Would This Be Feasible?

March 2, 2004

Okay, I am very new to this whole thing, but am already infected... My wife and I are being pulled into the seedy underbelly of roadtrippers that you all call home!

Anyway, we recently had our first child, a daughter, and would like to start a travel bug in honor of her. I was thinking of attaching the bug to a pacifier and putting a laminated description of the personal importance of the bug in a bag.

I have read about the dangers of cute bugs, small bugs, breakable bugs, bed bugs, and mosquitoes. In your wisened opinions would this work, or would some jacka** take the tribute to my newborn and whizz it into the nearest trash receptacle or commit some other dasterdly deed to it?

We probably wouldn't have to lose sleep if it were to go missing, but it would be cool to introduce our daughter to GeoCaching by having her watch her bug travel the wide, wide, world of caching. If nothing else it will provide her with a new excuse to borrow daddy's Jeep in a few years.

Please, let me know if you would, or wouldn't, suggest the pacifier bug in honor of our puke machine. I apologize for my verbosity. Happy hunting!

Edited March 2, 2004 by mpadfield

March 2, 2004

Uh, you are talking a new pacifier, aren't you?

Your idea should work. I don't think a pacifier is breakable, nor would it be so cute that someone would decide to keep it. However, if it is still around when your daughter is old enough to drive someone may grab it for it's historical value.

My one suggestion is that you punch a hole in the laminated description so you can put the chain of the travel bug tag through it. There would be less chance of them being separated than if you just put the description in the bag.

Welcome to the insanity!

RichardMoore

March 2, 2004

Welcome to geocaching!

I think it's a cool idea. But I have a suggestion about what kind of pacifier to use. Most craft stores have plastic pacifiers to use as favors at baby showers. They are hard plastic and would weather travels very well. There are two sizes - one is lifesized and there's a mini version (like a doll's pacifier). I was thinking about getting a package of the doll-sized ones to put in caches for the whiners (haha). Anyway, I think something like this might work better than a real pacifier. As I recall (and it's a long stretch down memory lane since the kids are grown and gone), the rubber of the pacifier picks up dirt and lint fairly easily. The bug could very quickly go from "awwwww...." to "ewwwww" since caches are notorious for having some gunk rattling around in the bottom.

I ordinarily do not use the chain that comes with the TB tags. I use clear cable ties instead (cable ties are the duct tape of the millenium -- there's nothing you can't do with a cable tie!). When I do use the chain, I shorten it (you can just cut the end without the fastener using shears) so there's no excess floating around and getting caught on things. The TB idea only works if the tag stays attached to the bug.

Regarding whether someone will pilfer it -- "who knows what evil lurks in the heart of men?" (now I'm definitely showing my age) -- all you can do is send it out and see what happens.

Keep 'Caching!

March 2, 2004

I was going to say the same thing about pacifiers going bad *yuck*. Instead, why don't you use a "baby's first....something (like a Christmas ornament)? The plastic (rather than rubber) pacifier is a good idea, too. Or even a keychain with her name on it? Odds are against someone with the same name finding it, and even if they do, the odds are that they'd pass it on.