The MLP Arena
Pony Talk => Pony Corral => Topic started by: Salli on March 18, 2012, 10:16:51 AM
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So, I'm working on my Vacation Swap pony and having a blast. And I'm thinking, "Wouldn't it be fun to have one of my ponies (my ponysona pony) visit places around the world and I could live vicariously through her?"
Of course it would. But I'd need some help.
So, my question is, would anyone be interested in doing a non-keeping pony swap thing (technical term ^.^ ) kind of like a foreign-exchange student program for ponies?
******UPDATED:*******
3/20/12 3:30 PST
Ok, so the mods are worried (rightly so :) ) about lost ponies on this, so I have a new(ish) idea.
People trade ponies all the time, right? What if we started trading ponies temporarily? It would work just like a trade with the senders and sendees being responsible for their own transactions, just like if you were buying/selling or trading ponies for keeps.
This way, people could do multiple trades at once for a visit (like if Kiwisquirtbottle wants to 'host' a small herd of ponies during May 12th-May 19th if she were visiting the Alamo, then she can advertise). BUT she would be responsible for shipping all those ponies back, so she should think about how many ponies she wants (can afford) to 'host'. Then she could ship her pony one at a time to the people whose ponies she hosted.
OR if you want to handle 1 at a time, I could ship my pony to Wiccanpony in the UK while she ships hers to me and we could work out between us (PMing) where she would like her pony to visit. Maybe she wants more macabre locations, fansites (like Harry Potter world or Twilight film sites), waterfalls, or architecture, goverment buildings, etc. I could give her a list of places and say "pick 2 or 3".
This way you could do group temporary trades or single, you could send 'extras' like treats or memorabilia, you could have a 3-D journal or share electronically. You can send your pony out when you can afford it and hold back if you are busy. Maybe people could swap for the holidays or something. (I'd love my pony to visit Salem, MA for Halloween!) You could send your pony to places you are interested in (i.e. I love Canada, but maybe you couldn't care less about it). This would also mean that multiple people from the same region could host. They may offer different sites.
So, the nitty gritty. People would be responsible just like in a permanent trade. So, pay attention to feedback #'s etc. I'm going to ask the mods if this plan is 'ok' (I don't see why it wouldn't) and what the best way to advertise for 'temporary trades' would be. I would recommend though having a non-expensive pony to be your 'travel ambassador'. Think about customizing a g3, g4 or baby g1 t keep it small for shipping :) Basically, don't make it an irreplaceable pony.
Bottom Line: This is still on, we'll work it out somehow, please stay tuned and pipe up if you are interested.
My only problem is I want my pony to go EVERYWHERE :D She will finished and shipped out to SOMEONE on May 1st ;)
moved to the corral :) - Jupi
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this sounds fun!
or even if someone were worried about losing their pony, they could go get a $5 g4 one for the swap. or customize it, etc.. etc..
this sounds, like something i'd like to do.
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Sweet! I call dibs on the Pacific Northwest. (Pacific ocean, Space Needle, Mount St. Helens, Forests, I also live close to a lot of filming sites from the Twilight movies if anyone wants that)
Varkolak has dibs on the US midwest.
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This sounds excellent, though it'll take a lot of organising and trying to make sure noone flakes :/ I think there's been 'travelling' ponies before, either arranged here or over in the Corral although I can't remember who hosted them.
If this gets the go ahead, and can be properly arranged, I call dibs on Northern Ireland! :P
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Oops, this should probably be moved to the Corral. Also, I have more feedback on the TP, and by the time this starts I'm sure I will have more one here :)
My idea for the packaging: Everypony is responsible for their original packaging. Each box should be re-packed as originally then wrapped in brown/white paper to re-ship. Does that make sense? I'm much better at organizing than explaining.
I will work up a plan to submit.
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This sounds like lots of fun! Are we keeping a physical journal or digital journal (physical would add to the shipping.) I'm in Texas so It'd probably be best (if I can play, too) to not get a pony during end of July/August/beginning of September as it's super hot then and I'd worry about heat damage.
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Yea! I was hoping someone from Texas would pipe up! You are right about the cost of the journal. What if we did it electronically on a thread here, and then if anyone (ME!) wants to send 3-D memorabilia, we could mail it straight to the pony's owner. I want to have the pix sent electronically for sure. That way the ponies' owners could print out her the journal entries in whatever font they wanted to make it look like 'their pony wrote it'? I was thinking summer because that's definitely the best time to get pix here, unless you want a pic of your pony in a downpour ;)
We could also all ship our ponies to you in May/June and you could do your traveling all in one shot while your pony tours during all summer? It might be worked out, anyway, you officially have dibs on Texas/the US South. (p.s. US people, we can still use the East Coast, West (i.e. AZ, NM, CA) HI/AK.
I'm also hoping for someone from England/Scotland/Wales, France/Germany, Australia/NZ or all of the above :) Asia/ South America/ Scandinavia would rock too, if we have anyone on here willing :D Man, I wish we could do Egypt.
Post Merge: March 18, 2012, 12:02:05 PM
So, I feel like an idiot, but I hadn't thought of having all the ponies in one place at a time. (Duh) This would save on travel costs. It could work like this:
Example:
We all ship our ponies to Kiwisquirtbottle on May 1.
When she gets them all, she checks in.
