We Just Moved (level 2) (Hello Reader)

by Stephen Krensky | Children's Books |
ISBN: 0590331272 Global Overview for this book
Registered by Crossing-Guard of Langdon, Alberta Canada on 6/24/2012
Buy from one of these Booksellers:
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6 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by Crossing-Guard from Langdon, Alberta Canada on Sunday, June 24, 2012
This special book has been saved for a little experiment...

If you are anything like me there are a million different places that you want to travel around the world and a million different things you would like to do once you get there... the problem is "life" doesn't always cooperate. So what if we got a bunch of people around the world together and helped to fulfill other people's dreams... Let's call it a "Bucket List Challenge".

BookCrossers are everywhere, what if we all signed up for a Book Ring and then once we get the book we cross off something on someone else's bucket list by visiting an area near us and doing an activity that someone else can't do as they live in a different part of the world. The book visits and stays with us for a time so we are connected to the book and then the book visits the places we can't visit ourselves.

Here is how it works:

- When you sign up for the challenge you email a list of 3 - 5 places that you want to visit and list an activity that you want to do at that location. Be specific, don't just say you want to visit China, say you want to run along the Great Wall. Specific is important as it is not always possible that items on the list are near you and we don't expect anyone to travel just because... Have some fun with this!

- The book travels around like a normal ring but when the book visits you, you look at the below "Bucket List" and then have two choices: a) carry out one of the items exactly as written (you live in China so going for a run on the great wall is possible) or b) Have some fun and carry it out as best as possible. So for example do a play on words, visit Venice Beach instead of Venice Italy... carry out the activity but in a different location... have some fun with it and bring all of us along for the journey.

Sound like your cup of tea? I hope so... Please send me a PM if you want to join.

Journal Entry 2 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Awesome, you signed up for the challenge and now you have the book in hand. Please follow the steps below so that all of us can share in your adventure...

1) Journal the book right away so that we know it arrived, include the following information:
- what activity you are planning to complete from the below "Bucket List".
- the date that this will happen, just pick one. We want this book to keep moving so pick a date within the next two months. I know you might be going on a trip to Japan in four months and could actually visit a sumo wrestling match but we don't want the book to stay with you for that long... two months please....

If none of the activities take place in the area near your home or travels, pick one that you think would be fun to execute and list that instead (example, you have a dog and a sled and although you don't live in Alaska you could go dog sledding...). I will mark the bucket list with two types of notes, completed or attempted. Completed means that the task was done exactly as written and therefore is no longer an option. Attempted means that the task was carried out in part (visited the location but didn't do activity, activity done but in different location) and these ones can be attempted again.

2) Multiple journal entries are ok. If you have prep work to do please let us know about it (learning to talk with an Irish accent... booked the tour... packing). This is meant to be fun so get us excited about it (only if you want to though, this isn't meant to be a chore).

3) Carry out your adventure. Now here is the important part, we want to hear all about it. Remember that this is someone's dream and they are going to want some details. If possible include a picture of the book at the location. Remember to take the book with you, get photos of the book at the location.

4) PM the next person on the list to get their address (see list below). Send something like the following in the message:

Hello,

You are the next person on the "Bucket List Challenge" bookring. To refresh your memory this is an exciting book ring where we are travelling the world crossing off people's bucket lists. As you can imagine this ring takes a little longer than a normal ring. As a result I just wanted to check and make sure the time works ok for you. We want this book to move within two months, if you don't think that will happen at this moment we would be happy to bump you 5 people down the list and hopefully by then you will have more time. If it works then please send me your address.

5) Once you get an address send this book on its way and watch your email box for more exciting adventures...

Journal Entry 3 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Rules:

This is meant to be fun so really not many...

