Wasabi The Duck

Where's Wasabi?

2008-12-01T06:46:00.001-08:00

Bumming around Peru @ Machu Picchu...

Gry says he/she/it's a big hit: "He made a lot of friends in MP, some loved him and will search for the blog, one girl freeked out to be close to him and oddly enough she is here in Puno right now and actually came over to me in a restaurant to ask if I was the duck girl.." - Wasabi... such a player for an inanimate object.

Big Thanks to Gry, Tim, and Jamie for the excellent chaparone.

Where's Wasabi?

2008-11-08T13:54:00.001-08:00

After a brief appearance in Ecuador, Wasabi is off to Peru to see the wonder of Machu Picchu. After Peru, he/she/it's off to Bolivia, New York, then Norway in January.

Wasabi's chaparone for this part of the journey will be Gry (pronounced GREE) - our Norwegian friend. Gry has promised to take good care of Wasabi and show he/she/it a great time.

Wasabi's blog

2008-03-14T08:51:00.000-07:00

Mexico too

Yea, Wasabi's been to Mexico too. Travel within the continent is so pedestrian for Wasabi, I almost forgot to mention it :)

Just before the Mexico trip, Wasabi tried to climb a 12,00ft. mountain in a whiteout. Wisely, he/she/it made the team turn around before things got dangerous.

2008-03-12T07:14:00.001-07:00

The Duck runs amuck

In Shanghai...

Wasabi has been chaperoned from Cape Town, to Shanghai. Looks like he/she/it's fitting in and seeing sights.

Shanghai is near and dear to me because I lived there in 2001. Along the Huangpu river, pictured behind the duck, the old and the new line opposite banks of the river.

On the west is the old, "The Bund". The Bund was initially a British settlement; later the British and American settlements were combined in the International Settlement. It has dozens of historical buildings and any new construction is limited in height.

Across the river is Pudong. Pudong is China's financial and commercial hub. The shiny new skyscrapers lining the east bank of the river are diverse in architecture and stand in sharp contrast to The Bund across the water. The funny looking tower is the Pearl TV tower, and Pudong also has the Jin Mao building which in 2001 was the third tallest building in the world.

Pearl TV tower left and Jin Mao building right. Heavily photoshopped as blue sky doesn't exist in Shanghai.

Another view of the Jin Mao building with the Pearl tower obscured on the right. Again, clear skies don't exist in Shanghai.

Inside the Jin Mao, the Hyatt takes up the 54-80th floors, and has an open atrium throughout. A pool sits on one of the high floors and the weight of the water actually serves to dampen out the building's swaying in high wind. For our anniversary in 2001, we stayed in the Jin Mao, swam in the pool, and threw paper airplanes across the atrium. (refined behavior)

This is a typical Shanghai sky. The six months I lived in the city, I never saw blue sky. Some days the pollution would be so thick, visibility was less than two blocks. I'd go out for a jog and have to stop because I was hacking on the fumes. Overpopulation (and pollution) may leave us with permanently hazy skies. The cities in China already have it.

As always, Wasabi seems to find the party. Lucky duck. Well done mystery chaperones!

2008-02-11T06:58:00.000-08:00

Wasabi wine tasting in South Africa

Big thanks to the good doctor and his wife for touring Wasabi around Cape Town.

Wasabi's in it for the experience, and doesn't discriminate when there's something new to do.

Wasabi at Morgenhof wine estate in the Cape Winelands.

Checking out the cellar.

Sampling a good Cabernet.

Wasabi contemplates the swim to Robben Island (former political prison where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned) from the seafront in Cape Town.

2008-02-10T07:07:00.000-08:00

Wasabi in South Africa

Wasabi boarded a box to Cape Town a few weeks ago, and is currently staying with the good doctor and his wife. They took him to Cape Town's waterfront.

Wasabi at the Waterfront in Cape Town with iconic Table Mountain in the background. Nice framing doctor.

Wasabi has the habit of meeting the strangest people. I'm unsure what's going on here. Don't get molested Wasabi!

2008-01-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

Wasabi wanted summer...

