WHERE'S WALDO? LOCATIONS FOR WALDO, HIS FRIENDS, AND THEIR THINGS

This blog entry will catalogue the locations of the following persons and things in Book # 1 of the American re-released Waldo books called "WHERE'S WALDO?"  It is the "blue" covered book seen here:

http://www.amazon.com/Wheres-Waldo-Martin-Handford/dp/0763634980/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1306352231&sr=8-5


The format will be to list the page, its descriptor, and then each of the following with their respective locations:

WALDO
WENDA
ODLAW
WIZARD WHITEBEARD (WIZARD)
WOOF
SCROLL
BONE
KEY
CAMERA
BINOCULARS
WALDO'S LOST ITEM (LISTED BY ITEM NAME)

Directions are as accurate as possible but please allow some leeway when it comes to the cardinal direction that you will be following.  In other words, WNW might actually be NNW if you were following it exactly; the directions were my best guesses without actually using a compass.

Please note the following legend that will be used in this entry:

POSTCARD (refers to the postcard that appears on the upper-left corner of every left page)
N, S, E, W (refer to North, South, East, West)
LLC/LRC (refer to Lower Left Corner and Lower Right Corner)
ULC/URC (refer to Upper Left Corner and Upper Right Corner)
LPG (left page)
RPG or RTPG (right page)
BCE/TCE  (refer to Bottom Center Edge or Top Center Edge of page.  Go along the respective edge to the middle of the page.)
Crease (the crease that separates the left and right pages)



If you have any questions about the location of a particular character/item or if you found this to be a useful resource, please drop a comment and let me know!

And if you happen to be interested in supernatural thrillers and speculative fiction please check out my official website here: http://www.matthewjohnbenecke.com/. You can find my debut novels, The Lion in the Desert and The Walking Ghosts on Amazon.com at the following links:

The Lion In The Desert

The Walking Ghosts



PAGE 1

WALDO	2 inches SOUTH of WENDA
WENDA	3 inches WEST of fountain
ODLAW	1 inch WEST of SCROLL
WIZARD	2 inches SSE of fountain
WOOF	3 in N, 1 in W of top of fountain
SCROLL	2.5 inches S of WIZARD (slightly left)
BONE	1.5 in. N and 1.5 in. W of ODLAW
KEY	3 in E, 0.5 in N of SCROLL
CAMERA	1.5 in E and slightly N of KEY
BINOCULARS	5.25 in E of fountain spout
CUP	2 in NE of CAMERA (on steps)

PAGE 2: AT THE BEACH

WALDO	3 in W slightly N of WENDA
WENDA	1.5 in NW of CAMERA (above red & white umbrella)
ODLAW	1 in SE of Waldo's signature in Postcard
WIZARD	0.5 in S of LRC of Postcard
WOOF	1.25 in E of WALDO's face
SCROLL	6 in E, 0.5 in N of SWIM MASK
BONE	3 in S, 0.5 in W of CAMERA
KEY	1.5 in WNW of SWIM MASK
CAMERA	1.5 in E of RPC (Near Armored Knight in Sand Castle)
BINOCULARS	2.5 in N, 1 in E of SWIM MASK
SWIM MASK	2 in N of BCE of Lpg

PAGE 3: SKI SLOPES

WALDO	4 in NW of LRC of R pg
WENDA	1 in N of center of crease on L pg
ODLAW	1 in N slightly E of WOOF
WIZARD	above cabin LLC of L pg
WOOF	4.25 in E of top of WIZARD's staff
SCROLL	5 in W, 1 in N of WALDO
BONE	2 in W, 0.5 in N of ODLAW
KEY	2.5 in SW of WALDO between ski poles
CAMERA	2.5 in E, 0.5 in N of ODLAW
BINOCULARS	2.5 in SE of ODLAW
WALDO'S BINOCULARS	3 in NW of BONE

PAGE 4: CAMPSITE

WALDO	3in W of BINOCULARS
WENDA	1.5in NW of CAMERA
ODLAW	2in NNE of WOOF
WIZARD	1.25in NNE OF WALDO
WOOF	1.75in N, 0.75in W of Bottom of crease
SCROLL	1.5in WNW of WALDO
BONE	2.5 in N, 0.5 in W of LRC of Rt pg
KEY	2.25in S, 0.5in W of WALDO
CAMERA	3.5 in N, 0.5 in W of BONE
BINOCULARS	1.25in NW of WOOF
TEA KETTLE	2.25in N, slightly W of ODLAW

