The Great Oregon Travel Bug Race

For Christmas the year before last, I had ordered us four travel bug tags, one for each of us.

We decided to enter them into a race to Bend, OR. My husband really wanted to move there and the running joke is that I forced him to be stuck in Texas.

We each picked characters that would represent us and gave us side missions that revealed our personalities. Here are the racers with their goal statements from their respective pages:

AJ’s Captain Jack Sparrow 2007 Racer

This Tb is in a race with other travel bugs to see who can get to Bend, OR the first. On the way, this one would like to have its picture taken at beaches. This belongs to AJ, who is seven and really likes the beach. He would like to see it go lots of neat places and end up meeting it again when our family moves to Bend. Please keep it moving! We want to see if it can get to Bend by the summer of 2007.
Kaleb’s Leapfrog 2007 Racer

This one is in a race with other family member's bugs to see who can get to Bend, OR first. We would like the bugs to get to Bend around the summer of 2007. Along the way, this one would like to visit the things that baby Kaleb likes: other kids, dogs, and lakes. Please post pictures and stories of his adventures and keep him moving!
Mom’s One Eyed Alien 2007 Racer

This TB is in a race with the other family member's bugs to see who can get to Bend, OR the fastest. This one would like to travel through Colorado and stop in mountain caches as well. We would like to meet her again in Oregon in the summer of 2007. Please post pictures of her adventures and the other bugs she meets along the way. Keep her moving!
Dad’s Bend Or Bust 2007 Racer
This one is in a race with other family member's bugs to see who can get to Bend, OR first. We would like to see the TBs end up there around the summer of 2007. The others have side adventures they would like to have. This one, our Dad, would just like to get there already. He wants to go straight to Oregon, no fooling around! Our Dad loves Oregon and talks about it often. Please take photos of the places he has been along the way.
RACE RESULTS:

The race is officially over as of this week.

Mom's One Eyed Alien Racer won, getting to Bend in fifteen months after traveling 2015 miles and being dropped in eight caches and three events. She was officially released at an event and reached her destination at an event. Right now she is traveling Bend with ArmyMustang, who says she will get a ride to GeoWoodstock VI.

AJ's Captain Jack Sparrow Racer is second, and will also be joining us at GW6. It was almost there, in Portland, but then it went down to California and might as well just stay there now. It has traveled 4485 miles, has been dropped in fifteen caches and three events, and the last cacher who picked it up said, "Captain Jack Sparrow, Sir, You are going to GeoWoodstock!!!"

Kaleb's Leapfrog Racer is lost, sadly, out in the travel bug black hole. He disappeared after being on the road for eight months, and hasn't been heard from for nine months. In that short amount of time, it traveled 1197 miles, was logged in six caches and three events, and had six pictures uploaded.

And Dad's Bend or Bust Racer? Stuck in Texas!