Ted E. Bear's 2004-'05 World Tour
This year Ted is circumnavigating the globe this year. If you have a link that you would like listed Please let me know via Email
I returned to the United States at the end of July from Australia and traveled with Mr. Faust to Scout recruiting activities and school open houses. It is really amazing how excited the Kids are to return to school. Here in Georgia, school started the first week in August. Mr. Faust was also busy at work planning and putting together the local Jamboree on the Internet to be held in October. Mr Faust was so busy, he didn't take many pictures. He did get my 2nd campfire blanket finished and it looks really great.
Ted arrived safely in Elyria, Ohio a western suburb of Cleveland, with his binder and belongings. He was very excited, as this was the start of his world tour. He had a good rest at home but was anxious to get traveling again (or so he said).
He was swept right into the whirlwind of activity in preparing for Cub Scout Pack 133’s annual rocket launch held at the first meeting of each new school year. He was very distraught at first by all the pieces for the Webelo rockets-they had the largest and most intricate ones. The Tiger cubs got to buddy up with the older cubs and the Wolf Cub scouts start with the smaller rockets. As a cub advances in rank and gains more experience they get larger ones each year. Ted and Ryan jumped right into making theirs and after several days had it done.
The pack meeting was Sunday 9/19/04. The hall was filled with excitement and the boys could hardly wait to get the business over with and walk down the street to the high school parking lot where they would shoot their rockets off. There were so many rockets, all different colors and sizes! Everyone was good about taking his turn and watching. It was amazing how high some of them went! The parachutes that helped them land were really cool too. I got a Deal-E-Whop. It is a leather string that holds beads you earn for different things. I earned the following: red bead (year of service), orange bead (good deed-helping build the rocket), gray bead (Den Meeting), white bead (Pack Meeting) and a brown bead (outings-Boy Scout Overnighter).
I was so tired from all the excitement I had to take a few days off to rest.
Friday 9/24/04, Ryan’s older brother Justin and I join Troop 120 in a campout and court of honor the next day (Saturday 9/25/04). I helped set up tents, played 'Capture the Flag' and built a monkey bridge as part of the scouts pioneering requirement. It took them a long time but it turned out awesome and everyone got to walk on it. I was a little scared but had many hands helping him across. It wasn’t that high up but it seemed very high for such a little bear. It was amazing at all the awards that the boys had earned! I just sat and stared at all the piles of badges and patches! I could see how proud the boys were to get them.
What a wonderful time I had with the 1st Clayton Park Cubs. We had lots of fun working on badges and hiking. There was so much to do I was not sure I could get it all done before I had to leave again.
I have earned my First Aid badge! 
We had a visitor from St. Johns Ambulance who talked to us about how to care for an injured person. He showed us the way to put a person into the rest position (of course that’s my favourite position when I’m sleeping). It was nice of Baloo to volunteer to let us practice on him. The Cubs had fun and learned stuff that they can use to help other people and theirself if they are hurt.
Last weekend, Saturday was Apple Day – I didn’t learn too much about what that was but I sure liked the apples. 
I will have Akela tell you more about it later – if you talk to Akela tell him I’m sorry about eating so many of his Apples but what is a growing Bear supposed to do? At our last meeting, we hiked to Hemlock Ravine it was dark and a bit scary. It was OK because Akela was there and he says that he never gets lost in the park (well at least not very often). The best part of the night was when we invested (joined) 12 new Cubs into the Pack. We did the ceremony outdoors which made it special for everyone especially the new Cubs.
One more visit to the 1st Clayton park Group to see the Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Ventures and a special District Meeting for leaders called a Mini-Alert and my visit was over. I had such a great time here (as I do almost everywhere). I left with a little sadness but looked forward to my next host with great excitment. Such is the life of a traveling mascot.
On 16 November 2004 arrived home, or at least close to home. Brampton, England is about 5 miles from Huntingdon, England; MY HOME. I visited with the 1st Brampton Cub Pack. They have really cool Gold and Blue scarves. Brampton is known for the horsetrack outside of town where not only do they have race horse, but at certain times of the year they have something called a 'boot' sale. The 'Boot' of a car is the British word meaning the back storage space of a car in the U.S. we call it a truck. Anyway, they sell items from the back of their cars, similar to a flea market. The british also have Jumble sales which are similar to a Garage (or yard) sale in the U.S.