Then she can take all the ponies to someplace like The Alamo (depending on where she is, that was the only Texas landmark I could think of) and takes individual pix of each pony in front of it. (She can do more sites, or restaraunts, etc... or even take a group photo)
Then she writes a journal entry from a pony's point of view (i.e. May 12th, 2012, Today I visited the Alamo in San Antonio. It was 90 degrees! So hot! It was fun though and I had a great time! Then we went out to get BBQ and it was amazing!...blah blah blah...you get the idea)
Then she posts the trip pix/entry to check in.
Then she packs them all up and ships them to the next person we have planned.
What do you think? Our city hosts could also have a checklist of sites of interest they could visit?
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ME lol,I love this idea im in the uk:) i love the idea of my pony visiting places i have never been x x
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This is a neat idea, I'm not any where interesting (middle of no where sask, Canada) but it will be neat to see if this takes off :)
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You have dibbs, Wiccanpony :) Do you think you could get a pic of my pony by/in a red phone booth? Do they still have that?
Carlabarla, can you get pix with a canadian mountie? Or some cool Native American stuff? Even in a museum? I've only been to Victoria, BC, but Canada is cool :) If you would be willing to do what it takes, I think Canada would be great! Part of this is learning about other places, and I know almost nothing about Saskatchewan.
Here are some ideas about what I want to do with the ponies when I have them: Yo'd only have to do 1 place, but it should at least be a landmark/unique place. I am aiming to do 1 big place (the coast) and 2 easy local ones.
Coast (sunset/ Boating/ surfing/ volleyball game/kites)
Local forest (forest/waterfalls/hiking/camping/fishing- let me know if you have a problem with fake fishing)
Portland sign/ maybe some downtown sites
(Next time I want to do the space needle and Washington state stuff, or if you'd rather have that than the coast just say so :)
Also,do you think a week is long enough between when you first check in to do your photo op(s) and journal entry and post them? I'm thinking with shipping time I don't want our ponies to be gone forever.
Post Merge: March 18, 2012, 03:45:21 PM
Also, the last 'sister' to ship the ponies will be boxing and shipping them individually. Should we send this person money via paypal to help offset the cost?
The first person will be required to de-package them and re-box them together. What do y'all think?
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I could always take it to the RCMP heritage museum we actually train pretty all the Mounties here in regina, and could take it to see mega munch our trex
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I'm up for some New England/Providence/East Coast/beachy sort of stuff!
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Well I'm from Nebraska. Dunno if you'd want me but if so I'm in. We have an awesome zoo. XD
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YAY im in woop woop:)
I will check around for the red phone booths,there are not many left but ill try(googleing it now).I live right by the sea which is home to a old naval ship so i could also take our ponies to be pirates for the day on the victory ship:) Salli I love the idea of my pony visiting the a filming location from Twilight x x
EDIT=think i found a red phone booth 5 mins from my house,i have never noticed it befor :blush: x
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I'd be in! New Zealand represent!
I was thinking maybe it would be best done one pony at a time rather than all together - like, I send my pony on to to Wiccanpony, who sends theirs to fiwen who sends theirs to Squirtbottle, etc. Then, once you've taken your pics with the pony you've recieved, you send it on to the next person again. That way it would also possibly save on shipping if they could kind of hop their way across the world and we could send to someone close-ish to us, rather than having to go from NZ to the US then back to Australia and over to the UK etc.
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Ok,
Hyenacub, Varkolak has first dibs on the Midwest, but I'll put you as 1st standby for it if she decides not to.
Carlabarla, that sounds so cool! You are in :)
Wiccanpony, that's so awesome! And I'll PM you about Twi-sites once this gets the go-ahead.
coinoperatedgril- I LOVE Rhode Island! It's so lovely, you are so in! :)
Pythia, I LOVE the idea of having New Zeland in, so I am putting your name on it, but I need to get more postive feedback from you, I'll PM you about it.
I will PM everyone who has 1st dibs about the final details so I can get this puppy- or pony- rolling.
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Ok,
Hyenacub, Varkolak has first dibs on the Midwest, but I'll put you as 1st standby for it if she decides not to.
if Hyenacub wants midwest area, they can have it if they'd like. they're probably closer to more fun places than i am. i'm in farm land! just let me know! i'd be happy to let them have the spot, but would be just as happy to keep it as well. either way works.
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hm, this sounds very nice. ^^ but i´m still not sure, also because of the shipping costs.
do you still need someone in germany? but i don´t live close to anything spectacular. XD i could take a picture in front of our well where all our old local tales/myth are represented. that wouldn´t really represent germany but my hometown, anyway. ^^"
the next bigger thing i can think of, is the university in Münster, for example.
could we send in also another light-weight doll or plush? :D
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What an amazing idea! good luck with it, i cant wait to see al the photos!!
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I sent a reply to Salli, but I'll also make mention of one of the points here:
In the US, it's -probably- cheaper for us to ship at once instead of individual, but that quite possibly changes for people who're international. Non US people may want to check shipping costs to the countries listed so far and see what'd it be like, roughly, for single vs herd shipping.
I'm also not against sending a few dollars to non US people to help defray the costs of shipping. I know prices are fairly high (Canada and NZ/Aus for example) and wouldn't mind helping with that.
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for shipping from canada small package is roughly $6-7 to US and to most of europe. the down side to this is it can take 2-4 weeks to go to the states and up to 9 week to go to europe and farther its longer because it goes by boat not plane.
air i know can be $7-10 to US and up to $17 for across the sea, but the wait time is shorter.
