Canadians Chris and Karen McCallum, of Okotoks, AB, took a step of faith after buying a lobster trap on Prince Edward Island — the couple hopes the trap will “hitchhike” across the country. The McCallums visited PEI this summer by plane. While there, they were enraptured by the charm of the lobster trap, which is common in PEI but often novel to visitors. With the bulky wooden trap too large to bring on the plane (without paying an exorbitant fee), the retired couple left the trap on the side of the road in Charlottetown on April 29 before they left the island. On it was a note with their address and a friendly request to “hitchhike” it towards Okotoks. “My mom and dad are from Prince Edward Island, so my roots are there, and we live out west,” Chris said, per the National Post. “Now, we just wanted a little piece of the east and from Prince Edward Island in our house and in Okotoks. That was the intent originally and we were gifted this trap from a fella named Blake, an actual lobster fisherman.” .On July 15, the lobster trap reached New Brunswick. On August 14, the trap arrived in Northern Ontario. The couple have been able to follow the adventures of the trap, and Lucky the Lobster, a stuffed animal traveling inside, through social media posts on TikTok. People participating in the cross-country road trip have taken pictures with Lucky and the trap, usually by road signs or landmarks to mark the progress. “We named (the stuffed lobster) Lucky, and we laminated a card and explained to fellow Canadians what we were asking them to do,” said Karen. “There was a QR code … it came to a YouTube video of Chris and I relying on the hearts of Canadians to hitchhike him home for us and social media has taken it by storm and moved it along Eastern Canada, and now it’s into the West. As we speak today, it was just handed off to a new set of handlers in Thunder Bay.” .The latest social media post from Thunder Bay updated Canadians following the story that it would journey to Winnipeg on Thursday (yesterday) and arrive by the weekend. Someone else has already posted an offer to drive the trap from there to Edmonton, but the McCallums — evidently emboldened by the process so far — turned them down. “I think Lucky will be in Manitoba for a few days first and then we need him to get to Regina or Saskatoon!” responded the couple via their Lobster Quest account, which has upwards of 20,900 TikTok followers and over 50,000 likes. .While journeying across Canada, the trap has accumulated multiple souvenirs along the way. A stuffed moose joined Lucky in New Brunswick, someone added a Quebec flag, a teddy bear from Ontario, a race car trophy trophy from the Full Throttle Motor Speedway in Varney, ON, and a Tim Hortons mug.“We’ve had people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, all around Europe, UK, up into Sweden, the UAE, Philippines, Japan, of course all across the US, they’re following and commenting. Great, positive comments,” Chris said.The couple in 2009 — prior to social media being so popular — made a similar attempt. Alas, the trap at the time ended up in Chicago, as an Ontario man forgot he had it in the back of his car. The McCallums are now selling $20 t-shirts with a cartoon lobster. “I Got Lucky Across Canada,” the text on the shirt reads. “Lobster Quest From East To West 2024.” “The only negative feedback we get is people being impatient, like every province wants to get their hands on them so, ‘Come on Ontario, you’ve had it too long! Hurry up and pass it on!’ Like, Manitoba’s going crazy!”
Canadians Chris and Karen McCallum, of Okotoks, AB, took a step of faith after buying a lobster trap on Prince Edward Island — the couple hopes the trap will “hitchhike” across the country. The McCallums visited PEI this summer by plane. While there, they were enraptured by the charm of the lobster trap, which is common in PEI but often novel to visitors. With the bulky wooden trap too large to bring on the plane (without paying an exorbitant fee), the retired couple left the trap on the side of the road in Charlottetown on April 29 before they left the island. On it was a note with their address and a friendly request to “hitchhike” it towards Okotoks. “My mom and dad are from Prince Edward Island, so my roots are there, and we live out west,” Chris said, per the National Post. “Now, we just wanted a little piece of the east and from Prince Edward Island in our house and in Okotoks. That was the intent originally and we were gifted this trap from a fella named Blake, an actual lobster fisherman.” .On July 15, the lobster trap reached New Brunswick. On August 14, the trap arrived in Northern Ontario. The couple have been able to follow the adventures of the trap, and Lucky the Lobster, a stuffed animal traveling inside, through social media posts on TikTok. People participating in the cross-country road trip have taken pictures with Lucky and the trap, usually by road signs or landmarks to mark the progress. “We named (the stuffed lobster) Lucky, and we laminated a card and explained to fellow Canadians what we were asking them to do,” said Karen. “There was a QR code … it came to a YouTube video of Chris and I relying on the hearts of Canadians to hitchhike him home for us and social media has taken it by storm and moved it along Eastern Canada, and now it’s into the West. As we speak today, it was just handed off to a new set of handlers in Thunder Bay.” .The latest social media post from Thunder Bay updated Canadians following the story that it would journey to Winnipeg on Thursday (yesterday) and arrive by the weekend. Someone else has already posted an offer to drive the trap from there to Edmonton, but the McCallums — evidently emboldened by the process so far — turned them down. “I think Lucky will be in Manitoba for a few days first and then we need him to get to Regina or Saskatoon!” responded the couple via their Lobster Quest account, which has upwards of 20,900 TikTok followers and over 50,000 likes. .While journeying across Canada, the trap has accumulated multiple souvenirs along the way. A stuffed moose joined Lucky in New Brunswick, someone added a Quebec flag, a teddy bear from Ontario, a race car trophy trophy from the Full Throttle Motor Speedway in Varney, ON, and a Tim Hortons mug.“We’ve had people from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, all around Europe, UK, up into Sweden, the UAE, Philippines, Japan, of course all across the US, they’re following and commenting. Great, positive comments,” Chris said.The couple in 2009 — prior to social media being so popular — made a similar attempt. Alas, the trap at the time ended up in Chicago, as an Ontario man forgot he had it in the back of his car. The McCallums are now selling $20 t-shirts with a cartoon lobster. “I Got Lucky Across Canada,” the text on the shirt reads. “Lobster Quest From East To West 2024.” “The only negative feedback we get is people being impatient, like every province wants to get their hands on them so, ‘Come on Ontario, you’ve had it too long! Hurry up and pass it on!’ Like, Manitoba’s going crazy!”