It's been far too long since there's been a wasabi update. There are those who follow the travels of the little green duck, so I thought I'd update what's going on in his/her/it's life.

I'm happy to report that Wasabi is currently in transit to Cape Town, South Africa.

The summer was a busy one for wasabi, he/she/it traveled to four european countries, then ended the summer down in Brazil with Jonny, Chopper, and Jamie. Big thanks to Jamie for being a great chaperone.

Wasabi chillin on a sailboat off the coast of Croatia.

Despite being a horrible swimmer, Wasabi doesn't let an opportunity to snorkel pass.

Enjoying some Czech beer somewhere in Europe.

Trying to steal a drink from chopper overlooking the Brazil coastline.

Scoping the beach in Brazil.

2007-12-08T13:17:00.000-08:00

The oldest posts are at the bottom. Newest at the top.

2007-07-07T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Salt Flats

Wasabi got to watch the sun rise over the Bonneville Salt Flats in Western Utah. He liked it there and made me fill my pocket with wet salt for a souvenir.

Some "luke skywalker" impersonater was there and held him for a photo...

2007-07-07T19:13:00.000-07:00

Wasabi in Lake Powell

Wasabi traveled to Bullfrog marina and stayed on a houseboat in Lake Powell for a few days. He had a great time partying the nights away. All the ladies loved him dearly...

2007-07-07T18:19:00.000-07:00

Wasabi in Oregon

This photo is very lame and the only representation of Wasabi's time in Oregon. I'll be going back there in a month, so we'll do better.

2007-07-07T17:26:00.000-07:00

Wasabi in Idaho

These oversized beer silos were across the highway in Idaho, and we stopped for a photo. Wasabi likes beer more than the average duck.

2007-07-07T16:21:00.000-07:00

Anything for a photo opp...

Wasabi dealt with the stench of piss in this abandoned building to post in the wall with some graffiti. We were on the south shore of the Great Salt Lake.

2007-07-05T16:33:00.000-07:00

Daily Dangers

This duck squeaked at a strange dog, and this was the result. Don't squeak at strangers Wasabi!

2007-07-05T16:28:00.000-07:00

Like Forrest Gump?

While down in Florida in April, my good friend Linda delivered like a dozen ducks to me that she'd picked up over the past six months. The minute she mentioned Wasabi, they all pledged allegance to the green duck and vowed to follow in his footsteps. Wasabi's attracting a following just like Forrest Gump!

2007-07-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

The Princess and the Duck...

I went to visit princess Nya. She's only four, but widely considered a visionary of her time. She looked with favor on Wasabi and introduced him to her royal duck friends. She sent us on our way after knighting Wasabi. What a sweet four year old princess...

2007-06-21T16:36:00.000-07:00

Wasabi in Tailand

Maureen, a.k.a. MOZ, a good friend from OZ, took Wasabi on a Thailand adventure in April.

Wasabi likes to dive...

but few know he's a terrible swimmer.

2007-01-29T17:50:00.000-08:00

Miles Update

Wasabi had traveled 15,687 miles before his trip to Australia. Now that he's been there and back, he's officially traveled enough miles to go once around the world.

Distance from Salt Lake City to Sydney, Australia: 8009 miles.

We drove 3000miles in OZ, but Wasabi wasn't with us at all times. I'll be very conservative and say that he was with us in the car for 750miles.

15,687 + 8009 + 8009 + 750 = 32,455 miles.

2007-01-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

Wasabi's Australian Adventure

We had really poor internet access while we were in OZ, but now we're back and ready to share pictures of our adventure.

Wasabi was keen on the OZ experience as soon as we arrived. We found the yeast extract "Vegemite" right away in the grocery store.

We came back to the caravan park and spread some Vegemite on bread to try it. It tasted like shit - see the pain on Jeff's face. Wasabi was a bit disheartened.

In Forbes, there were wild parrots everywhere. They sat in trees and ate in the park. Wasabi wanted to introduce himself and share his travel stories.

As you can see, the locals were somewhat standoffish. Wasabi figured that there must be some friendly locals, so he went to a local tree to try again

Once again, the locals only made noises, and flew away when Wasabi tried to say Hello. One of the locals even shit on Jeff's shoulder while flying across the park!