PAGE 5: TRAIN STATION

WALDO	3in N, 1 in W of BONE
WENDA	4 in N, 1 in E of BCE of Lpg
ODLAW	2in W of WENDA
WIZARD	1.5in SE of POSTCARD
WOOF	0.25in E, 3.75in N of bottom of crease on rt. Pg
SCROLL	1.5in E of WENDA'S face
BONE	4.5in N, 2in W of KEY
KEY	2in W, 0.75in N of LRC of R page
CAMERA	3in N, 1.25in W of WENDA
BINOCULARS	1in W of WALDO'S head
RED SLEEPING BAG	2in NNE of WIZARD

PAGE 6: AIRPORT

WALDO	0.5in S of LRC of POSTCARD
WENDA	2.5in NNW of WIZARD
ODLAW	2.75in W, 0.25in N of KEY
WIZARD	2in N, 0.5in W of LRC of RTPG
WOOF	3in SW of WENDA
SCROLL	2.5in SW of KEY
BONE	5in W of BINOCULARS
KEY	3.5in W, 0.5in S of CAMERA
CAMERA	1.5in N, 0.25in W of BONE
BINOCULARS	1.25in WSW of WOOF
SHOVEL	3in E of CAMERA

PAGE 7: SPORTS STADIUM

WALDO	0.5in S of LRC of POSTCARD
WENDA	3in N of BCE of LPG
ODLAW	1.5in E of CAMERA
WIZARD	2.5in S of ODLAW
WOOF	2.5in N, slightly E of ODLAW
SCROLL	1in WSW of WENDA
BONE	0.75in E, 1.5in N of WENDA
KEY	0.5in N of WIZARD'S staff
CAMERA	4in N, 0.5in E of Bottom of Crease on RTPG
BINOCULARS	3in ENE of ODLAW
BACKPACK	1in S, 3.5in W of WENDA

PAGE 8: MUSEUM

WALDO	2.5in E of WENDA
WENDA	4in N BCE of RTPG
ODLAW	1in SW of BINOCULARS
WIZARD	1in E, 5.25in N of Bottom of Crease on RPG
WOOF	1.25in N of WALDO'S CAMERA
SCROLL	4in S of ODLAW
BONE	1in SSW of ODLAW
KEY	3.5in SSW of WALDO
CAMERA	1.5in N, slightly E of WENDA
BINOCULARS	5.5in W of WALDO'S CAMERA
WALDO'S CAMERA	1.5in W of WIZARD

PAGE 9: AT SEA

WALDO	3in E, slightly S of CAMERA
WENDA	1.5in W of WIZARD
ODLAW	1in NW of BINOCULARS
WIZARD	4.5in E of ODLAW
WOOF	2.5in S, 0.5in E of WIZARD
SCROLL	1.5in N, 2.5in W of BCE of LPG
BONE	1in SSE of WALDO
KEY	1in S of HAMMER
CAMERA	2.5in E, 0.5in S of WIZARD
BINOCULARS	5in E, 1 in N of SCROLL
HAMMER	2.25in W, slightly S of BONE

PAGE 10: SAFARI

WALDO	3.5in E, slightly N of LRC of POSTCARD
WENDA	2.5in N, 2.5in W of Bottom of CREASE
ODLAW	5in NW of WENDA
WIZARD	4.5in SE of WALDO
WOOF	1in NW of BINOCULARS
SCROLL	0.5in SW of WIZARD
BONE	0.25in N, 1.5in W of WENDA
KEY	2.5in SSW of BINOCULARS
CAMERA	2.5in E, 1.5in S of BINOCULARS
BINOCULARS	2in S, 0.5in W of BROWN BAG
BROWN BAG	2.5in E of WIZARD's staff

PAGE 11: DEPARTMENT STORE

WALDO	3in E, slightly S of RCE of POSTCARD
WENDA	2in E of ODLAW
ODLAW	2in E of BELT
WIZARD	8.5in E of URC of POSTCARD
WOOF	3.5in W, 0.25in N of BINOCULARS
SCROLL	2.5in N of BCE of RTPG
BONE	1.25in E, 2.25in N of LLC of LPG
KEY	3.5in N, 2 in W of LRC of RTPG
CAMERA	2in NE of WENDA
BINOCULARS	3in NW of KEY
BELT	0.5in NE of BONE

PAGE 12: FAIRGROUND

 

WALDO	2in N, slightly W of CAMERA
WENDA	3.5in NE of LLC of LPG
ODLAW	6.25in E of LRC of POSTCARD
WIZARD	1.5in E of BINOCULARS
WOOF	1.5in N, 0.75in W of Bottom of Crease on LPG
SCROLL	2in WNW of CAMERA
BONE	0.75in N of WENDA
KEY	2.25in N of BCE of RTPG
CAMERA	1.5in N, slightly E of KEY
BINOCULARS	4in NE of CANE
CANE	1.5in ESE of WENDA

The Return of the Jedi

Okay...so I'm not REALLY a Jedi but I DO have a cache of mindtricks at my disposal...so...yeah.

