Puzzle Hunts are Everywhere, but keep 'em out of mall jail

I considered another site for the start of the Hill Hunt BANG: the park between Piers 35 and 39. I "remembered" that the Ghost Patrol game had used this location for a puzzle, finding some land there that was public city property instead of owned by the Pier 39 mall/shopping center. Except when the excellent Jesse gave me a ride back to SF after the MS Puzzlehunt 17 playtest, he clued me in that I'd remembered incorrectly. When Ghost Patrol GC set up a puzzle there, a member of GC "had to answer questions in a little room." (I guess this means that he had an unpleasant talk with mall security.) So I'm glad we didn't try to start the game there, but instead in a public park (albeit one where we didn't have a permit to do…whatever aspects of a puzzlehunt require a permit, if any?) which was more conveniently located for our route.

Since I didn't "remember" exactly which area was city-controlled, I guess I would have talked with Ghost Patrol folks before trying to use that area as a game site. And they would have warned me off. But that would have been some uncomfortable plan-changing along the way.