With a nice wind out of the south and no conservationists to stop us, last evening we set the bottle free.
This baby ended up being 29 printed pages long. It harbored 232 comments. It was one of the nicest threads I've ever read here. No one hated.
Many were unwilling to state their exact whereabouts, and this was fine. Even if I knew where you came from, I didn't count your home in my grand total. The breakdown for those willing to come clean is as follows:
Alabama ~ 4 California ~ 7 (show offs!) Florida ~ 3
Arizona ~ 2 Canada ~ 2 Georgia ~ 1
Arkansas ~ 1 Cyber-ether ~ 1 Idaho ~ 1
Australia ~ 1 England ~ 2 Illinois ~ 3
Indiana ~ 1 Maryland ~ 1 Nevada ~ 1
Iowa ~ 1 Massachusetts ~ 4 New Jersey ~ 2
Kentucky ~ 4 Michigan ~ 3 New York ~ 4
Louisiana ~ 2 Minnesota ~ 3 North Carolina ~ 1
Maine ~ 1 Missouri ~ 3 Ohio ~ 4
Oregon ~ 1 South Dakota ~ 1 West Virginia ~ 2
Pennsylvania ~ 1 Sweden ~ 1 Washington ~ 3
Scotland ~ 1 Tennessee ~ 3
Southeast ~ 1 Texas ~ 5
The Bottle Finder People were sent many well wishes and reminders to recycle the bottle. Jokes were plentiful. I'm sure we've scared them off from ever visiting our site.
The "bottle" ended up being an extra large pretzel jug from Sam's Club. To be sure no one mistook it for garbage if ever found, we plastered the inside with papers screaming MESSAGE and drew flourescent thing-a-ma-bobs all over them. We sealed the lid with silicone sealant to help prevent any unwanted moisture from creeping in. I included a handwritten letter from Kevin and I with contact information in it.
We headed down the pier, with the lighthouse being our final destination.
Kevin, my favorite partner in crime, headed a little further down the rocks to the water than I was comfortable doing. (I had these really cute shoes on and didn't want to chance ruining them.) He prepared to launch the vessel.
And the launch. 
We stood there on the rocks for awhile, watching our baby drift out into the vastness of Lake Erie. We had a difficult time leaving it behind.
We both expressed feelings similar to leaving a child at college. All the preparation, and now it was gone. *sniff*
However, we both agree that it would by hysterical if it washed up in the next town today. We could live with that.
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Theoretically speaking, that is.
Or if it made it down the St. Lawrence Seaway and ended up somewhere like...like...foreign.
Good job, Mom! Good job, Papi! Good throwing--and of course--GREAT SHOES!! :)
Thanks, Lydia. Yeah, the shoes rocked on the rocks.
To everyone else, this was a blast to do. I couldn't believe how long the thread kept going. I'd think "time to print" and 3 more comments would come in.
I really hope someone finds it, and I think that given the massive size of it, someone will do just that.
Or, it could get stuck in a cavern somewhere and not be found for 50 years!
this is so cool :)
Ina, I was going to write an article and make a game of it for everyone to guess when and where it will be found but I think you should do it! Offer a prize for the winning guess, to be awarded after the bottle is found... maybe a bottle of rum? Yo-ho-ho and all that!
Loved the launch pictures. The thread on that article was so much fun!
Thanks for supporting the cause of floating jugs.
It may have been a Freudian slip on your part but I'm worried that you might be developing an obsession.
And, really have they cleaned up the lake that much that you'd be willing to fish stuff out of it without protective gear? I remember when Lake Eirie was considered to be just shy of being considered a toxic waste dump.
From the pictures it looks pretty good... I really miss my Northern lakes down here!
Lyndon ~ I'll have to go hunt you down as Lynn. I'm glad you made it to the thread.
Kathleen ~ I'd link you, but I suck at links. I put it up in early August, though. It was just called Leave a Comment for the Gather Message in a Bottle.
Actually, Lake Erie is pretty clean these days. Someone imported some zebra mussels that cleaned the joint up. Now, we're over run with them. I even swim in the lake and take my grandkids with me. Not a problem any more.
Too bad you weren't around. I'm sure you could have put an interesting spin on a lot of what was going on in that thread.
Maybe it will be found by space aliens.
you and Kevin are a hoot... Blessings...
Monday Comments
I hope it gets discovered soon.
I can't help but be sad that not only was I not a Gatherer at the time this was happening, Kansas was woefully unrepresented.
Here's the link to the project if anybody's interested to read the messages included in the Gather jug...
The Gather Message In A Bottle Project
I was just reading the original article from Duckie's link and cracking up. I can't believe I came up with this lame brained idea.
WOW - Some homeless guy up in NY is running around with the jar saying - They're not just voices in my head. I have written proof.
(Just kidding)