Upon my arrival Akela took me to Cubs (Spitfire Pack) on Wednesday night and we did backwoods cooking on a big fire outside. It was lovely and warm. We made tin foil parcels (Hobo dinners, Turtle Shells, amoung other names) of hot dog sausages, potatoes, peas and sweet corn and cooked them on the fire. Then we put some chocolate inside a banana and cooked that as well. It was yummy!
Friday November 19th, 2004 Ted E Bear's Diary – the Cromwell Plod - It's Friday evening, and I am off to a hill walking and orienteering competition called the “Cromwell Plod”, with the Explorer Scouts from Brampton & Eaton Socon in Cambridgeshire. The Explorers call themselves the Two Tons Unit (from Brampton & Eaton Socon). They are boys and girls from 14 to 18 years old, and they don't know where they are going yet, only that they have to meet at 7:30pm with all their camping & hiking gear. The bus has just arrived, so we are loading up and getting ready to go. Later on Friday - Well, it's midnight now & we have just got to our destination. We are at Halton Gill in Yorkshire, and everything is covered in a layer of snow. Brrr, it's cold! The Explorers are putting up the tents & I am sharing with Richard, Matthew & their mascot, Flat Eric. Saturday November 20th We set off at a quick pace (these Explorers are good hikers) Sunday November 21st Today we set off for another day of hiking. We were taken to Arncliffe village and planned a route over the hills to Kettlewell. It's still cold, but today it is foggy and damp - not such nice walking weather! I decided to travel in a rucsac out of the rain. It was a bit bumpy, but warm and dry.
The good news is that our team came in second for the competition; the winners were a grown-up "veterans" team. We all slept really well in the bus on the way home, although we didn't get back until 10PM. Time for a good night's sleep.
Akela has another Cub Pack on Thursday called Tornados. I went along there as well and met a different lot of Cub Scouts. They do the same each week as the Spitfire Pack, but all day it rained so all the wood was wet and we had to use disposable BBQ’s. As we lit the BBQ it started snowing! It’s a long while since I last saw Snow! It was white and looked like frost as it fell from the sky and covered everywhere. All the Cubs were very excited, as it was the first snow of the winter. I had my photo taken, it was cold and I got very wet.
Akela works at Brampton Junior School and most of the Cub Scouts go there. They said I could go to school on Friday because it was a special day. All the children brought Teddy Bears to school to raise money for Children in Need. I had my photo taken with the mascot “Pudsey Bear”. My timing is just perfect. 
It's a beautiful dry, bright day with a cold wind, and plenty of snow on the ground, especially on the hills. You can see a picture of me peeking out of the tent. We had a good breakfast and then the teams were given maps and told to work out a route to visit lots of checkpoints.
and our first checkpoint is at the top of Pen-y-Ghyll, a 694 metre (2255 ft) hill. It was a steep climb to the top. You can see a picture of the hill taken from the bottom, 
and one of me at the top with Flat Eric. I also got a picture (not shown) of the team on the Pennine Way just along from Plover Hill. Once we got back to Halton Gill, we had a delicious dinner, played some games and then went to bed early - we were very tired. However we decided it was so cold outside that we brought our sleeping bags into the bunkhouse where most of the other teams were already sleeping. The Explorers had to sleep on the floor, but I found a spare bunk with room.
Map of area surrounding Halton Gill, Yorkshire. The “Cromwell Plod 2004” competition was held in the hills around here.
Map of Pen-y-Ghent and surrounding area. Pen-y-Ghent is a steep hill on the Pennine Way, an ancient track across the Pennine hills.
After recovering from my weekend away I went to Spitfire and Tornado Pack meetings again on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th November. The Cub Scouts were pleased to see me again and I told them about my weekend away. On Wednesday night we had an Investiture - a new boy joined Cub Scouts. I listened carefully when he made his promise. He got a certificate and lots of badges to go on his new uniform. Akela gave me some and I’m very proud to wear them. We made a fridge magnet to hold notes. The first one was very important. It was to Santa. The Cubs each wrote asking for something special. I wrote “Dear Santa could I please have a BIG bar of chocolate”.