1. Keep it moving, try for within two months
2. You must be the person carrying out the mission. I don't care that you have a friend visiting Romania next month, you were the one who signed up.
3. Attempted missions can be done again but not completed one
4. You can complete your own "bucket list" item
5. Only one item from the bucket list can be attempted/completed at each stop.
6. The book MUST be in your possession for the activity to count (no cheating and doing activities in advance)
7. If the book gets marked up in its travels (torn pages, water stains, dirt) document it by writting a note in the book (please do not intentionally destroy it) explaining where and when it happened.

Journal Entry 4 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, June 24, 2012
The BUCKET LIST

1. Travel to England and have high tea with the Queen
2. Go on an African Safari and see some elephants
3. Ride a Camel past the Great Pyramids in Eygpt
4. Skip along the Hollywood Walk of Stars
5. Visit Diagon Alley and get some chocolate frogs
6. Tour with a bicycle from Portugal to Denmark via Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.
7. Spend a week in New Orleans and listen to as much jazz and blues as I can squeeze in.
8. Take a month off and hike a part of the Appalachian Trail.
9. Investigate which 5 countries are regarded as the best manufacturers of chocolate and visit them all to pick a personal favourite.
10. Take part in some trail runs in New Zealand.
11. Crew on a tall ship(old fashion ship with sails (think Pirates of the Caribbean)), any ocean
12. Do the Iditarod, Alaska, USA
13. Follow the Cherry Blossoms from south to north in Japan
14. Take a humanitarian vacation to a 3rd world country
15. Climb Kilamajaro Tanzania Africa
16. Eat dinner in an Oxford College Dining Hall
17. Find the Teddy-Bears' Picnic
18. Hug a giant panda
19. Sail on a Chinese treasure ship
20. Go ice fishing on Europa
21. Trek the rainforest (any of them)
22. Visit the Tiger Temple in Thailand and play with the kitties
23. Go on a dig and find Triceratops remains (It would have to be North America, i guess, that's where they are often found) - ATTEMPTED on July 21, 2012
24. See the Aurora Borealis in the Artic
25. Get married in the Nevarda Desert
26. Touch Uluru in Australia. (NOT by climbing the rock since that is considered disrespectful to the aboriginals).
27. Ride the DEMON rollercoaster at Six Flags in Gurnee IL.
28. Spend a night (or two!) in the Ice Hotel in Jukkasjärvi, in Swedish Lapland
29. Walk the 5 day hike in New Zealand called the Milford Track - Freedom Walk.
30. Visit the Catacombes de Paris in Paris, France.
31. In a country where people speak language which you don't understand: Go to a restaurant, don't ask for the English menu, order something and let the kitchen suprise you. If you want, you can ask what you have eaten _after_ you have finished your meal.
32. Russia: travel from Moscow to Vladivostok by train
33. Sweden/Visby: go bicycling and pick some roses
34. Norway: go fishing with a local granpa and learn norwegian word for each fish you catch
35. Go up in a hot air balloon
36. Walk the Camino del Norte to Santiago de Compostela (northern Spain)
37. Cycle the route of the Tour de France
38. Go letterboxing anywhere in North America (see http://www.atlasquest.com/) - COMPLETED by NMReader September 2012
39. See an opera at La Scala, Milan.
40. Visit the Pope in Rome, just to say to him: "I married my husband anyway!"
41. Go to London's Eye and scream from the top that I'm too scared and I want my mammy.
42. Save a dog from the pound (can be anywhere).
43. Visit Sweden on the Midsummernight and dance with a handsome young guy.
44. Go to Lapland to see Santa Clauss or Rudolph the rednosed reindeer
45. Take the train from Berlin via Moscow to Beijing
46. Spend a day at the Vatican Library
47. Have a cigar in Havanna
48. Go on a safari in Ngorongoro
49. Visit the beautiful lakes of Kashmir
50. Visit Antarctica and pet a penguin. - ATTEMPTED Dec 6, 2015