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i plan on picking up a G4 travel rarity from the store to use, i'll probably customize her a bit, but that way she'll be a little smaller and shipping will be cheaper.
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I could always take it to the RCMP heritage museum we actually train pretty all the Mounties here in regina, and could take it to see mega munch our trex
Been there! I wonder if my husband would let me take pictures of ponies on his Stetson... probably not! XD
This would be so cool. I might join if we only had to ship once or twice- shipping anywhere from Canada is really expensive, so to mail a dozen separate ponies could be over $100.
EDIT: PS- I'm in Eastern Canada. Lighthouses, oceans, fun stuff!
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So, picture me in front of a big world map with tacks in it and string :) Phones ringing and people running about. I may need a big, fluffy white cat to stroke as I plan our ponies' tour.... ;)
I am seriously thinking that all at once would be the best. Some of us (I know me and Kiwi at least) can chip in to help those who have to ship it internationally. I can also be the last stop so I have to pay to ship everyone's back to them individually. I was going to send a g1, but I think Varkolak's idea about customizing a smaller pony would be best.
If you really, really don't want to do them all at once, let me know and we can work something out :) Carlabarla, I think I will have you ship to me in Oregon so maybe it will be faster. I am not going to post an open sign-up unless someone backs out. I will send you the entry form in a PM as soon as I get approval.
I will definitely require people to hang on to their receipts for shipping.
Emuel: Thanks! But I think we want people who are willing to go to some landmark-place. I'll PM you if this changes though :D
Post Merge: March 19, 2012, 12:53:12 PM
Emberbright, how far from you is Prince Edward Island?
Your location sounds amazing! I am thinking I am going ahead with the all-at-once program.
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Im so looking forward to this:) Im going to get a G4 at the weekend and customizer her ready for her holiday x
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OK, I definitely want to be a part of this, but I just looked at the timing; we're moving either at the end of May or the end of June (from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland, so still eastern Canada), so if I could be toward the end of the list, it would work best (I should know in April when exactly we're going). If that's a problem, no hard feelings, I don't have to participate. Just thinking. :)
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I have you as the 2nd-to-last on the list Ember :) That should work- happy moving!
Ok, I just sent the low-down to one of the mods for tweaking/approval. I'll let you know when I know :)
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I'd be in! New Zealand represent!
I was thinking maybe it would be best done one pony at a time rather than all together - like, I send my pony on to to Wiccanpony, who sends theirs to fiwen who sends theirs to Squirtbottle, etc. Then, once you've taken your pics with the pony you've recieved, you send it on to the next person again. That way it would also possibly save on shipping if they could kind of hop their way across the world and we could send to someone close-ish to us, rather than having to go from NZ to the US then back to Australia and over to the UK etc.
Plus, it would also mean ponies hit the same locations at different times. For instance, depending on how many people are participating, some ponies may be able to hit the beaches, while another pony may be here later and get pictures while the leaves are changing.
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I'd love to call dibs for Germany. If emuel is not getting dibs already? :D This is such an awesome idea!
I offer Hamburg, the second biggest city in Germany including some sightseeing. Also we could hit some bars or heavy metal parties. Depending on time we also drive to the north sea or baltic sea and go to the beach.
I have no problem with shipping oversea, too.
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LOL, my "region" was gone before I even saw this thread.
Fist bump to mah Oregon peep, yo!
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That sounds like it would be a lot of fun. I'm game!
Post Merge: March 19, 2012, 05:23:14 PM
Sweet! I call dibs on the Pacific Northwest. (Pacific ocean, Space Needle, Mount St. Helens, Forests, I also live close to a lot of filming sites from the Twilight movies if anyone wants that)
Varkolak has dibs on the US midwest.
Well you don't get the whole pacific northwest, but I will give you Washington. lol. I call Portland, OR. Oregon Zoo, Rose Test Gardens, Japanese Gardens, etc.
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the places i plan to stop are the axe murder house, the pig statue we have, the zoo (will try to make it there!!), ahhhhh i can't think of land marks right now XD i'll think of more in a minute. i just got home from work so my brain is fried.
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OK we can let Salli decide, then. XD Just to clarify: is there only one pony being sent to each person? Or everyone sends his/her own pony around and then gets it back at the end?
If it's that second one, I can still do it but might have to have a little time to be able to afford shipping that many times. Of course if next on the list is in the US, it would be a lot easier. It sounds ilke loads of fun. C:
As far as Omaha goes...like said, we have one of the best zoos in the area, maybe even the country. XD Also the Old Market, some theaters...hm...a museum or two, a forested area that's supposed to be haunted... Yeah that sounds fun.
If I do get n...does that mean I'm an honorary "sister"? Or does the name change to :siblinghood" :lmao:
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Omg meeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!
Post Merge: March 20, 2012, 12:54:23 AM
We're in a different part of the uk to wiccanpony so can we play?
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I'd love to do Australia!! I have a pony that I can rehair and she'll be all good. ^_^
Okay I went through and read it all 'properly' I would much rather send one pony at a time. Also I'm a bit worried about being able to get to landmarks. I could do my local area but I'm not sure that, that's what your after.. Let me know what you think... :)
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Such a cute idea! Didnt someone do something similar with a Dance n Prance pony a few years ago? It was cool to watch
Good luck!