Earlier in the summer of 2004 when Akela heard I was coming to visit, she told the Cub Scouts all about me. One of the Cubs, Sean Lawson, moved house and was disappointed that he wouldn’t get to meet me. NOt to be one who disappoints, I’m off on my travels again to discover Sean Lawson (age 9) and his new Cub Pack in Sunderland, which is 220 miles from Brampton. I got to meet his Mum; she is an Assistant Cub Scout Leader, his Dad and his Sister.
1st December 04
When I arrived I learned some interesting information, Sunderland was where the first ever Scout Meeting was held. Colonel Vaux lived here in Sunderland and was very good friends with Lord Baden-Powell. The scout troop that was set up with the help of them both is still running today. Unfortunately I did not have time to visit that troop, but I got to meet Sean’s and Martina’s Cub troop (pack). Everyone was very pleased to see me and they felt very privileged for my visit. We had a great time. First, we made some Christmas Cards and then some crackers (an English traditional Christmas gift), using cardboard tubes and wrapping paper. The cubs put sweets, a streamer and a balloon inside. Rolled it all up and taped it. I’m not sure if they will last till Christmas though. We played a game called snowballs. It involved 2 teams at either end of the hall and they threw rolled up newspaper at each other. The team with the least snowballs wins. The Cubs didn’t mind which team won, they just enjoyed throwing the snowballs!
The next day I went to Sean’s school, St Leonard’s in Silksworth, just outside Sunderland. I made lots of new friends and was introduced to the whole school at assembly. The headmaster, Mr Fraser, read to the school where I had been and everyone was really interested. It was then time for me to go home have spent a quiet weekend with the Lawson’s.
Today, 7th December, I went to visit the 1st Brampton Beaver Colony. When I first got there they were playing football (Soccer). Some of them are good at it. It was a craft meeting today, some of the beaver Scouts decorated cookies, which did look rather tasty, whilst others made some very pretty Christmas Trees out of cardboard. They were multicoloured and very well coloured in. We played a game as well, it was very fun. We all ran around away from the Leaders and if they hit you with a ball you had to stand like a letter until someone guessed your letter, then you joined back in. Tonight three new Beavers were invested. It was very interesting to watch, we all said the Beaver Promise and then they went round and shook everyone’s hand. The Beavers look very smart in their new uniforms. I had so much fun today, 1st Brampton Beavers certainly have a lot of fun at their meetings.
Before I left to go on my long journey to New Zealand I took a last minute visit to USAF Alconbury. This is one of the areas where I was brought up and it was lovely to go back there. I had some photographs taken of me at the gates but unfortunately they did not come out because the camera was faulty.
I’ve really had a great time in England and met lots of friends. Now I’m looking forward to a long sleep on the plane to New Zealand – I think it’s a long way so I should be fit and ready to enjoy the Jamboree when I arrive. I had a really great time at the Australian Jamboree and look forward to this one. After that I will go to Hawaii, and then slowly work my way across the United States trying to get back to Georgia. I will be spending about one month with one pack per state. Of course I will have to miss a couple states this time. But that means I will have more chances for more adventures.
and the 17th New Zealand Jamboree
I made it to my second National Jamboree. This time I was in New Zealand. I arrived on the 28th of December. I had the honor of being in the International Tent on the Scouting On Track Base. The tent was full of flags and scarves from all over the world. My hosts in the Tent were Joyce and Tricia from the Milson Scout Group in Palmerston North New Zealand and vicki and Carolyn from England. I met Brodie and Koa Keas, other Scout Mascots. Brodie is a Bear like me and Koa is a Keas, a type of parrot found here in New Zealand. The youngest scouts are called Keas Scouts and the scouts in the level that follow are called Cub Scouts. They were here Sunday, 2 January 2005. I got to visit with some that came by the International Tent. Beside me was placed a visitors book for people to sign. There were scouts from 13 different countries including Australia, Singapore, Fiji, Norway, America, Cook Islands, Korea, and Japan.
The Scouting on Track Base was set up to show the journey a scout would travel in scouting as they got older. First was Keas, here they got the chance to paint wooden tiles for a friendship wall and they learned other activities that Keas do. Next came Cubs, (YEAH!) Here a scout could construct a full-size slingshot (catapult) and shout wet sponges. My host was the first one hit with a sponge. At age 10 1/2 they become Scouts and at 14 they move on to Ventures. THe Ventures had an obstacle course with tires and cargo netting, a tunnel where people squirted you with water pistols (squirt guns) and then it ended with a rock-climbing wall. Of course the fun doesn't end here at 18. After Ventures you move up to Rovers. The Rovers had scouts knitting a row in a Peggy square to make a blanket to send to the Tsunami Victims. It was a strange looking blanket. After knitting a row they were allowed to play a racign game on the XBox.