51. Go on a whale safari and shiver at sight of a magnificent blue whale. - ATTEMPTED OCT 7, 2012
52. Gamble away a million dollars in Vegas.
53. Celebrate the Pride Parade in San Francisco.
54. Bungy jump off the torch of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
55. Scuba dive at the Great Barrier Reef.
56. Travel through the Canadian Rockies on horseback.
57. See the Loch Ness Monster in the Scotish Highlands and visit a castle or two along the way.
58. Stay in a really posh hotel/inn/resort, where the scenery is beautiful, order room service and take advantage of the spa.
59. Visit my relatives in Thrisk, North Yorkshire, England before the generation that connects us passes on. While there, visit the Zillah Bell Gallery where the husband of my first cousin (once removed) has had his paintings on display. Here a link to him and the gallery: http://www.zillahbellgallery.co.uk/gallery.php?...
60. I'd love to visit Karen Blixen's house in Denmark
61. I'd love to visit the Herriot Museum in Thirsk (and Kally93's relatives...)
62. I'd love to do the Hundred and One Dalmations' journey from Hell Hall, Suffolk, to London
63. I'd love to visit Jeremy Irons in his Irish castle
64. I'd love to go shopping in Hay-On-Wye
65. I'd like to go to Land's end , Cornwall UK, and sing the Londonderry air followed by Vera Lynn's we'll meet again, but not too close to the cliffs (I'm uncomfortable with heights)
66. simply have a guiness in the Dublin brewery
67. Have a Lambrusco with parma ham in ... Parma
68. go to Leeds to get Andrew Eldritch's autograph
69. go to CBGB 's in New York to see why it became so legendary. That one would involve some minor timetravelling, since that club closed ...
70. I've been working on my family tree so I want to visit Uttorp, Sturkö, Blekinge, Sweden, the island where my Great Grandparents came from, look for relatives in the Sturkö kyrka (church) churchyard and take pictures of the town.
71. Go to Alaska, USA and travel through Glacier Bay on a small boat or tour vessel (not a big cruise ship) and sail past a sea otter or peek at a puffin.
72. Go to Maine, USA, sail along its coast on a schooner and watch for whales.
73. Take an educational safari through any of Tanzania's, Natl. parks and check out the cheetahs.
74. Snorkle or dive around the reefs of the Galapagos Islands and, with luck, swim with and touch a green sea turtle.
75. Visit the Tokyo Disney Resort
76. Go on a Blues Cruise! http://bluescruise.com/
77. Attend Oktoberfest in Munich
78. See my favourite Scottish singer, Dougie MacLean, in his home country http://www.dougiemaclean.com/
79. Attend an official Red Hat Society Convention (the 2013 is in Atlanta and they have an annual New Years Day parade in London, England)
80. Work at a donkey sanctuary.
81. Learn Irish on Inis Mór.
82. Experience the Indian Summer in Canada.
83. Visit Antarctica.
84. Hike the Himalayas.
85. Go snow rafting on the slides at the Sapporo Snow Festival (Sapporo Yuki Matsuri) http://www.japan-guide.com/---/e5311.html
86. See a stage version of the musical "Elisabeth" in Vienna
87. Sing "Part of Your World" by the Little Mermaid Statue in Coppenhagen
88. Go on a canopy zipline in Costa Rica
89. Visit a music festival in Salsburg.
90. Go to New York and jump like a human trampoline
91. Ride the gondola in Venice
92. Feed the koala's in Koala Park Sanctuary Sidney
93. Fold 1000 cranes in the park and offer them to the gods in the golden pavilion in Kyoto
94. Dance in the rain in Bergen Norway, the city with the most rainfall in the world
95. Pet a wombat or at least see one up close and personal (within 10 feet)
96. Visit a California winery
97. Swim with dolphins
98. Visit Universal Studios' The Wizarding World of Harry Potter and be sorted into a house
99. Take a train trip in Alaska and/or see whales breeching



Journal Entry 5 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, June 24, 2012
Participants:

Go through the list from top to bottom, I will update it as people ask to be moved down the list. When we reach the bottom, start all over again.

