this tricky because I had never heard of DoubleTree hotels. I thought this must be a US-only thing, but it turns out there is one right here in Melbourne! Who knew?!?

[Hidden in 3D]

I've never stayed in a DoubleTree either. My husband was sitting beside me when I finished filling in the grid and I casually asked (expecting him to roll his eyes), "Is there a hotel chain with trees in its name?". He immediately replied DoubleTree and didn't even relish in my delight when I said, "Of course! That's it!"

Next I had to do a little light reading about DoubleTree. I was particularly interested in their famous chocolate chip cookie and soon found the official recipe that they published in 2020 as we were all sheltering in place because of Covid-19. Guess what I did yesterday afternoon? Better yet, guess what I had with my first cup of coffee this morning?

[WabiSabi]

https://www.hilton.com/en/travel/articl ... ie-recipe/

[eagle1279]

I spent way too much time chasing leaves instead of trees, misled by my seeing TEA and TEA in 10D. TEA leaves predict the future! FIG leaves covered Adam and Eve! ELM leaves have a mythical connection to the underworld (Satan)! PINE leaves . . . Christmas? I also saw that FLEA is an anagram of LEAF, OARS/SOAR, SORE/SOAR/OARS, OLEO/OREO. Where are the leaves? I left the puzzle in frustration.

Only when picked it up the next day did I see TEAK. Like Adam and Eve, my eyes were opened, and I saw the trees in the forest instead of the leaves on the trees.

[mydogsam]

Pines have three types of leaves,

[EmilyW]

[Flying_Burrito]

Seaside, OR