They also had Scouting School where they had mad a pond inside the tent so the scouts could try canoeing, a man-made cave for caving, a wall to try climbing an da flight simulator. It was really fun watching all the activities and after they completed all of the activities they recieved a badge.
One of the events around here is patch trading. Mr Faust did not give me enough patches to trade but everyone seems friendly enough and some have given me patches and pins without expecting one in return. I have added a map of the Camping area. There are several Offsite areas as well.
The weather at the Jamboree was sunny and hot for the first two days and then the rain came and came and came. 
Some Campsites had to be moved and Trenches were dug to try and redirect all the water. We eventually had to move when our tent on The Scouting Road go flooded. After we moved I didn't get many visitors but a lot of scouts left early because of the rain. That was too bad because the weather did change again and the Closing ceremony was really cool. We went down to the Manfield Race Track and watched Truck adn cars racing. They had Motorbikes races and jet-boat sprints as well. A plane did a Fly-by. After all that, there was a concert and fireworks that could be seen 10 kms away and booms that could be heard throughout the country side.
After a bit of a delay I finally made it to Hawaii, I visited with Pack 74 on Maui. Hawaii has 8 major islands but has a total of 137 different islands in the chain. The population as of 2004 is over 12 million people with 3/4 of then living in and around Honolulu the states capital. Honolulu is located on o'ahu and although it has the most people, it is not the largest Island. There will be more to say abou tmy stay in Hawaii when I get a chance to send the information to Mr. Faust. Hopefully, I will be able to get that done enroute to Arizona.
After a long but restful flight, I finally arrived in Yuma, AZ on May 11, 2005. This place is definitely in the middle of no where, but the winter rains have made the desert very lush. I am staying at the Kerns’ home and being cared for by a Bear Cub Scout, Dawson, and his little brother Jimmy.
I started my adventure by going to see the Yuma Territorial Prison where bad guys used to get locked up back in the Old West days. It was a cool place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to live there.
I then got to participate in Den 1’s (Bear Den, of course) space derby race. Dawson let me use his rocket in the race and to my pleasure I won First Place! YEEE HAAW!
I then got to go on a campout with Cub Scout Pack 51. The desert was way too hot for camping by late May; so we headed west to Southern California to camp in the Laguna Mountains. We got there Friday evening, set up camp, and got to sit around the campfire cooked s’mores and sang songs. It was a blast.
On Saturday morning, I talked G.I. Joe into letting me take his Jeep for a spin up and down the mountain. I guess he didn’t realize I didn’t have a driver’s license. He figured it out though. I still can’t figure out how I ended up in that tree.
I got to try my orienteering skills out on the compass course Ranger Dave and Gunny Goebel set up. Where am I?
It was nice and warm in the day, but it got a little chilly at night. There were lots of bugs around and we had a great time catching them. Being the bear that I am I had to sample a few and I must say the big black one were pretty tasty. That night we told ghost stories that were very scary, and although Ranger Dave spotted one of my wild cousins nearby, he never came by camp for a visit. Just as well, my cousins aren’t much into visiting. They usually just raid the ice chest when they come around.
I slept well at night snuggled in a nice warm mummy bag, and on Sunday morning I fixed breakfast.
After Scout Church on Sunday morning, we drove back to Yuma. For some reason Cubmaster Kerns wouldn’t let me do any of the driving.
On Monday May 23rd, Cub Scout Pack 51 had there last Pack meeting of the year and I got to help build the monkey bridge for the Webelos to use for crossing over into Boy Scouts. I got to cross the bridge for fun; does this mean I’m a Boy Scout now?... No matter how old I get I will always be a Bear Scout.
The very next morning Cubmaster Kerns had to leave on a trip for a week, so I got to stay with Dawson and Jimmy a little while longer. I had a great time but I think it’s about time for me to go back home. I’m getting a little home sick.
1st Clayton Park, Nova Scotia, Canada
1st Brampton, Cambridgeshire, England