In memory of a queen (v2)

This trackable is a Version 2 of a memorial TB that I released back in 2016.  Unfortunately that trackable went missing shortly after I released it.  This is a different trackable number, so not exactly a replacement.

In February of 2015, my close friend Amanda unexpectedly passed away.  It was this odd situation created when she came down with the flu on top of some of the other health problems she had.  A perfect storm, if you will.  I was understandably devastated, and her absence over the past year has left a huge void in my life.

She was a teacher, and as frustrated as she could get, she loved her job and her children with a passion.  She loved chess (which inspired the name of this bug), and was the leader of her school's chess team.  She painted ceramics and sold them as fundraisers for the team, and was extremely talented in her work.  She was a crazy cat lady, with 4 fur babies.  She was an avid Louisville Cardinals fan.  She loved history and Harry Potter, lighthouses, jewelry, and Love Actually.  She was feisty and frustrating, intimidating and sweet.  And full of love.  I miss her.

But one of the most memorable things about her was her love of travel.  During the time I knew her she seemed like she was always traveling.  Any break she had from school was spent somewhere else.  Her last big trip, the summer before she passed away, was a couple weeks spent in Rome, Paris, Pompeii, and some other places around Europe with one of her closest friends.  I was occasionally jealous of her travels, but I always knew to expect some thoughtful trinket when she came back (usually because I was taking care of her cats).  She would come back with thousands of pictures to document her adventures.

With that in mind, this bug's goal is to do some major traveling.  I would love for it to see all the beautiful places across the US and to go beyond our borders into some of the other countries she either visited or dreamed of visiting.  So anywhere and everywhere this bug can go, please take it!  That being said, there are some places I would love to see this bug end up.  It would like to go to Lake Ponchartrain, in NOLA, as she was from there and we always talked about how one day we would visit it together.  It would like to go to Washington State, where her family is from.  It would like to go to Las Vegas and to places in Hawaii, as those are places she absolutely loved to visit, and she went multiple times to each place in the time that I knew her.  In terms of larger goals, this bug would love to go to Rome, London, Paris, pretty much anywhere in Europe, or honestly, anywhere on the other side of the globe from where it started.  While it's out, post pictures from along the journey.

Ultimately, while Amanda may be gone, her spirit of travel will always be alive and well.

Go have an adventure.

This bug is pretty and shiny, but it is not a collectable!  Please send it on it's way.

The charms on this bug are little things that remind me of something about her.  A queen chess piece.  A fleur-de-lis.  A shiny cameo brooch.  Her initial. There is so much more I wish I could add - but this is already risky enough to release as it is.

You can take the travel bug out of the bag to look at it, examine it, for picture purposes, but please if you drop it somewhere, make sure it is still in a ziploc or something.  I know that things happen, but please help me move it as securely as possible. Thank you for the part you are about to play in this bug's journey, whether it is by helping it move along, or simply discovering it!