The locals weren't friendly!

Undeterred, Wasabi was keen on trying once more to maybe mingle with someone in the more affluent crowd in Forbes. He approached the black swan at the river, but Scott had to hold Wasabi to keep the two from fighting. Wasabi had had enough.

Wasabi traveled with us for the rest of the week meeting us after our flights. Here's Wasabi at the goal field somewhere in the middle of the outback.

As the week went on, most pilots got to know and love Wasabi. Here's a picture of 80 pilots from 15 different countries atop Mt. Buffalo. One of the Australian pilots, Kai, made fun of Wasabi by pulling out his nut sack for this picture. What an interesting way to show disdain for the duck.

The popularity of Wasabi is getting stronger and other rubber ducks are traveling around the world to meet him. Hawaiian duck showed up from the US just to meet Wasabi in OZ. They posed for pictures on Mt. Buffalo. Hawaiian duck came back with Wasabi to the states and I don't know how long they'll be traveling together.

Wasabi can be so silly sometimes.

Where's Wasabi?

Near the end of our trip, Wasabi finally found love by offering a colorful little hottie some dinner in the romantic setting around Mt. Buffalo.

After sharing some bread... things got a little kinky...

Dirty Duck!

2007-01-11T19:29:00.000-08:00

In Australia

I'm so sorry for the lapse in contact from Wasabi. He's been in Australia since New Year's eve, and having a great time. There are a lot of wild parrots here, and we've got photos of him mingling with the locals. We're in an outback mountain town now, but we'll be home before the end of January. I don't have the capability of posting photos, but Scott Gravelle has put a photo of Wasabi on his blog. HERE

I'll have lots of great Wasabi photo to post when I return. We're trying to organize a meeting with a Kangaroo.

2006-12-27T11:28:00.000-08:00

The Ugly Duckling

Wasabi feelings were hurt the other day when he found a relative modeling for newspaper ads. Just because he's green doesn't mean he should be descriminated against.

Wasabi's got a better life anyway. How many yellow ducks get to travel around the world?

2006-12-24T15:45:00.000-08:00

Wasabi's home for Christmas

Wasabi arrive home well from England. He hung out at an impromptu party at our house last night, and will be skiing tomorrow.

Miles Traveled: 15,687

2006-12-18T09:15:00.000-08:00

The southernmost point in the U.S.

I don't know if I ever posted a picture of Wasabi at the Southern most point in the continental U.S. Thanks to GW for touring Wasabi around Key West.

2006-12-18T08:51:00.000-08:00

Wasabi at Stonehenge!

Thanks to Dr. West for taking Wasabi to Stonehenge. Erected between 3000-1600BC, Stonehenge is a World Heritage Site.

There has been a lot of speculation throughout history about the meaning of Stonehenge. The slabs seem to line up well with the phases of the sun and moon especially at the solstice and equinox.

There is also a lot of religious interpretation regarding the construction of the stones. Either way, Stonehenge is a cool place, and now Wasabi's been there! Here's Wasabi touring around with a Stonehenge Ranger.

Buckingham Palace

2006-12-13T10:41:00.001-08:00

Our rubber friend goes to see the queen's digs.

Photo from Dr. West. Thanks man!

2006-12-10T09:31:00.000-08:00

Hanging with the blue bloods

At Kew park, London.

The locals haven't quite accepted him...yet.

2006-12-08T13:47:00.000-08:00

Miles Traveled

WI, IL, IA, NE, WY, UT Trip: 1819miles.

SLC to Key West Trip: 4080miles.

SLC to London Trip: 4894miles.

Up to 12/08/06: 10,793miles.

2006-12-08T13:43:00.001-08:00

Three Continents in a month!?

Wasabi is, at this very moment, on his way to London with Dr. Adam West a.k.a. Batman... Dr. West will be showing our rubber friend around Big Ben and Parlament, then he'll be boxed up and shipped back to SLC for X-mas. The rest will be short, because the duck is going to Sydney, Australia for new year's. He'll be checking out hang gliding competitions while in Australia, then he's off to South Africa to meet back up with Dr. Batman. He'll see the sights of Cape Town, then eventually be back in SLC sometime in late January.