Crossing-Guard, Canada - Completed Mission
NMReader, USA - Completed Mission
Stoepbrak, South Africa - Completed Mission
Dendritic Trees, Canada- Completed Mission
Vekiki, London UK - Skipped
Shwooz, USA - Skipped
Appelsiini, Finland - Skipped
elstaplador, UK - - Book is here
rodespringbal, Belgium
LiniP, Germany
Elskaliam, Sweden
Kally93, Canada
kirjakko, Finland
Bloedengel, Belgium
imawinn2 - Wisconsin, U.S.A.
Fracula - Canada
sorcheen, Germany
Megami-no-ushi, Canada/USA
iiwi, Netherlands
minesayn, Ohio, USA

And back to the top...

Journal Entry 6 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Tuesday, July 3, 2012
What an awesome list of items to choose from... I will have to go with:

23. Go on a dig and find Triceratops remains (It would have to be North America, i guess, that's where they are often found)

I do happen to live a short drive from Drumheller. It has one of the best (in my humble opinion) dinosaur museums in the world. Many a dinosaurs were found around Drumheller in the badlands. I think I will have to try my luck. I mean how hard can it be. :)

This will be completed on July 21, 2012. The journey will start from Calgary, Alberta with a trip to the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller so that we can learn more about the triceratops. Then we will arm ourselves with the neccessary tools and will see if we can find any remains.

Now to get together a group of explorers (aka fellow Calgary Crossers and their poor significant others). I mean BookCrossers read right, they must know something about dinosaurs and digging in the dirt!

Journal Entry 7 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, July 21, 2012
I'm getting very excited as tomorrow is the big day... I can't wait. I have been busy in the last little bit doing research on dinosaurs so that I can get an idea on what to expect. My hard core (ha ha) research has included:

- some light reading (aka hitting the children's section at the library) Books include: Bringing Dinosaur Bones to Life, Dinosaurs a visual encylopedia, If you were raised by a dinosaur, When Land, Sea and Life Began, Digging Canadian Dinosaurs and Dinosaur Dinners.
- Watching the Jurassic Park movie trailer
- Then I just had to listen to the theme song for Jurasic Park... awesome piece of music (I love John Williams)
- Then just because I had to watch Al Yankovic's you tube music video of his hit "Jurrasic Park", hilarious if you haven't seen it (it is so stuck in my head now!)
- You Tube is so addicting... found a great video on how to make a Triceratops out of orgami, who would have thought!

Ok, away from You tube and back to the serious research. I did find out some great facts about dinosaurs and the Triceratops. Here are the main points:

Dinosaurs in General
- Everything about dinosaurs that we know has been gathered by scientists observing fossils and the areas where the fossils were found
- Scientists have no idea what colours dinosaurs actually were
- Tyrannosaurus and the Triceratops were among the last of the dinosaurs to survive
- Dinosaurs lay eggs

Triceratops
- part of the Ornithischians (bird-hipped dinosaurs) family, further classified as part of the Marginocephalians (fringed head) family which is a group of plant-eaters that sported bony frills on their heads. Then they are part of the Ceratopians (horned faces) dinosaurs.
- had beaks like parrots and teeth that worked like scissors
- 1/2 of known dinosaur populations were Ceratopians
- weighed more than an elephant and was as long as a city bus (9 metres or 30 feet)
- Commonly found in the Cretaceous period
- Lived 70 - 65 million years ago
- Fossils found in North America
- Habbitat was Woodlands where they ate Forest Plants
- skull was 2 metres (6 feet long) with brow horn 1 metre (3 feet) long
- had columns of teeth that would be replaced when one fell out
- likely travelled in herds

Dinosaur Park in Alberta, Canada (2 hours from Drumheller where the museum is)
- 35 different species of dinosaurs have come from Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta, Canada
- there are 50 known dinosaur bone beds found in Alberta
- Joseph Burr Tyrrell found the first dinosaur bones in 1884 (the Albertosaurus). The Royal Tyrell Museum is named after him. Museum opened in 1985 and has more than 200 dinosaur specimens on display.
- In 1979 the United Nations named Dinosaur Park a World Heritage Site
- Dinosaur Park includes 7000 hectares of land

All that is left to do is pack. According to my research every fossil hunter needs the following equipment:

- hammers
- chisels
- Trowels
- brushes

I think my miniture garden tool set will be perfect (and stylish as it has a belt and who doesn't love wearing gardening tools around there waist). Better go get some sleep so I am fresh for tomorrow...

