Trackable Tales—Megan’s Geo-Diary
Trackables are common in the geocaching world, but it’s not every day that you come across a trackable with a story as remarkable as Megan’s Geo-Diary, TB14KFJ. When Meggie-Mae was in second grade, her mom, Cache-n-Kerry, and step-dad, Hockeyhick, helped her release her first Travel Bug®. Little did she know, this trackable was destined for an adventure like no other!
On November 30, 2006, Meggie-Mae attached a purple journal to a Travel Bug®, and Hockeyhick wrote the following information on the trackable page: “Instead of just having an online log of a TB’s travels, she wants you, the cacher, to keep a written record of where it goes and some of your stories. Consider it your own personal diary, at least while you have it.”
The same day, Maggie-Mae attended The SCGA/USCGA Joint Meeting and Chicken Fest Event (GCYTCZ) with her family and dropped the Travel Bug®. After many geocachers discovered the unique trackable at the Event, TR Trash Rats retrieved the diary and moved it to another geocache in South Carolina.
After about two years of travel around the Southeastern United States, Megan’s Geo-Diary embarked on its greatest adventure yet—a 4,700 mile (~7,600 km) trip across the Atlantic Ocean! On September 08, 2008, geocacher Tethys81 picked up the trackable at a Travel Bug Hotel near Savannah/Hilton Head International Airport and brought it to Germany.
Tethys81 dropped the diary in a Mystery cache in Pürgen, Bavaria. Megan’s Geo-Diary traveled around Germany for over eight years, with a few visits to nearby countries. Over the years, the diary collected dozens of entries in multiple languages. A couple of longer pauses in travel left Meggie-Mae concerned that the trackable might be missing, but it always reappeared.
In 2017, nearly nine years after it was released, Megan’s Geo-Diary returned to the United States. The diary landed in Pennsylvania, a little over 500 miles (~800 km) from its starting point. One final bump in the road occurred when the geocache that it was inside went missing, but miraculously, the trackable was found in another nearby geocache.
New geocachers bunnylover000000 and pamabate retrieved Megan’s Geo-Diary as their first ever trackable. They offered to mail the trackable back to South Carolina, and Hockeyhick accepted the offer. On Meggie-Mae’s first day of college, August 24, 2017, the trackable diary she released 3,920 days prior finally returned home.
Trackables are a fun way to experience the world from home. You never know when one will take off to far away places! This trackable traveled a total of 26,402 miles (~42,490 km).