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Ah, this looks so cool!!! Somebody already has my region (MA), though. >_<
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Oh gosh, such a great idea! It looks like two or more people would have the region I'd be in during the summer since I'm moving back home. (Rhode Island. XD)
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I think this is a good idea BUT... a few people have done this in the past and not had it been successful. So I am hoping to give you valid advice that will help:
1. Keep your list of "hosts" short. Just last year, someone tried to send a pony around the world with 26 participants. Or something, I'd have to check my emails. Anyway, it disappeared around halfway through the list... and obviously the person who started the whole thing is VERY upset about it. So don't take on more than 8 people, I'd say...
2. Find a shipping method that everyone can agree on and use for an identical or similar postage service. Obviously the pony's going internationally or what's the fun? So... come up with a box size that everyone can purchase and ship affordably. Everyone's postal rates are different, so as long as it's travelling with insurance (to be refunded to the pony's owner should the unthinkable occur), that would be fair.
3. I agree about the digital scrapbook that people can download at their leisure. Perhaps someone could host a website for it to be stored, like a Wiki for Travelling Ponies? ;)
I'm all up for being involved AS LONG as it doesn't occur in April! *points to sig* I'm in the Challenge!
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I think this is a good idea BUT... a few people have done this in the past and not had it been successful. So I am hoping to give you valid advice that will help:
1. Keep your list of "hosts" short. Just last year, someone tried to send a pony around the world with 26 participants. Or something, I'd have to check my emails. Anyway, it disappeared around halfway through the list... and obviously the person who started the whole thing is VERY upset about it. So don't take on more than 8 people, I'd say...
Or perhaps there could be smaller clusters/groups of people? This way multiple people in a region could participate and the chances of vanishing pony could be lessened.
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Soon as I can get another flight attendant job maybe she'd like to "help me" at work? :)
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Ok, the mods are worried about lost ponies, and I definitely don't want that to happen.
They did suggest that 2 people swap their ponies (and multiple pairs could do this simultaneously) then swap again with someone else. Kind of like a bunch of people doing the foreign-exchange program. That way, people from the same region could overlap. For instance, I could have a directory (list) of people who want to participate (they would have to meet some certain criteria), where they live and some sites they are willing to take your pony to. Then people could PM each other about making a temporary swap of their ponies. Then people who didn't want to ship internationally could do that, and you could do it when you could afford to. Maybe with each successful swap you could earn 'host/hostess' points or something?
I also had thought along toralei's lines about doing 4 groups of 4 or so. Then if all those go smoothly we could mix up the groups and have another round.
Ok, about the zoos. I love the zoo a lot. I think most of us pony fans are also animal fans, but I was thinking more of something that's unique to where you live. If I'm looking at a zebra in San Antonio, it's going to give me the same feeling as looking at a zebra in Boston. Like the Alamo or a certain lighthouse, even Varkolak's axe murderer house or carlabarla's Canadian mountie training. It doesn't have to be a world-famous thing but it should be something that the other people can't do- or wherever the other people live. Give us a taste of what it's like in your area. Think "Where would I take a guest who was visiting from another country?" However, if we want to do temporary partner swaps (as described above) you could work out wherever y'all wanted to go between each partnership according to your interests.
I'll send this plan to the mods to see if they approve it, in the meantime let me know if you love/hate this plan or don't care how we do it, so long as we do this.
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This sounds great... I am Florida and I can take the ponies to Disney World! I can try my best as well to take a picture of them anywhere they want. Like, maybe if you have a favorite Disney park or ride or even a favorite movie/character.
I would be willing to participate no matter how we decide to do it. I actually really like the idea of the physical journal, but I understand that the shipping may get a bit out of hand.
Which ever way is decided I am ready and willing.
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Well someone has already covered midwest...
:( I would of enjoyed taking a little pony to go see the deteriorating streets of Cleveland, and a river that once caught on fire... I'd go for the nitty gritty.
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Please read the original entry, I have changed it :happy: :frolic: -Salli
Post Merge: March 20, 2012, 03:55:10 PM
Hyenacub, could you get a pic of a pony in front of a cool storm cell or something? Now THAT would be cool. Pony stormchasing. Oooh, pony ghost hunting has possibilities too.
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I'd be good with trading with one person at a time. Works out for me because I can just not take any right away if we move after things get going, or when money's too tight for me to send out bunches of ponies. Also- would there be pre-screening for feedback, or would we be responsible for that on our own, and use our discretion re: who we do temporary trades with?
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I'm up for anything, honestly!! I think the one-at-a-time plan may help things be more organized.
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depending on which months this runs into, i may be able to take one along to the iowa state fair! :D i can't remember which month that is though. XD
pic of a pony eating deep fried butter on a stick, anyone? or deep fried oreos? ...or deep fried twinkies?? ....ok these ponies are going to end up fat if i take them there.
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I think this is a good idea BUT... a few people have done this in the past and not had it been successful. So I am hoping to give you valid advice that will help:
1. Keep your list of "hosts" short. Just last year, someone tried to send a pony around the world with 26 participants. Or something, I'd have to check my emails. Anyway, it disappeared around halfway through the list... and obviously the person who started the whole thing is VERY upset about it. So don't take on more than 8 people, I'd say...
Wasn't that "Send DJ Around The World?" I was supposed to get her but she never did make it to me and the whole thing was canceled. I never heard what happened... I am still totally interested in doing something like this but... I'm pretty sure that my area is already taken anyway not that there is much to see in Montana... but I am going to photography school this summer so it would have been fun to see what my classmates and I could find to do with someone's traveling pony!