Picture is of the tools being taken to Drumheller for the dig.

Journal Entry 8 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Saturday, July 21, 2012
Yeah, it is time to go on our first adventure. Packed and the route has been figured out. This morning we are leaving from Calgary and will be driving the hour and a half drive to Drumheller. Very exciting, it has been a couple years since I was last there.

On our adventure today:

Crossing-Guard (me) - Loves the movie Jurassic Park and her favorite character in the Land Before time is Cera.

Crossing-Guard's Husband - Scared for life by a giant purple dinosaur with an affection for all. His "I love you" theme song drove him nuts and as a result spending the day looking at dead dinosaurs is very soothing.

megami-no-ushi - I am a dinosaur expert after I made my mother read every single sign at the Tyrell Museum out loud to me when I was in kindergarten.

Picture is of our drive across the Prairie.

Journal Entry 9 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, July 22, 2012
What an amazing day yesterday, was a long one though and that is why I am entering the journal entry today. Remember our names listed above because we are soon to be famous in the dinosaur world (more on that later).

Our morning started with an hour and a half drive to Drumheller. We had a beautiful drive across the prairies and saw some cows, horses and even a deer running along the road. The day was super hot and the skies were clear, great weather but perhaps a bit hot for digging. Suddenly after looking at fields from over an hour, you make the dramatic descent into Drumheller. Imagine this, you are surrounded by blue skies and flat prairies fields when suddently you start to go down hill and are surrounded by badlands. It is a stark contrast from the fields of yellows and greens as suddenly it is like you are in the desert. There are hoodos and rocks with layers and layers of sediment piled on top of each other and you can actually see all the different ones as they are different colours of reds, pinks, greys and browns. Very different country side from just a few minutes back down the road.

Welcome to Drumheller! This little town certainly has embraced their love of dinosaurs. Right away you see "Fred and Barney's Family Restaurant" as well the Jurassic Inn. As you are driving there are just random statues of dinosaurs on the side of the road and wire ones on the lamp posts. We took a lunch break at a Boston Pizza to refuel before tackling the museum.

The Royal Tyrell Museum was packed!!!! I've haven't seen that many people crammed into one spot since the Calgary Stampede a few weeks ago (and that was nuts). We paid to get into the museum and spent the next two or so hours taking it in. Unfortunately the crowds continued into the museum so I have to admit that our trip was perhaps a bit shorter than it could have been. As a side note I would highly suggest visiting the museum around 4pm in the summer (it is open till 9pm) as you will find a parking spot and not have to push through the crowds. That or come in the winter (hours are shorter though). Still a great visit though, the museum is something else! We traveled through time and could see what the world looked like at each stage. There were dinosaur skeletons and boy were they HUGE!!!! So glad that we don't have to fight them every day. One of the exhibits contains spears from some of our ancient ancestors and man, they were brave to use those against the huge Wooley Mammoth! Back to the dinosaurs, we learned that Triceratops had over 600 teeth and that their skeletons were found in Alberta and parts of the United States. AND we got to see a put together skeleton. It is really something else to look up at a skeleton and see just how small humans really are. They had a leg bone of one of the dinosaurs (think it was part of the T-Rex family) up against a wall and when you stand next to it you come up to it's knee. We also learned all about the theories related to why dinosaurs went extinct. The unanswered question is whether or not the extinction happened quickly or it was a slower climate change that killed all the dinosaurs. Then it comes down to what caused it. Some of the theories out there are, astroid, mammals eating the eggs, volcano's or lowering water lines.

