About five years ago I got a present from one of my cousins for Christmas. It was a statue of a ram, hard as a brick, wearing a little bow on his horned head. His card introduced him as “Bernie the Christmas Ram”. The next year, I gifted it back to him with a little Santa hat. The next year, he had glued on some felt mittens.
At this point, Bernie had become very much a holiday tradition. But I felt he could do more, and so that year I took him with me on a trip where I drove through several states. I took photos of him in different places: a roadside diner table, on the hood of my car in front of a landscape of colorful desert, on a motel bed, in front of national landmarks…it was a lot of fun.
That next Christmas, Bernie had a photo album of his travels to go along with the regifting that Christmas. It sparked a new tradition, where we will take him on our travels through the years, taking photos to add to the album, as we give it back and forth each Christmas. Next year, I will be taking Bernie on his first international trip.
He has become our travel mascot, a concept I have always really enjoyed. Enough that I happily search out other mascots on the web to see what people choose to take with them. These are some of my favorites:
1. Tennessee Ted
Nothing says ‘tough biker’ like a pink teddy bear on your handlebars. This motorcycle forum asked its users who they used as a travel mascot. This was the best, in my opinion.
2. Giddy Goat
I don’t know what it is, but this picture in particular really tickles me. Maybe it is the way he is hanging on the edge of the sword, almost like Friga went fishing and with the edge of her blade and came back with a goat.
3. Tymoteusz
While I have no idea how to pronounce the name of this little guy, its very cute. I love the hat and scarf, and only wish that there was a better backdrop of the city. San Francisco is one of my favorite towns in the US.
4. Traveling Teddy
This contributor on Flickr has a lot of photos of their teddy bear on planes, trains, in front of buildings and plenty of other places where they have gone. The scale to size of this image makes it stick out.
5. Beulah
For this one, it is all about the clothes. They haven’t just thrown a sweater on their companion (like I would). Instead, they have fully dressed her up down to the boots. Plusm, the countryside behind her is absolutely gorgeous. Nothing beats the greenery seen around the UK.
Do you have a travel mascot? Maybe you have a couple of photos? Share them (and your stories) in the comments!
Jessy is the travel writer for Dobovo, the Ukrainian startup helping you to find Odessa apartments on your next travel to Europe.