It's been well over a month since my last entry and I suppose that warrants the question: Where have I been?

From a metaphysical standpoint, I haven't really gone anywhere; I've been where I always am, I just haven't been writing.  So maybe the better question is, "Why haven't I been writing?"

Though it's true that I had been going through a tough personal situation that greatly impeded my ability to get into the proper writing headspace...that was only part of it.

I did travel for a bit (to be explored in a forthcoming entry about my first experience traveling with a toddler)...but that was only a week, which doesn't account for the other five or six that have occurred since my last entry.

I was in search of something...a few somethings, as it were, but none of which were "myself" in a self-actualizing sense.

Truth be told, there isn't any one particular reason as to why I took a hiatus (though, perhaps, I might just have needed a break)...but if I were forced to home in a single grand unifying theory I would have to say that it was...

this sumbitch right hea!

That's right.  Waldo.  This prick stole so much of my life over the past two months it is INSANE.

It all began with one of the newest of the Waldo books.  Sometime last year I had noticed at Borders that they had re-released the original Waldo series with a few new books thrown in.  The titles were altered, the standard stock of characters were placed into the original three books, and a few insanely difficult books were added to the library thus bringing the grand total of Where's Waldo? books to 7.

I was breezing through one of the books when I got hung up trying to find the key...that goddamned key.  At first, I spent a few hours searching fruitlessly for the tiny black opener of doors.  I grew frustrated and threw the book aside.  I tried to convince myself--in vain--that I didn't care...that I could go forward with the rest of the book and come back later (my approach was always to find the basic things and not to move on to the next page until I had found them all).  After a few more days of searching (and squinting), I finally gave in and moved on.  I would do a new page, then go back and look for the key.  I wound up finishing the book...without finding the key.

By that point, it had become not unlike a needle in my brain.  I went on to the final Waldo book knowing, in the back of my mind, that I had left something unfound in a previous one.  Every time I found the key in a different puzzle I cringed.  Finally, after a month or so of searching, I had an idea: why not look it up on the Internet?  SURELY there would be a site...or, more likely, tons of sites dedicated to cataloguing all of the locations of all of the things in all of the Waldo books...right?

Wrong.  BIG TIME.

So, though I was desperate to find this friggin' key and left ultimately without the aid and succor that I had hoped for, I was forced to take more innovative approaches.  I used a magnifying glass (which ultimately helped me to find the key), I took a high resolution 12 megapixel picture of another puzzle and used Photoshop to erase the wrong Woofs (ironically, I found the correct one thanks to some Internet help), and I basically did everything I could to find all of the missing persons and things throughout the Waldo books.

Backtracking a moment--shortly after finding my initial Internet search fruitless, I had the idea of cataloguing the locations of all of the major things across all of the Waldo books.  Though it seemed like a tall order, it served a few purposes.  To those of you who are sitting there with that obnoxious half-grin wishing to ask me "Where do you find the time to do this?" or some other hackneyed half-assed attempt at wit, I can say only that there is always a method to my madness.

For one, there are MANY people who enjoy puzzles and who don't simply give up when they can't find a solution.  These are the people who develop more resolve the more frustrated they get.  Many of these people likely enjoy Waldo books.  Though there is a certain amount of satisfaction that is derived from finding everything on your own, there is also nothing more frustrating than being UNable to find something, so, for these people, I am providing a wonderful thing: peace of mind.

As a second point, I am filling a void in the Internet; it's not every day that one gets to do so.

And, ultimately, (here comes the madness method) I will drive traffic to my site.  I have no way of gauging how popular Waldo is right now...but with the cyclical nature of all things pop culture, I am confident that, sooner or later, he will see a resurgence in popularity.  When people find the Where's Waldo? books anew, they will undoubtedly get stumped at one point or another and will turn to the Internet to find assistance.  Hopefully, they will find my site and, upon finding it, will explore the other non-Waldo related entries that I have up.

So, the next seven entries will be devoted, in order, to the re-released versions of all seven Waldo books.

Happy hunting, folks!