Our trip ended with an exit through the gift store and back into the heat. It was so hot that we decided that maybe we should do a hike close to the museum, this area can't have been explored much (ha ha) and you know what, we were right! AND we hit the JACKPOT. The discovery that is sure to rock the dinosaur world. I mentioned earlier that scientists have discovered 50 known bone beds in Alberta, well make that 51. We stumbled across a very small bone bed of what looks like minature dinosaurs, including a triceratops. The specimens seem to be in remarkable condition and seem to still have their skin on...

Journal Entry 10 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, July 22, 2012
Introducing our bone bed (the picture is a bit small so check it our here for a bigger one: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55506764@N02/7618768162/). I think we shall call it the "Ballycumber Dig Site". Who knows, maybe their will be a new species of dinosaur discovered within the dig site, I think the Ballysaurous has an awesome ring to it, don't you. Anyway, this is a significant discovery as scientists have been hypothesising for years about what colours dinosaurs actually are and because our discovery includes specimens with skin colours...

Anyway, it was an awesome trip that ended with a trip to get some ice cream before heading back to Calgary. Thanks for coming with us on our trip!

If you want to see more pictures from our trip, Megami-no-ushi took some and fortunately has a flicker page. Check them out below.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55506764@N02/sets/72157630687835296/

Journal Entry 11 by Crossing-Guard at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Monday, July 23, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (7/23/2012 UTC) at Calgary, Alberta Canada

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

This book is on its way, I dropped it in the mail this morning.

Please be kind to the enviroment and try to reuse the envelope.

Journal Entry 12 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Wednesday, August 1, 2012
This book was waiting for me when I arrived at my brother's. We may try our item today.

Journal Entry 13 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Thursday, September 13, 2012
So I am a little late doing my journal entries on this book but will try to step through events as they occurred.

Crossing-Guard contacted me for my address the middle of July. I requested that she mail the book to my brother's house as I would leave on vacation before it would arrive at my address. Graciously, Crossing-Guard not only did that she sent me a link so I could look over the list and talk to my niece (who was traveling with me) about which ones we could do and which ones we might want to do.

As soon as I had the list I read it through. The one that seemed the mostly likely for me to do was the one that Crossing-Guard had tackled and I didn't want to repeat that one so soon. I read through the list and started doing some research and using my imagination. I started coming up with all sorts of ideas and even asked if we could attempt a couple and complete one. Crossing-Guard said no as she was afraid it would delay the book too long.

I started talking to my niece about it shortly before we left. My niece thought it was a fun idea. She struggled with how we could do some of them until I explained that we could have fun with it. We talked over the first day of our trip which ones we could seriously do and which ones we could have fun attempting and being creative about.

While we came up with a few the one I had prepared for was finally the one we ended up doing. While my niece thought some of the ideas fun for attempting she wanted to complete one.

Journal Entry 14 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
So you may be wondering what we decided to do. We decided on:

38. Go letterboxing anywhere in North America (see http://www.atlasquest.com/)

I had never heard of this before so I had to do some research on it. From the website I learned:

"Letterboxing is an intriguing pastime combining artistic ability with "treasure-hunts" in parks, forests, and cities around the world. Participants seek out hidden letterboxes by cracking codes and following clues. The prize: an image from a miniature piece of art known as a rubber stamp—usually a unique, hand-carved creation.

Letterboxers stamp their discoveries in a personal journal, then use their own rubber stamp, called a signature stamp, to stamp into the letterbox's logbook."

I further learned it had started in Dartmoor, England with a letter inside a bottle and evolved to postcards in boxes and then to stamps.