ETA: Ya! Post #1400 for me!
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Yah, I'm thinking the one-at-a-time thing with people doing their own trades sounds like a LOT less headache for me. I do know that Kiwisquirtbottle 'has plans' to host a small herd for some Texas fun, so she may take a bunch at once.
Ember, I'm still waiting for Jupi and the mods to decide the way they would prefer we go about advertising to host or trade. If you want your pony to visit Texas, you could try PMing Kiwi. I want my pony to visit just about everyone so I'll just have to take them on one at a time and work my way around the world.
Fried butter!? That's awesome. Let me know on that one. I have had fried twinkies and recently tried fried oreos. Toki, Montana is cool! It's so lovely. We may not be doing 'dibs' on areas anyway so stay tuned :)
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Salli's right; I'd love to host a few ponies! I'm in Austin and had plans for a few fun things:
-- Capitol Building (which was supposed to be a replica of the US Capitol)
-- UT tower (hopefully it'd be lit up orange)
-- Texas History Museum (where there's a giant taxidermy armadillo)
-- In a field of Bluebonnets (state flower, wut?)
-- With some cacti
-- Posing in baby cowboy boots
-- Bats under the bridge
-- Finding a few of the giant artist horses/cows/guitars stationed around downtown
-- Other locations upon request (within reason -- I'm usually too far away to drive to the Alamo)
We went out tonight and got a few small things to also send back with ponies as souvenirs -- cowboy hats, sombreros, bandannas, and bluebonnet seeds.
I'm -hoping- to go to a Houston Pony Meet in June, so also another fun place to take pics, perhaps.
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Ok so if we will be sending our ponies one by one how does that work? will i get a list of everyone participating and just work my way down the list?,i would love my pony to visit everyone lol x x
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I am not sure if this was suggested. I am on my phone at work so I can't check.
What about there are groups of 8 people? And in each group, one pony will be sent around. And maybe 1 person in each group can be head. And our op can manage each group leader?
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Kiwi: sorry about keeping on bringing up the Alamo, it was the only Texas thing I could think of. I LOVE the stuffed armadillo idea! And all your other sites sound awesome.
Wiccanpony: I want my pony to go everywhere too, I am waiting to hear from the mods about how we should go about 'advertising' ourselves as travel hosts.
Banditpony: The original idea was for 8 people, and as for the sending one pony all over, that was tried some time ago by someone else and didn't pan out, I started this hoping to send my ponysona pony out and getting other people's ponies to take all over. If anyone wants to try to do the 1-travelling-pony please feel free to and start a new thread to gauge interest. I'm sure people would be :)
I was PMed a good question about who pays for shipping. They suggested that if 2 people are swapping at the same time, that they should pay to ship their own pony off, then pay to ship the 'guest' pony home. But if one person is hosting a bunch of ponies, that the owners should pay to ship their ponies to and from the host. I think that's a great idea. Then if that person wants their pony to visit me, they can pay for their pony to go to and from.
Great ideas, but the details of each visit will be dependent on the host and visiting pony's owner to work out. If you don't like that idea, you can advertise how you would like to arrange the shipping payments when you advertise to host ponies. Just like when people advertise to sell or trade, they have specs on how they prefer to do transactions. And again, be discerning when it comes to feedback as to who is going to host your pony.
I'll let you know when I hear from the mods again. In the meantime, keep working on your travel ponies (if that's what you are doing) and be thinking of photo-ops in your area.
Post Merge: March 21, 2012, 10:24:07 AM
Oops, one more thing, speaking of places for photo-ops. For those of you who are wanting to host a herd of guest ponies, be thinking about what date you want to have your ponies there. For instance, I will be planning a trip to the coast, (the other sites around Portland area are easy to get to any day and I can get them on the days around the coast trip) and I'd like to have a herd visit then. Anyhow, I will need to start advertising well in advance so that my international friends who want to participate can get their ponies to me on time.
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The new plan is fine with me too! As for zoos, ours has the biggest desert dome and also indoor rainforest in the country I think. Those are the things I'd take the pics with. XD As for storm cells...well I could do my best, but the weather would have to cooperate lol The last storm that hit Nebraska went west of us. >:C
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Hadn't thought about shipping in a 1-1 trade... It would definitely be lopsided for some of us! I'm OK with just doing fewer trades becaus; if people really wanted to do one with me, though, it would probably have to be a trade where we pay to ship our own ponies both ways, to even out the cost. That could be decided between partners, though. I definitely agree that if someone is being kind enough to host a herd, we should all be OK with paying our own shipping!
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so, we pay for our pony to travel along the entire way? or is it that we ship, the next person ships, and so on. ...ok i'll try to make a chart lol
Pony A
Pony B
Pony C
Pony D
A to B
B to C
C to D
D to A
if i pony A were to travel to C after B, would person A have to pay for pony A to go to C, if everyone trades?
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The only disadvantage I see to this is that it would cost a lot more in postage. Because instead of sending your pony out once...and then THAT person sending it on..you have to send it out each and every time you want it somewhere. But...it also means that you don't bite off more than you can chew too. Hm. I could do up to three to start...assuming that three would not mind waiting for me to space out the shipping if there are out of country people.
