Birthday treasure hunt

On the afternoon of Molly's birthday, there was a mysterious knock on the door. Molly answered and found only a note, which she puzzled about (at left) for a while before figuring out that this was a treasure hunt. Cricket and Dave, who knew that the hunt was going to happen but none of the details, tried to help.

After a couple of false starts thanks to some faulty reasoning by certain of the older members of her family, Molly and her entourage found the next envelope outside on the sidewalk. She read, thought, and, after she figured it out, tore off in the direction of the bakery:











After the friendly folks at the bakery produced an envelope for Molly from behind the counter, there followed more thinking and then a stop at the market across the street, where the proprietors were also in on the act (photo at left).

More thinking, another false start, and a discussion about the meaning of the word "arcade" later, we found ourselves in our apartment building's garden/yard.

Finally, the last one led us to Lori and David's -- the masterminds behind this birthday treat -- where Lori had rice crispy squares and a super, just-right-for-Molly present waiting. Some of the clues were tough at first, but then obvious when we figured them out.

SCAVENGER HUNT CLUES, for those of you interested in trying out your French. Some of these would have been easier for us than they will be for you, because they're full of inside information. (Answers at the end of this post.)

Introduction and Clue #1, left at the apartment door
"Bonjour Molly, bon anniversaire jeune fille! On m'a dit que tu étais de plus en plus sage tous les ans mais j'aimerais bien en avair la prevue. aujourd'hui, une chasse au trésor est organisée our ton anniversaire... ATTENTION! Pour avoir le trésor, tu dois utiliser les indices disponibles dans les enveloppes. Indice 1: Pour trouver l'enveloppe 2, tu dois éviter les *e*it*e obstacles pour trouver le centre"

led us to clue #2, on the sidewalk, held down by a rock not far from a compact dog heap, toward downtown
"Le *a*n est la substance de la vie."

put us hot on the trail to clue #3 at the bakery, of course!
"Il est nécessaire de manger cinq *r*it* et l**um** par jour."

sent us across the street to La Grange aux Fruits. Clue #4
"Le passage avec l'arcade va t'amener jusqu'à l'ombre du **r**n interdit."

sent us through a covered alley, down the sidewalk, and into the enclosed apartment yard that some of the neighbors don't like for us to use. There Molly found clue #5 at the base of the large tree.

"La P*nn*yl*an*i* n'est jamais loin du coeur."

Even after she figured out the whole clue, it took a while to get her to head to chez Lori (the fellow Pennsylvanian). She had been misled by the footsteps she heard when she retrieved the first clue.

**Answers
#1 petits
#2 pain
#3 fruits
#4 jardin
#5 pennsylvanie (French for Pennsylvania. Really.)