Journal Entry 15 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
So in preparation for doing some letterboxing, my niece and I picked out a few rubberstamps, found a small ink pad, took some baby wipes that were alcohol free, and an empty jounral for me and a Smash book for her and put them in a small backpack to be used when "the hunt was afoot"

I specifically used the seach engine on the Atlasquest website to see letterboxes in or near Rapid City SD (where my brother lives) and Gillette WY (where one of my sisters lives).

Journal Entry 16 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
Once we reached Rapid City and acquired the book, I talked to all my nieces and nephews about letterboxing. All five of them decided to participate in the hunt for the one in Rapid City. I handed the instructions to my nieces and nephews (ages 11-15) and let them lead the way to the letterbox. They had a blast.

Journal Entry 17 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
I then took the niece from MD and the Gillette WY niece to Gillette WY. There were two letter boxes in Gillette. We quickly found the one in McManamen Park (although my sister got her directions confused and had us on the wrong side of the rock to begin with)

Journal Entry 18 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
We had a harder time finding the letterbox at Cam-Plex, 1635 Reata Dr. It was much smaller than the letterboxes we had found up to that point and therefore a little tricker to find. Dzrt Bxr , the person who planted the box, was kind enough to help us by telling us it was small.

Journal Entry 19 by NMReader at Herndon, Virginia USA on Friday, September 14, 2012
I had hoped to do one or two letterboxes everyday on the way home but based on time we only did one more. It was at the Amana Colonies in IA.

I am looking forward to pursuing this more as work slows down a bit (very hectic since I returned from vacation).

Journal Entry 20 by NMReader at Crownsville, Maryland USA on Friday, September 14, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (8/31/2012 UTC) at Crownsville, Maryland USA

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

My BIL was kind enough to drop this at the Post Office for me while my sister and I were running errands in the opposite direction

Journal Entry 21 by Stoepbrak at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Friday, September 14, 2012
Thanks, NMReader. The book arrived safely in Cape Town.

Journal Entry 22 by Stoepbrak at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Friday, September 21, 2012
A delightful book, bound to entertain both teacher and student — whatever their respective ages. (Don't you just love the eyes of the pets?) It sure was a good choice as book to embark on the Bucket List Journey.

Speaking of the latter ... I need weekend weather and diaries to align. Will report back as soon as I can.

Journal Entry 23 by Stoepbrak at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Monday, October 8, 2012


Bucket List Item 51:
Go on a whale safari and shiver at the sight of a magnificent blue whale




Blue whales we don't have, but this time of year (July to December) the southern right whale — which normally feeds in the far Southern Ocean near the Antarctic — migrates in large numbers to the warmer waters of our coastline to breed.

Hermanus, about 90 minutes' drive from Cape Town, is one of the prime spots in South Africa to watch whales, so on Sunday 7 October we headed that way. We were just in time to catch the tail of the annual Hermanus Whale Festival.

Whale Route Signpost Hermanus Whale Festival










Spring in the Western Cape also means that it is wild flower season, so all along the way we were treated to colourful displays.

White daisies

Walker Bay in Hermanus is the place to be for land-based whale watching. There is a popular viewpoint above the Old Harbour.

Old Harbour: Walker Bay

There was an icy breeze but the sun was out: a gorgeous day. Did we see any whales? Of course we did. Is there any proof? Naturally. But ... I need your trust in the matter. Though we saw lots of whales, none of them was close to the shore. To catch the moment on camera with our intrepid travelling book in the foreground proved to be a bit much for my photographic skills. In the end, patience paid off. I opted for several short movie shots, fishing for a handful of illusive, grainy frames afterwards.

I know, I know, enough talking. Here they are. (Hover over each picture for much needed insight into what it is you are looking at.)

Dorsal fins Whale tail












Breaching After breaching












For a look at some of the whale sightings that are possible at Hermanus, do a Google Image search on "whales Hermanus". As with all searches, some of the results are likely to be of dubious origin. It is normally possible to spot these, though.

Something that looks like fun for a future visit is to go out with a group of sea kayaks.