Or...is it like Vark said and we could do groups all at once? ARGH My tiny brain hurts! D:
Also anyone that wanted storm-pony-pics would have to wait until we got an actual storm before I sent them back. :lmao:
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it seems like an awful lot to ship out the pony so many times, i thought it was going to just rotate. like have a group, and ship the ponies in a circle so everyone has 1 at a time. set a date to send them, after everyone's received, give them like a week to have the pony, then pass to the next person.
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Well that was the first plan...but there was some concern about someone dropping the ball and there being lost ponies I think. Though if we did it in smaller groups, and then rotated like that...maybe that would work well?
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Varkolak, that was the original plan, but the mods are worried about ponies getting lost. And yes, it is more expensive, but less risky and allows more people to participate.
Here's how it might work.
Option 1, The individual swap:
Pony A
Pony B
A to B's owner
B to A's owner
Then the ponies are sent home to their owners. In this case, the hosts would pay to ship whichever pony they are shipping off, this way, each person pays to ship each pony once.
Then if you want her to travel again, you do:
Pony A
Pony C
A to C's owner
C to A's owner
Then the ponies are sent back to their owners. And so on however and wherever you want to go.
Option 2, the herd visit:
Hostess A says "Hey, I live in Paris and am going to visit the Eiffel Tower! I have 5 slots open for visiting ponies." Then they fill up the slots.
Pony A
Pony B
Pony C
Pony D
Pony E
A,B,C,D, and E go to the pony hostess A in Paris, she takes them and gets pix of them with the sites then pops them in the mail back home. In this case the owners of the ponies A-E would pay to ship their ponies there and back. (Unless otherwise arranged privately.)
Now, if the pony owners decide they want to then send them to Rome to Pony B's owner, I can't stop you ;) It would have to be done on PM or emailing probably and not through a thread.
Did that make any sense? I'm not the greatest at explaining things.
Hyenacub: you brought up the zoo first, so you are ok with the zoo ;) lol. Really though, I looked it up and it really is supposed to be the best zoo ever. Also, Nebraska is home to the original Pony Express station. That would be seriously cool. There's the Buffalo Bill ranch, Carhenge, and the World's largest ball of stamps! Are you close-ish to any of these?
This is a great way to not only make friends and get to know the world better through our pony-friends, but a great excuse to visit places in our own regions that we haven't been to, or want to go to again.
Does anyone live near a ghost-town?
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Also, Nebraska is home to the original Pony Express station
O_o It is? :lmao: I didn't know. XD I'd have to see how far outside of Omaha that is. C:
Though for people sending out of country...it might be better if They sent to, say, Paris, then Paris sends to Madrid, and Madrid send to Germany..but I guess that is too close to the ogiringal plan, huh? But isn't in-country post more reliable than internation mail? The less international mailing, one might think, the safer the pony.
As for herd visits, that sound like the most efficient...especially if the hosts are going to travel a bit to get the pics.
I really do like this idea, however it works out. Just lemme know how and when we're gonna work it out and I'm in. C:
I know Arizona tends to have a lot of ghost towns but I haven't lived there in forever. :C If anyone lived near Pripyat--THAT would be an awesome set of pictures!!
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What?! You mean you are not impressed with the world's biggest ball of stamps!? I love weird stuff like that.
I agree with y'all. I think sending it from one place to the other is cheaper/more efficient/etc. But I don't blame the mods for being worried about lost ponies. It's no fun when one person ruins a community for a bunch or people.
I want to do the herd thing too, at least for big stuff. Maybe do some individual swaps in between. Right now I want to go ANYWHERE because it's freezing, raining and due to snow :mad: . It rarely snows here in January, let alone late March. I am sooooo ready for spring.
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Banditpony: The original idea was for 8 people, and as for the sending one pony all over, that was tried some time ago by someone else and didn't pan out, I started this hoping to send my ponysona pony out and getting other people's ponies to take all over. If anyone wants to try to do the 1-travelling-pony please feel free to and start a new thread to gauge interest. I'm sure people would be :)
Oh I thought they weren't interested in a large chain. I thought they were fine with a smaller one . (and would be cool to have multiple smaller ones, for many ppl to participate). Ah well.
:3 no point to do two similar things tho. I wouldn't be able to afford shipping something multiple times, and I doubt too many people would be interested in my city, even tho I could get some neat things. ^__^ will be fun to watch everyone else though.
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What is this.... snow?
In Texas, we have hot and warm. The end. :D
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Yeah I'd totally put little mementos of the places the pony was at to send back. I could do five. How shall this be organized?
lol I can find info on the ball of stamps. ; ) We also have Rosenblatt Stadium, which is right across the street from the zoo and which won't be there for much longer lol
Someone in Las Vegas totally has to take pics with all the mini monuments, and the Luxor, and all that. XD
Evil! D: Jealous here. I have Nebraska weather. lol
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I would be up for being a uk host:) x
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Hi! I live in Ottawa, Canada. I'd be willing to host groups or individual ponies, and take their photos at the Parliament Buildings. Other bonus Ottawa sites probably available, we're big for tourism. The Canadian Tulip Festival is coming up May 4-21, and is a great photo opportunity. The only type of swap I'm not interested in is the big circle one, where I'd have to ship ponies every week. That seems too expensive.
I think it would be fun to have a "hosting pony" at my house, and make a photo album of all the pony friends that come and visit her. If ponies visiting can come with a little bio or something I can add, it would make hosting much more attractive!
Feel free to add me to a list of destinations or PM me :) I'm new to the forums and looking for ways to build feedback etc. so I can do more swaps!
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Gotcha on the list, Reyl.