I've got to figure it out exactly, but this set of adventures alone will take him over 30,000miles. The earth is only 24,902 miles around at the equator. By February, Wasabi will have been well more than once around the world.

Today I've ordered a "travel bug" for Wasabi through geo caching. This is a "dog tag" that has instructions on it to log into geo caching websites. Basically, you can track an item in it's travels throughout the world. I don't know too much about the program, but I'm sure I'll know more when the travel bug arrives.

2006-12-08T13:02:00.001-08:00

Wasabi returns

GW did a fantastic job of showing our little green friend the sights in Florida. Seems like Wasabi developed a network of sun worshiping friends at the marina. Thanks Capt. "G."

He's the biggest duck in the pond...

Just after he arrived, the dog mistakenly took him for a new toy. Wasabi gave a squeak or two, and I rescued him before he became green plastic pieces in the bowels of Kozmo. The saliva actually washed him off a bit, and he looks good. I fixed the dent in his head. Silly dog.

Wasabi has one hell of a month ahead of him. THREE continents: Europe, Africa, and Australia in four weeks. Stay tuned...

2006-12-08T13:01:00.001-08:00

lucky duck

The good, the bad, the ugly. I'll let you match them up...

Kudos to GW who's turning Wasabi into a Key West socialite.

2006-12-08T13:00:00.001-08:00

Lucky Duck

Wasabi is with GW in Key West. Obviously he's seeing all the sights.

Seven Mile Bridge: The spectacular bridge has attracted many film makers. Its film 'credits' include scenes in True Lies, 2 Fast 2 Furious, Licence to Kill and Up Close & Personal. NOW Wasabi's been there.

At the end of the road US Hwy 1, Key West.

Sampling the local attractions.

Making friends with the locals. (nice shades)

2006-12-08T12:58:00.001-08:00

Wasabi goes to Florida

After my first post about Wasabi, the green rubber duck, I had offers to take the duck to Mexico and Canada among others. Keeping the interests of the duck in mind, I settled on Florida as it provided the best "party" opportunity.

Wasabi in party attire just before shipping out to Florida.

Keeping Wasabi out of harm's way has been challenging. I tried to introduce him to Kozmo, and had to snatch the duck away when Kozmo tried to turn Wasabi into a chew toy.

Here's Wasabi at the Harley shop for Biketoberfest in Florida. He's off to party in Key West this weekend. More pictures to come.

2006-12-08T12:39:00.001-08:00

The Origin of the duck called Wasabi

A little more than 10 years ago, I went to the Univ. of Wisconsin, Eau Claire. Homecoming in the fall is typically the biggest party of the year. I hadn't been back since graduating, and this year my buddy Brian and I happened to be near Eau Claire Homecoming weekend. We decided to stay for a day and see what there was to see.

In Wisconsin

During our afternoon, a girl walked into the bar holding a velcro sneaker. Stuffed inside the velcro sneaker was a rubber duckie, wasabi green in color. We asked her the significance of the sneaker and duck, and realized that both had quite a bit of value to her. In my altered state, I decided I had to have the duck. I pulled out three dollars and a handful of change from my pockets and offered it in exchange for the duck. Tonya wasn't having any of it, so I ammended my offer.

In Nebraska

This was my promise: She'd give me the duck and her e-mail address. I promised her that within two weeks, I'd provide her with pictures of the duck in seven different states. At that time, she'd have the option to have the duck returned to her, or we could make arrangements to have it continue traveling.

3am in Wyoming

Each time Tonya would warm up to the idea and almost hand the duck over, a drunk friend of hers would walk up and blurt out, "No way, $20 bucks or nothing!" It took a lot of negotiating to convince her to hand the duck over.

In Illinois

In the end, Tonya gave me the duck and we sealed the deal by hugging her and a guy friend of hers. True to my word, Wasabi duck has been to six states already, with pictures from five. It's only the beginning. Anyone going international soon?

In Iowa