Ed Duck

In June of 2010 this Ducky and his bride set out on a journey from thier honeymoon in Ireland to be reunited in their home city of Altoona, PA.

In June of 2011, he and his new wife succeeded and were brought back together just one year after they began their trek.

Now, Ed Duck would like to visit the Grand Canyon and return to his bride in Altoona, PA.

Check out our story on PodCacher, show # 328. The Ducky Trip begins at around minute 28. http://www.podcacher.com/2011/07/show-328-0-above-and-beyond/

You can also read about out story in FTF magazine volume 2 issue 4 (July - August 2011 issue) on page 24 in 'Trail Tales'.

I wanted to share a great story about my wife and I, our honeymoon and two cute rubber ducks. My wife, Erin, and I got married last year on June 19, 2010. Sometime before the wedding, someone gave us two small rubber ducks; one is a groom ducky, the other is a bride ducky. Well, as the big day approached; my (then) fiancée suggested that I make the two duckies into travel bugs to release on our honeymoon.
 
Now at this point as should point out that my wife is not an avid geocacher. She enjoys going for walks with me and likes to ride the bicycles and enjoys going for road trips to see sights, but she just does not have the interest for the sport that I do. For all this, though, she does support my ‘habit’ and tries to get involved.
 
I, of course, found her idea to be a fantastic one and immediately ordered two travel bug dog tags and submitted ‘Ed Duck’ (TB3E4XM) and ‘Em Duck’ (TB3EQH9). We had a wonderful wedding and reception, but the best of all was the honeymoon trip. My beautiful and amazing wife (she may read this, after-all) managed to book us an amazing trip to Ireland for our honeymoon! The travel bugs then gained the goal to join us on our trip to over seas, then make their way back home in the States to be reunited and live happily ever after.
 
The travel duckies began their trip by visiting a cache near to our home in Altoona, PA before accompanying us across the Atlantic to the Emerald Isle. We had a fantastic time in Ireland, enjoying beautiful landscapes and wonderful hospitality. First, we released Em Duck (the bride duck) in Adare, Ireland. A few days later, we released Ed (the groom) near the Southern Coast in the town of Kinsale, Ireland. The ducks were separated and alone, and we finished our trip together and returned home.
 
Fast forward one year to June 2011. For our first anniversary, Erin and I planned a trip to visit an Aunt of mine in Connecticut. About a month before our anniversary, I was following the progress of Em Duck and discovered that she was getting really close—only a half-hour drive away! So, to complete her journey, we went out and got her. It was a great feeling to have a TB finish its goal—well sort of finish. Really the goal was to be reunited with her groom.
 
After bringing Em Duck home, I took a look at Ed Duck’s progress. He had made the trip from Ireland to Germany and bounced around along the way. Ultimately, though, he did make it back to the Eastern USA and by early 2011 the travel duck was waiting in Southern New Hampshire.
 
My wife, the patient woman that she is, listened to my pitch; and, with minimal begging, agreed that while on our one-year anniversary trip to Connecticut, we could take a day trip and drive the extra 3-hours to New Hampshire to bring Ed Duck home.
 
On the drive up, I geocached and made some finds in some states that I’d never been to before. The suspense along the way was palpable—would it still be there, or would we be making the extra trip for nothing?  
 
This is a story of happy endings and I am happy and proud to report that Ed and Em Duck were reunited on the weekend of their (and our) one-year anniversary. After traveling a combined distance of 14,764-miles to be brought back together, the ducks will live happily ever after. I wonder when we’ll see baby rubber duckies?