I still haven't heard back from Jupi about the new plan, I will be typing up a the plan with the new revisions and PM it to all the mods to see if we get a response.
Don't worry, I got everyone's names down (and this new way there will be no more monopolies on regions so everyone can participate). Hopefully we can start the ball officially rolling next week.
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Another interesting bit - I guess there's about 3 of us in this thread in the RI/MA area, and it could probably also work for us to meet up and ship one pony package with all of our ponies to other folks as a group.
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This will be fun! XD And it's nice out now so I will be going lots of places. So on my list to take oics with:
Henry Doorly Zoo--definitely in the rainforest and outside the desert dome.
Hummel Park--a place that's supposed to be haunted and has interesting tales associated with it.
Fontenelle Forest maybe
The Old Market--old shops and brick roads...very cool
With a storm cell--weather cooperation pending XD
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i could take a pony to work with me... not that dollar general is anything special. XD
iowa just doesn't have much.
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Still working on details with Jupi... just sent her another message. Hopefully finalized soon. Get those ponies ready to travel :)
Sounds great, hyenacub! What happened to my ball of stamps?? ;) jk Is the Pony Express station too far from you?
Varkolak, Dollar General sounds fun, which part of Iowa are you in? ish? Iowa has Freedom Rock, The Field of Dreams, the Mississippi River, Jethro's BBQ (on Man vs. Food), Lost Island water park and TONS of haunted places! Are you near any of these? I am now going to google weird places.
Post Merge: March 26, 2012, 10:24:41 AM
Wait a minute. Iowa has tons of cool, random stuff. That axe murder house is cool, there's Albert the Bull, the World's largest strawberry, the future birthplace of Captain Kirk, birthplace of John Wayne, the World's Crookedest street, TRAINLAND USA!? (sorry, my son LOVES trains and that sounds amazing), Buddy Holly crash site, Hobo Museum! (lol, Areas of my expertise fans), the Largest revolving Jail, American Gothic house, a meteorite, there are so many! Of course, I don't know where you are exactly.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ia (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ia)
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Actually the ball of stamps is right in Omaha so I can do that! I didn't know Boys Town had a museum lol I'm afraid Gothenburg is a bit far. It's more than halfway across the state. Sorry! D: But if anyone has any requests in or around Omaha, I'll do it. C: I can try to find *a* pony express station in Omaha. I might get lucky.
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In addition to Disney World I can also take any pony to the beach. I live right by world famous Cocoa Beach... I also have Nasa not too far away I can get some pictures of space stuff. There is an I Dream of Jeannie (it was filmed nearby) road around me too I can try to get a picture with... I say try because it is actually way up higher than a normal street sign. I have swamps too, I am NOT willing to get close enough to a gator but I can take a picture of the pony by a swamp.
I think it would also be cool if we take pictures of the ponies doing something special to each host. Like, for example I play disc golf so I could take a pony out to the course with me and get a picture of the ponies in a disc golf basket.
I am going to be working on a personalized G4 soon for traveling!!!
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Great idea, kittykat! I can take mine to a roleplaying game! The guys and girls there alreay know I am a MLP freak. XDDD And..>SPACE! YAY!
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Still working on details with Jupi... just sent her another message. Hopefully finalized soon. Get those ponies ready to travel :)
Sounds great, hyenacub! What happened to my ball of stamps?? ;) jk Is the Pony Express station too far from you?
Varkolak, Dollar General sounds fun, which part of Iowa are you in? ish? Iowa has Freedom Rock, The Field of Dreams, the Mississippi River, Jethro's BBQ (on Man vs. Food), Lost Island water park and TONS of haunted places! Are you near any of these? I am now going to google weird places.
Post Merge: March 26, 2012, 10:24:41 AM
Wait a minute. Iowa has tons of cool, random stuff. That axe murder house is cool, there's Albert the Bull, the World's largest strawberry, the future birthplace of Captain Kirk, birthplace of John Wayne, the World's Crookedest street, TRAINLAND USA!? (sorry, my son LOVES trains and that sounds amazing), Buddy Holly crash site, Hobo Museum! (lol, Areas of my expertise fans), the Largest revolving Jail, American Gothic house, a meteorite, there are so many! Of course, I don't know where you are exactly.
http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ia (http://www.roadsideamerica.com/location/ia)
i'm in creston, which is about an hour from the axe murder house (my old town)
i got connections though, so i can go on a tour and maybe get some ghosty orbs in pics with ponies!!!
my grandpa was chief of police there for a super long time, and he's been in there countless times. the owner just passed away though, but they're still keeping it running. one of the staff psychic's comes into my store all the time to shop lol she's pretty nice.
i think i've been to the john wayne birth place, if i'm not mistaken, that's in clarenda. i go to that town quite frequently. its about 10-15 minutes from villisca (axe murder house)
i've seen the bull before! he was at the county fair. i felt bad for him though, they kept him tied down the whole day, everyday the fair was open. :( his mouth was tied shut too.
my aunt has a bull though, he's not as big though. but his name is herbert. XD maybe he'd sit still long enough for me to take some pics with ponies. i just can't go into his area though, he's a mean one when you get inside the fence.
i used to live right near the river you mentioned, it flooded the entire town once. they had to bring in boats!! we moved though, just in time because a couple months later, a tornado hit that house.
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...are we sharing special things near us right now? The town I live in has the oldest wooden frame house in America. I also live across the street from a very old graveyard which some may find grim, but it's rather scenic and interesting! Especially looking at gravestone "fads" across the centuries.