Sea kayaks, Walker Bay

Hemingway's BookshopBefore leaving the Old Harbour area, do drop in at Hemingway's Bookshop. It is a book lover's dream (despite the fact that the apostrophe on the main banner has gone whale watching). Budget timewise for a long, relaxed visit. Double that, and you should have enough time for a quick scan of what is on offer.

And that is that as far as this adventure is concerned. Great fun was had by all. Was the objective achieved? Our book did go on a whale safari and saw plenty of them, if not blue whales. Shivering? Yes, though as a result of the stiff breeze rather than the sight of the whales. Good enough for a partial tick?

Journal Entry 24 by Stoepbrak at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Wednesday, October 10, 2012

The book is ready to move on. I'm just waiting for confirmation and an address from the next participant.

Journal Entry 25 by Stoepbrak at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa on Sunday, October 14, 2012

Released 11 yrs ago (10/15/2012 UTC) at Cape Town, Western Cape South Africa

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:


The book is on its way to DendriticTrees in Canada. I posted it this morning, opting for surface mail. Quite often a registered package like this gets lucky and is included with items dispatched by airmail. Only time will tell.

International tracking number: RJ021121790ZA
http://tracking.postoffice.co.za
http://www.track-trace.com/post

Journal Entry 26 by DendriticTrees at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, October 28, 2012
The book has safely arrived here. I'll be taking it to visit some penguins (sadly I can't get it all the way to Antarctica).

Journal Entry 27 by DendriticTrees at Calgary, Alberta Canada on Sunday, December 6, 2015
I'm a bit far away from Antarctica, but I do have access to some delighful penguins in their own custom built Antarctic habitat, so the book and I took a trip to the Biodome, which has Antarctica in a bubble for your visiting convenience. We met some penguins. We even met some puffins. I really expected the penguins to be bigger, they're pretty small. And I can confirm that puffins look ridiculous and ungainly 100% of the time. The penguins are graceful once you get them in the water, but puffins walk like they're about to fall over and swim like they're on the verge of drowning.

After that I found some penguins to cuddle. They were stuffy penguins, but hush, we will not talk about that.

Journal Entry 28 by elstaplador at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Monday, August 1, 2016
Book is now with me. I've got a couple of ideas for an adventure to go on - just need to find a free weekend!

Journal Entry 29 by elstaplador at Cambridge, Cambridgeshire United Kingdom on Sunday, November 19, 2017
And here we are, over a year later! I'm so sorry for holding this up - various things happened in my life. (Good things! But they've meant that I only got round to completing one of these tasks yesterday.)

What did I do? I went to Diagon Alley! I took the train to King's Cross - then I walked to Euston (sadly, London geography doesn't quite work in the non-magical world), met up with my little brothers, and we went to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour: The Making of Harry Potter.

I didn't just see Diagon Alley - I walked through the Forbidden Forest, saw the Hogwarts Great Hall, Gryffindor dormitory and common room, the dining room at Malfoy Manor, the Ministry of Magic, another King's Cross station (it's smaller than the one I usually go through!) with the Hogwarts Castle locomotive and carriages, the Knight Bus, no 4 Privet Drive... plus probably thousands of props and costumes, all beautifully crafted and detailed. I'd have loved to take the wall full of hats home with me.

The book will be going to the next participant along with a chocolate frog :-D

Journal Entry 30 by elstaplador at Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases on Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Released 6 yrs ago (12/6/2017 UTC) at Mail, Bookring -- Controlled Releases

CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:

Rodespringbal asked to be skipped, so I have sent this to LiniP today.

Journal Entry 31 by LiniP at Harrow, Greater London United Kingdom on Thursday, December 7, 2017
Book arrived safely today. Thank you for the chocolates which will go to my niece who is a big fan. I have had a good look at the list and have pondered my options. I will be going for the simplest one which is the London Eye. Even though I have lived in London for 4 years I have never done the ride. Will look for affordable tickets and go for it. Walking distance from my office. Watch this space.

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