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That sounds really cool, toerlei! Is there a website with that house on it?
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...are we sharing special things near us right now? The town I live in has the oldest wooden frame house in America. I also live across the street from a very old graveyard which some may find grim, but it's rather scenic and interesting! Especially looking at gravestone "fads" across the centuries.
I love old graveyards and gravestones! That would be a cool photo spot :)
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Kittykat, that's a great idea!
Hyenacub, now worries, I was just messin with ya. That zoo does sound cool and taking my pony on a storm chase would rock, even if it didn't pan out into anything interesting. I've always wanted to go on a stormchase, and I can only afford to live vicariously through my pony.
Torelei, I LOVE graveyards. I love spooky/paranormal stuff. I love history too. I also love random stuff. I just love travelling and I can't right now, so anywhere would rock.
Varkolak, that is so sad about the bull :( If you could swing the axe murder house I would love you forever. :) But really, I just love the idea of travelling through the eyes of my pony, so it's all good.
Everypony: :grouphug:
No word yet from Jupi. I did look up 'Wierd Tourist Attractions in Portland' and discovered that we have the World's smallest park. It's like this little circle that's 2' in diameter and has a tiny tree. I thought it would be hilarious to pose all our ponies in the tiny park for a group pic. lol.
I also discovered that there's a specialty movie rental store called Movie Madness that I've always wanted to go to. I love rare, old movies. Anyway, I read that they have awesome original movie props like "the" knife used by Norman Bates in "Psycho". I am so there.
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If people don't live near tourist attractions, or if that sort of thing is not within their ability, there are lots of fun things they could do at home. Like set the ponies up having a movie night, tea party, gaming night or sleepover, visiting the host's ponies. There's lots of room for creativity even if folks can't go out and do touristy things.
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Well, the point of this is to do the touristy things, even if they are smallish... [wait for it...]...
However, since we are going to be switching to the 'you-are-in-charge-of-your-own-vacation-trade' you can do whatever you want, just please make sure that if you don't plan on doing the tourist attractions please make sure you advertise that this is your plan :) I was planning on doing 'homebound' things as well as the touristy stuff.
If you don't think you live near anything interesting, try Googling your town, ask around, or check your local library. Also try doing a search for 'Weird Tourist Attractions' for your town. This is not only a great opportunity to get to know fellow pony-collectors from all over the world and travel vicariously through your pony, but a great excuse to explore your own locale. I had no idea that a local video store had the knife prop used in Psycho, or the world's smallest park. My search also turned up things I knew about but forgot about because I live here.
p.s. no word yet from the mods as per my latest round of fine-tuning, stay tuned :)
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The world's smallest park amuses the hell out of me. What's the point? LOL And can it REALLY be called a park? XD
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well, it is not just about landmarks anymore? ;)
little couriosities count too?
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Hyenacub: That's Portland for you. [rolls eyes] Nevermind that we have a huge problem with homelessness, unemployment and human trafficking, lets' blow $ on the world's smallest park. Idiots. However, it does sound like the perfect pony photo-op.
Emuel: if my new plan gets approved then anyone can participate, you just advertise and run your own 'temporary swap' with whatever landmarks/local sites you want to. I do have to say that places in Germany that might seem mundane to you would probably seem cool to me and most Americans. :)
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Hyenacub: That's Portland for you. [rolls eyes] Nevermind that we have a huge problem with homelessness, unemployment and human trafficking, lets' blow $ on the world's smallest park. Idiots. However, it does sound like the perfect pony photo-op.
^This! *shakes head* I'd love to do this, but I live in Oregon too, and little old McMinnville won't do much for you- T_T But I am going up to Tacoma this Friday... What do you think? :)
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I think most cities will blow taxpayers' money on pointless crap when there is better stuff to spend it on. But at least they're interesting sometimes. lol
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Hi threezie! McMinnville has the Evergreen Air and Space Museum doesn't it? Pony with THE Spruce Goose? I LOVE it!! I hadn't even thought of that. Not to mention MARS rovers, rockets, tanks, replicas of early planes/concept stuff, including DaVinci's wings.
Are you moving to Tacoma?
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Hi threezie! McMinnville has the Evergreen Air and Space Museum doesn't it? Pony with THE Spruce Goose? I LOVE it!! I hadn't even thought of that. Not to mention MARS rovers, rockets, tanks, replicas of early planes/concept stuff, including DaVinci's wings.
Are you moving to Tacoma?
Yeah, I thought of that. I guess it would work!
I'm not moving, my family and I are going there for a few days for vacation so I thought that might be ok, but we're leaving tomorrow, so that wouldn't work. Maybe I could bring my own ponies and take some pics with them?
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Still no word yet from Jupi, I'll keep trying. What do you guys think about advertising on the Trade forum? It IS a temporary trade afterall, or a double trade.
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I can only afford to live vicariously through my fart.
:lmao:
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The whole April Fool's joke is just hilarious. :lol:
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Yes it is. As for the trade forum...I'd say no, myself. I don't think that's what they mean by trades. But you could ask mod just in case. C:
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I have and I haven't heard anything about the options I asked them about.
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Well they do have a lot of stuff to go through on the Arena. They'll get around to it. C:
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And we have a green light :)... check the Traveling Ponies thread :)
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Please check the Traveling Ponies thread, I know more of you want to do this too :biggrin: